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34 


Standard  edition 


The  Works  of 
GEORGE    RAWLINSON,  M.A. 


H  FJistory  of 

Hncicnt  6gp?t 


Complete  in  Two  Volumes 
VOLUME    I 

With  Maps  and  Illustrations 


H*  L*  Burt  Company,  publishers 

New   \ovk 


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PREFACE. 


The  work  here  offered  to  the  public,  conceived  and  com- 
menced in  the  year  1876,  was  designed  to  supply  what  seemed 
a  crying  need  of  English  literature — viz.,  an  account  of 
Ancient  Egypt,  combining  its  antiquities  with  its  history,  ad- 
dressed partly  to  the  eye,  and  presenting  to  the  reader,  within 
a  reasonable  compass,  the  chief  points  of  Egyptian  life — man- 
ners, customs,  art,  science,  literature,  religion — together  with 
a  tolerably  full  statement  of  the  general  course  of  historical 
events,  whereof  Egypt  was  the  scene,  from  the  foundation  of 
the  monarchy  to  the  loss  of  independence.  Existing  English 
histories  of  Ancient  Egypt  were  either  slight  and  scantly  illus- 
trated, like  those  of  Canon  Trevor  and  Dr.  Birch,  or  wanting 
in  illustrations  altogether,  like  Mr.  Kenrick's,  or  not  confined 
to  the  period  which  seemed  to  deserve  special  attention,  like 
the  " Egypt"  of  Mr.  Samuel  Sharpe.  Accordingly,  the 
present  writer,  having  become  aware  that  no  "  History  of 
Egypt "  on  a  large  scale  was  contemplated  by  Dr.  Birch,  de- 
signed in  1876  the  work  now  published,  regarding  it  in  part 
as  necessary  to  round  off  and  complete  his  other  principal 
labors  in  the  historical  field,  in  part  as  calculated  to  fill  up  a 
gap,  which  it  was  important  to  fill  up,  in  the  historical  litera- 
ture of  his  country.  Since  his  intention  was  announced,  and 
the  sheets  of  his  first  volume  to  some  extent  printed  off,  Eng- 
lish literature  has  been  enriched  by  two  most  important  pub- 
lications on  the  subject  of  Egypt— Dr.  Birch's  excellent  edition 
of  Wilkinson's  "Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Egyp- 
tians," and  the  translation  of  Dr.  Brugsch's  "  Geschichte 
Aegyptens "  made  by  the  late  Mr.  Danby  Seymour  and  Mr. 
Philip  Smith.  Had  these  works  existed  in  the  year  1876,  or 
had  he  then  known  that  they  were  forthcoming,  the  author 

iii 


iv  PREFACE. 

feels  that  the  present  volumes  would  never  have  seen  the 
light.  But,  as  they  were  tolerably  advanced  when  he  first  be- 
came aware  to  what  rivalry  his  poor  efforts  would  be  sub- 
jected, it  was  scarcely  possible  for  him  to  draw  back  and 
retract  his  announced  intentions.  Instead  of  so  doing,  he  took 
refuge  in  the  hope  that  neither  of  the  two  new  works  would 
altogether  pre-occupy  the  ground  which  he  had  marked  out 
for  himself,  and  in  the  pleasing  persuasion  that  the  general 
public,  when  books  are  published  on  a  subject  in  which  it 
feels  an  interest,  and  are  devoured  with  avidity,  has  its  appe- 
tite rather  whetted  by  the  process  than  satisfied.  He  trusts 
therefore  to  find,  in  England  and  America,  a  sufficient  body 
of  readers  to  justify  his  present  venture,  and  prevent  his  pub- 
lishers from  suffering  any  loss  through  him. 

In  preparing  the  volumes,  the  author  has  endeavored  to 
utilize  the  enormous  stores  of  antiquarian  and  historical  ma- 
terial accumulated  during  the  last  eighty  years,  and  laid  up 
in  works  of  vast  size  and  enormous  cost,  quite  inaccessible  to 
the  general  public.  Of  these  the  most  magnificent  are  the 
"  Description  de  PEgypte,"  published  by  the  French  savants 
who  accompanied  the  expedition  of  the  great  Napoleon;  the 
"  Monumenti  delP  Egitto  e  del  la  Nubia  "  of  Ippolito  Eosel- 
lini;  and  the  "Denkmaler  aus  Aegypten  und  Aethiopien  " 
of  Professor  Lepsius.  M.  Mariette's  "  Monuments  Divers 
recueillis  en  Egwpte  et  en  Xubie "  have  also  furnished  him 
with  a  considerable  number  of  illustrations.  Possessing  only 
a  rudimentary  knowledge  of  the  Egyptian  language  and 
writing,  he  has  made  it  his  aim  to  consult,  as  far  as  possible, 
the  various  translations  of  the  Egyptian  documents  which  have 
been  put  forth  by  advanced  students,  and  to  select  the  render- 
ing which  seemed  on  the  internal  evidence  most  satisfactory. 
He  has  based  his  general  narrative  to  a  large  extent  on  these 
translations;  and,  Avhere  they  failed  him,  has  endeavored  to 
supply  their  place  by  a  careful  study,  not  only  of  finished 
"  Histories  of  Egypt,"  like  those  of  Lenormant,  Birch,  and 
Brugsch,  but  those  of  elaborate  "monographs"  upon  special 
points,  in  which  French  and  German  scholars  subject  to  the 


PREFACE.  y 

keenest  scrutiny  the  entire  evidence  upon  this  or  that  subject 
or  period.  Such  books  as  De  Rouge's  "  Recherches  sur  les 
Monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  aux  six  premieres  dynasties 
de  Manethon,"  Chabas*  "  Pasteurs  en  Egypte,"  "  Melanges 
Egyptologiques,"  and  "  Recherches  pour  servir  a  Phistoire  de 
la  XlXme  Dynastie  et  specialement  a  celle  des  temps  de  PEx- 
ode,"  Lepsius's  pamphlet  "Ueber  die  XII.  agyptische  Konigs- 
dynastie,  nebst  einigen  Bemerkungen  zu  der  XXVI.  und 
andern  Dynastien  des  neuen  Reichs,"  and  his  "  Konigsbuch 
der  alten  Aegypter,"  Dumichen's  "Flotte  einer  agyptischen 
Konigin  "  and  "  Historische  Inschriften  alt-agyptischer  Denk- 
maler,"  are  specimens  of  the  class  of  works  to  which  allusion 
is  here  made,  and  have  been  the  sources  of  the  present  nar- 
rative much  more  than  any  methodized  "Histories."  The 
author,  however,  is  far  from  wishing  to  ignore  the  obligations 
under  which  he  lies  to  former  historians  of  Egypt,  such  as 
Bunsen,  Kenrick,  Lenormant,  Birch,  and  Brugsch,  without 
whose  works  his  could  certainly  not  have  been  written.  He  is 
only  anxious  to  claim  for  it  a  distinct  basis  in  the  monographs 
of  the  best  Egyptologists  and  the  great  collections  of  illustra- 
tions above  noticed,  and  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  he 
has  endeavored  in  all  cases  to  go  behind  the  statements  of  the 
historiographers,  and  to  draw  his  own  conclusions  from  the 
materials  on  which  those  statements  were  based. 

In  conclusion  he  would  express  his  obligations  to  his  en- 
graver and  artist,  Mr.  G.  Pearson  and  Mr.  P.  Hundley,  in 
respect  of  his  illustrations;  to  the  late  Colon?l  Howard  Vyse 
in  respect  of  all  that  he  has  ventured  to  say  concerning  the 
Pyramids;  to  Mr.  James  Fergusson  in  respect  of  his  remarks 
on  the  rest  of  Egyptian  architecture;  to  his  old  friend  and 
colleague,  the  late  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson,  in  respect  of  the 
entire  subject  of  Egyptian  customs  andjnanners;  to  M.  AViede- 
mann  in  respect  of  the  history  of  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty: 
and  to  Mr.  R.  Stuart  Poole,  Dr.  Eisenlohr,  M.  Deveria,  and 
other  writers  on  Egyptian  subjects  in  the  "  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible,"  the  "Revue  Arcbeologique,"  and  the  "Transactions 
of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archaeology."     He  has  lived  to  feel, 


VI  PREFACE. 

continually  more  and  more,  how  small  a  part  of  each 
"History"  is  due  to  the  nominal  author,  and  how  large  a 
share  belongs  to  the  earlier  workers  in  the  field.  He  trusts 
that  in  the  past  he  has  never  failed  conspicuously  in  the  duty 
of  acknowledging  obligations;  but,  however  that  may  be,  he 
would  at  any  rate  wish,  in  the  present  and  in  the  future,  not 
to  be  liable  to  the  charge  of  such  failure.  To  all  those  whose 
works  he  has  used  he  would  hereby  express  himself  greatly 
beholden;  he  would  ask  their  pardon  if  he  has  involuntarily 
misrepresented  them,  and  would  crave  at  their  hands  a  lenient 
judgment  of  the  present  volumes. 

Canterbury,  December  31, 1880. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  LAND. 


PAGE. 


Geography  of  Egypt.  Boundaries,  Dimensions,  and  Character 
of  the  Country.  Proportion  of  cultivable  Territory.  Depend- 
ence on  the  Nile.  Course  of  the  Nile— its  Tributaries — Time 
and  Causes  of  the  Inundation.  Chief  Divisions  of  the  Terri- 
tory: the  Nile  Valley;  the  Delta;  the  Fayoum;  the  Eastern 
Desert ;  the  Valley  of  the  Natron  Lakes.  Character  of  the 
adjoining  Countries.  .  .  .  .  .  .       1 

CHAPTER  II. 

CLIMATE  AND  PRODUCTIONS. 

Climate  of  Egypt — of  the  Nile  Valley — of  the  Eastern  Highland. 
Vegetable  Productions — Indigenous  Trees  and  Plants — 
Plants  anciently  cultivated.  Indigenous  Wild  Animals — 
Domesticated  Animals.  Birds,  Fish,  Reptiles,  and  Insects. 
Mineral   Products.  .  .  .  .  ,  .     23 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  PEOPLE  AND  THEIR  NEIGHBORS. 

The  Egyptians  of  Asiatic  Origin — Immigrants  from  the  East — 
Not  a  colony  from  Ethiopia — Proof  of  this — So  far  peculiar  as 
to  constitute  a  distinct  Race— Their  Complexion  dark,  but 
not  black — their  Hair  not  woolly.  Description  of  their 
Features  ;  of  their  Form.  Their  Subdivisions,  original  and 
later.  Their  Intellectual  Characteristics.  Their  Artistic 
Powers.  Their  Morality,  theoretic  and  practical.  Their  Num- 
ber. Nations  bordering  upon  Egypt :  The  Libu  (Libyans),  or 
Tahennu  on  the  West  ;  the  Nahsi  (Negroes)  and  Cush  (Ethi- 
opians) on  the  South  ;  the  Amu  (Shemites)  and  Sham 
(Arabs)  on  the  East.     Nascent  Empires  in  this  quarter.  .     48 


viii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER  IV. 

LANGUAGE   AND   WRITING. 

Proposed  Mode  of  Treatment.  General  Character  of  the  Lan- 
guage. Connection  of  the  Ancient  Egyptian  with  the  Coptic. 
Three  Forms  of  Egyptian  Writing.  The  Hieroglyphic  Signs 
Pictorial.  The  Signs  of  four  sorts,  Representative,  Figurative, 
Determinative,  and  Phonetic.  Table  of  the  most  common 
Phonetics  ;  other  Phonetics.  Number  of  the  Signs.  Ar- 
rangement of  the  Writing.  Signs  for  Numerals — for  Gods — 
for  Months.     Egyptian  Grammar.  .  .  .  .57 

CHAPTER  V. 

LITERATURE. 

General  Character  of  the  Egyptian  Literature,  mediocre — perhaps 
at  present  not  fairly  appreciated.  Variety  and  Extent  of  the 
Literature.  Works  on  Religious  Subjects — "Ritual  of  the 
Dead."  Shorter  Works  on  Religion — Specimen.  Historical 
Poems — Specimens.  Lyrical  Poems — Specimen  from  the 
"Song  of  the  Harper."  Travels.  Romances.  Autobiog- 
raphies— Sketch  from  the  "Story  of  Saneha" — Specimen. 
Correspondence.    Scientific  Treatises.    Works  on  Magic.        .     68 

CHAPTER  VI. 

AGRICULTURE. 

Extraordinary  Productiveness  of  Egypt  in  Ancient  Times.  Ten- 
ure of  Land  under  the  Pharaohs — Absence  of  Governmental 
Interference  with  the  Cultivation.  Farming  Operations — Pre- 
paration of  the  Soil.  Character  of  the  Plough  used.  Mode  of 
Ploughing.  Use  of  the  Hoe.  Sowing.  Kinds  of  Corn  grown. 
Cultivation  of  Wheat — of  Barley —of  the  Doora  or  Holcus  Sor- 
ghum. Great  Variety  of  other  Crops.  System  of  Irrigatioii 
employed.  Use  of  the  Shadoof.  Hydraulic  Works  of  the 
Fayoum.  Cultivation  of  the  Olive.  Cultivation  of  the  Vine. 
Care  of  Cattle.  .  .  .  .  .  .         .    79 

CHAPTER  VII.     i 

ARCHITECTURE. 

Earliest  Egyptian  Architecture  sepulchral.  Most  Ancient  Tombs. 
Primitive  stepped  Pyramids — Pyramid  of  Meydoun — of  Sac- 
carah.      Great  Pyramids  of  Ghizeh.      Intention  of  the  Pyra- 


CONTENTS.  ix 

PAGE. 

mids — Their  technic  excellence.  Their  aesthetic  merit. 
Pyramids  of  two  elevations.  Rock  Tombs.  Primitive  Tem- 
ples. Later  ones — Temple  at  Medinet-Abou — Rameseum — 
Great  Temple  of  Karnak.  Obelisks.  Southern  Karnak  Tem- 
ple. Mammeisi.  Beauties  of  the  Architecture — Massiveness 
— Elegance  of  Columns  and  Capitals — Caryatide  Piers — Em- 
ployment of  Color.  Egyptian  Domestic  Architecture.  Pa- 
vilion of  Rameses  III.  Houses  of  Private  Persons.  Chief 
Peculiarities  of  Egyptian  Construction.  Non-employment 
of  the  Arch — Symmetrophobia — Contrivances  for  increasing 
apparent  Size  of  Buildings.  .  .  .  .  .91 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

MIMETIC  ART. 

Sculpture  of  Ancient  Egypt — single  Statues  of  full  size — peculiari- 
ties. Groups.  Principal  Defects  and  Merits.  Statuettes.  Gen- 
eral Uniformity  and  its  Causes.  Works  in  high  Relief, 
rare.  Works  in  Bas-relief,  and  Intaglio.  Defects.  Superior- 
ity of  the  Animal  over  the  Human  Forms.  Examples — Ga- 
zelle Hunt— Lion  Hunt.  Foreshortening.  Want  of  Propor- 
tion.. Absence  of  Perspective.  Ugliness.  Four  Classes  of  Sub- 
jects: 1.  Religious;  2.  Processional:  3.  Military;  and  4.  Do- 
mestic. Playful  Humor  in  the  Domestic  Scenes.  Egyptian 
Painting— its  general  Character.  Mechanism  employed— 
Colors.  Paintings  good  as  Wall  Decorations.  Stages  of 
Egyptian  Mimetic  Art.  .....         123 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SCIENCE. 

Egyptian  Science.  Arithmetic.  Geometry.  Astronomy— Obser- 
vations of  Eclipses— Planetary  Occultations— Motions  and  Pe- 
riods of  the  Planets— Tables  of  the  Stars— Acquaintance  with 
true  Solar  Year— General  Character  of  the  Astronomy. 
Egyptian  Astrology.     Medicine.     Engineering  Science.  137 

CHAPTER  X. 

RELIGION. 

Large  Share  occupied  by  Religion  in  the  Life  of  the  Nation- 
Esoteric  and  Exoteric  Systems.  Nature  of  the  Esoteric  Reli- 
gion. Opinions  concerning  God,  concerning  Evil,  and  con- 
cerning the  Soul.     Exoteric  Religion.     Local  Origin  of  the 


x  CONTENTS. 

PAGE, 

Polytheism.  Egyptian  Pantheon — Ammon — Kncph — Khem 
— Phthah — Maut— Sati — Neith — the  Sun-Gods,  Ra,  Osiris,  &c. 
Osirid  Myths.  Minor  Deities — Athor,  Isis,  Khons,  Thoth,  &c. 
Powers  of  Evil,  Set,  Nubi,  Taouris,  Bes,  Apap.  Genii,  Anubis, 
Amset,  Hapi,  &c.  Orders  of  Gods.  Triads.  Character  of 
the  Worship — Prayers,  Hymns,  Sacrifices.  Animal  Worship. 
Apis,  Mnevis,  and  Bacis  Bulls — Momemphite  Cow.  Origin 
of  the  Animal  Worship.  Outward  Aspect  of  the  Religion — 
Festivals,  Processions,  and  Worship  of  Ancestors.  The 
Mysteries.  .......        146 

CHAPTER  XI. 

MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS. 

Question  of  the  Peculiarity  of  Egyptian  Customs — proposed  mode 
of  treating  the  Subject.  Division  of  the  People  into  Classes — 
Number  of  the  Classes.  Account  of  the  Priests — The  Sa- 
cred Women.  The  Soldiers — Number  of  these  last — Training 
— Chief  Divisions — The  Infantry — The  Cavalry — The  Chariot 
Service  —  Weapons — Tactics — Mode  of  Conducting  Sieges. 
Naval  Warfare.  Treatment  of  Prisoners  and  of  the  Slain. 
Camps — Marches  —  Signals — Triumphs.  Condition  of  the 
Agricultural  Laborers — of  the  Tradesmen  and  Artisans. 
Principal  Trades — Building — Weaving — Furniture-Making — 
Glass-blowing — Pottery — Metallurgy,  &c.  Artistic  Occupa- 
tions— Sculpture,  Painting,  Music  and  Dancing.  Musical  In- 
struments and  Bands.  Professions — the  Scribe's — the  Physi- 
cian's— the  Architect's.  r  Lower  Grades  of  Population — Boat- 
men— Fowlers — Fishermen — Swineherds.  Life  of  the  Upper 
Classes.     Sports — Entertainments — Games.     Conclusion.  203 

Notes.  ••••••••         261 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


*IG.  PLATE. 

1.  Date  and  Dom  Palms  (from  the  "Description  del'Egypte") 1 

2.  Ichneumon  (from  the  '"Description  de  l'Egypte  ") 1 

3.  Egyptian  Hare  (from  the  same) 2 

4.  Ibex,  Oryx,  and  Gazelle  (from  the  monuments) 2 

4}£.  Gazelles  (from  Rosellini's  "Monumenti  Civili") Page  36 

5.  The  Smaller  Monitor  (from  the  "  Description  de  l'Egypte  ") 2 

6J/£.  Egyptian  Horses  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Storici ") Page  37 

6.  The  Great  Monitor  (from  the  same)  3 

?.  Fruit  of  the  Nymphcea  Nelumbo  3 

8.  Egyptian  Ass  (from  Rig  llini's  "  Monumenti  Civi'i  ")  3 

\y%.  Egyptian  Humped  Ox  (from  the  same) Page  38 

9.  Egyptian  Dogs  (from  various  sources) 3 

10.  Hyena  caught  in  a  trap  (from  the  monuments) 4 

11.  Head  of  an  Egyptian  Man  (from  the  monuments) 4 

12.  The  Glossy  Ibis  and  Ibis  religiosa  (from  the  "Description  de  l'Egypte ") 4 

13.  The  Oxyrhynchus  or  Mizdeh  (from  the  "  Description  de  l'Egypte  ") 4 

14.  The  Sic-sac  or  Trochiius  (ai  ter  Wilkinson) 5 

15.  Egyptian  Child  ( f r<  >m  the  monuments) 5 

16.  The  Egyptian  Asp  (from  the  "  Description  de  l'Egypte  ") 5 

17.  Egyptian  Plough  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili ") ■ 5 

18.  Egyptian  Phonetic  Alphabet 6 

19.  Mode  of  Ploughing  (from  Rosellini's  "Monumenti Civili") 7 

20.  Egyptian  Hoe  (from  the  same; 7 

21.  Egyptian  Hoeing  (from  the  same) 7 

22.  Egyptian  Man  and  Woman  (from  the  monuments) 8 

23.  Binding  Wheat  in  Sheaves  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili ") 8 

24.  Oxen  treading  out  Corn  (from  the  same) 8 

25.  Winnowing  Grain  (from  the  same) 8 

23.  Doora  Harvest  (after  Wilkinson)  9 

27.  "Vines  grown  in  Bowers  (from  Lepsius's  "  Denkmiiler  ") 9 

28.  Vines  trained  on  Posts  (after  Wilkinson) 9 

29.  Egyptian  Vase  and  Amphorae  (from  Lepsius's  "  Denkmiiler  ") 10 

30.  Rescuing  Cattle  from  the  Inundation  (from  the  same) 10 

31.  Medicine  administered  to  Cattle  (from  Rosellini's  "Monumenti  Civili  ") 10 

32.  Marking  of  Cattle  (after  Wilkinson) 11 

33.  Egyptian  Sheep  (from  Lepsius's  "  Denkmiiler  ")   11 

34.  Egyptian  Pigs,  Hog  and  Sow  (after  Wilkinson) 11 

15.  Egyptian  Goats  (from  Lepsius's  "  Denkmiiler  ")   12 

36.  Doorway  of  Tomb  near  the  Pyramids  (from  Lepsius's  "  Denkmaler  ") 12 

37.  Section  of  Pyramid,  showing;  m  >des  of  completion  (by  the  Author)  12 

38.  Pyramid  of  Meydoun  (from  Vyse's  "  Pyramids  of  Ghizeh  '')    13 


xii  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

B'IG-  PLATE. 

39.  Great  Pyramid  of  Saccarab ,  present  appearance  (from  the  same)    13 

40.  Section  of  ditto  (from  the  same) 13 

41.  Generel  View  of  Tomb-chamber  in  the  Third  Pyramid  (from  Vyse's  ';  Pyra- 

mids of  Ghi/eh  ")   14 

42.  Arrangement  of  the  Blocks  forming  the  roof  (from  the  same) 14 

43.  Section  of  Third  Pyramid,  showing  passages  (from  the  same)  15 

44.  Sarcophagus  of  Mycerinus  (from  the  same) 15 

45.  General  Plan  of  the  Pyramids  of  Ghizeh  (from  the  same) 16 

46.  Section  of  the  Second  Pyramid  (from  the  same) lg 

47.  Section  of  the  Great  Pyramid  (from  the  same)    17 

48.  Relieving  Stones  at  the  entrance  of  the  Great  Pyramid  'from  the  same)  ...  17 

49.  Section  of  Gallery  in  Great  Pyramid  (from  the  "  Description  de  l'Egypte  '*).  18 

50.  Rock-tomb  near  Thebes  (after  Fergusson) lg 

51.  King's  Chamber  and  Chambers  of  Construction  (from  Vyse's  "  Pyramids  ")  19 

52.  Section  of  Brick  Pyramid  at  Illahoun  (from  the  same) .  19 

53.  Southern  Stone  Pyramid  of  Dashoor  (from  the  same) 20 

54.  Outer-Casing  Stones  of  the  Great  Pyramid  (from  the  same) 20 

55.  View   of  the  Great  and  Second  Pyramids    (from    the    "Description    de 

l'Egypte  ") 21 

56.  "  Doric  "  Pillar  and  Section  of  Base  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili  ").  22 

57.  Egyptian  Pillar  and  Section  of  Base  (from  the  same) -22 

59.  Plan  of  Temple  (after  Fergusson)    22 

60.  Ground-plan  of  Temple  at  Medinet-Abou  (from  "  Description  de  1*  Egypte*')  23 

61 .  Section  of  Temple  (from  the  same) 24 

62.  Section  of  Hall,  Rameseum,  Thebes  (from  the  same) 24 

63.  Stelae  in  front  of  Granite  Cell.  Great  Temple.  Karnak  (from  the  same) 24 

64.  Ground-plan  of  the  Rameseum(from  the  same) 25 

65.  Internal  view  of  the  Hall  of  Columns  in  the  Great  Temple  of  Karnak  (from 

the  "  Description  de  l'Egypte  ") 26 

66.  Ground-plan  of  Great  Temple  at  Karnak  (from  the  same)  27« 

67.  Interna]   view  of  the  Small  Temple  at  Karnak  (from  the  "  Description  de 

l'Egypte  ") 276 

68.  Section  of  smaller  Pillared  Hall  (from  the  same) 28 

69.  Ground-plan  of  Southern  Temple.  Karnak  (from  the  same) 28 

70.  Mammeisi,  or  "Temple  of  the  Mother  of  Gods."  Elevation  and  Ground-plan 

(from  the  same) 28 

71.  Egyptian  Columns  (from  the  sahie) 29 

?2.  Egyptian  Bell-Capitals  (from  the  same) 29 

73.  Egyptian  Lotus  Capitals  (from  the  same)  30 

74.  Complex  Egyptian  Capital  (from  the  same) 30 

75.  Caryatide  Figures  (from  the  same), 30 

76.  Egyptian  Arches  (after  Wilkinson) 30 

77.  Egyptian    Dwelling-house,   outside    view   (from    Rosellini's    "  Monumenti 

Civili") 31 

78.  Egyptian  Dwelling-house,  viewed  from  Internal  Court  (from  the  same) 31 

79.  Ornament  of  Window  Sills 32 

80.  Ornamentation  of  Pavilion  (from  the  "  Description  de  1"  Egypte  ") 32 

81.  Egyptian  House,  partly  in  section  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili  ") 32 

82.  Ordinary  Sphinx  and  Crio-Sphinx  (from  the  monuments) 32 

83.  Ground-plan  and  View  of  the  Pavilion  of-Rameses  III.,  (from  the  "  Descrip 

tion  de  l'Egypte."') 33 

84.  Bust  of  an  Egyptian  King  (after  Birch) 34 

85.  Egyptian  Sitting  Statue 34 

86.  Group  of  Two  Statues,  Husband  and  Wife  (from  "  Description  de  1'  Egypte'").  34 

87.  Egyptian  Walking  Statue  34 

88.  Egyptian  Figures  of  Phthah  and  Bes  (from  the  monuments) 35 

89.  Modelled  Figures  of  Animals  (from  the  "  Description  de  1'  Egypte  ") 35 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS.  xiii 

FIG.  PI ATE 

90.  Egyptian  Statuettes  (from  the  same) 36 

91.  Head  of  Female,  in  a  good  Style  (from  the  "  Description  de  1'  Egypte  ")  ....  36 

92.  Colossal  Figure  of  Rameses  II.  (from  the  "Description  de  V  Egypte  ") 36 

93.  Sphinx  of  the  Pyramids  (from  the  same) 37 

94.  Hunting  the  Gazelle  and  Hare  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili  ") 37 

95.  An   Egyptian   King   destroying   his   Enemies   (from  the  "  Description  de 

l'Egypte")  38 

96.  Female  Tumbler  in  an  impossible  Attitude  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti 

Civili") 39 

97.  Figure  of  an  Egyptian  Priest  (from  Lepsius's  "  Denkmaler  ") 39 

98.  Animals  foreshortened  (from  the  "  Description  de  1'  Egypte  ") 39 

99.  Rameses  III.  hunting  the  Lion  (from  the  "  Description  de  l'Egypte  ") 40 

100.  Forms  of  Neith 41 

101.  Ammon-Khem  and  Ammon-Kneph  41 

102.  Form  of  Sati 41 

103.  Forms  of  Kneph 42 

104.  Ordinary  forms  of  Phthah „ 42 

105.  Ammon,  ordinary  form 43a 

106.  Forms  of  Khem     43a 

107.  Form  of  Maut 43a 

108.  Egyptian  representations  of  the  Gods  Taourt,  Savak,  and  Osiris  (from  the 

monuments)  436 

109.  Egyptian  drawing  Water  from  a  Reservoir  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti 

Civili") 44 

110.  Forms  of  Ra 44 

111.  Forms  of  Turn 45 

112.  Form  of  Nefer-Tum 45 

113.  Form  of  Mentu 46 

114.  Forms  of  Shu 46 

115.  Forms  of  Osiris 46 

116.  Horus  destroying  the  Great  Serpent,  Apap  (after  Wilkinson) 47 

117.  Forms  of  Horus 47 

118.  Forms  of  Athor 48 

119.  Forms  of  Isis 49 

120.  Forms  of  Khons 49 

121.  Forms  of  Thoth 50 

122.  Forms  of  Seb 50 

123.  Forms  of  Merula 51 

124.  Form  of  Netpe 51 

125.  Form  of  Aemhetp •  •  51 

126.  Forms  of  Pasht 51 

127.  Forms  of  Nephthys 52 

128.  Form  of  Anuka 52 

129.  Formsof  Ma - 52 

130.  Forms  of  Taourt 53 

131.  Form  of  Bes 53 

132.  Apophis  and  Turn  (after  Wilkinson) 53 

133.  Sepulchral  J  rs  with  Heads  of  the  four  Genii 53 

134.  Form  of  Taf  ne 54 

135.  Form  of  Merseker 54 

136.  Form  of  Heka 5* 

137.  Formsof  Set 54 

138.  An  Egyptian  Priest.... 54 

139.  Egyptian  Helmets  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili ") 55 

140.  Ordinary  Egyptian  Shields  (after  Wilkinson) 55 

141.  Egyptian  Coat  of  Mail  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili ") 55 

J42.  Warrior  with  Shield  of  unusual  sizo  (after  Wilkinson)   55 


xiv  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FIG.  PLATE 

143.  Infantry  drilled  by  a  Sergeant  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili ") 55 

144.  Light-armed  Troops  marching  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Storici") 56 

145.  Egyptian  Slinger  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili ") 56 

146.  Spearmen  and  Archers  (from  Rosellini's  "Monumenti  Storici  ") 56 

147.  Egyptian  Spear,  Straight  Sword,  and  Falchion  (from  the  same) 56 

148.  Chariots  in  Battle  (from  the  same)    57 

149.  Egyptian  War  Chariot,  Warrior,  and  Horses  (from  the  same) 58 

150.  War  Chariot,  with  Bow-case,  Quivers,  and  Javelins  (from  the  same) 59 

151 .  Egyptian  Battle-axes  and  Pole-axe  (from  Rosellini's  " Monumenti  Civili''')..  59 

152.  Egyptian  Clubs  and  Mace  (from  the  same) 60 

153.  Egyptian  Daggers  (from  the  same) 60 

154.  Egyptian  Bows  (from  the  same) 60 

155.  Archer  taking  aim  (from  the  same) „ 60 

156 .  Archers  stringing  their  Bows  (from  the  same) . .  61 

157.  Egyptian  Quivers  (from  the  same) 61 

158.  Egyptian  Trumpeters  (from  the  same) 61 

159.  Egyptian  Standards  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili  ") 62 

160.  Siege  of  a  Fort  (after  Wilkinson) 62 

161.  A  Syrian  Fort  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Storici ") 63 

162    Egyptian  War-galley  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Storici ") 63 

103.  Escalading  a  Fort  (f  rom  Lepsius's  "  Denkmaler") 64 

164    Attack  on  a  Fort  (from  Lepsius's  "  Denkmaler  ") 65 

165.  Interior  of  an  Egyptian  camp  (from  Rosellini's  "Monumenti  Storici ) 68 

166 .  Egyptian  Javelins  (from  the  same) 67 

1G7.  Head-rest  (after  Wilkinson) 67 

1CS.  Egyptian  Military  Drum  (after  Wilkinson) 67 

169.  Egyptian  Captive  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Storici") 67 

170.  Prisoners  of  War  escorted  by  their  Captor  (from  the  same) 67 

171 .  Egyptian  undergoing  the  Bastinado  (from  the  "  Description  de  1'  Egypte  ")  67 

172.  Egyptian  Saw  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili ") 68 

173.  Egyptian  Porcelain  Vase  (from  the  same) 68 

174 .  Process  of  smoothing  Stone  (from  the  same)  . .  68 

175    Women  weaving  (from  the  same) 68 

176 .  Furniture-making  (from  the  same)   69 

177.  Chariot-making  (from  the  same) 69 

178    Glass-blowing  (from  the  same) 69 

179.  Specimens  of  ordinary  Egyptian1  Pottery  (from  Lepsius's  ■'  Denkmaler")  . .  70 

180.  Elegant  Vases  and  Amphorae  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili  ")    ,  70 

181 .  Specimens  of  Egyptian  Glass  (from  various  sources) 71 

182.  Potters  at  Work  (from  Roseliini's  "  Monumenti  Civili  "  ) 71 

183    Goldsmith  at  Work  (from  the  same) 71 

184 .  Egyptian  Gold  Vases  (from  the  same) 72 

185.  Harpoon  and  Fish-hooks  (the  harpoon  from  Roseilini,  the  hooks  drawn  by 

the  Author  from  originals  in  the  British  Museum) 72 

186.  Building  a  Boat  (from  Rosellini's  "  Monumenti  Civili") 73 

187 .  An  Egyptian  Gentleman's  Pleasure  Boat  (from  the  same) 73 

1S8.  Ordinary  Nile  Boat  in  full  sail  (from  the  same) - 74 

189.  Nile  Boat  (from  Lepsius's  "Denkmaler") 74 

190    Chiselling  a  Statue  (from  Rosellini's  "Monumenti Civili") 75 

191.  Egyptian  Sistrum 75 

192  Band  of  six  Musicians  (from  Rosellini's  "Monumenti  Civili") 75 

193  Boatmen  quarrelling  (from  the  same) 75 

194.  Egyptian  Drag-net  and  Clap-net  (from  the  same) 76 

195    Egyptian  Noble  carried  in  a  Litter  (from  the  same)  76 

196.  Egyptian  Sandals  (from  the  same) 77 

197 .  Spearing  Fish  (from  the  same) 77 

JOS    Spearing  the  Crocodile  (from  the  same) , ,, 77 


HISTORY 


OF 


ANCIENT    EGYPT. 


CHAPTER  L 

THE    LAND. 


Geography  of  Egypt.  Boundaries,  Dimensions,  and  Character  of  the  Country. 
Proportion  of  cultivable  Territory.  Dependence  on  the  Nile.  Course  of 
the  Nile  — its  Tributaries— Time  and  Causes  of  the  Inundation.  Chief 
Divisions  of  the  Territory :  the  Nile  Valley ;  the  Delta;  the  Fayoum;  the 
Eastern  Desert;  the  Valley  of  the  Natron  Lakes.  Character  of  the  ad- 
joining Countries. 

Al-}vkto\,   .   .  .  kTCLKT7]T6g  te  yfj  ml  Sugov  rov  TTorafiov. — HEROD.  ii,5. 

The  broad  stretch  of  desert  which  extends  from  the  shores  of 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  across  Africa  and  Western  Asia,  almost 
to  the  foot  of  the  Zagros  mountain  range,  is  pierced  in  one 
jplace  only  by  a  thin  thread  of  verdure.  A  single  stream,  is- 
suing from  the  equatorial  regions,  has  strength  to  penetrate 
the  "frightful  desert  of  interminable  scorching  sand,"  *  and  to 
bring  its  waters  safely  through  two  thousand  miles  of  arid, 
thirsty  plain,  in  order  to  mingle  them  with  the  blue  waves  of 
the  Mediterranean.  It  is  this  fact  which  has  produced  Egypt. 
The  life-giving  fluid  on  its  way  through  the  desert,  spreads 
verdure  and  fertility  along  its  course  on  either  bank  ;  and  a 
strip  of  most  productive  territory  is  thus  created,  suited  to  at- 
tract the  attention  of  such  a  being  as  man,  and  to  become  the 
home  of  a  powerful  nation.  Egypt  proper  is  the  land  to  which 
the  river  gave  birth,2  and  from  which  it  took  name,3  or,  at  any 
rate,  that  land  to  a  certain  distance  from  the  Mediterranean ; 
but,  as  the  race  settled  in  this  home  naturally  and  almost 
necessarily  exercises  dominion  beyond  the  narrow  bounds  of 
the  valley,  it  is  usual4  and  it  is  right  to  include  under  the 
name  of  "  Egypt n  a  certain  quantity  of  the  arid  territory  on 
either  side  of  the  Nile,  and  thus  to  give  to  the  country  an 


2  HISTORY   OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 

expansion  considerably  beyond  that  which  it  would  have  if  we 
confined  the  name  strictly  to  the  fluvial  and  alluvial  region. 

The  boundaries  of  Egypt  are,  by  general  consent,  on  the 
north  the  Mediterranean,  on  the  east  the  l\ed  Sea,  and  a 
line  drawn  from  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Suez  to  the  AVady-el- 
Arish,  or  "  Kiver  of  Egypt"  of  the  Hebrews  ;5  on  the  south 
the  first  cataract  (lat.  24°  5'),  and  a  line  drawn  thence  to  the 
Ked  Sea  at  the  ruins  of  Berenice  ;  on  the  west  the  great  Libyan 
Desert.  The  tract  included  within  these  limits  is,  in  the 
main,  an  irregular  parallelogram,  lying  obliquely  from  N.N.  YV. 
to  S.S.E.,  and  extending  about  520  miles  in  this  direction, 
with  a  width  of  about  160  miles.  From  the  parallelogram 
thus  formed  lie  out  two  considerable  projections,  both  triangu- 
lar, one  of  them  on  the  southeast,  having  its  apex  at  Berenice, 
a  little  outside  the  tropic  of  Cancer  ;6  the  other  on  the  north- 
east, having  its  base  along  the  line  of  the  Suez  Canal,  and  its 
apex  at  the  mouth  of  the  El-Arish  river.  The  area  of  the 
entire  tract,  including  the  two  projections,  is  probably  not 
much  short  of  100,000  square  miles.  Egypt  is  thus  almost 
twice  the  size  of  England,  and  rather  larger  than  the  penin- 
sula of  Italy.7 

Within  these  limits  the  character  of  the  territory  presents 
some  most  extreme  and  violent  contrasts.  A  narrow  strip  of 
the  richest  soil  in  the  world  is  enclosed  on  either  side  by  regions 
of  remarkable  sterility  :  on  the  west  by  wastes  of  trackless  and 
wholly  unproductive  sand,  on  the  east  by  a  rocky  region  of 
limestone  and  sandstone,  penetrated  by  deep  gorges,  and  pre- 
senting occasionally^  scant  but  welcome  vegetation.  Towards 
the  north  the  sandy  region,  interrupted  by  the  Kile  deposit,  is 
continued  again  eastward  of  the  Suez  Canal  in  the  desert, 
which  stretches  thence  to  the  borders  of  Palestine ;  while 
towards  the  south  the  rocky  tract  is  prolonged  a  distance  of 
160  miles  from  Assouan  (Syene)  to  Berenice. 

It  is  difficult  to  calculate  with  exactness  the  proportion  of 
the  cultivable  to  the  unproductive  territory.  The  Nile  Valley, 
if  we  take  its  curves  into  account,  extends  from  Syene  to  the 
Mediterranean,  a  distance  of  nearly  700  miles.8  From  Cairo  to 
the  Mediterranean  it  is  not  so  much  a  real  valley  as  a  vast  plain, 
from  seventy  to  a  hundred  miles  wide,9  with  a  superficies  of  at 
least  7,000  square  miles.10  Above  Cairo  the  Nile  is  hemmed 
in  for  above  500  miles  between  two  rocky  barriers,  and  the 
width  of  the  valley  varies  from  two  to  twelve,  or  even  in  some 
places  fifteen  miles,  the  average  being  calculated  at  about  seven 
miles.11  This  would  appear  to  give  an  additional  cultivable 
territory  of  above  4,000  square  miles.     Further,  the  district  of 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  T. 


Fig.  I.— Dom;  and  Date  Palms  Ifrom  the  L>escription).~See  Page  25. 


Fig.  2.— Ichneumon  (from  the  Description).— See  Page  35. 


Plate  II. 


Vol.  I". 


Fig.  3.— Egyptian  Hare  (from  the  Description).— See  Page  35. 


l<ig.  4.— Ibex,  Oryx,  and  Gazelle  (from  the  Monurru  its).— See  Page  36. 


Fig.  5.— The  Smaller  Monitor  (from  the  Description).— See  Page  37. 


THE  LAND. 


the  Fayoum  is  reckoned  to  have  a  superficies  of  400  square 
miles.  The  entire  result  would  thus  seem  to  be  that  the 
cultivable  area  of  Egypt  is  11,400  square  miles,  or  7,296,000 


acres. 12 


It  was  found,  however,  by  the  scientific  men  who  accom- 
panied the  great  French  expedition  at  the  close  of  the  last 
century  that  the  land  actually  under  cultivation  amounted  to 
no  more  than  1,907,757  hectares,13  or  4,714,543  acres.  But 
they  saw  and  noted  that,  besides  this  cultivated  territory,  there 
were  considerable  tracts  quite  fit  for  crops,  which  remained 
untilled.  These  they  estimated  to  amount  to  465,873  hec- 
tares,14 which  is  equivalent  to  1,151,290  acres;  so  that  the 
total  cultivable  land  at  the  time  of  their  observations  was 
5,865,833  acres.  Another  estimate,15  somewhat  less  exact,  re- 
duced the  amount  to  5,189,625  acres. 

The  difference  between  the  cultivable  area,  and  the  actual  su- 
perficies of  the  Nile  valley,  which  appears  to  exceed  1,430,000 
acres,  is  due  chiefly  to  the  fact  that  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  low  country  is  occupied  by  sands.  The  verdure  spread 
by  the  Nile  reaches  in  few  places  the  foot  of  the  hills  which 
enclose  its  vale.  Sands  intervene  on  both  sides,  or  at  any  rate 
on  one ;  and  while  the  entire  width  of  the  valley  is  estimated 
to  average  seven  miles,  the  width  of  the  productive  tract  is 
thought  scarcely  to  average  more  than  five.16  Sands  also  occur 
within  the  actual  limits  of  the  cultivated  region.17  Again,  the 
space  occupied  by  the  Nile  itself  and  its  canals,  as  well  as  by 
the  Lake  Moeris  and  various  ponds  and  reservoirs,  has  to  be 
deducted  from  the  gross  superficies.  As  the  Nile  itself  aver- 
ages probably  a  mile  in  width  from  the  point  where  it  enters 
Egypt  to  the  commencement  of  the  Delta,  and  after  dividing 
occupies  certainly  no  less  a  space,  and  as  the  Lake  Moeris  is 
calculated  to  have  an  area  of  150  square  miles,18  the  entire 
water  surface  is  manifestly  considerable,  being  probably  not 
far  short  of  850  square  miles,19  or  542,000  acres.  The  sands 
cannot  be  reckoned  at  much  less  than  1,500  square  miles,  or 
960,000  acres,20 

It  is  argued  by  M.  Jomard  that  the  occupation  of  the  Nile 
valley  by  sands  is  wholly  and  entirely  an  encroachment,  due  to 
the  neglect  of  man,  and  maintained  that  anciently,  under  the 
Pharaohs,  the  sands  were  successfully  shut  out,  and  the  whole 
of  the  plain  country  between  the  Libyan  and  the  Arabian 
ranges  brought  under  cultivation.  He  believes  that  the  ad- 
ditional quantity  of  cultivable  soil  thus  enjoyed  by  the  ancient 
Egyptians  was  not  much  less  than  one-half  of  the  present  cul- 
tivable area.     This  calculation  is  probably  in  excess  ;  but  we 


4  HISTORY   OF  ANCIEXT  EGYPT. 

shall  scarcely  transcend  the  limits  of  moderation  if  we  add  one- 
fourth  in  respect  of  this  difference,  and  view  the  productive 
area  of  the  Nile  valley  in  ancient  times  as  somewhat  exceeding 
seven  millions  of  acres. 

A  certain  addition  might  be  made  to  this  amount  in  respect 
of  the  fertile  territory  included  within  the  limits  of  the  East- 
ern desert ;  but  the  quantity  of  such  territory  is  so  small,  and 
its  productiveness  so  slight,  that  it  will  perhaps  be  better  to 
make  no  estimate  at  all  in  respect  of  it. 

If,  then,  we  regard  the  entire  area  of  Ancient  Egypt  as 
amounting  to  from  95,000  to  100,000  square  miles,  and  the 
cultivable  surface  as  only  about  seven  millions  of  acres,  we 
must  come  to  the  conclusion  that  considerably  more  than 
seven-eighths  of  the  soil,  perhaps  not  much  short  of  eight- 
ninths,  was  infertile  and  almost  worthless. 

In  fact,  Egypt  depends  for  her  fertility  almost  wholly  upon 
the  Nile.  The  Arabian  desert,  which  fences  her  in  upon  the 
right,  is  little  less  unproductive  than  the  "frightful"  Sahara 
upon  the  left;  and,  had  the  Nile  not  existed,  or  had  it  taken 
a  different  course,  the  depressed  tract  through  which  it  runs 
from  Syene  to  the  Mediterranean  would  have  been  no  less 
barren  and  arid  than  the  AVadys  of  Arabia  Petraea  or  even 
than  the  Sahara  itself.  The  land,  if  not  "the  gift  of  the 
river"  in  the  sense  which  Herodotus  intended,21  is  at  an}Trate, 
as  a  country,  created  by  the  river2'2  and  sustained  by  it ;  and 
hence  the  necessity,  felt  by  all  who  have  ever  made  Egypt  the 
subject  of  their  pens,  of  placing  the  Nile  in  the  forefront  of 
their  works,23  and  describing  as  fully  as  they  could  its  course 
and  its  phenomena.  The  duty  thus  incumbent  on  every 
historian  of  Ancient  or  Modern  Egypt  is,  at  the  present  day, 
happily  beset  with  fewer  difficulties  than  at  any  former  time. 
The  long  untrodden  interior  of  Africa  has  been  penetrated  by 
British  enterprise,  and  the  hitherto  inscrutable  Sphinx  has 
been  forced  to  reveal  her  secrets.  Speke  and  Grant,  Baker, 
Livingstone,  Gordon,  and  Cameron  have  explored,  till  there  is 
little  left  to  -learn,  the  water  system  of  the  African  interior  ; 
and  the  modern  historian,  thanks  to  their  noble  labors,  can 
track  the  mighty  stream  of  the  Nile  from  its  source  to  its 
embouchre,  can  tell  the  mystery  of  its  origin,  describe  its 
course,  explain  its  changes  and  account  for  them,  declare  the 
causes  of  that  fertility  which  it  spreads  around  and  of  that  un- 
failing abundance  whereof  it  boasts,  paint  the  regions  through 
which  it  flows,  give,  at  least  approximately,  the  limits  of  its 
basin,  and  enumerate — in  some  cases  describe — its  tributaries. 
The  profound  ignorance  of  seventeen  centuries  was  succeeded, 


THE   LAND.  5 

about  ten  years  since,  by  a  time  of  half-knowledge,  of  bold 
hypothesis,  of  ingenious,  unproved  and  conflicting  theories. 
This  twilight  time  of  speculation24  has  gone  by.  The  areas 
occupied  by  the  basins  of  the  Nile,  the  Congo  and  the  Zambesi 
are  tolerably  nearly  ascertained.  The  great  reservoirs  from 
which  the  Nile  flows  are  known  ;  and  if  any  problems  still 
remain  unsolved,25  they  are  of  an  insignificant  character,  and 
may  properly  be  considered  as  mere  details,  interesting  no 
doubt,  but  of  comparatively  slight  importance. 

The  Nile,  then,  rises  in  Equatorial  Africa  from  the  two  great 
basins  of  the  Albert  and  Victoria  Nyanzas,  which  both  lie 
under  the  Equator,  the  former  in  long.  29°  to  31°  30',  the 
latter  in  long.  32°  to  3Q°,  E.  from  Greenwich.26  The  Victoria 
Nyanza  is  a  pear-shaped  lake,  with  the  "stalk"  at  Muanza,  in 
long.  33°  and  south  latitude  3°  nearly.  It  swells  out  to  its 
greatest  width  between  south  latitude  1°  and  the  Equator, 
where  it  attains  a  breadth  of  above  four  degrees,  or  nearly 
three  hundred  miles.  After  this  it  contracts  rapidlv,  and  is 
rounded  off  towards  the  north  at  the  distance  of  about  ten  or 
fifteen  miles  above  the  Equator.  Erom  the  " stalk"  at  Muanza 
to  the  opposite  coast,  where  the  great  issue  of  the  water  takes 
place  (long.  33°  nearly),  is  a  distance  of  not  quite  four  degrees, 
or  about  270  miles.  The  entire  area  of  the  lake  cannot  be  less 
than  40,000  square  miles.  Its  surface  is  estimated  to  be  about 
3,500  feet  above  the  level  of  the  ocean.27  The  other  great 
reservoir,  the  Albert  Nyanza,  is  a  long  and,  comparatively 
speaking,  narrow  lake,  set  obliquely  from  S.S.E.  to  N.N.W., 
and  with  coasts  that  undulate  somewhat,  alternately  projecting 
and  receding.  Its  shores  are  still  incompletely  explored;  but 
it  is  believed  to  have  a  length  of  nearly  six  degrees,  or  above 
four  hundred  miles,  and  a  width  in  places  of  about  ninety 
miles.  Its  average  width  is  probably  not  more  than  sixty 
miles,  and  its  area  may  be  reckoned  at  aboin  25,000  square 
miles.     Its  elevation  above  the  ocean  is  about  3,000  feet.2* 

The  Albert  and  Victoria  Nyanzas  are  separated  by  a  tract 
of  mountain  ground,  the  general  altitude  of  which  is  estimated 
at  from  4,200  to  5,000  feet.  The  Victoria  Nyanza  receives 
the  waters  which  drain  from  the  eastern  side  of  this  range, 
together  with  all  those  that  flow  from  the  highlands  south  and 
east  of  the  lake,  as  far  in  the  one  direction  as  lat.  4°  south, 
and  in  the  other  as  long. 38°  east.  Its  basin  has  thus  a  width 
of  eight  degrees.  The  Albert  Nyanza  receives  the  streams 
that  &flow  westward  from  the  tract  between  the  reservoirs, 
together  with  all  those  from  the  southwest  and  west,  to  a 
distance  which  is  not  ascertained,  but  which  can  scarcely  fall 


6  HISTORY    OF   ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

short  of  the  27th  or  26th  meridian.29  Its  basin  is  thus  at  the 
least  from  four  to  five  degrees  in  width,  and  is  considerably 
longer  than  that  of  its  eastern  sister.  Moreover^  the  Albert 
Nyanza  receives,  towards  its  nothern  extremity,  the  whole  sur- 
plus water  of  the  Victoria  by  the  stream  known  as  the  River 
Somerset  or  Victoria  Nile,  which  flows  northwards  from  that 
lake  as  far  as  the  Karuma  Falls  (lat.  2°  15'  north)  and  then 
westward  by  Murchison's  Falls  and  Magungo  into  the  Albert. 
The  stream  which  thus  joins  the  two  lakes  may  be  regarded 
as  in  some  sense  the  Nile,  or  not  so  regarded,  according  as  we 
please  ;  but  the  river  which  issues  from  the  northeastern  ex- 
tremity of  the  Albert  Nyanza,  and  which  runs  thence,  with  a 
course  only  a  very  little  east  of  north,  by  Gondokoro  to  Khar- 
toum, is  undoubtedly  the  Nile30 — all  other  streams  that  join  it 
from  right  or  left  are  mere  affluents — and  a  description  of  the 
course  of  the  Nile  commences,  therefore,  most  properly  at  this 
point,  where  the  head  streams  are  for  the  first  time  joined 
together,  and  the  whole  waters  of  the  Upper  Nile  basin  flow  in 
one  channel. 

The  Nile  quits  the  Albert  Nyanza31  in  about  N.  lat.  2°  45', 
and  runs  with  a  course  that  is  very  nearly  northeast  to  the  first 
cataract32  (lat.  3°  36',  long.  32°  2'),  receiving  on  its  way  a 
small  tributary,  the  Un-y-Ame,  from  the  S.E.,  which  enters 
it  a  few  miles  above  the  cataract,  in  lat.  3°  32'.  Below  the 
junction  the  river  has  a  width  between  the  reeds  that  thickly 
fringe  its  banks  of  about  400  yards,33  which  expands  to  1,200 
a  little  lower,34  where  its  course  is  obstructed  by  numerous 
islands.  A  rocky  defile  is  then  entered,  through  which  the 
stream  chafes  and  roars,  reduced  to  a  width  of  120  yards,  and 
forming  a  series  of  falls  and  rapids.35  At  the  same  time  the 
direction  is  altered,  the  river  turning  to  the  west  of  north,  and 
running  N.W.  by  N.  till  it  touches  long.  31°  30',  when  it 
once  more  resumes  its  northeastern  course,  and  so  flows  to 
Gondokoro.  On  the  way  are  at  least  three  further  rapids ; 
but  the  stream  is  said  in  this  part  not  to  be  unnavigable,36  as 
the  volume  of  water  is  increased  by  numerous  tributaries  flow- 
ing in  from  the  eastern  mountains,  one  of  which,  the  Asua,  or 
Ashua,37  is  of  some  importance.  From  Gondokoro  the  Nile  is 
without  obstruction  until  it  reaches  Nubia.  The  river  in  this 
part  of  its  course  flows  through  an  almost  interminable  region 
of  long  grass,  swamps,  and  marshes,  with  endless  windings  and 
a  current  varying  from  one  to  three  miles  an  hour.38  Its  banks 
are  fringed  with  reeds  and  with  tangled  masses  of  water-plants, 
which  make  it  impossible  to  calculate  the  real  width  of  the 
stream  ;  the  clear  space  between  the  water-plants  is  sometimes 


THE   LAND.  7 

as  little  as  100,  and  scarcely  anywhere  more  than  500  yards. 
The  general  course  is  from  south  to  north,  but  with  a  strong 
bend  to  the  west  between  lat.  6°  and  9°  30';  after  which  the 
direction  is  east,  and  even  partly  south  of  east,  to  the  junction 
with  the  Sobat  (lat.  9°  21').  This  river,  which  has  a  long  and 
circuitous  course  from  the  Kaffa  country  augments  the  main 
stream  with  a  considerable  body  of  water.  It  is  120  yards 
wide  at  its  mouth  in  the  dry  season,  and  is  sometimes  from 
twenty-seven  to  twenty-eight  feet  deep,  with  a  current  of  be- 
tween two  and  three  miles  an  hour.39  Between  Gondokoro 
and  the  Sobat  the  Nile  receives  on  its  left  bank  the  Bahr 
Ghazal  from  the  Darfur  country,  and  sends  off  on  its  right 
bank  a  branch — the  Bahr  Zaraffe  or  Giraffe  river,40 — which 
leaves  the  main  stream  in  lat.  5°  20'  and  rejoins  it  in  lat.  9°, 
about  thirty-six  miles  above  the  entrance  of  the  Sobat  river.41 
After  receiving  the  Sobat,  the  Nile,  which  has  now  about  700 
yards  of  clear  water,42  runs  through  a  flat  and  marshy  country, 
with  a  slow  stream  and  a  course  that  is  a  very  little  east  of 
north  to  Khartoum,43  in  lat.  15°  36'  6",  where  it  receives  its 
chief  affluent,  the  Bahr  el  Azrek  or  Blue  Nile,  which,  until  the 
recent  discoveries,  was  considered  by  most  geographers  to  be 
the  main  river. 

The  BJue  Nile  rises  in  the  highlands  of  Abyssinia,  in  lat. 
11°,  long.  37°  nearly,44  at  an  elevation  of  above  6,000  feet.45 
Its  course  is  N.N.W.  to  Lake  Tzana  or  Dembea,  which  it 
enters  at  its  southwestern  and  leaves  at  its  southeastern  corner. 
From  this  point  it  flows  S.E.  and  then  S.  to  the  tenth  parallel 
of  north  latitude,  wdien  it  turns  suddenly  to  the  west,  and 
passing  within  seventy  miles  of  its  source,  runs  W.  by  N.  and 
then  almost  due  northwest  to  Khartoum.46  It  receives  on  its 
way  the  waters  of  numerous  tributaries,  whereof  the  chief  are 
the  Rahad,  the  Dinder,  and  the  Tumet.  In  the  dry  season 
the  stream  is  small ; 47  but  during  the  great  rains  it  brings  with 
it  a  vast  volume  of  water,  charged  heavily  with  earthy  matter 
of  a  red  color,  and  contributes  largely  to  the  swell  of  the  Nile 
and  the  fertilizing  deposit  which  gives  its  productiveness  to 
Egypt.48 

The  White  (or  true)  Nile  at  its  junction  with  the  Blue  is 
about  two  miles  in  width,  when  the  water  is  at  a  medium 
height.49  From  this  point  it  flows  at  first  nearly  due  north, 
but  after  a  while  inclines  towards  the  east,  and  where  it  re- 
ceives its  last  tributary,  the  Atbara,  has  reached  its  extreme 
easterly  limit,  which  is  E.  long.  34°  nearly.  The  latitude  of 
the  junction  is  17°  37',  according  to  Sir  Samuel  Baker."0  Here 
—1,100   miles  from   its   mouth— the   river  has  its  greatest 


8  HISTOKY   OF  ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

volume.  Between  the  Atbara  junction  and  the  Mediterranean 
not  a  single  stream  is  received  from  either  side  ;  and  the  Nile 
runs  on  for  1,100  miles  through  dry  regions  of  rock  and  sand, 
suffering  a  constant  loss  through  absorption  and  evaporation,51 
yet  still  pouring  into  the  Mediterranean  a  volume  of  water 
which  has  been  estimated  at  150,560  millions  of  cubic  metres 
a  day  in  the  low,  and  at  705,514  millions  of  cubic  metres  a 
day  in  the  high  season.52  In  lat.  17°  37'  the  volume  must  be 
very  much  more  considerable. 

After  receiving  the  Atbara,  the  direction  of  the  Nile  is 
N.N.W.  for  about  150  miles  to  Abu  Hamed,  after  which  it 
proceeds  to  make  the  greatest  and  most  remarkable  bend  in 
its  entire  course,  flowing  first  southwest,  then  north,  then 
northeast,  and  finally,  for  a  short  distance,  southeast,  to  Kor- 
osko,  in  lat.  22°  44'.  Cataracts  are  frequent  in  this  portion 
of  the  river,53  and,  at  once  to  avoid  them  and  shorten  the 
circuitous  route,  travellers  are  accustomed  to  journey  by  camels 
for  230  miles  across  the  Nubian  desert,54  leaving  the  Nile  at 
Abu  Hamed  and  reaching  it  again  at  Korosko  in  about  seven 
or  eight  da}Ts.55  From  Korosko  the  general  course  is  northeast 
for  about  sixty  or  seventy  miles,  after  which  it  is  north  and  a 
little  west  of  north,  to  Assouan  (lat.  24°  5').  Here  Egypt 
begins — the  longest  cataract  is  passed — the  Nubian  granite  and 
syenite  give  place  to  sandstone  56 — and  the  river  having  taken  its 
last  plunge,  flows  placidly  between  precipitous  cliffs,  less  than 
three  miles  apart,  with  narrow  strips  of  cultivable  soil  between 
them  and  the  water.57  The  course  is  north,  with  slight  deflec- 
tions to  east  and  west,  past  Ombos  (Koum-Ombos)  to  Silsilis,58 
where  the  sandstone  rocks  close  in  and  skirt  the  river  for  a  dis- 
tance of  three-quarters  of  a  mile.59  The  valley  then  expands  a 
little  ;  there  is  a  broadish  plain  on  the  left,  in  which  stand  the 
ruins  of  important  cities  ;6u  the  stream  bends  somewhat  to  the 
west,  until  a  little  below  Esne  (Latopolis),  the  hills  again  ap- 
proach, the  defile  called  theGibelein,  or  "the  two  mountains," 
is  passed,  the  sandstone  ends,  and  is  succeeded  by  limestone 
ranges  ;61  and  the  Nile,  turning  to  the  northeast,  flows  through 
the  plains  of  Ilermonthisand  of  Thebes,  the  first  really  wide 
space  on  which  it  has  entered  since  it  issued  from  the  Nubian 
desert.  Below  Thebes  the  northern  course  is  again  resumed  and 
continued  to  Dendyra  (Tentyris),  when  the  stream  turns  and 
flows  almost  due  west  to  Abydos  (Arabat-el-Matfour),  thence 
proceeding  northwest  across  the  27th  parallel  to  Cusa3  (Qousyeh) 
in  lat.  27°  27'.  The  valley  between  Abydos  and  Cusa?  is  from 
six  to  ten  miles  wide,62  and  the  left  bank  is  watered  by  canals 
derived  from  the  main  stream.    Beyond  Cusoe  the  course  of  the 


THE   LAND.  9 

Nile  is  once  more  nearly  due  north  to  Cynopolis  (Samallout), 
in  lat.  28°  18',  after  which  it  is  NJ.E.  to  the  Convent  of  St. 
Antony  (lat.  29°  14').  A  little  below  Cusae63  the  Great  Canal 
of  Egypt,  known  as  the  Balir-Yousuf,  or  "River  of  Joseph," 
goes  off  from  the  Nile  on  its  left  bank,  and  is  carried  along  the 
base  of  the  Libyan  range  of  hills  a  distance  of  120  miles  to 
Zaouy64or  Zouyieh  (lat.  29°  22'),  where  it  rejoins  the  main 
river.  The  Nile  itself  skirts  the  base  of  the  Arabian  range  ; 
and  the  flat  tract  left  between  it  and  the  Bahr-Yousuf,  which 
is  from  seven  to  twelve  miles  wide,  forms  the  richest  and  most 
productive  portion  of  Middle  Egypt.65  From  the  convent  of 
St.  Antony  to  the  ruins  of  Memphis  (lat.  29°  50'),  the  course 
of  the  Nile  is  again  nearly  due  north,  but  about  lat.  29°  55'  it 
becomes  west  of  north,  and  so  continues  till  the  stream  divides 
in  lat.  30°  13',  long.  31°  10'  nearly.  In  ancient  times  the 
point  of  separation  Avas  somewhat  higher  up  the  stream,66  and 
the  water  passed  by  three  main  channels : 67  the  Canopic 
branch,  which  corresponded  closely  with  the  present  Kosetta 
one  ;  the  Sebennytic,  which  followed  at  first  the  line  of  the 
Damietta  stream,  but  left  it  about  Semennoud,  and  turning 
west  of  north  ran  into  the  Mediterranean  through  Lake  Bour- 
]os,  in  long.  30°  55'  ;  and  the  Pelusiac,  which  skirting  the 
Arabian  hills,  ran  by  Bubastis  and  Daphne  through  Lake 
Menzaleh  to  Tineh  or  Pelusium.  The  courses  of  these  streams 
were  respectively  about  130,  110,  and  120  miles. 

Thus  the  entire  course  of  the  Nile,  from  the  point  where  it 
quits  the  Albert  Nyanza  (lat.  2°  45')  to  that  of  its  most  north- 
ern issue  into  the  Mediterranean  (lat.  31°  35')  was  a  distance 
of  nearly  twenty-nine  degrees,  which  is  about  2,000  English 
miles.  Allowing  the  moderate  addition  of  one-fourth  for 
main  windings,  we  must  assign  to  the  river  a  further  length 
of  500  miles,  and  make  its  entire  course  2,500  miles.68  This 
is  a  length  more  than  double  that  of  the  Tigris,  more  than 
one-fourth  longer  than  that  of  the  Euphrates,  and  consid- 
erably beyond  that  of  the  Indus,  Oxus,  or  Ganges. 

The  Nile,  it  will  have  been  seen,  has  not  many  tributaries. 
The  chief  are  the  Atbara  and  Bahr-el-Azrek  (or  Blue  Nile) 
from  Abyssinia,  the  Sobat  from  the  Kaffa  country,  and  the 
Asua  from  the  Madi  and  adjacent  mountains.  These  all  flow 
in  from  the  east  or  right  bank.  From  the  other  side  the  only 
tributaries  received  are  the  Bahr-el-Ghazal,69  which  is  said  to 
give  "little  or  no  water,"  the  Ye,  which  is  described  as  a 
third-class  stream,70  and  another  unnamed  river  of  thesame 
character.71  The  important  affluents  are  thus  only  the  Sobat, 
the  Bahr-el-Azrek,  and  the  Atbara. 


10  HISTORY    OF   ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

Of  these,  the  Bahr-el-Azrek  has  been  described  already.72 
The  Sobat  is  known  only  in  its  lower  course.  It  is  "the  most 
powerful  affluent  of  the  White  Nile,"73  and  is  said  to  be  fed 
by  numerous  tributaries  from  the  Galla  country  about  Kaffa, 
as  well  as  by  several  from  the  Berri  and  Latooka  countries. 
The  course  of  the  main  stream  74  is  believed  to  be  at  first  south, 
between  the  10th  and  the  15th  parallels,  after  which  it  runs 
southwest  and  then  northwest  to  its  junction  with  the  White 
Nile  in  lat.  9°  21'  14".  It  has  a  strong  current,  and  in  the 
rainy  season  (June  to  January)  brings  down  a  large  body  of 
water,  being  at  its  mouth  sometimes  250  yards  wide75  and 
nearly  thirty  feet  deep.76 

The  Atbara  is  not  a  permanent  river.  In  the  spring  and 
early  summer,  from  the  beginning  of  March  to  June,  it  is  for 
upwards  of  150  miles  from  its  junction  with  the  Nile,  perfectly 
dry,  except  in  places.77  In  the  deeper  hollows  of  its  sandy 
channel,  at  intervals  of  a  few  miles,  water  remains  during 
these  months  ;  and  the  denizens  of  the  stream,  hippopota- 
muses, crocodiles,  fish,  and  large  turtle,  are  crowded  together 
in  discontinuous  pools,  where  they  have  to  remain  until  the 
rains  set  them  at  liberty.78  This  change  occurs  about  the 
middle  of  June,  from  which  time  until  the  middle  of  Septem- 
ber the  storms  are  incessant,  and  the  Atbara  becomes  a  raging 
torrent,  bringing  down  with  it  in  wild  confusion  forest  trees, 
masses  of  bamboo  and  driftwood,  bodies  of  elephants  and  buf- 
faloes, and  quantities  of  a  red  soil  washed  from  the  fertile  lands 
along  its  course  and  the  courses  of  its  tributaries.  These  are 
the  Settite,  the  Koyan,  the  Salaam,  and  the  Angrab — all  of 
them  large  rivers  in  the  wet  season,  and  never  without  water 
even  at  the  driest  time.79  Increased  by  these  streams,  the  At- 
bara is,  from  June  to  September,  a  great  river,  being  450 
yards  in  average  width  and  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet 
deep80  for  many  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Nile,  in  lat. 
17°  37'  nearly. 

The  great  inundation  of  the  Nile,  which  causes  the  peculiar 
fertility  of  Egypt,  commences  ordinarily  towards  the  end  of 
June  or  beginning  of  July,  and  continues  till  November  or 
December.  The  rise  at  Cairo  is  in  average  years  between 
twenty-three  and  twenty-four  feet;81  but  it  is  sometimes  as 
much  as  twenty-six,  and  sometimes  as  little  as  twenty-two 
feet.82  In  Upper  Egypt,  where  the  valley  is  narrower,  the 
rise  of  course  is  greater.  At  Thebes  the  average  increase  is 
reckoned  at  thirty-six  feet,  while  at  Syene  (Assouan)  it  is 
about  forty  feet.83  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  open  plain  of 
the  Delta  the  height  to  which  the  water  rises  is  very  much 


THE    INUNDATION    OF    THE    NILE.  11 

less,  being  about  twenty  feet  near  Heliopolis,  eleven  at  Xois 
and  Mendes,  and  no  more  than  four  at  the  Rosetta  and  Dam- 
ietta  embouchures.84  The  extent  to  which  the  inundation 
reaches  depends  upon  the  height  attained  by  the  river.  If 
the  rise  is  under  the  average,  much  of  the  higher  ground  is 
left  uncovered,  and  has  to  be  irrigated  with  great  trouble  by 
means  of  canals  and  shadoofs  or  hand-swipes.  If,  on  the  con- 
trary, the  average  is  much  exceeded,  calamitous  results  ensue  ;85 
the  mounds  which  keep  the  water  from  the  villages  are  over- 
flowed or  broken  down  ;  the  cottages,  built  of  mud,  collapse 
and  are  washed  away  ;  the  cattle  are  drowned  ;  the  corn  in 
store  is  spoiled,  and  the  inhabitants  with  difficulty  save  their 
lives  by  climbing  trees  or  making  their  way  to  some  neighbor- 
ing eminence.  Providentially,  these  excessive  inundations 
occur  but  seldom  ;  the  uniformity  which  characterizes  the 
operations  of  nature  is  nowhere  more  observable  than  in 
Egypt ;  and  a  rise  of  even  two  feet  above  the  average  is  a  rare 
and  unusual  occurrence. 

It  has  sometimes  been  supposed  that,  although  within  the 
time  since  Egypt  has  been  subjected  to  modern  scientific 
observation  the  results  presented  are  thus  uniform,  yet  in  the 
course  of  ages  very  great  changes  have  happened,  and  that 
still  greater  may  be  expected  if  the  world  continues  to  exist 
for  a  few  more  thousand  years.  Herodotus  declares86  that 
less  than  nine  hundred  years  before  his  visit  to  Egypt,  or  in 
the  fourteenth  century  B.C.,87  the  Nile  overflowed  all  the  coun- 
try below  Memphis  as  soon  as  it  rose  so  little  as  eight  cubits  ; 
and  as  in  his  own  day,  for  the  inundation  to  be  a  full  one,  the 
rise  required  was  sixteen  cubits,  he  concludes  that  the  land 
had  risen  eight  cubits  in  nine  centuries.  At  such  a  rate  of 
growth,  he  observes,88  it  would  not  be  long  before  the  fields 
would  cease  to  be  inundated,  and  the  boasted  fertility  of 
Egypt  would  disappear  altogether.  Had  the  facts  been  as  he 
supposed,  his  conclusion  would  not  have  been  erroneous ;  but 
all  the  evidence  which  we  possess  seems  to  show  that  the  rise 
of  the  Nile  during  the  flood  time  has  never  been  either  greater 
or  less  than  it  is  at  present ; 89  and  that,  though  the  land  is 
upraised,  there  is  no  need  of  any  greater  rise  of  the  river  to 
overflow  it.  The  explanation  is,90  that  the  bed  of  ,the  river  is 
elevated  in  an  equal  ratio  with  the  land  on  either  side  of  it  ; 
and  the  real  effect  of  the  elevation  is  rather  to  extend  the  Nile 
irrigation  than  to  contract  it  ;  for  as  the  centre  of  the  valley 
rises  the  waters  at  the  time  of  their  overflow  spread  further 
and  further  over  the  base  of  the  hills  which  bound  it— the 
alluvium  gradually  extends  itself  and  the  cultivable  surface 


12  HISTORY    OF   ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

becomes  greater.91  If  the  soil  actually  under  cultivation  be 
less  now  than  formerly,  it  is  not  nature  that  is  in  fault.  Mo- 
hammedan misrule  checks  all  energy  and  enterprise ;  the 
oppressed  fellahin,  having  no  security  that  they  will  enjoy 
the  fruits  of  their  labors,  are  less  industrious  than  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  and  avail  themselves  more  scantily  of  the  advan- 
tages which  are  offered  them  by  the  peculiar  circumstances  of 
their  country. 

In  one  part  of  Egypt  only  does  it  seem  that  there  has  been 
any  considerable  change  since  the  time  of  the  Pharaohs.  A 
barrier  of  rock  once  crossed  the  river  at  Silsilis,  and  the  water 
of  the  Xile  south  of  that  point  stood  at  a  much  higher  level.92 
Broad  tracks  were  overflowed  at  that  period  which  the  inunda- 
tion now  never  reaches.93  But  these  tracts  belonged  to  Ethiopia 
rather  than  to  Egypt;  and  within  the  latter  country  it  was 
only  the  small  portion  of  the  Xile  Valley  between  "the  first 
cataract"  and  Silsilis  that  suffered  any  disadvantage.  In  that 
tract  the  river  does  not  rise  now  within  twenty-six  feet  of  the 
height  to  which  it  attained  anciently;94  and  though  the  nar- 
rowness of  the  valley  there  prevented  the  change  from  causing 
a  very  sensible  loss,  yet  no  doubt  some  diminution  of  the  culti- 
vable territory  was  produced  by  the  giving  way  of  the  barrier. 

It  has  long  been  known9'  that  the  annual  inundation  of  the 
Xile  is  caused,  at  any  rate  mainly,96  by  the  rains  which  fall  in 
Abyssinia  between  May  and  September;97  but  it  is  only  re- 
cently that  the  entire  Nile  system,  and  the  part  played  in  its 
economy  by  the  Abyssinian  and  Equatorial  basins,  have  come 
to  be  clearly  understood  and  appreciated.  The  White  Xile  is 
now  found  to  be,  not  only  the  main,  but  the  only  true  river. 
Fed  by  the  great  Equatorial  lakes,  and  supported  by  a  rainfall 
which  continues  for  more  than  nine  months  of  the  year,  from 
February  to  Xovember,98  this  mighty  and  unfailing  stream 
carries  down  to  the  Mediterranean  a  vast  and  only  slightly 
varying99  body  of  water,  the  amount  of  which  may  be  esti- 
mated by  considering  the  volume  poured  into  the  sea,  even 
when  the  Xile  is  lowest,  which  is  said  to  be  above  150,000 
millions  of  cubic  metres  daily.100  The  contribution  of  the  Blue 
Xile  at  this  season  is  so  small,101  that  it  must  be  considered  a 
barely  sufficient  set-off  against  the  loss  by  absorption  and 
evaporation  which  the  stream  must  suffer  in  the  1,400  miles 
between  Khartoum  and  the  sea,  and  thus  tin1  whole  of  the 
150, ()()()  millions  of  metres  may  be  nut  to  the  account  of  the 
AVhite  Nile.  Were  the  White  Xile  diverted  from  its  course 
above  Khartoum,  the  Blue  Nile  alone  would  fail  in  the  dry 
season  to  reach  the  Mediterranean  ;  it  would  shrink  and  dis- 


THE  NILE  VALLEY — THE  DELTA.  13 

appear  long  before  it  had  passed  the  Nubian  desert,102  and 
Egypt  would  then  be  absolutely  without  water  and  uninhabi- 
table. But  the  abundant  reservoirs  under  the  Equator  forbid 
this  result,  and  enable  the  river  to  hold  its  own  and  make  head 
against  the  absorbing  power  of  the  desert  and  the  evaporating 
power  of  the  atmosphere  while  it  traverses  a  space  of  above 
sixteen  degrees  with  a  course  which,  including  only  main 
bends,  cannot  be  far  short  of  1,400  miles. 

On  the  other  hand,  without  the  Abyssinian  streams,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  the  Nile  would  ever  rise  above  its  banks  or 
flood  Egypt  at  all.  If  it  did,  it  is  certain  that  it  would  leave 
little  deposit,  and  have  but  a  slight  fertilizing  power.103  The 
Atbara  and  Blue  Nile  bring  down  the  whole  of  that  red  argil- 
laceous mud,1"4  which  being  spread  annually  over  the  land 
forms  a  dressing  of  such  richness  that  no  farther  manure  is 
needed  to  maintain  Egypt  in  perpetual  fertility  and  enable  it 
to  produce  an  endless  series  of  the  most  abundant  harvests 
that  can  be  conceived.  The  fat  soil  is  washed  year  by  year 
from  the  highlands  of  Abyssinia  by  the  heavy  summer  rains, 
and  spread  from  Syene  to  Alexandria  over  the  Egyptian  low- 
lands, tending  to  fill  up  the  hollow  which  nature  has  placed 
between  the  Libyan  and  Arabian  hills.  There  will  be  no 
diminution  of  Egyptian  fertility  until  the  day  comes  when  the 
Abyssinian  mountains  have  been  washed  bare,  and  the  rivers 
which  flow  from  them  cease  to  bi  ing  down  an  earthy  deposit 
in  their  flood-time,  remaining  equally  pellucid  during  all  sea- 
sons, whatever  their  rise  or  fall.  That  day  must,  however, 
be  almost  indefinitely  distant ;  and  the  inhabitants  of  Egypt 
will  not  need  for  long  ages  to  be  under  any  apprehension  of 
its  productiveness  suffering  serious  diminution. 

It  has  been  customary  among  writers  on  Egypt  to  divide 
the  country  either  into  two  or  into  three  portions ; 105  but  to 
the  present  author  it  seems  more  convenient  to  make  a  five- 
fold division  of  the  Egyptian  territory.  The  Nile  Valley,  the 
great  plain  of  the  Delta,  the  curious  basin  of  the  Fayoum,  the 
Eastern  Desert,  and  the  valley  of  the  Natron  Lakes  are  regions 
which  have  a  natural  distinctness,  and  which  seem  to  deserve 
separate  treatment.  It  is  proposed,  therefore,  to  describe  these 
five  tracts  severally  before  proceeding  to  an  account  of  the 
countries  by  which  Egypt  was  bordered. 

The  Nile  Valley  from  Syene  to  the  apex  of  the  Delta  is  a 
long  and  narrow  strip  of  the  most  fertile  land  in  the  world, 
extending  from  lat.  24°  5'  to  30°  10',  a  distance  of  above  six 
degrees,  or  360  geographical  miles.  The  general  direction  of 
the  valley  is  from  south  to  north  ;    but  during  the  greater 


14  HISTORY    OF   ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

portion  of  the  distance  there  is  a  tendency  to  incline  towards 
the  west ;  this  prevails  as  far  as  lat.  28°  18',  where  E.  long. 
30°  40'  is  touched  ;  after  which  the  inclination  is  for  above  a 
degree  to  the  east  of  north  as  far  as  Atfieh,  whence  the  valley 
runs  almost  due  north  to  the  old  apex  of  the  Delta  near  Heli- 
opolis.  Through  these  deflections  the  length  of  the  valley  is 
increased  from  360  to  about  500  geographical  miles,  or  580 
miles  of  the  British  statute  measure.  The  valley  is  extremely 
narrow  from  Syene  to  near  Thebes,106  where  it  expands; 107  but  it 
contracts  again  below  the  Theban  plain,  and  continues  narrow- 
ish  until  How  or  Diospolis  Parva,  whence  it  is,  comparatively 
speaking,  broad  108  to  about  Atfieh.  It  is  then  again  narrow  109 
till  it  expands  into  the  Delta  below  Cairo.  The  greatest  width 
of  the  valley  is  about  fifteen,  the  least  about  two  miles.110  In 
many  parts,  on  the  western  side  especially,  a  sandy  tract  in- 
tervenes between  the  foot  of  the  hills  and  the  cultivated  terri- 
tory,111 which  is  thus  narrowed  to  a  width  that  rarely  exceeds 
ten  miles. 

The  great  plain  of  the  Delta  is,  speaking  roughly,  triangular; 
but  its  base  towards  the  sea  is  the  segment  of  a  circle,  and  not 
a  straight  line.  The  deposit  which  the  Nile  lias  brought  down 
during  the  long  course  of  ages  causes  a  projection  of  the  coast 
line,  which  in  E.  long.  31°  10'  is  more  than  half  a  degree  in 
advance  of  the  shore  at  Pelusium  and  at  Marea.  Like  the 
Nile  valley,  the  Delta  is  bounded  on  either  side  by  hills ;  on 
the  west  by  a  range  which  runs  N.W.  from  Memphis  to  Lake 
Marea,  and  then  W.  to  the  coast  near  Plinthine  (long.  29° 
nearly);  on  the  east  by  one, which  has  a  general  northeasterly 
direction  from  Cairo  to  take  Serbonis  and  Mount  Casius.112 
The  distance  along  the  coast-line  from  Plinthine  to  Mount 
Casius  is  about  300  miles  ; 113  that  from  the  apex  of  the  Delta 
to  the  sea  about  a  hundred  miles.114  It  is  believed  that  the  old 
apex  was  about  six  miles  higher  up  the  stream  than  the 
present  point  of  separation,115  which  is  in  lat.  30°  13',  whereas 
the  old  point  of  separation  was  about  lat.  30°  8'.  The  en- 
tire Delta  is  a  vast  alluvial  plain  without  a  natural  elevation  of 
any  kind;  it  is  intersected  by  numerous  streams  derived  from 
the  two  great  branches  of  the  Nile,  and  has  experienced  in  the 
course  of  time  very  great  changes  in  respect  of  its  water- 
courses.116 The  general  tendency  has  been  for  the  water  to 
run  off  more  and  more  towards  the  west.  The  Pelusiac 
branch,  which  was  originally  a  principal  one,117  is  now  almost 
entirely  dried  up  ;  the  Tanitic  and  Mendesian  branches  have 
similarly  disappeared  ;  the  present  most  easterly  mouth  of  the 
Nile  is  the  Damietta  one,  which  was  originally  the  fourth,  as 


LAKES    WITHIN    THE    DELTA.  15 

one  proceeded  along  the  coast  from  east  to  west.  Even  this 
conveys  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  Nile  water,  and  tends  to 
silt  up.  At  Kosetta  there  is  a  bar  across  the  mouth  of  the 
river  ;  and  the  Mahmoudiyeh  canal,  which  connects  Alexan- 
dria with  the  Nile  at  Foueh,  forms  the  only  permanently 
navigable  channel  between  the  coast  and  the  capital.  The 
cause  of  this  gradual  change  seems  to  be  the  current  in  the 
Mediterranean,  which  runs  constantly  from  west  to  east  along 
the  Egyptian  coast,  and  carries  the  Nile  mud  eastward,  de- 
positing it  little  by  little  as  it  goes.  Port  Said  is  continually 
threatened  with  destruction  from  this  cause,  and  it  is  only  by 
constant  dredging  that  the  mouth  of  the  canal  can  be  kept 
clear. 

About  one-fourth  of  the  natural  area  of  the  Delta  is  occu- 
pied by  lakes,  which  are  separated  from  the  sea  by  thin  lines 
of  rock  or  sand-bank.  Commencing  on  the  west  we  find, 
first,  Lake  Marea  or  Mareotis,  which  extends  from  Plinthine 
for  thirty-five  miles  in  a  northeast  direction,  and  runs  inland 
a  distance  of  five-and-twenty  miles  towards  the  southeast. 
Adjoining  it  on  the  east,  and  separated  from  it  by  only  a  nar- 
row strip  of  alluvium,118  is  Lake  Menelaites  (now  Ma'dyeh),  a 
basin  of  no  great  size,  its  dimensions  being  about  ten  miles  by 
seven  or  eight.  Both  these  lakes  are  protected  from  the  sea 
by  a  low  limestoue  range,119  which  terminates  in  the  rock 
forming  the  western  extremity  of  Aboukir  Bay.  From  this 
point  as  far  as  Mount  Casius,  the  rest  of  the  coast  consists  en- 
tirely of  sand  and  alluvium.120  South  of  iVboukir  Bay  is  Lake 
Metelites  (Edkou),  with  a  length  of  twenty  miles  and  a  width 
of  about  ten,  reaching  on  the  one  side  nearly  to  Lake  Ma'dyeh, 
and  on  the  other  to  the  Bolbitine  or  Kosetta  branch  of  the 
Nile.  At  a  little  distance  beyond  the  Eosetta  branch  com- 
mences Lake  Bourlos  (Lacus  Buticus),  which  has  a  breadth  of 
twenty  miles  with  a  length  of  nearly  forty,121  and  is  divided 
from  the  Mediterranean  by  a  thin  tongue  of  sand  extending 
from  the  Rosetta  mouth  to  the  most  northerly  point  of  Egypt, 
opposite  Beltym.  A  broad  tract  of  land  now  intervenes  be- 
tween Lake  Bourlos  and  the  Damietta  branch  of  the  Nile; 
but  east  of  the  Damietta  branch  occurs  almost  immediately 
another  lake,  the  greatest  of  all,  the  Lake  MenzaJeh,  which 
has  a  length  of  forty-five  miles  and  a  width  in  places  of  nearly 
thirty.  The  country  south  and  southwest  of  this  lake  is  a  vast 
marsh,122  containing  only  occasional  dry  spots,  but  the  resort 
in  all  times  of  a  numerous  and  hardy  population.123  Still  fur- 
ther to  the  east,  beyond  the  Pelusiac  mouth,  and  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  Delta  proper,  is  Lake   Ser bonis,   which  has  a 


16  HISTORY    OF    iNCIEKT    EGYPT. 

length  of  fifty  miles,  but  a  width  varying  from  one  mile 
only  to  six  or  seven.  A  low  and  narrow  sand-bank,124  mid- 
way in  which  the  Mons  Casius  rises,  separates  this  lake  from 
the  sea. 

It  has  been  much  disputed  whether  the  Delta  projects  in- 
creasingly into  the  Mediterranean,  and  whether  consequently 
it  is  now  larger  than  in  ancient  times.  The  French  savants 
who  examined  the  country  at  the  time  of  Napoleon's  great 
expedition  were  decidedly  of  opinion  that  the  coast-line 
advanced  constant^,125  and  regarded  the  general  area  of  the 
Delta  as  thus  considerably  augmented.  They  thought,  how- 
ever, that  as  much  land  had  been  lost  internally  by  the  neglect 
of  the  old  dykes,  and  the  enlargement  of  Lake  Bourlos  and 
Menzaleh 12b  as  had  been  gained  from  the  sea,  and  believed 
that  thus  the  cultivable  area  of  the  Delta  was  about  the  same 
in  their  own  day  as  anciently. 

On  the  other  hand,  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  declares  that  the 
"Mediterranean  has  encroached,  and  that  the  Delta  has  lost 
instead  of  gaining  along  the  whole  of  its  extent  from  Csmopus 
to  Pelusium."  He  maintains  that  "the  land  is  always  sinking 
along  the  north  coast  of  Egypt,"  and  appears  to  think  that  the 
Nile  deposit  is  barely  sufficient  to  compensate  for  this  continued 
subsidence.  According  to  him  m  "the  Nile  now  enters  the  sea 
at  the  same  distance  north  of  the  Lake  Meeds  as  it  did  in  the 
age  of  early  kings  of  Egypt,"  and  "the  sites  of  the  oldest 
cities  are  as  near  the  seashore  as  they  ever  were."  He  thus 
believes  the  coast-line  to  have  made  no  advance  at  all  in 
historical  times,  and  appears  even  to  regard  the  remarkable 
projection  of  the  land  between  the  Canopic  and  Pelusiac  mouths 
as  an  original  formation  and  not  the  result  of  deposit. 

It  is  difficult  to  decide  between  two  such  weighty  author- 
ities ;  but  it  may  be  observed  that  the  English  Egyptologist 
is  scarcely  consistent  with  himself,  since,  while  stating  that 
the  sea  "has  encroached,"  he  allows  that  the  Nile  enters  it  at 
the  same  distance  below  Lake  Meeris  as  formerly,  which  implies 
that  the  sea  has  not  e'neroached.  It  may  further  be  remarked 
that  he  givss  no  proof  of  the  subsidence  of  the  coast  along  the 
north  of  Egypt,  and  that  his  statement  on  the  subject  is  open 
to  question.  On  the  whole,  we  may  perhaps  with  most  reason 
conclude  that  there  is  an  advance,  especially  towards  the  east, 
whither  the  mud  is  swept  by  the  current,  but  that  the  prog- 
ress made  is  slow  and  the  gain  of  territory  inconsiderable. 

The  curious  basin  of  the  Fayoum  has  from  a  remote  an- 
tiquity attracted  the  attention  of  geographers,198  and  in  modern 
times   has   been   carefully    examined    and    described    by   M. 


FAYOUM    BASIN" — EASTERN    DESERT.  17 

Jomard129  and  M.  Linant  de  Belief onds.1:i0  It  is  a  natural 
depression  in  the  Libyan  chain  of  hills,  having  an  area  of 
about  400  square  miles,131  of  which  150  are  occupied  by  a  long 
and  narrow  lake,13'2  the  Birket-el-Keroun  (or  "Lake  of  the 
Horn  "),  whose  waters  cover  the  northwestern  portion  of  the 
basin.  The  whole  track  lies  at  a  much  lower  level  than  that 
of  the  Nile  valley,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  a  rocky  ra- 
vine about  eight  miles  in  length,133  having  a  direction  from 
N.W.  to  S.E.,  and  lying  in  about  lat.  29°  20'.  Originally  the 
basin  was  most  probably  cup-shaped  ;  but  at  present  the  ground 
within  it  slopes  from  the  opening  of  the  gorge  in  all  directions 
— to  the  north,  the  west,  and  the  south — the  upper  ground 
consisting  of  deposits  of  Nile  mud,  which  have  accumulated 
in  the  course  of  ages.  A  branch  from  the  Bahr-Yousuf — still 
in  use — was  conducted  in  ancient  times  through  the  gorge  ; 
and  an  elaborate  system  of  irrigation,134  involving  the  con- 
struction of  numerous  dykes,  canals,  and  sluices,  brought 
almost  the  whole  tract  under  cultivation,  and  rendered  it  one 
of  the  most  productive  portions  of  Egypt.  The  lake  itself — 
which  is  a  construction  of  nature  and  not  of  art — was  of  great 
value  as  a  fishery,135  and  the  Arsenoite  nome,  as  the  whole 
tract  was  called,  took  rank  among  the  chief  wonders  of  a  most 
wonderful  country.136 

The  Eastern  Desert  is  by  far  the  largest  of  all  the  divisions 
of  Egypt.  Its  length  may  be  estimated  at  above  500  miles, 
and  its  average  width  at  130  or  140  miles.137  Its  entire  area 
is  probably  not  less  than  65,000  square  miles,  or  considerably 
more  than  two-thirds  of  the  area  of  Egypt.  It  is  in  the  main 
a  region  of  rock,  gravel,  and  sand,  arid,  waterless,  treeless.138 
On  the  side  of  the  Nile,  the  ridge  rises  in  terraces,139  which  are 
steep  and  precipitous,  presenting  towards  the  west  ranges  of 
cliffs  like  walls ;  after  this,  mountains  alternate  with  broad 
gravelly  or  sandy  plains  ;  the  land  gradually  rises  ;  the  eleva- 
tion of  the  hills  is  sometimes  as  much  as  6,000  feet,140  and  is 
greatest  about  half  way  between  the  Nile  and  the  Ked  Sea. 
The  geological  formation  is  limestone  towards  the  north,  sand- 
stone about  lat.  25°,  and  granite  in  lat.  24°;  but  occasionally 
masses  of  primitive  rock  are  intruded  into  the  secondary  re- 
gions,141 extending  as  far  northward  as  lat.  27°  10'.  In  a  few 
places  the  desert  is  intersected  by  rocky  gorges  of  a  less  arid 
character,  which  furnish  lines  of  communication  between  the 
Nile  valley  and  the  Red  Sea  ; 142  of  these  the  most  remarkable 
are,  one  about  lat.  30°,  connecting  Cairo  with  the  Gulf  of 
Suez;143  a  second,  in  lat.  26°,  uniting  Coptos  and  Thebes 
with  Cosseir ; 144  and  a  third,  branching  off  from  the  Nile  in 


IS  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

lat.  25°,  and  joining  Edfou  (Apollinopolis  Magna)  with  Bere^ 
nice,145  in  lat.  23°  50'.     Other  similar  gorges  or  ravines  pene- 
trate into  the  desert  region  for  a  longer  or  a  shorter  distance, 
and  then  suddenly  terminate.     For  the  most  part  these  valleys 
are,  to  a  certain  extent,  fertile.     Trees  grow  in  them  ; 146  and 
they  produce  in  abundance  a  thorny  plant,  called  basillah,ul 
which  affords  a  sufficient  nourishment  for  camels,  goats,  and 
even  sheep.     In  places  the  vegetation  is  richer.     "Delightful 
ravines,   ornamented  with  beautiful  shrubs,"  and  producing 
date-trees  and  wild  wheat,  are  said  to  exist  in  the  northern 
portion  of  the  desert,148  while  near  the  Red  Sea,  in  l^t.  28°  45', 
the  monasteries  of  St.  Antony  and  St.   Paul  are  situated  in  *■ 
"verdant  spots,"  and  "surrounded  with  thriving  orchards  of 
dates,  olives,  and  apricots."  149     The  great  want  of  the  region 
is  water,  which  exists  only  in  wells,  scattered  at  wide  intervals 
over  its  surface,  and  is  always  of  an  unpleasant  and  sometimes 
of  an   unwholesome   character.150      The   only  really  valuable 
portion  of  the  Eastern  desert  is  that  of  Mount  Zabara,151  the 
region  of  the  emerald  mines,  in  lat.  24°  25',  long.  35°  nearly. 
The  valley  of  the  Natron  Lakes 152  is  a  long  and  narrow  de- 
pression in  the  Libyan  desert,  lying  chiefly  between  lat.   30° 
and  31°.     It  may  be  viewed  as  branching  off  from  the  valley 
of  the  Nile  about  Abousyr,  between  the  great  pyramids  of 
(rizeh  and  those  of  Sakkara.     Its  general  direction  is  from 
S.E.E.  to  N.W.W.  ;  and  it  thus  runs  parallel  with  the  west- 
ern skirt  of  the  Delta,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  an  arid 
track  of  limestone  rock  and  gravelly  desert,  from  thirty  to  fifty 
miles  in  width.       The  Jength  of    the  valley  from  the  point 
where  it  quits  the   Nile  to  the  place  where  it  is  lost  in  the 
sands  south  of  Marea  a  little  exceeds  ninety  miles.     The  lakes 
occupy  the  central  portion  of  the  depression,  lying  between 
lat.  30°  16'  and  lat.  33°  24'.     They  are  six  in  number,  and 
form  a  continuous   line,   which  is  reckoned  at   six   French 
leagues,153  or  about  sixteen  and  a  half  English  miles.     Their 
ordinary  width  is  from  100  to  150  yards.     The  w7ater  is  sup- 
plied from  springs  which  rise  in  the  limestone  range  bounding 
the  valley  on  the  northeast  and  flow  copiously  from  midsum- 
mer till  December,  after  which  they  shrink  and  gradually  fail 
till  the  ensuing  June.154    During  the  time  of  their  failure  some 
of  the  lakes  become  dry.     Though  the  water  of  the  springs 
winch  supply  the  lakes  is  quite  drinkable,  yet  it  contains  in 
solution  several  salts,  as  especially  the  muriate  of  soda  or  com- 
mon sea  salt,  the  subcarbonate  of  soda,155  or  natron,  and  the 
sulphate  of  soda  ;  and  these  salts,  continually  accumulating  in 
the  lakes,  which  have  no  outlet,  crystallize  on  their  surface 


Vol.  I. 


Plato  TTT. 


Fig.  6.— The  Great  Monitor.— See  Page  37. 


Fig.  7. — Fruit  of  the  Nympha  a  m  lumbo. 
—See  Page  ;J0. 


Fig.  8.— Egyptian  Ass  (from  the 
Monuments).— See  Page  38. 


Fig.  0,— Egyptian  Dogs  (from  the— -«*-:-nnents).— See  Page  30 


Plate  IV. 


Vol.1 


Fig.  10.— Hyena  caught  in  a  Trap  (from  the  Monu-    Fig.  11. — Head  of  Egyptias 
ments. — See  Page  34.  Man. — See  Page  50. 


Fig.  12.— 1.  The  Glossy  Ibis;  2.  The  Ibis  Retigiosa  (from  the  Description).—  Page  40. 


Fig.  13.— The  Oxyrhynchus  or  Mizdeh,— See  Page  43. 


BORDER    COUNTRIES — ETHIOPIA,    LIBYA.  19 

in  large  quantities,  and  become  valuable  objects  of  com- 
merce.156 Excepting  immediately  round  the  lakes,  there  is 
little  vegetation  ; 157  yet  the  valley  is  permanently  inhabited  at 
the  present  day  by  the  monks  of  three  convents,  besides  being 
visited  from  time  to  time  by  caravans  of  merchants,  bent  on 
conveying  its  treasures  to  Cairo  or  Alexandria.  South  of  the 
Natron  Valley,  and  separated  from  it  by  a  low  ridge,  is  a  water- 
less ravine,  containing  a  quantity  of  petrified  wood,  which  has 
been  regarded  by  some  as  an  old  branch  of  the  Nile,158  and 
supposed  to  have  a  connection  with  the  Birket-el-Keroun  ; 159 
but  this  latter  supposition  is  entirely  erroneous,160  and  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  the  presumed  connection  with  the  Nile 
is  not  equally  without  foundation.161 

The  countries  whereby  ancient  Egypt  was  bordered  were 
three  only,  Ethiopia,  Libya,  and  Syria  including  Palestine. 
Ethiopia,  which  lay  towards  the  south,  was  a  tract  considera- 
bly larger  than  Egypt,  comprising,  as  it  did,  not  only  Nubia, 
but  the  whole  of  the  modern  Abyssinia,  or  the  tract  from 
which  flow  the  Atbara  and  Blue  Nile  rivers.  It  was  also,  in 
part,  a  region  of  great  fertility,  capable  of  supporting  a  numer- 
ous population,  which,  inhabiting  a  mountain  territory,  would 
naturally  be  brave  and  hardy.162  Egypt  could  not  but  have 
something  to  fear  from  this  quarter ;  but  a  certain  degree  of 
security  was  afforded  by  the  fact,  that  between  her  frontier 
and  the  fertile  portion  of  Ethiopia  lay  a  desert  tract,  extend- 
ing for  above  six  degrees,  or  more  than  400  miles,  between 
the  mouth  of  the  Atbara  and  Syene.  The  dangers  of  the 
desert  might  indeed  be  avoided  by  following  the  course  of 
the  Nile;  but  the  distance  was  under  such  circumstances  very 
considerably  increased,  the  march  from  Meroe  to  Syene  being 
augmented  from  one  of  450  to  one  of  850  miles.  Hence  the 
ordinary  route  followed  was  that  across  the  Nubian  desert,163 
a  distance  of  not  less  than  ten  days'  march  for  an  army ;  and 
thus,  practically,  it  may  be  said  that  a  barrier  difficult  to 
surmount  protected  Egypt  on  the  south,  and  rendered  her, 
unless  upon  rare  occasions,  secure  from  attack  on  that  side. 

The  vast  tract,  known  to  the  ancients  vaguely  as  Libya, 
and  inhabited  by  Libyans,  extended  from  the  Delta  and  the 
Nile  valley  westward  across  the  entire  continent,164  compre- 
hending all  North  Africa  west  of  Egypt,  excepting  the  small 
Greek  settlements  of  Gyrene  and  Barca,  and  the  Phoenician 
ones  of  Garthage,  Utica,  and  Hippo.  The  geographical  area 
was  enormous  ;  but  the  inhospitable  nature  of  the  region, 
which  is  for  the  most  part  an  arid  and  unproductive  desert, 
though  dotted  with  palm-bearing  oases,165  rendered  it  in  the 


20  HISTORY   OF  ANCIEKT  EGYPT. 

main  unfit  for  the  habitation  of  man,  and  kept  the  scattered 
tribes  that  wandered  over  its  surface  from  multiplying.  The 
portion  of  North  Africa  which  borders  on  Egypt  is  particu- 
larly sterile  and  unattractive  ;  a  scant  and  sparse  population 
can  alone  contrive  to  find  subsistence  amid  its  parched  and 
barren  wastes ;  and  this  population,  engaged  in  a  perpetual 
struggle  for  existence,  is  naturally  broken  up  into  tribes  which 
regard  each  other  with  animosity,  and  live  in  a  state  of  con- 
stant war,  rapine,  and  mutual  injury.  Combination  is  almost 
impossible  under  such  circumstances  ;  and  thus  the  great  and 
powerful  monarchy  of  Egypt  could  have  little  to  fear  from  the 
tribes  upon  its  western  frontier,  which  were  individually  weak,166 
and  were  unapt  to  form  leagues  or  alliances.  Once  alone  in 
the  history  of  Egypt  does  any  great  attack  come  from  this 
quarter,  some  peculiar  circumstances  having  favored  a  tempo- 
rary union  between  races  ordinarily  very  much  disinclined  to 
act  together. 

On  the  east  Egypt  was  protected  along  the  greater  portion 
of  her  frontier  by  a  water  barrier,  a  broad  and  impassable167 
moat,  the  Red  Sea  and  its  western  prolongation,  the  Gulf  of 
Suez.  It  was  only  at  the  extreme  north,  where  Africa  is  joined 
on  to  Asia,  that  on  this  side  she  had  neighbors.  And  here, 
again,  she  enjoyed  to  some  extent  the  protection  of  a  desert. 
Egypt  is  separated  from  Syria  by  the  sandy  tract,  known  to 
the  Arabs  as  El-Tij,  the  "Wilderness  of  the  "Wanderings." 
The  width  of  the  desert  is,  however,  not  great ;  armies  have 
at  all  times  traversed  it  without  much  difficulty  ; 168  and  with 
the  support  of  a  fleet,  itr-is  easy  to  conduct  a  force  along  the 
coast  route  from  Gaza  to  Pelusium.  Accordingly,  we  shall 
find  that  it  was  especially  in  this  quarter,  on  her  northeastern 
border,  that  Egypt  came  into  contact  with  other  countries, 
made  her  own  chief  military  expeditions,  and  lay  open  to 
attack  from  formidable  enemies.  The  strip  of  fertile  land — 
alternate  mountain  and  rich  plain — which  intervenes  between 
the  eastern  Mediterranean  and  the  Palmyrene  or  Syrian  desert, 
has  at  all  times  been  a  nursery  of  powerful  and  warlike  nations 
— Emim,  Rephaim,  Philistines,  Canaanites,  Israelites,  Hittites, 
Jews,  Saracens,  Druses.  Here  in  this  desirable  region,  which 
she  could  not  help  coveting,  Egypt  was  brought  into  collision 
with  foemen  "worthy  of  her  steel" — here- was  the  scene  of  her 
early  military  exploits — and  hence  came  the  assault  of  her  first 
really  dangerous  enemy.169  Moreover,  it  was  through  this 
country  alone,  along  this  fertile  but  somewhat  narrow  strip, 
that  she  could  pass  to  broader  and  richer  regions — to  Meso- 
potamia, Assyria,  Asia  Minor — seats  of  a  civilization  almost 


SYR/A    ASfD    PALESTINE.  21 


as  ancient  as  her  own— wealthy,  populous,  well-cultivated 
tracts— next  to  the  Nile  valley,  the  fairest  portions  of  the 
earth's  surface.  Thus  her  chief  efforts  were  always  made  on 
this  side,  and  her  history  connects  her  not  so  much  with 
Africa  as  with  Asia.  For  twenty  centuries  the  struggle  for 
the  first  place  among  the  nations  of  the  earth  was  carried  on 
in  these  regions — Egypt's  rivals  and  enemies  were  Syria,  As- 
syria, Babylonia,  Persia — her  armies  and  those  of  her  adver- 
saries were  perpetually  traversing  the  Syrian  and  Palestinian 
plains  and  valleys — the  country  between  the  "river  of  Egypt" 
and  the  Euphrates  at  Carchemish  was  the  battle-ground  of  the 
"Great  Powers" — and  the  tract  is  consequently  one  with  which 
Egyptian  history  is  vitally  connected.  Its  main  features  are 
simple  and  easily  intelligible.  A  spur  from  Taurus170  detaches 
itself  in  E.  long.  37°,  and,  skirting  the  Gulf  of  Issiis,  runs 
south  and  a  little  west  of  south  from  the  37th  parallel  to  be- 
yond the  33d,  where  we  may  regard  it  as  terminating  in  Mount 
Carmel.  Another  parallel  range  m  rises  in  Northern  Syria 
about  Aleppo,  and,  running  at  a  short  distance  from  the  first, 
culminates  towards  the  south  in  Hermon.  Between  them  lies 
the  deep  and  fertile  valley  of  Ooelesyria,  watered  in  its  more 
northern  parts  by  the  Orontes,  and  in  its  more  southern  by  the 
Litany.  Extending  for  above  200  miles  from  north  to  south, 
almost  in  a  direct  line,  and  without  further  break  than  an 
occasional  screen  of  low  hills,  Ooelesyria  furnishes  the  most 
convenient  line  of  passage  between  Africa  and  Asia,  alike  for 
the  journeys  of  merchants  and  the  march  of  armies.172  Below 
Hermon  the  mountains  cease,  and  are  replaced  by  uplands  of 
a  moderate  elevation.  The  country  is  everywhere  traversable  ; 
but  the  readiest  route  is  that  which,  passing  from  the  Bukaa173 
over  the  hills  of  Galilee,  descends  into  the  plain  of  Esdraelon, 
and  then,  after  crossing  the  low  range  which  joins  Carmel  to 
the  Samaritan  highland,  proceeds  along  the  co-ist  through  the 
plain  of  Sharon  and  the  Shephelah  to  the  Egyptian  frontier  at 
the  Wady-el-Arish.  Such  are  the  chief  features  of  Syria  con- 
sidered strategically.  It  presents  one,  and  one  only,  regular 
line  of  march  for  the  passage  of  armies.  This  line  of  march 
is  from  south  to  north  by  Philistia,  Sharon,  the  Esdraelon 
plain,  Galilee,  and  the  Ccelesyrian  valley,  to  the  latitude  of 
Aleppo,  whence  are  several  routes  to  the  Euphrates.  There  is 
also  one  secondary  line,  which  passing  out  of  Galilee,  to  the 
northeast,  and  leaving  Hermon  and  Anti-libanus  to  the  left, 
proceeds  by  way  of  Damascus  along  the  eastern  skirt  of  the 
mountains  to  Chalcis,  Gabbula,  and  Hierapolis.  But  directly, 
from  west  to  east,  through  the  Syrian  desert,  there  is  uc  route 


22  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

that  an  army  can  traverse.  Caravans  may  pass  from  Damascus 
by  Palmyra  to  Circesium,  and  possibly  may  cross  the  desert  by 
other  lines  and  in  other  directions  ;  but  such  routes  must  be 
left  out  of  sight  when  the  tract  is  viewed  strategically.  The 
line  of  communication  between  Africa  and  Asia,  between  Egypt 
and  the  Mesopotamian  plain,  so  far  as  armies  are  concerned, 
lies  north  and  south,  by  Palestine  and  Ccelesyria  to  the  latitude 
of  Antioch  and  Aleppo. 

Politically,  Syria,  though  scarcely  suitable  for  the  seat  of  a 
great  power,  is  a  country  that  may  well  hold  a  high  secondary 
rank.  Well  watered  and  well  wooded,  possessing  numerous 
broad  valleys  and  rich  plains,  she  can  nurture  a  population  of 
many  millions,  and  in  her  mountain  fastnesses  can  breed  races 
of  a  high  physical  development  and  excellent  moral  qualities. 
The  classical  idea  of  Syrian  weakness  and  sensuality  m  belongs 
to  comparatively  late  times,  and  applies  especially  to  the  in- 
habitants of  luxurious  and  over-civilized  cities.  In  the  moun- 
tain regions  of  Libanus  and  Anti-libanus,  on  the  table-land  of 
Moab  and  Amnion,  and  even  in  the  hill-tracts  of  Galilee, 
Samaria,  and  Judaea,  the  natives  are  naturally  hardy,  warlike, 
even  fierce.  The  land  itself  is  favorable  for  defense,  possess- 
ing many  strong  positions,  capable  of  being  held  by  a  handful 
of  brave  men  against  almost  any  numbers.  Syria  was  thus  by 
far  the  most  powerful  of  the  countries  bordering  upon  Egypt ; 
and  it  was  natural  that  she  should  play  an  important  part  in 
Egyptian  history.  Libya  was  too  weak  for  offence,  too  poor 
to  tempt  aggression  ;  Ethiopia  was  too  remote  and  isolated  ; 
Syria  alone  was  near,  rich,  attractive  ;  too  strong  to  be  readily 
overpowered,  too  freedomr-loving  to  be  long  held  in  subjection, 
of  sufficient  force  to  be  occasionally  aggressive  ;  sure  therefore 
to  come  frequently  into  collision  with  her  neighbor,  and  likely 
to  maintain  an  equal  struggle  with  her  for  centuries.  Above 
all,  she  lay  on  the  road  which  Egyptian  effort  was  sure  to  take  ; 
she  was  the  link  between  Africa  and  Asia  ;  she  at  once  separated 
and  united  the  countries  which  were  the  earliest  seats  of  em- 
pire. If  Egpyt  were  ambitious,  if  she  strove  to  measure  her 
strength  against  that  of  other  first-rate  powers,  she  could  only 
reach  them  through  Syria  ;  if  they  retaliated  it  was  on  the 
side  of  Syria  that  she  must  expect  their  expeditions.  AVe  shall 
find  in  the  sequel  that,  from  the  time  of  the  twelfth  to 
that  of  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty,  connection  between  Egypt 
and  Syria,  generally  hostile,  was  almost  perpetual,  and  tli;it 
consequently  to  all  who  understand  Egyptian  history,  a  knowl- 
edge of  Syria,  both  geographically  and  politically,  is  indis- 
pensable. 


CLIMATE    OF    EGYPT.  23 


CHAPTER  II. 

CLIMATE   AND   PRODUCTIONS. 

Climate  of  Egypt— of  the  Nile  Valley— of  the  Eastern  Highland.  Vegetable 
Productions— Indigenous  Trees  und  Plants — Plants  anciently  cultivated. 
Indigenous  Wild  Animals— Domesticated  Animals.  Birds,  Fish,  Reptiles, 
and  Insects.    Mineral  Products. 

"  Provincia  .  .  omni  yranorum  acleguminum  genere  /erti?is." 

Leo  Afric.  viii,  1. 

In  considering  the  climate  of  Egypt,  we  must  begin  by  making 
a  distinction  between  Egypt  proper  or  the  valley  of  the  Nile, 
including  the  Delta,  and  that  desert  and  (comparatively  speak- 
ing) mountainous  tract  which  intervenes  between  the  Nile  valley 
and  the  Red  Sea,  and  which  we  have  reckoned  to  Egypt  in 
the  preceding  chapter.1  The  difference  between  the  climates 
of  the  two  regions  is  considerable  ;  and  no  description  which 
should  extend  to  both  could  be  at  once  minute  and  accurate. 

The  leading  characteristics  of  the  climate  of  the  Nile  valley 
are,  combined  warmth  and  dryness.  In  Southern  Egypt, 
which  lies  but  a  very  little  outside  of  the  tropic  of  Cancer,  the 
heat  during  the  summer  time  is  excessive,  being  scarcely  sur- 
passed even  by  that  of  Central  Bengal,  which  lies  under  the 
same  parallel.  The  range  of  the  thermometer  throughout  this 
portion  of  the  year  is  from  100°  to  112°  in  the  shade  during 
the  daytime.2  At  night,  of  course,  the  heat  is  less,  but  still  it 
is  very  great.  In  Northern  Egypt  several  causes  combine  to 
keep  the  summer  temperature  at  a  lower  level.  The  difference 
in  latitude,  which  is  seven  degrees,  by  substituting  oblique  for 
vertical  rays,  causes  a  certain  diminution  in  the  solar  power. 
The  spread  of  the  inundation  over  the  low  lands,  happening 
at  this  time,3  produces  a  general  absorption,  instead  of  a  re- 
flection of  the  sun's  rays  ;  while  the  prevalence  of  northerly 
and  northwesterly  winds,  noted  by  Herodotus 4  as  well  as  by 
modern  observers,5  brings  into  the  valley  a  continual  current 
of  air,  coming  from  a  cool  quarter,  and  still  further  cooled  by 
its  passage  over  the  Mediterranean.  The  summer  may  be 
considered  to  commence  in  April,  and  to  terminate  at  the  end 
of  October.  The  heats  at  this  time  subside,  and  a  mild  pleas- 
ant temperature  succeeds,  which  continues  with  little  change 
throughout  the  remainder  of  the  year,  until  summer  conies 
round  again.     Hence,  Egypt  has  been  said   to  have   but  two 


24  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

seasons,  spring  and  summer.6  Snow  and  frost  are  wholly  un- 
known, and  the  temperature  rarely  falls  below  40°  of  Fahren- 
heit.7 

The  dryness  of  the  Nile  valley  is  very  remarkable.  In 
ancient  times  it  was  even  believed  that  rain  scarcely  ever  fell 
in  any  part  of  it.  Mela8  calls  Egypt  "a  land  devoid  of  show- 
ers;" and  Herodotus  regards  even  a  slight  drizzle9  in  the 
Thebaid  as  a  prodigy.  These  views  are  exaggerated,  but  rest 
upon  a  basis  of  truth.  There  is  less  rain  in  Egypt  than  in 
almost  any  other  known  country.  In  the  upper  portion  of 
the  valley,  showers  ordinarily  occur  only  on  about  five  or  six 
days  in  the  year,10  while  heavy  rain  is  a  rare  phenomenon,  not 
witnessed  more  than  once  in  every  fifteen  or  twenty  years.  A 
continuance  of  heavy  rain  for  two  or  three  days  is  almost  un- 
heard of,11  and  would  cause  the  fall  of  many  buildings,  no 
provision  being  made  against  it.  In  Lower  Egypt  the  case  is 
somewhat  different.  At  Alexandria  and  other  places  upon 
the  coast,  rain  is  as  common  in  winter  as  it  is  in  the  south  of 
Europe.  But  during  the  rest  of  the  year,  as  little  falls  as  in 
the  upper  country  ;  and  at  fifty  or  sixty  miles  from  the  coast 
the  winter  rains  cease,  the  climate  of  Cairo  being  no  less  dry 
than  that  of  the  Thebaid.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  noted 
that,  notwithstanding  the  rarity  of  rain,  the  air  is  moderately 
moist,  evaporation  from  the  broad  surface  of  the  Nile  keeping 
u  supplied  with  a  fair  degree  of  humidity. 

In  the  desert  tract  between  the  Nile  valley  and  the  Red  Sea 
the  air  is  considerably  drier  than  in  the  valley  itself,  and  the 
alternations  of  heat  and,.cold  are  greater.  In  summer  the  air 
is  suffocating,  while  m  winter  the  days  are  cool  and  the 
nights  positively  cold.  Heavy  rain  and  violent  thunder-storms 
are  frequent  at  this  season  ;  the  torrent  beds  become  full  of 
water,  and  pour  their  contents  into  the  Nile  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  Red  Sea  on  the  other.  A  month  or  two  later  these 
beds  are  perfectly  dry,  and  are  covered  with  a  drapery  of  green 
herbage,  interspersed  with  numerous  small  flowers,  until  about 
May,  when  the  heat  of  the  sun  and  the  oppressive  wind  from 
the  Desert,  known  as  the  Khamseen,  whithers  them  up,  and 
nothing  remains  except  a  few  acacia  trees  and  some  sapless 
shrubs  from  which  only  a  camel  can  derive  any  sustenance.1'2 

The  Khamseen  wind  is  one  of  the  chief  drawbacks  upon 
the  delights  of  the  Egyptian  climate.  It  arises  for  the  most 
part  suddenly,  and  without  warning,  from  the  south  or  south- 
west. "The  sky  instantly  becomes  black  and  heavy  ;  the  sun 
loses  its  splendor  and  appears  of  a  dim  violet  line  ;  a  light 
varm  breeze  is  felt,  which  gradually   increases  in   heat  till  it 


VEGETABLE    PRODUCTIONS.  25 

almost  equals  that  of  an  oven.  Though  no  vapor  darkens  the 
air,  it  becomes  so  gray  and  thick  with  the  floating  clouds  of 
impalpable  sand  that  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  use  candles 
at  noonday.  Every  green  leaf  is  instantly  shrivelled,  and 
everything  formed  of  wood  is  warped  and  cracked."13  The 
animal  creation  suffers.  The  pores  of  the  skin  are  closed,  and 
fever  commences ;  the.  hot  sand  entering  the  lungs,  irritates 
them,  and  the  breathing  grows  difficult  and  quick.  Intense 
thirst  is  felt,  which  no  drinking  will  assuage,  and  an  intoler- 
able sense  of  discomfort  and  oppression  spreads  over  the  whole 
frame.  In  towns  and  villages  the  inhabitants  remain  secluded 
in  their  houses,  striving,  but  in  vain,  to  prevent  the  sand  from 
entering  through  their  doors  and  windows.  In  the  open  fields 
and  deserts,  where  shelter  is  unattainable,  they  wrap  their 
cloaks  or  shawls  around  their  heads  while  the  storm  lasts,  and 
pray  that  it  may  cease.  If  it  continues  for  more  than  a  day, 
their  danger  is  great.  Whole  caravans  and  even  armies  are 
said  in  such  cases  to  have  been  destroyed  by  its  effects  ;  u  and 
the  solitary  traveller  who  is  caught  in  one  can  scarcely  hope  to 
escape.  Fortunately,  however,  prolonged  storms  of  the  kind 
are  rare  ;  their  duration  very  seldom  exceeds  a  day  ;  15  and 
thus  upon  the  whole  the  Khamseen  winds  must  be  regarded 
rather  as  an  annoyance  and  discomfort  than  as  an  actual  peril 
to  life.16 

The  vegetable  productions  of  Egypt  may  be  enumerated 
under  the  six  heads  of  trees,  shrubs,  esculent  plants,  wild  and 
cultivated,  grain,  artificial  grasses,  and  plants  valuable  for 
medicinal  or  manufacturing  purposes.  The  trees  are  few  in 
number,  comprising  only  the  dom  and  date  palms,  the  syca- 
more, the  tamarisk,  the  mokhayt  or  myxa,  the  sunt  or  acan- 
thus, and  three  or  four  other  kinds  of  acacias. 

The  dom  palm  (cucifera  Thebaica)  (Fig.  1),  is  among  the 
most  important  of  the  vegetable  products.  It  first  appears  a 
little  north  of  Manfaloot17  (lat.  27°  10')  and  is  abundant 
throughout  the  whole  of  Upper  Egypt.  The  wood  is  more 
solid  and  compact  than  that  of  the  ordinary  date  tree.  It  is 
suitable  for  beams  and  rafters,  as  well  as  for  boats,  rafts,  and 
other  purposes  which  necessitate  contact  with  water.  The 
fruit  is  a  large  rounded  nut,  with  a  fibrous,  exterior  envelope  ; 
it  has  a  sweet  flavor,  very  similar  to  our  gingerbread.  The  na- 
tives eat  it  both  unripe  and  ripe  :  in  the  former  case  its  texture 
is  like  that  of  cartilage  or  horn  ;  in  the  latter  it  is  very  much 
harder,  and  has  been  compared  with  the  edible  part  of  the 
cocoanut.18  The  wood  of  the  dom  palm  was  used  by  the 
ancient  Egyptians  for  the  handles  of  their  tools,19  and  for  all 


26  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

other  purposes  for  which  a  hard  material  was  requisite  ;  from 
the  shell  of  the  nut  they  made  beads,  which  took  a  high 
polish  ; 20  the  leaves  served  them  for  baskets,  sacks,  mats, 
cushions,  and  other  textile  fabrics,  for  fans,  fly-flaps,  brushes, 
and  even  for  certain  parts  of  their  sandals.21 

The  dom  palm  is  a  picturesque  tree,  very  different  in  its 
growth  from  the  ordinary  palm.  Instead  of  the  single  long 
slender  stem  of  its  date-bearing  sister,  with  a  single  tuft  of 
leaves  at  the  top,  the  dom  palm,  by  a  system  of  bifurcation, 
spreads  itself  out  on  every  side  into  numerous  limbs  or 
branches,  each  of  which  is  crowned  by  a  mass  of  leaves  and 
fruit.22  The  bifurcation  begins  generally  about  five  feet  from 
the  ground,23  and  is  repeated  at  intervals  of  nearly  the  same 
length,  till  an  elevation  is  reached  of  about  thirty  feet.  The 
blossoms  are  of  two  kinds,  male  and  female,24  from  the  latter 
of  which  the  fruit  is  developed.  This  growTs  in  large  clusters, 
and  attains  the  size  of  a  goose's  egg  externally,  but  the  nut 
within  is  not  much  bigger  than  a  large  almond.25 

The  date  palm  is  too  well  known  to  require  description  here. 
In  Egypt  the  trees  are  of  two  kinds,  cultivated  and  wild.  The 
wild  tree,  which  springs  from  seed,  bears  often  an  extraordi- 
nary number  of  dates  ; 2ti  but  being  of  small  size  and  bad  qual- 
ity, they  are  rarely  gathered.  The  cultivated  kind  is  grown 
from  offsets,  which  are  selected  with  care,  planted  out  at 
regular  intervals,27  and  abundantly  irrigated.  They  begin  to 
bear  in  about  five  or  six  years,  and  continue  to  be  productive 
for  sixty  or  seventy.  In  Roman  times  it  was  said  that  the 
dates  grown  in  Lower  (Egypt  were  bad,  while  those  of  the 
Thebaid  were  of  first-rate  quality  ; 28  but  under  the  Pharaohs 
we  may  be  tolerably  sure  that  a  good  system  of  cultivation 
produced  fruit  of  fair  quality  everywhere.  The  wild  tree  fur- 
nishes, and  has  probably  always  furnished,  the  principal  tim- 
ber used  in  Egypt  for  building  purposes.  It  is  employed  for 
beams  and  rafters  either  entire  or  split  in  half,29  and  though 
not  a  hard  wood,  is  a  sufficiently  good  material,  being  tough 
and  elastic.  The  leaves,  branches,  and  indeed  every  part  of 
the  tree,  serve  some  useful  purpose  or  other  ; 30  the  dates  have 
always  constituted  a  main  element  in  the  food  of  the  people  ; 
from  the  sap  is  derived  an  exhilarating  drink  ;  from  the  fruit 
may  be  made,  without  much  difficulty,  wine,  brandy,  and 
vinegar. 

The  Egyptian  sycamore  {Ficus  sycanwrus)  is  another  tree 
of  considerable  value.  The  fruit,  indeed,  which  ripens  in  the 
beginning  of  June,  is  not  greatty  esteemed,  being  insipid, 
though  juicy  ; :u  but  the  shade  is  welcome,  and  the  wood  is  of 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  V. 


Fig.  14.— The  sic-sac  or  Trochilus.—  See 
Page  41. 


Fig.  15.— Egyptian 
Child.— Page  50. 


Fig.  16.-The  Egyptian  Asp  (Coluber  haje).-See  Page  44. 


Fig.  17.— Egyptian  Plough.— See  Page  81. 


Plate  VIII. 


Vol.I 


Fig.  £ 2.—  Egyptian  Man  and  Woman 
(from  the  Monuments).— Page  5-3. 


b.g.  46  — l>lXuL>g  \\\il..yl.    bee  1'.  ge  83. 


Fig.  24.— Oxen  treading  out  Corn.-  See  Page  83. 


Fig.  25.— Winnowing.— See  Page  6o. 


FIG    SYCAMORE — MOKHAYT— ACANTHA.  27 

excellent  quality.  It  is  hard  and  close-grained,  well  fitted  for 
all  kinds  of  furniture.  The  ancient  Egyptians  used  it  for 
head-rests,32  for  figures  or  images,33  for  coffins,34  and  probably 
for  many  other  purposes.  Its  superiority  to  most  woods  is 
shown  in  the  fact,  that  the  existing  mummy-cases,  whicli  are 
in  most  instances  made  of  it,  have  resisted  the  powers  of 
decomposition  for  twenty,  thirty,  or  even  forty  centuries. 
The  tree  grows  to  an  extraordinary  size  in  Egypt,  some  speci- 
mens, which  have  been  measured,  exceeding  fifty  feet  in 
circumference. 

The  mokhayt  (Oardia  myxa)  grows  to  the  height  of  about 
thirty  feet,  and  has  a  diameter  of  three  feet  at  the  base.35  The 
stem  is  straight,  and  rises  without  branches  to  a  height  of  ten 
or  twelve  feet,  when  it  separates  into  a  number  of  boughs 
which  form  a  large  rounded  head,  rather  taller  than  it  is 
broad.  The  wood,  which  is  hard  and  white,  is  employed  in 
the  manufacture  of  saddles.36  The  tree  blossoms  in  May, 
and  exhales  at  that  time  a  delicious  odor.  Its  fruit  ripens 
about  June,  and  is  of  a  pale  yellow  color,  with  two  external 
skins,  and  a  nut  or  stone  in  the  centre.  The  texture  of  the 
fruit  is  viscous,  and  the  flavor  not  very  agreeable  ;  but  it  is 
eaten  by  the  natives,  and  the  Arabs  employ  it  as  a  medicine. 
In  ancient  times  the  Egyptians,  we  are  told,  obtained  from 
it  a  fermented  liquor,  whicli  was  regarded  as  a  species  of 
wine.37 

The  sont  or  acantha  {Mimosa  Nilotica)  is  a  tree  or  no 
great  size,  groves  of  which  are  found  in  many  parts  of  Egypt. 
At  present  it  is  valued  chiefly  on  account  of  its  producing 
the  gum  arabic;38  but  anciently  it  would  appear  to  have 
been  largely  used  in  the  construction  of  the  boats  engaged 
in  the  navigation  of  the  Nile.39  This  is  a  purpose  to  which 
it  is  still  applied  to  some  extent  ;40  but  the  wood  of  the  dom 
palm,  being  found  to  answer  better,  is  now  employed  more 
commonly.  Herodotus  says  that  the  Nile  boats  were  not  only 
built  of  the  acantha,  but  had  also  a  mast  of  the  same  mate- 
rial. This,  however,  seems  to  be  unlikely,  as  the  wood  isquito 
unsuited  for  that  purpose. 

The  other  acacias  which  grow  in  Egypt  are  the  lebbekr, 
(Mimosa  Lebbeck  of  Linnaeus),  the  tulil  (Acacia  gummifera), 
the  fitneh  (Acacia  Famesiand),  the  harras  (Acacia  albida), 
and  the  seyal  (Acacia  Seyal).  Of  these  the  last  is  the  most 
important,  since  it  furnishes  the  great  bulk  of  the  gum  arabic 
of  commerce,41  while  at  the  same  time  its  wood  is  valuable, 
being  both  by  color  and  textu  re  well  adapted  for  cabinet  work, 
TLj  ?GQ£cal  huj  it  oi'aoge  with  a  daiiitij/  Await:  the  giaid  i., 


28  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

close,  and  the  material  hard.  It  is  generally  believed  to  be 
the  "shittim  wood"  of  Scripture,  which  was  employed  for  the 
Ark  of  the  Covenant,  and  all  the  other  furniture  of  the  Tab- 
ernacle.42 The  seyal  is  "a  gnarled  and  thorny  tree,  somewhat 
like  a  solitary  hawthorn  in  its  habit  and  manner  of  growth, 
but  much  larger."  43  Its  height,  when  full  grown,  is  from  fif- 
teen to  twenty  feet.44  It  flourishes  in  the  driest  situations, 
and  is  common  in  the  Suez  desert,  in  the  tract  between  the 
Nile  and  Ked  Sea,  in  the  plain  of  Medinet-Habou,  and  in  the 
environs  of  Syene. 

Among  the  shrubs  and  fruit-trees  of  Egypt  the  most  im- 
portant are  the  fig,  the  pomegranate,  the  mulberry,  the  vine, 
the  olive,  the  apricot,  the  peach,  the  pear,  the  plum,  the  apple, 
the  orange,  the  lemon,  the  banana,  the  carob  or  locust  tree 
{Ceratonia  siliqua),  the  persea,  the  pal  ma  Christi  or  castor-oil 
plant  {Ricinus  communis),  the  nebk  {RJiamnus  nabeca),  and 
the  prickly  pear  or  sliok  {Cactus  opuntia).  Of  these,  the 
orange,  lemon,  apricot,  and  banana  are  probably  importations 
of  comparatively  recent  times  ;  but  the  remainder  may  be  as- 
signed, either  positively  or  with  a  high  degree  of  probability, 
to  the  Egypt  of  the  Pharaohs. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  describe  the  greater  number  of  these 
products  ;  but  there  are  some  with  which  the  ordinary  reader 
is  not  likely  to  be  familiar,  and  of  these  some  account  must  be 
given.  The  persea  {Balanites  jEgyptiaca),  which  is  now  rare 
in  the  Nile  valley,45  but  is  met  with  in  the  Ababdeh  desert, 
and  grows  in  great  profusion  on  the  road  from  Coptos  to 
'Berenice,46  is  a  bushy  tree  or  shrub,  which  attains  the  height 
of  eighteen  or  twenty 'feet  under  favorable  circumstances.47 
The  Dark  is  whitish,  the  branches  gracefully  curved,  the  foliage 
of  an  ashy  gray,  more  especially  on  its  under  surface.  The 
lower  branches  are  thickly  garnished  with  long  thorns,  but 
the  upper  ones  are  thornless.  The  fruit,  which  grows  chiefly 
on  the  upper  boughs,  and  which  the  Arabs  call  lalob™  is  about 
the  size  of  a  small  date,  and  resembles  the  date  in  general 
character.49  Its  exterior  is  "a  pulpy  substance  of  a  subacid 
flavor  ;"50  the  stone  inside  is  large  in  proportion  to  the  size  of 
the  fruit,  and  contains  a  kernel  of  a  yellowish-white  color,  oily 
and  bitter.51  Both  the  external  envelope  and  the  kernel  are 
eaten  by  the  natives. 

The  sillicyprium,  or  castor-oil  tree  {Ricinus  communis), 
grows  abundantly  in  Egypt.52  It  is  a  plant  of  a  considerable 
size,  with  leaves  like  those  of  the  vine,53 and  bears  a  berry  from 
which  the  oil  is  extracted.  This  lias  medicinal  qualities,  and 
was  used  anciently  for  medical  purposes;54  but  its  main  em- 


ESCULENT    PLANTS — THE    PAPYRUS.  29 

ployment  has  always  been  as  a  lamp-oil  of  a  coarse  kind. 
According  to  Strabo,  the  common  people  in  Egypt  applied  it 
also  to  the  anointment  of  their  persons.55 

The  nebk  or  sidr  (Rliamnus  nabeca)  is  a  fruit-tree  common  in 
Egypt,  and  in  the  interior  of  Africa/6  but  not  found  in  many 
other  places.  The  fruit,  which  ripens  very  early  in  the  year, 
usually  in  March  or  April,57  is  a  fleshy  substance  of  a  texture 
not  unlike  that  of  the  date,  with  a  hard  stone  in  the  centre. 
It  is  eaten  both  raw  and  dried  in  the  sun,  the  fleshy  part  being 
in  the  latter  case  detached  from  the  stone.  Its  flavor  is  agree- 
able,  and  it  is  recommended  as  well  suited  for  sustenance 
during  a  journey.58 

One  species  of  fig,  called  liamdt  in  Arabic,  is  indigenous  in 
Egypt,  and  may  often  be  found  in  desert  situations,  growing 
wild  from  clefts  in  the  rocks.59  The  fruit,  called  by  the  Romans 
"cottana," 60  and  by  the  modern  Arabs  "qottayn,"  is  small  in 
size,  but  remarkably  sweet. 

The  esculent  plants  of  Egypt  may  be  divided  into  the  wild 
and  the  uncultivated  ;  among  those  which  grew  wild,  the 
most  important  were  the  by  bins,  or  papyrus,  the  NymphcB 
lotus,  the  Lotus  cmnclea  and  the  Nymplma  nelumbo. 

The  byblus,  or  papyrus  (Cyperus  papyrus),  anciently  so 
common  in  Egypt,  is  not  now  found  within  the  limits  of  the 
country.  It  is  a  tall  smooth  flag  or  reed,  with  a  large  triangular 
stalk,61  inside  of  which  is  contained  the  pith  from  which  the 
Egyptians  made  their  paper.  The  paper  was  manufactured 
by  cutting  the  pith  into  strips,  arranging  them  horizontally, 
and  then  placing  across  them  another  layer  of  strips,  uniting 
the  two  layers  by  a  paste,  and  subjecting  the  whole  to  a  heavy 
pressure.6'2  The  upper  and  middle  portions  of  the  reed  were 
employed  for  this  purpose  ;  the  lower  portion,  together  with 
the  root,  was  esteemed  a  delicacy,  and  was  eaten  after  it  had 
been  baked  in  a  close  vessel.63  The  papyrus  needed  a  moist 
soil,  and  was  carefully  cultivated  in  the  shallow  lakes  and 
marshes,  more  especially  those  of  the  Sebennytic  nome  in  the 
central  part  of  the  Delta.  There  was  a  second  coarser  kind — 
probably  the  Cyperus  dives  of  botanists  M — which  was  employed 
in  the  construction  of  boats,65  of  sails,66  of  mats,  baskets,  sandals, 
and  the  like.67 

The  Nymphcea  lotus,  which  nearly  resembles  our  white  water- 
lily,68  grows  freely  in  the  lowlands  of  the  Delta  during  the 
time  of  the  inundations,  being  found  at  that  period  in  ponds 
and  channels  which  are  ordinarily  dry.69  In  ancient  times  the 
peasants  collected  and  dried  the  seed-vessels  of  this  plant,  which 
they  crushed  and  made  into  cakes  that  served  them  for  bread.7" 


30  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

They  also  ate  the  rest  of  the  plant,  which  was  considered  to 
have  "  a  pleasant  sweet  taste,"  71  and  was  eaten  either  raw, 
baked,  or  boiled.  A  recent  writer  compares  the  flavor  to  that 
of  "  a  bad  truffle,"  and  complains  that  the  taste  is  "  exceed- 
ingly insipid  ;"  V1  but  it  seems  to  have  commended  itself  to  the 
Egyptian  palate,  which  was  probably  less  fastidious  than  that 
of  modern  Europeans. 

The  Lotus  ccerulea  is  scarcely  more  than  a  variety  of  the 
Nymphsea.73  Its  blossoms,  which  are  of  a  pale  blue  color, 
have  fewer  petals  than  those  of  the  ordinary  plant ;  its  leaves 
have  a  somewhat  more  oval  shape,  and  are  darker  on  their 
under  surface.  The  seed-vessels  and  roots  are  almost  exactly 
similar,  though  the  Arabs  pretend  to  make  a  distinction  and 
to  prefer  the  blue  variety,  which  they  call  beshnin  a'raby,  "the 
lotus  of  Arabs,"  while  they  term  the  white  beshnin  el-khanzyr, 
"the  lotus  of  pigs."  74  Both  the  ordinary  lotus  and  the  ccerulea 
were  valued  on  account  of  their  flowers,  which  were  employed 
at  banquets  and  woven  into  garlands  for  the  guests.75 

The  Nelumbium,  or  Nymphcea  nelumbo  (Fig.  7),  though 
not  now  found  in  Egypt,  nor  indeed  in  Africa,76  was  beyond 
all  doubt  a  denizen  of  the  country  in  ancient  times,  though  it 
may  not  have  been  indigenous.77  The  Greeks  and  Eomans 
knew  it  as  "the  Egyptian  bean  ;"78  and  the  latter  people  re- 
garded it  as  so  characteristic  of  Egypt  that  they  used  it  con- 
stantly where  they  wanted  an  Egyptian  emblem.79  It  has  the 
general  features  of  the  lotus  tribe,  growing  in  water,  with 
round  leaves  which  float  on  the  top,  and  having  a  large  conical 
bud,  from  which  bursts  a  corolla  of  petals,  that  curve  inwards, 
and  form  a  sort  of  cup.80  The  peculiarities  of  the  nelumbo 
are  the  large  size  of  its  leaves,  and  the  size  and  lovely  color  of 
its  blossoms.  The  diameter  of  the  leaf  varies  from  a  foot  to  a 
foot  and  a  half  ;  the  petals  are  six  inches  in  length,  and  of  a 
beautiful  crimson  or  rose-purple  hue.  They  are  arranged  in 
two  rows,  one  inner  and  one  outer,  while  within  them,  at  their 
base,  is  a  dense  fringe  of  stamens,  surrounding  and  protecting 
the  ovary.  Here  the  fruit  forms  itself.  It  consists  of  a  fleshy 
substance,  shaped  like  the  rose  of  a  watering-pot ; 81  and 
studded  thickly  with  seeds,  which  project  from  the  upper 
surface  of  the  fruit,  a  circle  about  three  inches  in  diam- 
eter. 

The  number  of  the  seeds  is  from  twenty  to  thirty.82  They  are 
about  the  size  of  a  small  acorn,  and  contain  inside  their  shell  a 
white  sweet-flavored  nut  or  almond,  divided  into  two  lobes, 
between  which  is  a  green  leaf  or  "corculum,"  which  is  bitter, 
and  should  be  removed  before  the  nut  is  eaten.     This  nut,  and 


CULTIVATED    VEGETABLES    AND    GRAIN.  31 

also  the  root  of  the  plant,  were  employed  as  food  by  the  poorer 
classes  among  the  ancient  Egyptians.83 

The  cultivated  vegetables  of  -Egypt  resemble  in  most  respects 
those  of  the  same  class  in  other  countries.  They  comprise 
peas,  beans,  lentils  of  two  kinds,  the  loobieli  (a  sort  of  French 
bean),  the  endive,  leeks,  garlic,  onions,  melons,  cucumbers, 
radishes,  lettuce,  capers,  cumin,  mustard,  coriander,  aniseed, 
and  various  others.84  There  is  a  perpetual  succession  of  these 
different  esculents,  some  of  which  are  constantly  in  season, 
while  others  have  a  longer  or  a  shorter  term.  The  melon  and 
cucumber  class  flourishes  especially,  the  varieties  being  nu- 
merous,85 and  the  fruit  growing  to  a  great  size.  The  lentils, 
which  form  the  chief  food  of  the  lower  classes,86  are  of  good 
quality.  The  mustard,  aniseed,  and  coriander  seed  were  an- 
ciently in  especial  repute.87  The  caper  plant  (Capparis  spi- 
nosa)  bears  a  fruit  called  lussuf  by  the  Arabs,  which  is  shaped 
like  a  small  cucumber,  and  is  two  and  a  half  inches  long.88 

Only  three  kinds  of  grain  seem  to  have  been  cultivated  by 
the  ancient  Egyptians.  These  were  wheat,  barley,  and  the 
Holcus  sorghum,  or  modern  doora.m  Of  wheat,  there  are  now 
produced  in  Egypt  six  varieties  ; 90  and  it  is  supposed  that  the 
same  sorts  existed  in  ancient  as  in  modern  times.91  All  of  them 
but  one  are  bearded,  the  others  differing  chiefly  in  color,  and 
in  the  size  of  the  ear.  The  common  Egyptian  wheat  is  white  ; 
it  is  sown  in  November,  and  reaped  early  in  April,  after  an 
interval  of  about  five  months.95  The  barley  cultivated  is  of 
two  kinds,  one  red,  and  the  other  white.  The  two  kinds  are 
grown  in  about  equal  quantities,  and  are  in  equal  repute.9* 
The  time  of  sowing,  as  with  the  wheat,  is  the  month  of  No- 
vember; but  the  grain  is  reaped  much  earlier,  some  coming 
to  maturity  in  the  latter  half  of  February,  while  the  remainder 
is  harvested  during  the  month  of  March.94  There  are  five 
varieties  of  the  doom  y95  but  their  differences  are  not  impor- 
tant. Some  is  sown  in  November,  and  this  ripens  early  in 
May ;  some  in  April,  which  ripens  in  July ;  and  some  in 
August,  which  comes  to  maturity  in  December.  The  doora 
is  probably  the  "olyra"  or  "zea"  of  Herodotus,  which  (ac- 
cording to  him)  was  the  grain  whereon  the  Egyptians  mainly 
subsisted.96 

Of  artificial  grasses,  or  plants  cultivated  as  fodder  for  cattle, 
there  were  produced  in  ancient  Egypt  these  four 9T — clover, 
vetches,  lupins,  and  a  plant  called  gilbdn  by  the  Arabs,  and 
known  to  Pliny  as  the  Lathyrus  sativus.98  The  clover  is 
thought  to  have  been  either  the  Trifolium  AUxandrinum  or 
the  TrigonellafoenumgrcBcum,  both  of  which  are  now  common 


32  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

m  Egypt."  The  vetch  was  the  Cicer  arietinum  of  Linnaem 
and  Pliny  ;  10°  the  lupin  was  the  Lupinus  tennis,  which  is  stili 
known  as  termes  to  the  Arabs.101  These  plants  were,  all  ol 
them,  of  rapid  growth,  and  some  were  capable  of  yielding 
three  and  even  four  crops  in  a  year.102  They  were  eaten 
green,  and  also  made  into  hay,  and  stored  up  for  the  use  of 
the  cattle  during  the  time  of  the  inundation. 103 

Among  plants  valuable  for  manufacturing  and  medicinal 
purposes  may  be  mentioned,  in  the  first  place,  those  from 
which  the  Egyptians  obtained  oil  for  lamps  and  for  anointing 
themselves.  For  the  former  purpose  oil  was  obtained  chiefly 
from  three  plants — the  "kiki,"  or  castor-oil  plant  (Ricinus 
communis),  the  seemga  (Raphanus  oleifer),  and  the  simsim  or 
sesame.  The  castor-oil  plant  has  been  already  described  : 104  it 
gives  out  an  oil  with  an  unpleasant  smell,  but  one  which  is  well 
suited  for  burning.105  The  Egyptians  obtained  it  either  by 
pressing  the  berries,  or  by  boiling  them  down  and  then  skim- 
ming the  oil  from  the  surface.106  The  seemga,  which  now 
grows  only  in  Nubia  and  the  adjoining  parts  of  Upper  Egypt,107 
was  largely  cultivated  in  ancient  Egypt ;  and,  in  Roman  times 
at  any  rate,  its  seeds  furnished  the  great  bulk  of  the  oil  con- 
sumed.108 The  sesame  plant  was  also  largely  cultivated,109  as 
it  is  at  the  present  day,  the  oil  extracted  from  its  seeds  being 
now  reckoned  the  best  lamp-oil  in  the  country.110 

For  anointing  the  body  a  greater  number  of  oils  were  used. 
The  poorer  classes  applied  to  the  purpose  even  the  unpleasant 
smelling  "  kiki  ; "  ni  and  the  sesame  oil  was  used  largely  for 
adulterating  the  oils  and  unguents  regarded  as  appropriate  to 
the  person.112  But  the'richer  classes  employed  either  olive  oil 
or  unguents  of  a  more  expensive  kind,  such  as  were  the 
"metopiom"  or  bitter-almond  oil  (amygdalinum),113  the  "cypri- 
num,"  114  which  was  derived  from  the  cypros,  "a  tree  resem- 
bling the  ziziphus  in  its  foliage,  with  seeds  like  the  corian. 
der,"  115  the  "cenanthinum,"  116  the  "amaracum  "  or  "samp, 
suchum,"  117  the  "cnidinum,"  yielded  by  a  kind  of  urtica,  o\ 
nettle,118  and  an  oil  derived  from  a  species  of  grass  called 
"chorticon."  119  Altogether,  Egypt  was  considered  to  be  better 
adapted  for  the  manufacture  of  unguents  than  any  other  coun- 
try,120 and  by  a  mixture  of  various  ingredients  recondite  oint- 
ments were  produced,  which  were  regarded  as  of  very  superior 
quality.121 

For  manufacturing  purposes  the  plants  chiefly  cultivated  by 
the  Egyptians  were  flax,  which  was  very  largely  grown,  cotton, 
indigo,  and  the  safflower  or  Carthamus  tinciorius.  Linen  was 
the  ordinary  material  of  the  undergarment  with  all  classes  in 


128 
129 


MEDICINAL    PLANTS— WILD    ANIMALS.  33 

Egypt ; 122  the  priests  could  wear  nothing  else  when  officiat- 
ing ;  m  all  dead  bodies  were  wrapped  in  it  previous  to  inter- 
ment ; 124  and  it  was  employed  also  for  ropes,125  corselets,126  and 
various  other  purposes.  The  representation  of  the  flax  harvest 
is  frequent  upon  the  monuments.127  The  kind  chiefly  culti 
vated  is  believed  to  have  been  the  Linum  usitatissimum, 
which  is  now  the  only  sort  that  is  thought  worth  growing ; 
but  anciently  cultivation  extended,  we  are  told,  to  four  varie- 
ties, which  were  known  respectively  as  the  Butic  flax,  the 
Tanitic,  the  Tentyric,  and  the  Pelusiac.130  Cotton  (Gossy- 
pium  herbaceum)  was  a  product  of  the  more  southern  parts  of 
Egypt ; 131  it  was  in  almost  equal  repute  with  linen  as  a  material 
for  dress,132  being  preferred  on  account  of  its  softness,  though 
not  regarded  as  possessing  the  highest  degree  of  purity. 
Indigo  and  safflower  were  grown  for  the  sake  of  the  dyes 
which  they  furnished.  Mummy-cloths  were  frequently  stained 
with  the  safflower ; 133  while  indigo  was  used  to  color  textile 
fabrics  of  all  kinds,134  and  also  for  the  ornamental  painting  of 
walls. 135 

The  number  of  medicinal  plants  and  herbs  produced  in 
Egypt  was  matter  of  comment  as  early  as  the  time  of  Homer.136 
Some  of  these  grew  naturally,  while  others  were  carefully 
cultivated.  Among  the  former  may  be  mentioned  the  colo- 
cinth,137  the  cassia  senna,138  the  Origanum  jffigyptiacum™ 
the  myrobalanus 140  or  Moringa  altera, 141  the  Clematis  ^Egyptia 
( Daphnoeides  or  Polygonoeides)  142  and  two  arums,143  probably 
the  Arum  arisarum  and  the  Arum  colocasia.144  Among  the 
latter,  the  most  important  were  the  anise  145  (Pimpinella 
anisum),  an  endive  called  "seris"146  (Ciclwrium  endiviaf), 
the  coriander-plant 147  (Coriandrum  sativum),  the  Corcho- 
r um  148  (Corcliorus  olitorias),  and  the"cnecum"  or  "atrac- 
tilis,"  149  which  is  thought  to  be  the  Carthamus  Oreticus.™0 
Besides  these,  we  find  mentioned  as  medicinal  plants  produced 
in  Egypt,  the  "  Apshithius  marinus,"m  the  balsam,152  the 
"acacalis,"153  the  " Cyprus, "  154  the  "helenium,*3 155  the  "myo- 
sotis,"  156  and  the  "stratiotes."  157  There  was  also  a  medicinal 
use  of  the  tamarisk,158  the  papyrus,159  the  Mimosa  Niloticaj" 
the  dom  and  date  palm,161  the  pomegranate, 162  the  myrtle, 
the  locust-tree,164  the  "persea,"  165  and  many  other  plants. 

Among  the  wild  animals  indigenous  in  Egypt  the  principal 
were  the  hippopotamus,  the  crocodile,  the  lion,  the  hyena,  the 
wolf,  the  jackal,  the  fox,  the  ichneumon,  the  hare,  the  jerboa, 
the  rat,  the  mouse,  the  shrew-mouse,  the  porcupine,  the  hedge- 
hog, and  perhaps  the  bear,  the  wild  boar,  the  ibex,  the  ga- 
zelle, three  kinds  of  antelopes,  the  stag,  the  wild  sheep,  the 


lt;n 
It',:; 


34  HISTORY   OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 

Monitor  Niloticus,  and  the  wild-cat  or  Fells  Chaiis.  The  hip- 
popotamus seems  in  ancient  times  to  have  been  common,  even 
in  the  more  northern  parts  of  Egypt/66  and  to  chase  it  was  a 
favorite  amusement.  By  degrees  it  was  driven  southwards, 
and  it  is  now  uncommon  even  in  Nubia,167  although  occasion- 
ally it  lias  been  known  to  descend  the  river  beyond  the  First 
Cataract,  and  to  pass  Syene  or  Assouan.168 

The  crocodile  is  still  very  common  in  Upper  Egypt,  but  at 
present  seldom  descends  below  Manfaloot  (lat.  27°  10'). 169 
Anciently,  however,  it  was  found  along  the  whole  lower  course 
of  the  Nile,  even  to  the  close  vicinity  of  the  sea,170  as  well  as 
in  the  Fayoum  or  Arsinoite  canton.171  Notwithstanding  its 
great  size  and  strength,  it  js  a  timid  animal,  "flying  on  the 
approach  of  man,  and,  generally  speaking,  only  venturing  to 
attack  its  prey  on  a  sudden."  m  It  will,  however,  seize  and 
destroy  men,  if  it  take  them  at  a  disadvantage  ;  and  instances 
of  its  sweeping  incautious  persons  from  the  bank  of  the  river 
into  the  water  by  the  force  of  its  tail,  catching  them  as  they 
fall  into  its  huge  jaws,  and  carrying  them  instantaneously  to 
the  bottom,  are  of  no  rare  occurrence.173  Still,  for  the  most 
part,  it  lives  on  fish,  which  abound  in  the  Nile,  and  only  oc- 
casionally indulges  itself  in  the  luxury  of  devouring  warm- 
blooded animals.  It  is  very  unwieldy  upon  land,  and  never 
goes  far  from  the  water's  edge,  but  still  it  passes  a  good  deal 
of  its  time  in  the  air,  more  especially  during  the  summer 
months,  when  it  delights  in  frequenting  the  sand-banks,  where 
it  sleeps  with  its  mouth  wide  open  and  turned  to  the  prevail- 
ing wind.174 

Lions  are  not  now  found  in  any  part  of  Egypt,  nor  anywhere 
in  the  Nile  valley  lower  down  than  the  junction  with  the 
Atbara.175  It  is  believed,  however,  that  anciently  they  inhab- 
ited the  Egyptian  deserts  on  either  side  of  the  river ; 176  and 
the  monuments  show  us  that  they  were  tamed  and  used  by 
the  upper  classes  in  the  chase  of  gazelles  and  ibexes.177 

Hyenas,  wolves,  jackals,  and  foxes  are  among  the  most  com- 
mon of  Egyptian  wild  animals.178  The  hyena  of  the  country 
is  the  ordinary  or  striped  hyena  (Hyama  vulgaris)  (Fig.  10). 
It  is  both  carnivorous  and  graminivorous,  feeding  in  part 
upon  wheat  and  doora,  and  doing  great  mischief  to  the  stand- 
ing crops,179  while  it  will  also  attack  cattle,  and,  on  occasions, 
even  man.  In  these  cases,  "it  is  a  rude  and  dangerous  an- 
tagonist." 18°  It  attacks  by  rushing  furiously  forward  and 
throwing  its  adversary  down  by  a  blow  of  its  large  bony  head, 
after  which  it  uses  its  fangs  and  claws.  In  a  sandy  place  it 
will  even  (we  are  told) 181  begin  by  throwing  up  a  cloud  of 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  1^. 


Fig.  26.— Doora  Harvest.— See  Page  83. 


Fig.  27.— Vines  Grown  in  Bowers.— See  Page  86. 


Fig.  28.— Vines  Trained  on  Fosts.— See  Page  86. 


Plate  X. 


Vol.  I. 


Fig.  29.— Egyptian  Vase  and  Amphora.—  See  Page  87. 


Fig.  30.— Rescuing  Cattle  from  the  Inundation.— See  Page  87. 


Fig-  31.— Medicine  Administered  to  Cattle.— See  Page  88. 


HYEKAS    AtfD    ICHNEUMONS.  35' 

dust  with  its  hind  legs,  and,  after  thus  disconcerting  its  op- 
ponent, make  its  charge  and  bring  him  to  the  ground.  The 
hyena  was  much  dreaded  by  the  Egyptian  peasants,  who  lost 
no  opportunity  of  checking  its  ravages,  by  hunting  it  or  catch- 
ing it  in  traps.182  There  is  nothing  that  is  remarkable  in  the 
jackals  or  foxes  of  Egypt ;  but  the  wolves  are  peculiar.  They 
are  small  in  size,183  inactive  in  their  habits,184  and  never  gre- 
garious. Usually  they  are  met  with  prowling  about  singly ; 
and  it  scarcely  ever  happens  that  more  than  two  of  them  are 
seen  together.185 

The  ichneumon  (  Viverra  ichneumon)  (Fig.  2)  is  a  species  of 
mangoust.186  It  lives  principally  in  Lower  Egypt  and  the 
Fayoum,187  and  haunts  the  borders  of  the  Nile  and  the  culti- 
vated fields,  where  it  conceals  itself  in  the  shallow  ditches  con- 
structed for  the  irrigation  of  the  crops.188  It  is  excessively 
timid,  and  in  the  wild  state  is  rarely  seen.  In  length  a  full- 
grown  specimen  measures  about  two  feet  and  a  half,  the  body 
being  fifteen  inches  long,  and  the  tail  of  the  same  (or  a  little 
greater)  length  with  the  body.189  In  a  state  of  nature,  it  sub- 
sists chiefly  upon  eggs,  and  is  said  19°  to  discover  and  devour 
great  numbers  of  the  eggs  which  the  crocodile  lays  and  leaves 
to  hatch  in  the  sand.  It  will  also  eat  young  birds  and  field- 
mice,  if  it  finds  the  opportunity.  The  ichneumon  has  a  sin- 
gular antipathy  to  snakes.  No  sooner  does  it  see  one,  than 
it  advances  to  the  attack.  On  the  snake  raising  its  head  from 
the  ground,  the  ichneumon  springs  upon  it,  seizes  it  at  the 
back  of  the  neck,  and  with  a  single  bite  lays  it  dead  at  its 
feet.191  Ichneumons  are  frequently  tamed,  and,  when  made 
inmates  of  houses,  answer  the  purpose  of  cats,  clearing  the 
residence  of  rats  and  mice  with  great  rapidity.192  It  is  diffi- 
cult, however,  to  prevent  them  from  appropriating  such  things 
as  eggs,  poultry,  pigeons,  and  the  like,  on  which  account  their 
services  are  for  the  most  part  dispensed  with.193  Many  extraor- 
dinary tales  were  told  of  the  ichneumon  by  the  ancient  nat- 
uralists,194 who,  like  the  early  historians,195  aimed  at  amusing 
rather  than  instructing  their  readers. 

The  Egyptian  hare  (Fig.  3)  is  in  no  respects  peculiar,  ex- 
cepting that  it  is  smaller  than  that  of  Europe,  and  has  longer 
ears.196  The  jerboa  (Dipus  jaculus),  which  is  common  both 
in  the  upper  and  the  lower  country,  presents  (it  is  said  197)  two 
varieties,  and  can  scarcely  have  been  absent  from  ancient 
Egypt,  though  it  is  not  represented  on  the  monuments.  The 
rat,  mouse,  and  hedgehog,  all  of  which  are  represented,  require 
no  description.  The  porcupine,  which  appears  on  the  monu- 
ments frequently,198  is  also  too  well  known  to  need  any  comment. 


3(5  HISTORY   OF  ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

It  is  a  disputed  point  whether  bears  were  ever  indigenous  in 
Egypt.  On  the  one  hand,  we  have  the  positive  statement  of 
1  Lerodotus,199  that  in  his  time  they  were  not  unknown  there, 
although  uncommon  ;  on  the  other,  we  have  the  facts,  that 
they  appear  on  the  monuments  only  among  the  curiosities 
brought  by  foreigners,200  that  they  are  not  now  found  there, 
and  that  no  other  author  besides  Herodotus  assigns  them  to 
the  locality.  On  the  whole,  it  is  perhaps  best  to  suppose  that 
Herodotus  was,  for  once,  mistaken. 

It  seems  very  improbable  that  Egypt  could  have  been  in 
ancient  times  without  the  wild  boar.  Egypt  is  of  all  countries 
the  one  which  pre-eminently  suits  the  habits  of  the  animal  ; 
and  it  now  abounds  in  the  marshy  regions  of  the  Delta,  and 
also  in  the  Fayoum.201  Yet  representations  of  it  are  entirely 
absent  from  the  monuments.202  We  may  perhaps  conjecture 
that  the  impurity,  wrhich  attached  to  the  domestic  animal,203 
extended  also  to  his  wild  congener  ;  and  that  though  the  wild 
boar  existed  in  the  country,  he  was  not  hunted,  and  so  escaped 
representation  in  the  only  sculptures  in  which  he  wTas  likely 
to  have  appeared,  namely,  those  representing  hunting  scenes. 
The  ibex,  gazelle,  oryx  (Fig.  4),  antelope,  stag,  and  wild 
sheep  were  certainly  hunted  by  the  Egyptians,204  and  wTere 
therefore,  it  is  probable,  denizens  of  some  part  or  other  of  their 
country.  The  habits  of  these  animals  unfit  them  for  such  a 
region  as  Egypt  Proper— the  valley  of  the  Nile  and  the  Delta 
— but  if  we  use  the  term  "Egypt"  in  a  looser  sense,  including 
under  it  the  tract  between  the  Nile  Valley  and  the  Eed  Sea, 
together  writh  a  strip  of  the  Western  or  Libyan  desert,  we  shall 
find  within  such  limits  'a  very  suitable  habitat  for  these  wild 

ruminants.  The  ga- 
zelle, the  ibex,  and  the 
wild  sheep  are  still  to 
be  met  with  in  the  Eas- 
tern Desert,  especial- 
ly in  the  more  south- 
ern part  of  it,205  and  the 
stag,  according  to  some 
accounts,  is  occasionally 
to  be  seen  in  the  vicin- 
" ity    of      the      Natron 

Gazelles  (from  the  monuments).  Lakes.206   The  oryx,  the 

antelope  beisa,  and  the  antelope  addax  inhabit  Abyssinia ;  *°7 
while  the  antelope  defassa,  which  seems  to  be  one  of  those 
most  frequently  hunted  by  the  Egyptians,  is  found  in  the 
Western  Desert.208    This  last  is  a  large  animal,  standing  about 


MONITORS — EGYPTIAN    HORSES.  37 

four  feet  high  at  the  shoulder,  of  a  reddish  sandy  color,  with  a 
black  tuft  at  the  end  of  its  tail.  Jt  is  not  improbable  that 
anciently  these  several  varieties  of  the  antelope  tribe  had,  one 
and  all,  a  wider  habitat  than  at  present,  and  one  which  brought 
them  within  the  limits  of  Egypt,  in  the  more  extended  sense 
of  the  term. 

The  wild-cat,  or  Fells  cliaiis  of  Linnaeus,  is  now  common  in 
the  vtcinity  of  the  Pyramids  and  of  Ileliopolis,209  but  is  neither 
depicted  on  the  monuments210  nor  mentioned  by  any  of  the 
ancient  writers  on  Egypt.  It  is,  therefore,  doubtful  whether 
it  inhabited  the  Egypt  of  the  Pharaohs  or  not,  though,  as  its 
introduction  at  any  later  period  is  highly  improbable,  it  seems 
best,  on  the  whole,  to  regard  it  as  belonging  to  the  class  of 
indigenous  animals. 

The  monitor  of  the  Nile  (Lacerta  Nilotica)  (Fig.  5)  is 
another  animal,  which,  though  not  represented  upon  the 
sculptures,  and  not  even  distinctly  alluded  to  by  any  ancient 
writer,211  must  almost  necessarily  be  regarded  as  an  indigenous 
animal,  an  inhabitant  of  the  Nile  from  remote  antiquity.  It 
is  a  species  of  lizard,  about  three  feet  long,212  which  passes  its 
time  mainly  in  the  water,  and  is  therefore  called  wurran-el- 
bahr,  "the  wurran  of  the  river,"  by  the  Arabs.  There  is  also 
another  and  even  larger213  lizard  (the  Lacerta  scincus)  (Fig. 
6),  which  is  a  native  of  Egypt,  a  land  animal,  frequenting  dry 
places,  and  called  by  the  Arabs  wurran-e'-gebel,  "wurran  of 
the  mountains,"  or  wurrari-el-anl,  "wurran  of  the  earth."214 
This  also,  like  the  former,  was  probably  included  among  the 
ancient  denizens  of  the  country,  since  its  artificial  introduction 
would  be  very  unlikely  ;  though,  no  doubt,  it  is  possible  that 
it  may  have  come  in  from  the  more  western  parts  of  Africa, 
where  it  was  certainly  found  in  ancient  times.215 

T  h  e  domestic 
animals  of  ancient 
Egypt  were  the 
horse,  the  ass,  the 
camel,  the  Indian 
or  humped  ox,  the 
cow,  the  sheep,  the 
goat,  the  pig,  the 
cat,  and  the  dog. 
Horses  seem  not  to 
have  been  known 
in  the  early  times216 
and  were  probably. 
introduced     from  Egyptian  Horses  (from  the  monuments). 


'2'." 


.'38  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

Arabia,  bringing  with  them  their  Semitic  name.517  From  the 
time,  however,  of  their  introduction  great  pains  were  bestowed 
upon  the  breed,'18  which  seems  to  have  resembled  the  best 
Arab  stock,  being  light,  agile  and  high-spirited.  Egyptian 
horses  were,  in  consequence,  highly  esteemed,  and  were  largely 
exported  to  neighboring  countries.219 

The  ass  (Fig.  8)  was  known  in  Egypt  much  earlier  than  the 
horse,220  and  was  probably  employed  as  the  chief  beast  of  bur- 
den from  a  remote  antiquity.  We  may  assume  that  it  resem- 
bled the  modern  animal,  so  familiar  to  travellers,  which  is  of 
small  size,  but  active,  and  capable  of  bearing  great  fatigue. 

The  camel  is  placed  among  the  domestic  animals  of  Egypt, 
partly  on  account  of  its  being  mentioned  in  Genesis  among  the 
elements  of  Abraham's  wealth  while  he  was  in  that  country, 
but  partly  also  on  grounds  of  probability,222  since  without  the 
•camel  it  would  have  been  scarcely  possible  to  keep  up  com- 
munication with  Syria,  or  with  the  Sinaitic  Desert,  where  from 
;a  very  remote  time  the  Egyptians  had  valuable  possessions. 

The  Indian  or  humped  ox  is  represented  upon  the  monu- 
ments in  such  a  way  as  to  imply  that  it  was  bred  by  the 

Egyptian  farmers, 
and  used  largely 
both  for  sacrifice 
and  for  the  table.223 
It  is  not  now  found 
in  Egypt,  though 
it  is  common  in 
Abyssinia.  Cows 
and  oxen  of  the 
ordinary  kind  were 
also  kept  in  con- 
Egyptian  Humped  Ox  (from  the  monuments).       siderable  numbers 

the  flesh  of  the  males  being  freely  eaten,224  and  the  oxen  em- 
ployed for  various  purposes  connected  with  husbandly.225  Sheep 
and  goats  were  numerous  in  all  parts  of  the  country.226  Sheep 
were  kept  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  their  wool,227  since  it  was  un- 
lawful to  eat  them  in  most  parts  of  Egypt.  They  were  usually 
sheared  twice  in  the  year,  and  bred  twice.228  Pigs,  although 
reckoned  unclean,229  formed  a  portion  of  the  stock  on  most 
farms  ;  according  to  Herodotus,  they  were  universally  em- 
ployed to  tread  in  the  corn  ; m  at  any  rate  they  were  so 
numerous,  that  their  keepers — the  caste,  or  class  of  swineherds 
— obtained  mention  as  a  special  section  of  the  population.231 
Cats  were  great  favorites  with  the  ancient  Egyptians. 
Herodotus  assures  us*w  that,  when  a  fire  occurred  in  an  Egyp 


SSI 


DOGS— BIRDS.  39 

tian  town,  the  chief  attention  of  the  inhabitants  was  directed  to 
the  preservation  of  the  cats.  Allowing  the  houses  to  burn, 
they  formed  themselves  into  bodies  all  round  the  conflagration, 
and  endeavored  to  prevent  the  cats  from  rushing  into  the 
flames.  We  see  on  the  monuments  pet  cats  seated  by  the 
master  of  the  house  when  he  entertains  a  party  of  friends,  or 
accompanying  him  in  his  fowling  excursions  abroad.234  Cats 
were  favored  when  living  and  mourned  when  dead.235  Num- 
erous mummies  of  cats  have  been  found  ;  and  the  care  be- 
stowed on  them  must  have  been  almost  equal  to  that  which 
was  given  to  the  bodies  of  men.236 

Dogs  (Fig.  9)  were  also  great  favorites,  and  were  of  several 
kinds.  The  most  common  was  a  sort  of  fox  dog  (No.  2),  with 
erect  ears,  and  a  short  curly  tail,  which  is  thought m  to  have 
been  the  parent  stock  of  the  modern  red  dog  of  Egypt,  so 
common  at  Cairo  and  other  towns  of  the  lower  country.  An- 
other kind,  which  occurs  often  (No.i  1),  is  a  hound,  tall  and 
with  a  long  straight  tail ;  which  was  used  to  hunt  the  ante- 
lope 238  and  other  wild  animals.239  There  was  also  a  short-legged 
dog  (No.  4),  not  unlike  our  turnspit,*40  with  a  pointed  nose, 
erect  ears,  and  a  moderately  long  tail ;  which  is  said  to  have 
been  fashionable  about  the  time  of  Osirtasen  I.241  Finally,  we 
see  represented  on  the  sculptures  a  tall  thin  animal  (No.  3), 
about  the  size  of  a  hound,  but  with  ears  like  a  wolf,  and  a  long 
thin  tail.242 

The  most  remarkable  among  the  existing  birds  of  Egypt  are 
the  eagle,  which  is  of  four  kinds,243  the  falcon  (three  varie- 
ties),244 the  ^Etolian  kite,  the  black  vulture,  the  bearded  vul- 
ture, the  Vultiir  percnopterus,  the  osprey,  the  horned  owl, 
the  screech  owl,  the  raven,  the  ostrich,  the  ibis,  the  pelican, 
the  vulpanser  or  fox-goose,  the  Nile  duck  (Anas  Nilotica),  the 
hoopoe  (Upupa  epops),  the  sea-swallow  (Sterna  Nilotica),  the 
Egyptian  kingfisher  (Alcedo  sFgyptiacus),  the  quail,  the  ori- 
ental dotterel,  the  benno  (Ardea  bubulcus),  and  the  sicsac 
(Uharadrius  melamcephalus).  Besides  these,  there  are  found 
the  common  swallow,  the  sparrow,  the  wagtail,  the  crested 
plover,  the  heron  and  various  other  wading  birds,  the  common 
kite,  several  kinds  of  hawks,  the  common  vulture,  the  com- 
mon owl,  the  white  owl,  the  turtle-dove,  the  missel  thrush,  the 
common  kingfisher,  two  kinds  of  larks,  and  various  finches. m 
As  most  of  these  birds  are  well  known,  it  will  not  be  necessary 
to  describe  them  ;  but  a  few  words  will  be  said  with  respect  to 
such  of  them  as  are  either  peculiar  to  Fgypt,  or  may  be  pre- 
sumed to  be  unfamiliar  to  most  readers. 

The  zEtolian  kite  {Milvus sEtolius)  is  of  a  grayish-brown  hue, 


40  HISTORY    OF    ANCTEOT    EGYPT. 

smaller  and  with  the  tail  less  forked  than  the  ordinary  kite.841 
It  is  common  in  Egypt  during  the  autumn,  and  is  at  that 
time  so  tame  as  to  come  and  sit  on  the  window-sills  of  the 
houses.247  The  bearded  vulture  (Pliene  giganteaoi  St.  Hilaire) 
is  a  huge  bird,  blackish  brown  with  patches  of  gray.  One 
shot  in  the  desert  between  Cairo  and  the  Ked  Sea  during  the 
French  occupation  of  Egypt  measured  about  fifteen  feet  from 
tip  to  tip  of  the  wings.248  A  bearded  vulture  of  a  smaller  kind 
is  described  and  figured  by  Bruce  as  a  "golden  eagle  ;" 249  but 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  rightly  assigned  to  the  vulture 
tribe.  The  Vultur  percnopterus  is  a  small  white  variety,250 
known  to  the  Arabs  by  the  name  of  rokliama,  and  to  the 
modern  Egyptians  as  "Pharaoh's  hen."  251  It  is  most  valuable 
as  a  scavenger,  and,  though  unpleasing  in  its  appearance,  en- 
joyed a  considerable  degree  of  favor  among  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tians, as  it  still  does  among  their  successors.252 

Two  varieties  of  the  ibis  existed  in  ancient  Egypt.253  One 
was  probably  the  Ibis  falcinella,  or  "glossy  ibis"  (Fig.  12), 
which  measures  about  a  foot  from  the  breast  to  the  tail,  and 
is  of  a  reddish-brown  color,  shot  with  dark  green  and  purple.254 
The  other  was  the  Ibis  religiosa  or  Ibis  Kumenia,  the  abou 
liannes  of  Bruce  (Fig.  12).  This  is  a  bird  of  the  stork 
class,  standing  about  two  feet  high,  and  measuring  about 
two  feet  six  inches  from  the  tip  of  the  beak  to  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  tail.  The  bill  is  long  and  curved,  meas- 
uring about  six  or  seven  inches.  The  head  and  neck,  for 
more  than  six  inches  below  the  eyes,  are  entirely  bare  of 
feathers,  and  present  nothing  but  a  black  cutaneous  surface. 
The  greater  part  of  tire  body  is  of  a  yellowish-white  color ; 
but  the  wings  are  tipped  with  a  greenish  black,  while  on  either 
side  of  the  tail,  which  is  white,  "long  funereal-looking  plumes, 
of  a  purplish  black  color,  proceeding  from  beneath  the  tertiary 
wing  feathers,  hang  not  ungracefully."255  The  legs  and  feet 
are  of  a  deep  leaden  hue,  and  the  claws  are  black.  The  Ibis 
religiosa  rendered  important  services  to  the  Egyptians  by  de- 
stroying snakes  and  various  insects,  and  was  therefore  greatly 
esteemed,  and  placed  under  the  protection  of  Thoth,  the 
Egyptian  Mercury. 

The  vulpanser  or  fox-goose  (Anser  JEgyptms)  was  a  wild 
goose  of  no  very  peculiar  character.256  It  is  said  by  Herodotus 
to  have  been  sacred;257  but  this  is  questioned,258  since  it  was 
certainly  used  freely  for  food  by  the  natives.259  The  Egyptian 
duck  (Anas  Nilotica)  has  a  more  distinctive  character.  "The 
neck  and  inferior  part  of  the  head  are  white,  with  black  spots, 
and  a  gray  line  runs  lengthways  behind  the  eyes;  the  under 


BIRDS — FISH.  41 

part  of  the  body,  and  the  thighs,  are  of  %he  same  color."  260  It 
occurs  wild  in  Upper  Egypt,  and  in  the  lower  country  is  seen 
not  unfrequently  domesticated  among  the  occupants  of  the 
farmyard. 

The  sea-swallow  {Sterna  Nilotica)  is  a  small  but  beautiful 
bird.  It  frequents  both  the  Nile  itself  and  the  various  canals 
which  are  led  off  from  the  main  stream.  The  beak  is  black  ; 
the  head  and  neck  grayish,  with  small  white  spots  ;  the  back, 
wings,  and  tail  gray  ;  the  belly  and  under  part  of  the  neck 
white  ;  the  feet  red,  and  the  claws  black.261  The  oriental  dot- 
terel, a  species  of  Charadriu8,m  is  said  to  be  about  the  size  of 
a  crow,  and  to  have  a  shrill  but  pleasing  note,  like  that  of  the 
black  woodpecker.263  It  feeds  chiefly  on  rats  and  mice,  with 
which  Egypt  abounds,  and  is  thus  of  considerable  service  to 
the  inhabitants.  The  places  which  it  chiefly  frequents  are 
the  acacia  groves  in  the  neighborhood  of  villages  ;  but  it  is 
found  also  in  various  parts  of  the  desert.  The  benno  (Ardea 
bubulcus)  is  a  bird  of  the  crane  or  heron  kind.  It  is  of  a  pure 
white  color,  and  is  specially  distinguished  from  all  other  her- 
ons, cranes,  or  storks,  by  having  a  tuft  formed  of  two  long 
feathers  which  stream  from  the  back  of  the  head.  In  ancient 
Egypt  it  was  sacred  to  Osiris,  the  god  of  agriculture ;  and 
moderns  remark  that  to  the  present  day  it  lives  in  the  culti- 
vated fields  and  follows  the  plough,  in  order  to  feed  on  the 
worms  and  insects  which  are  exposed  when  the  soil  is  turned 
up.264     It  is  often  represented  in  the  Egyptian  sculptures.265 

The  sic-sac  (Charadrius  melanocephalus)  (Fig.  14)  is  a  small 
species  of  plover,  not  more  than  9|  inches  long.  The  head  is 
black  (whence  Linnaeus's  name),  with  two  white  stripes  run- 
ning from  the  bill  and  meeting  at  the  nape  of  the  neck.  The 
back  and  tail  are  slate  color ;  the  neck  and  abdomen  white ; 
the  wings  white  tipped  with  black,  and  with  a  broad  trans- 
verse black  band  ;  moreover,  a  sort  of  black  mantle  extends 
from  the  shoulders  to  the  tail.  The  beak  is  black  and  the 
feet  blue.266  The  sic-sac  haunts  the  sand-banks,  which  are 
frequented  also  by  the  crocodile,  and  chirps  loudly  with  a  shrill 
note  on  the  approach  of  man  ; 267  whence  the  bird  has  been 
supposed  to  be  the  crocodile's  friend,  and  to  give  him  warn- 
ing, intentionally,  of  the  advent  of  danger.268 

The  "river  of  Egypt"  was  celebrated  for  its  fish,  and  not 
only  produced  a  most  abundant  supply 269  of  a  food  excellently 
suited  for  such  a  climate,  but  had  several  varieties  which  either 
were,  or  at  any  rate  were  thought  to  be,  peculiar  to  itself.271 
Among  these,  those  most  highly  regarded  were  the  oxyrhyn- 
$hus,  the  lepidotus,  and  the  latus.     The  oxyrhynchus  is  novr 


42  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

generally  considered  to  be  the  Mormyrus  oxyrhynclius,™  th© 
mizdeh  of  the  modern  Arabs  (Fig.  13),  which  has  a  long 
pointed  nose  curving  downwards.  It  is  a  smooth-skinned 
fish,  apparently  of  tiie  barbel  class,  and  is  at  the  present  day 
not  much  esteemed  for  food.272  Anciently  it  was  sacred  to 
Athor,  and  in  some  places  might  not  be  eaten.273  The  lepido- 
tus has  been  identified  with  the  Salmo  dentex,  the  Perca 
Nilotica,  and  the  binny,274  all  of  them  fish  with  large  scales, 
which  is  what  the  word  "lepidotus"  signifies.  On  the  whole, 
the  binny  (Oyprinus  lepidotus)  is  thought  to  have  a  claim  supe- 
rior to  that  of  the  other  two,  though  the  question  cannot  be 
considered  to  be  as  yet  decided.275  The  binny  is  a  fish  of  a 
good  flavor,  one  of  the  best  and  wholesomest  that  the  Nile 
produces.  The  latus,  which  was  a  sacred  fish  at  Latopolis 
(Esneli),  may  perhaps  be  the  Perca  Nilotica,™  another  excel- 
lent fish,  white-fleshed  and  delicate  in  flavor,  much  sought 
after  by  the  present  inhabitants. 

Among  other  delicate  fish  produced  by  the  Nile  may  be 
mentioned  the  bulti,  or  Labrus  Niloticus,  now  the  most  highly 
esteemed  of  all ; 277  the  nefareJi,  or  Nile  salmon  (Salmo  Niloti- 
cus), which  ascends  the  stream  to  the  latitude  of  Cairo,  and 
has  been  known  to  weigh,  when  caught,  above  a  hundred 
pounds,  a  fish  pronounced  to  be  "very  delicate  eating  ;  " 278  the 
sagbosa  (Clupea  alosa),  a  kind  of  herring  ; 279  the  spar  (Sparus 
Niloticus);™  the  mullet  (Mugil  cep7ialus);m  and  the  garmoot 
(Silurus  carmuth).m  The  eels  of  the  Nile  are  reckoned  un- 
wholesome, more  especially  in  the  summer  months  ; 283  and  the 
tetraodon  is  said  to  be_actually  poisonous.284  But,  besides  the 
fish  named  above  as  delicacies,  there  were  many  others,  which, 
though  not  greatly  esteemed,  were  good  for  food  :  e.  g.,  the 
shall  (Silurus  shall),  the  shilbeh  (Silurus  scliilbe  Niloticus), 
the  byad  (Silurus  bajad),  the  arabrab,  the  kelb-el-bahr,  or 
Nile  dog-fish  (Salmo  dentex),  and  a  species  of  carp  (Oyprinus 
rubescens  Niloticus).™  In  a  country  where,  owing  to  the  high 
temperature,  the  flesh  of  land  animals  was  unsuited  for  general 
use,  it  was  of  the  greatest  advantage  that  there  should  be,  as 
tthere  was,  an  almost  unlimited  supply  of  a  healthy  pleasant 
food,  sufficiently  nourishing,  without  being  stimulating,  and 
readily  available  at  all  seasons. 

Egypt  was  less  happily  circumstanced  in  respect  of  reptiles 
and  insects,  which  were  as  abundant  as  fish  without  (for  the 
most  part)  serving  any  useful  purpose.  Of  reptiles,  we  have 
already  described  the  crocodile  and  the  two  monitors,286  crea- 
tures which,  from  their  size  and  their  habits,  are  naturally 
classed  with  the  larger  animals.     We  have  now  to  notice  the 


REPTILES.  43 

chief  remaining  reptiles,  which  were  the  turtle  (Trionyx  Ni- 
loticus),  two  species  of  iguana  (Stellio  vulgaris  and  Stellio 
spi?iipes),  two  geckos,  the  chameleon,  several  snakes,  more 
especially  the  horned  snake  (Coluber  cerastes)  and  the  asp 
(Coluber  liaje),  and  several  lizards.  The  turtle  of  the  Nile  is 
of  the  soft  kind,  the  upper  and  lower  shells  being  united  by  a 
mere  coriaceous  membrane.  It  is  a  trionyx  of  a  large  size, 
sometimes  even  exceeding  three  feet  in  length.  The  upper 
shell  is  very  handsomely  marked.287  The  common  iguana 
(Stellio  vulgaris)  is  a  creature  shaped  like  a  lizard,  of  a  dark 
olive-green  color  shaded  with  black.  It  seldom  exceeds  a  foot 
in  length.288  The  Mohammedans  dislike  it  and  persecute  it, 
since  they  regard  its  favorite  attitude  as  a  derisive  imitation 
of  their  own  posture  in  prayer.289  The  other  species  (Stellio 
spinipes)  is  a  much  larger  animal,  varying  in  length  from  two 
to  three  feet.  It  is  found  chiefly  in  Upper  Egypt,  and  is  of  a 
bright  grass-green  color. 9IU 

The  two  geckos,  which  are  small  lizards,  are  known  re- 
spectively as  Lacerta  gecko  and  Lacerta  caudiverbera.  The 
former,  called  also  Gecko  ptyodactylus,  or  "the  fan-footed 
gecko,"  is  remarkable  for  the  shape  and  physical  qualities  of 
its  feet.  These  divide  into  five  toes,  which  are  spread  out 
and  do  not  touch  one  another.  Each  is  armed  on  its  under 
surface  with  a  peculiar  structure  of  folds,  by  means  of  which 
the  animal  is  able  to  run  up  perpendicular  walls  of  the  smooth- 
est possible  material,  and  even  to  Avalk  on  ceilings,  like  house- 
flies,  or  adhere  to  the  underside  of  leaves.291  This  gecko  is  a 
frequent  inmate  of  houses  in  Egypt ;  it  conceals  itself  during 
the  day  and  is  very  active  at  night,  when  it  preys  upon  the 
flies  and  other  insects  which  are  at  that  time  taking  their  re- 
pose. The  natives  might  be  expected  to  value  it  on  this  ac- 
count, but  they  have  a  prejudice  that  it  is  poisonous,  and 
communicates  a  species  of  leprosy  to  persons  over  whom  it 
walks,292  whence  they  term  it  aim  burs,  "the  father  of  lep- 
rosy." 293  Some  go  so  far  as  to  maintain  that  it  renders  food 
unwholesome  by  walking  upon  it ;  but  this  belief  seems  to  be 
quite  without  foundation,  and  the  irritating  effects  of  its  feet 
on  the  human  skin  have  probably  been  exaggerated.294  The 
house  gecko  is  of  a  reddish-brown  color,  spotted  with  white. 
It  is  about  five  inches  in  length. 

The  other  Egyptian  gecko  (Lacerta  caudiverbera)  is  larger. 
Its  usual  length  is  about  eight  inches,2'5  and  its  habits  are 
quire  unlike  those  of  the  house  gecko.  Both  kinds  are  ovip- 
arous, and  produce  a  round  egg  with  a  hard  calcareous  shell. 
The  geckos  have  the  power  of  uttering  a  note  like  the  double 


£4  HISTORY    O*    AKCIEKT    EGYPT. 

u click"  used  to  urge  a  horse  on  in  riding  ;  and  it  is  said  to  be 
from  this  circumstance  that  they  derive  their  name.296 

The  horned  snake  {Coluber  cerastes)  is  so  called  on  account 
of  two  curious  excrescences  above  the  eyes,  to  which  the  name 
of  "horns"  has  been  given;  they  are  small  protuberances, 
erect,  pointed,  and  leaning  a  little  towards  the  back  of  the 
head  ;  it  is  remarkable  that  no  naturalist  has  been  able  to 
assign  them  any  use.  The  color  of  the  cerastes  is  pale  brown, 
with  large  irregular  black  spots.297  Herodotus  remarks  that  it 
is  of  small  size  ; 298  and  modern  specimens  vary  between  one  foot 
five  inches  and  about  two  feet  and  a  half  in  length.299  The 
cerastes  is  exceedingly  poisonous,300  and,  having  the  habit  of 
partially  burying  itself  in  the  sand,301  which  is  nearly  of  the 
same  color,  it  is  the  more  dangerous  as  being  difficult  of  avoid- 
ance. The  African  snake-charmers  succeed,  however,  in  hand- 
ling it  and  escaping  all  hurt,  since  it  is  one  of  the  few  vipers 
over  which  their  "charming"  has  influence.302 

The  asp  (Fig.  16),  or  Coluber  liaje,  "the  Egyptian  cobra," 
as  it  has  been  termed,  is  even  more  deadly  than  the  cerastes. 
It  is  a  large  snake,  varying  from  three  to  six  feet  in  length,303 
and  has  an  extraordinary  power  of  dilating  its  breast  when 
angry.  Torpid  during  the  winter,304  it  appears  on  the  approach 
of  spring  in  the  Egyptian  gardens,  and  is  of  great  use,  feeding 
on  mice,  frogs,  and  various  small  reptiles.  It  is  easily  tamed, 
and  is  the  favorite  snake  of  the  serpent-charmers,  who  wind 
it  about  their  necks,  put  it  in  their  bosoms,  and  make  it  per- 
form various  antics  to  the  sound  of  the  flute,  without  exhibit- 
ing any  fear,  and  with  absolute  and  entire  impunity.305 

The  chameleon  isrthe  quaintest  of  reptiles.  The  strange 
shape  of  its  head,  the  position  and  character  of  the  eyes,  which 
are  almost  completely  covered  with  the  skin  and  move  inde- 
pendently of  each  other,  the  curious  structure  of  the  tongue, 
which  is  cylindrical  and  capable  of  great  and  sudden  extension, 
the  prehensile  power  of  the  tail,  the  dry  dull  skin,  and  the 
division  of  the  claws  into  two  sets,  one  opposed  to  the  other, 
are  all  of  them  remarkable  features,306  and  their  combination 
produces  a  most  grotesque  creature.  The  change  of  color 
under  certain  circumstances,  which  the  ancients  thought  so 
extraordinary,307  is  a  subordinate  and  secondary  feature,  and 
has  been  greatly  exaggerated.  One  of  the  small  Egyptian 
lizards,  the  agame  variable  of  St.  Hilaire,  which  has  never  at- 
tracted much  attention,  varies  its  hue  to  a  much  greater  ex- 
tent.308 The  chameleon  is  naturally  of  a  pale  olive-green,  and 
its  changes  are  limited  to  a  warming  up  of  this  tint  into  a 
yellowish- brown,  on  which  are  seen  some  faint  patches  of  red, 


THE    CHAMELEON — THE    LOCUST.  45 

and  a  fading  of  it  into  a  dull  ashen-gray.309  The  animal  does 
not  really  alter  its  hue  at  will,  but  turns  color,  as  men  do,  in 
consequence  of  its  emotions,  becoming  pale  through  fear,  and 
warming  to  a  sort  of  redness  through  anger  or  desire.  What 
is  most  noticeable  in  its  habits  is  the  slow,  stealthy,  almost  im- 
perceptible movement  by  which  it  gradually  approaches  its 
prey,  combined  with  the  sudden  rapid  dart  of  the  tongue  by 
which  the  victim  is  surprised  and  devoured. 

The  most  remarkable  of  the  Egyptian  insects  are  the  scor- 
pion, the  locust,  and  the  solpuga  spider.  The  scorpion  {Scorpio 
crassicauda),  though  classed  with  the  Arachnidce,310  has  rather 
the  character  of  an  enormous  beetle.  It  has  two  large  horns, 
eight  legs,  and  a  long  stiff  tail  of  several  joints,  which  it  carries 
erect  in  a  threatening  manner.311  It  is  not  aggressive,  how- 
ever, but  always  seeks  to  hide  itself,  frequenting  ruins  and 
dark  places,  where  it  lies  concealed  among  stones  and  in  cran- 
nies. Sometimes,  unfortunately,  it  enters  houses,  and  hides 
under  cushions  and  coverlets,  where,  if  it  suffers  molestation, 
it  will  sting,  and  inflict  a  painful,  though  not  dangerous,  in- 
jury. In  Egypt  cats  often  attack  it.  Turning  it  over  on  its 
back  by  a  pat  of  their  paw  upon  its  side,  and  then  placing  one 
forefoot  on  its  body,  they  tear  off  tbe  tail  with  the  other.  The 
creature  is  then  easily  killed,  and  the  cat  not  unfrequently 
eats  it.312 

The  locust  is  one  of  the  permanent  "plagues  of  Egypt." 
Swarms  arrive  with  considerable  frequency  from  Arabia,  and, 
descending  upon  the  gardens  and  cornfields,  cover  the  whole 
ground,  and  in  a  short  time  destroy  all  but  the  very  coarsest 
kinds  of  vegetation.313  The  hopes  of  the  farmer  disappear,  and 
famine  threatens,  where,  till  the  visitation  came,  there  was 
every  prospect  of  teeming  abundance.  The  varieties  of  the 
insect  are  numerous,  and  Egypt  appears  to  suffer  from  the 
attacks  of  some  five  or  six  species.314  But  the  deacdiest  inroads 
are  made  by  the  Acridium  peregrinum  and  the  (Edipoda  mi- 
gratoria,  the  two  most  destructive  specimens  of  the  locust 
tribe,315  the  latter  of  which  has  been  known  to  visit  our  own 
country.316  Fortunately  these  inroads  are  only  occasional,  and 
seldom  extend  to  a  very  large  portion  of  the  country.  When 
they  occur,  the  principal  check  upon  them  is  that  arising  from 
the  habits  of  the  jackals,  which  issue  from  the  mountains  at 
night,  and,  spreading  themselves  over  the  plains,  devour  the 
locusts,  apparently  with  great  satisfaction,  and  seriously  di- 
minish their  numbers.317 

The  solpuga  is  a  strong  and  active  spider,  possessing  veno- 
mous qualities,  and  esteemed  by  the  modern  Egyptians  on 


46  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

account  of  its  enmity  to  the  scorpion.  The  scorpion's  sting  is 
fatal  to  it ;  but  in  general  it  succeeds  in  avoiding  its  adver- 
sary's tail,  and,  running  round  it,  fastens  upon  the  head  and 
kills  it  without  difficulty.318 

Egypt  was  not  very  well  provided  by  nature  with  minerals. 
Stone  indeed  of  many  excellent  kinds  abounded.  The  mag- 
nesian  limestone  of  the  Gebel  Mokuttam  range,319  opposite  the 
site  of  Memphis,  is  a  good  material,  since  it  is  hard  and  close- 
grained  without  being  difficult  to  work.  The  sandstone  of 
the  Gebel  Silsilis  and  its  neighborhood  is  perhaps  even  supe- 
rior, its  texture  being  remarkably  compact  and  even,320  and  its 
durability  in  the  dry  climate  of  Egypt  almost  unlimited.  Fur- 
ther, porphyry  and  alabaster  were  readily  obtainable,  the  for- 
mer from  various  parts  of  the  Eastern  Desert,321  the  latter  from 
quarries  between  Malawi  and  Manfaloot.  Finall}7,  there  was 
an  inexhaustible  supply  of  the  best  possible  granite  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  First  Cataract  and  of  Syene,322  and  therefore 
within  the  limits  of  Egypt,  though  close  to  her  southern  bor- 
der. The  same  material  was  also  abundant  in  the  Eastern 
Desert,  more  especially  in  the  mountains  between  Thebes  and 
Kosseir.  Syenite  was  likewise  obtainable  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Syene,323  as  might  be  safely  concluded  from  the  name 
itself. 

It  added  practically  to  the  wealth  of  Egypt  with  respect  to 
building  material,  that  all  the  best  kinds  of  stone  were  found 
in  inexhaustible  abundance  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
river,  since  it  was  thus  possible  to  convey  the  several  kinds  by 
water-carriage  from  one  end  of  Egypt  to  the  other,324  and  to 
use  each  over  the  whole  country  for  the  purposes  for  which  it 
was  best  fitted.  More  especially  it  was  easy  to  float  down  the 
stream,  from  the  First  Cataract,  the  granite  and  syenite  of 
the  far  south,  and  to  employ  it  at  Thebes,  or  Memphis,  or 
Sais,325  or  other  cities  of  the  Delta.  Thus  the  best  material 
of  all  was  most  readily  distributed,  and  might  be  employed 
with  almost  equal  ease  in  the  extreme  north  and  the  extreme 
south  of  the  empire. 

In  metals  Egypt  was  deficient.  Gold  mines,  indeed,  seem 
to  have  existed,  and  to  have  been  worked,326  in  the  most 
southern  portion  of  the  Eastern  Desert,  and  these  in  ancient 
times  may  have  been  fairly  productive,  though  they  would  not 
now  repay  the  cost  of  extracting  the  gold  from  them.  Ac- 
cording to  Diodorus,327  silver  was  also  a  product  of  Egypt  under 
the  Pharaohs,  and  was  obtained  in  tolerable  abundance  ;  but 
no  traces  of  silver  mines  have  been  remarked  by  any  modern 
observer,  and  the  unsupported  authority  of  Diodorus  is  scarcely 


METALS — MINERALS.  47 

sufficient  to  establish  a  fact  which  did  not  fall  under  his  own 
observation.  Copper,  iron,  and  lead  do  however  exist  in  por- 
tions of  the  Eastern  Desert,328  and  one  iron  mine  shows  signs 
of  having  been  anciently  worked.329  The  metal  is  found  in  the 
form  of  specular  and  red  iron  ore.  Still  none  of  these  metals 
seem  to  have  been  obtained  by  the  Egyptians  from  their  own 
land  in  any  considerable  quantity.  The  copper  so  necessary 
ii  to  them  for  their  arms,  tools,  and  implements,  wras  procured 
chiefly  from  the  mines  of  Wady  Maghara  in  the  Sinaitic  penin- 
sula,330 which  was  beyond  the  limits  of  Egypt ;  and  it  is  most 
likely  that  lead,  iron,  and  tin  were  supplied  to  them  by  the 
Phoenicians.331 

Among  other  mineral  productions  of  Egypt  the  most  impor- 
tant were  natron,  salt,  sulphur,  petroleum,  chalcedonies,  car- 
nelians,  jaspers,  green  breccia,  and  emeralds.  Natrum,  or  the 
subcarbonate  of  soda,  is  yielded  largely  by  the  Natron  Lakes 
beyond  the  western  limits  of  the  Delta,332  and  is  also  found  in 
Upper  Egypt  near  Eilethyias,  and  again  near  the  village  of 
El  Helleh.333  It  was  greatly  prized  by  the  ancient  Egyptians, 
since  it  was  the  chief  antiseptic  material  made  use  of  in  the 
process  of  embalming.334  Salt  is  also  furnished  by  the  Natron 
Lakes  in  considerable  quantity.335  The  Gebel-el-Zayt,  at  the 
southwestern  extremity  of  the  Suez  inlet  (lat.  27°  50'  to  28°  3'), 
abounds  in  petroleum  ;336  and  at  El  Gimsheh,  near  the  south- 
western extremity  of  the  Zayt  inlet,  are  sulphur  mines.337  Chal- 
cedonies have  been  found  in  the  range  of  (rebel  Mokuttam  near 
Cairo,338  jaspers  and  carnelians  in  the  granite  rocks  near  Syene,339 
and  jaspers  again  in  the  dry  valley  called  by  the  Arabs  Bahr- 
hela-ma,  or  "the  river  without  water."340  Breccia  verde  was 
obtained  by  the  ancient  Egyptians  from  quarries  in  the  Eastern 
Desert,341  and  the  emerald  mines  of  Gebel  Zabara  were  dili- 
gently worked  by  them.342  Agate  and  rock-crystal  are  like- 
wise occasionally  met  with,  and  also  serpentine,  compact  fel- 
spar, steatite,  hornblende,  basanite,  actinolite,  and  the  sulphate 
of  barytes. 


343 


48  HISTORY   OF   ANCIENT  EGYPT. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    PEOPLE   AND   THEIR   NEIGHBORS. 

The  Egyptians  of  Asiatic  Origin— Immigrants  from  the  East— Not  a  Colony 
from  Ethiopia— Proof  of  this — So  far  peculiar  as  to  constitute  a  distinct 


Their  Morality,  theoretic  and  practical— Their  Number— Nations  border- 
ing upon  Egypt — The  Lihu  (Libyans),  or  Tdhennu  on  the  West — the  Nahsi 
(Negroes)  and  Cuxh  (Ethiopians)  on  the  South— The  Amu  (Shemites)  and 
Sham  (Arabs)  on  the  East — Nascent  Empires  in  this  quarter. 

"  Die  Aeyypter  ein  von  alien  angrenzenden  Menschenracen  wesentlich  verschie- 
dene?-  Stanim  waren. "— Niebuhb,  "  Vortrage  uber  alte  Geschichte,  vol.  i,  p.  57. 

It  is  generally  allowed  by  modern  ethnologists  that  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  although  located  in  Africa,  were  not  an  African 
people.1  Neither  the  formation  of  their  skulls,  nor  their  physi- 
ognomy, nor  their  complexion,  nor  the  quality  of  their  hair, 
nor  the  general  proportions  of  their  frames  connect  them  in 
any  way  with  the  indigenous  African  races — the  Berbers  and 
the  negroes.  Nor,  again,  is  their  language  in  the  least  like 
those  of  the  African  tribes.2  The  skull  and  facial  outline,  both 
of  the  ancient  Egyptian  and  of  the  modern  Copt,  his  existing 
representative,  are  Caucasian  ; 3  and  the  Egyptian  language, 
wdiile  of  a  peculiar  type,  has  analogies  which  connect  it  both 
with  the  Semitic  and  with  the  Indo-European  forms  of  speech, 
more  especially  with  the  former.4  We  must  regard  the  Egyp- 
tians, therefore,  as  an  Asiatic  people,  immigrants  into  their 
own  territory,  which  they  entered  from  the  east,  and  nearly 
allied  to  several  important  races  of  Southwestern  Asia,  as  the 
Canaanites,  the  Accadians  or  primitive  Babylonians,  and  the 
Southern  or  Himyaritic  Arabs. 

It  has  been  maintained  by  some5  that  the  immigration  was 
from  the  south,  the  Egyptians  having  been  a  colony  from 
Ethiopia  which  gradually  descended  the  Nile,  and  established 
itself  in  the  middle  and  lower  portions  of  the  valley ;  and  this 
theory  can  plead  in  its  favor,  both  a  positive  statement  of  Di- 
odorus,6  and  the  fact,  which  is  quite  certain,  of  an  ethnic  con- 
nection between  the  Egyptians  and  some  of  the  tribes  who  now 
occupy  Abyssinia  (the  ancient  Ethiopia).  But  modern  research 
has  shown  quite  unmistakably  that  the  movement  of  the 
Egyptians  was  in  the  opposite  direction.  "The  study  of  the 
monuments,"  says  the  latest  historian  of  Egypt,7  "furnishes 


PHYSICAL    CHARACTERISTICS.  49 

incontrovertible  evidence  that  the  historical  series  of  Egyptian 
temples,  tombs,  and  cities,  constructed  on  either  bank  of  the 
Nile,  follow  one  upon  the  other  in  chronological  order  in  such 
sort  that  the  monuments  of  the  greatest  antiquity,  the  Pyra- 
mids for  instance,  are  situated  furthest  to  the  North ;  while 
the  nearer  one  approaches  the  Ethiopian  cataracts,  the  more 
do  the  monuments  lose  the  stamp  of  antiquity,  and  the  more 
plainly  do  they  show  the  decline  of  art,  of  beauty,  and  of  good 
taste.  Moreover,  in  Ethiopia  itself  the  existing  remains  pre- 
sent us  with  a  style  of  art  that  is  absolutely  devoid  of  origi- 
nality. At  the  first  glance  one  can  easily  see  that  it  represents 
Egyptian  art  in  its  degeneracy,  and  that  art  ill  understood  and 
ill  executed.  The  utmost  height  to  which  Ethiopian  civiliza- 
tion ever  reached  was  a  mere  rude  imitation,  alike  in  science 
and  in  art,  of  Egyptian  models." 

We  must  look  then  rather  to  Syria  or  Arabia  than  to  Ethi- 
opia as  the  cradle  of  the  Egyptian  nation.  At  the  same  time 
we  must  admit  that  they  were  not  mere  Syrians  or  Arabs  ;8  but 
had  from  the  remotest  time  whereto  we  can  go  back,  distinct 
characteristics,  whereby  they  have  a  good  claim  to  be  consid- 
ered a  separate  race.  What  was  the  origin  of  these  special 
characteristics  cannot  indeed  be  determined  until  the  nature 
of  differences  of  race  is  better  understood  than  it  is  at  present. 
Perhaps  in  ancient  times  the  physical  traits  of  an  ancestor 
were,  as  a  general  rule,  more  completely  reproduced  in  his 
descendants  than  they  now  are  ;  perhaps  climate  and  mode 
of  life  had  originally  greater  effect  Some  of  the  Egyptian 
characteristics  may  be  ascribed  to  these  influences  ;  some  may, 
on  the  other  hand,  be  confidently  attributed  to  intermixture 
with  African  races,  from  which  they  were  far  from  holding 
altogether  aloof.  Their  complexion  was  probably  rendered 
darker  in  this  way  ;  their  lips  were  coarsened  ;  and  the  char- 
acter of  their  eye  was  perhaps  modified.9 

The  Egyptians  appear  to  have  been  among  the  darkest  races 
with  which  the  Greeks  of  the  early  times  came  into  direct 
contact.  Herodotus  calls  them  "blacks;"10  but  this  is  an 
extreme  exaggeration,  akin  to  that  by  which  all  the  native 
inhabitants  of  Hindustan  have  been  termed  "niggers."  The 
monuments  show  that  the  real  complexion  of  the  ordinary 
Egyptian  man  was  brown,  with  a  tinge  of  red — a  hue  not  very 
different  from  that  of  the  Copt  at  the  present  day.  The 
women  were  lighter,  no  doubt  because  they  were  less  exposed 
to  the  sun  :  the  monuments  depict  them  as  yellow  ;  but  there 
can  scarcely  have  been  as  much  difference  between  the  men's 
color  and  the  women's  as  existing  paintings  represent. 


50  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

The  hair  was  usually  black  and  straight.  In  no  case  was  it 
"woolly,"11  though  sometimes  it  grew  in  short  crisp  curls. 
Men  commonly  shaved  both  the  hair  and  the  beard,  and  went 
about  with  their  heads  perfectly  bare,  or  else  wore  wigs  or  a 
close-fitting  cap.12  Women  always  wore  their  own  hair,  and 
plaited  it  in  long  tresses  sometimes  reaching  to  the  waist.13 
The  hair  of  the  wigs,  as  also  that  which  is  found  sometimes 
growing  on  the  heads  of  the  mummies,  is  coarse  to  the  eye  of 
a  European,  but  has  no  resemblance  to  that  of  the  negro. 

The  Egyptians  (Fig.  11)  had  features  not  altogether  unlike 
those  of  their  neighbors,  the  Syrians,  but  with  distinguishing 
peculiarities.  The  forehead  was  straight,  but  somewhat  low  ; 
the  nose  generally  long  and  straight,  but  sometimes  slightly 
aquiline.  The  lips  were  over-full ;  but  the  upper  lip  was 
short,  and  the  mouth  was  seldom  too  wide.  The  chin  was 
good,  being  well-rounded,  and  neither  retreating  nor  project- 
ing too  far.  The  most  marked  and  peculiar  feature  was  the 
eye,  which  was  a  long  narrow  slit,  like  that  of  the  Chinese, 
but  placed  horizontally  and  not  obliquely.  An  eyebrow,  also 
long  and  thin,  but  very  distinctly  pencilled,  shaded  it.  The 
coloring  was  always  dark,  the  hair,  eyebrows,  eyelashes,  and 
beard  (if  any)  being  black,  or  nearly  so,  and  the  eyes  black  or 
dark  brown. 

In  form  the  Egyptian  resembled  the  modern  Arab.  He 
was  tall ;  his  limbs  were  long  and  supple  ;  his  head  was  well 
placed  upon  his  shoulders  ;  his  movements  were  graceful ;  his 
carriage  dignified.  In  general,  however,  his  frame  was  too 
spare  ;  and  his  hands  and  feet  were  unduly  large.  The  women 
were  as  thin  as  the  men,  and  had  forms  nearly  similar.  Chil- 
dren (Fig.  15),  however,  appear  to  have  been  sufficiently 
plump  ;  but  they  are  not  often  represented. 

The  most  ancient  document  which  has  come  down  to  us 
bearing  on  the  history  of  Egypt  represents  the  Egyptian  peo- 
ple as  divided  into  a  number  of  distinct  races.  We  read  of 
Ludim,  Anamim,  Lebahim,  Naphtuhim,  Pathrusim,  Caslu- 
him  and  Caphtorim14  as  distinct  "sons  of  Mizraim,"  i.e.,  as 
separate  tribes  of  the  powerful  people  which  inhabited  the 
"two  Egypts."15  It  is  suggested  16  that  the  Ludim  were  the 
"dominant  race,  or  Egyptians  proper,  who  were  called  in  Egyp- 
tian lut  or  rut,  i.e.,  men  par  excellence  y"  that  the  Anamim 
were  the  Anu  of  the  monuments,  who  were  dispersed  widely 
over  the  Nile  valley,  and  gave  name  to  On  (Heliopolis)  and 
other  cities  ;  that  the  Naphtuhim  (Na^PMali)  were  "the  do- 
main of  Phtah/'  or  people  of  Memphis ;  Pathrusim  (P -to- 
res) "  the  people  of  the  South/'  or  inhabitants  of  the  Thebaid, 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XI 


Fig.  32.— Marking  of  Cattle.— See  Page  88. 


Fig.  33— EgyptianSheep.— See  Page  88. 


Fig.  31.— Egyptian  Pigs,  Hog,  and  Sow.— See  Page  88. 


Plate  XIL 


VoXL 


Fig.  35.— Egyptian  Goats.— See  Page 


Fi°r.  36— Doorway  of  Tomb,  near  thjs 
Pyramids.— See  Page  92.— Note  o. 


Fig.  37.— Section  of  Pyramid,  showing 
■  modes  of  completion  .  —See 
Page  94. 


INTELLECTUAL    CHARACTERISTICS.  51 

etc.  But  these  identifications  are,  all  of  them,  more  or  less 
uncertain  ;  and  it  would  seem  that,  whatever  tribal  differences 
may  have  existed  at  the  first,  they  had  disappeared,  or  all  but 
disappeared,  by  the  time  that  the  history  of  Egypt  becomes 
known  to  us.  The  only  real  distinction  that  remained  was 
one  between  the  people  of  the  south  country  and  those  of  the 
north,  who  had  their  respective  peculiarities,  and  even  spoke 
dialects  that  were  somewhat  different.17  Otherwise  the  vari- 
ous Egyptian  tribes  had  been  fused  together  and  moulded  into 
one  compact  and  homogeneous  people  before  the  time  when 
history  first  takes  cognizance  of  them. 

Intellectually,  the  Egyptians  must  take  rank  among  the 
foremost  nations  of  remote  antiquity,  but  cannot  compare  with 
the  great  European  races,  whose  rise  was  later,  the  Greeks 
and  Romans.  Their  minds  possessed  much  subtlety  and 
acuteness ;  they  were  fond  of  composition,  and  made  consid- 
erable advances  in  many  of  the  sciences  ;  they  were  intelligent, 
ingenious,  speculative.  It  is  astonishing  what  an  extensive 
literature  they  possessed  at  a  very  early  date  18 — books  on  re- 
ligion, on  morals,  law,  rhetoric,  arithmetic,  mensuration, 
geometry,  medicine,  books  of  travels,  and,  above  all,  novels  ! 
But  the  merit  of  the  works  is  slight.  The  novels  are  vapid, 
the  medical  treatises  interlarded  with  charms  and  exorcisms, 
the  travels  devoid  of  interest,  the  general  style  of  all  the  books 
forced  and  stilted.  Egypt  may  in  some  particulars  have  stim- 
ulated Greek  thought,19  directing  it  into  new  lines,  and  giving 
it  a  basis  to  work  upon  ;  but  otherwise  it  cannot  be  said  that 
the  world  owes  much  of  its  intellectual  progress  to  this  people, 
about  whose  literary  productions  there  is  always  something 
that  is  weak  and  childish. 

In  art  the  power  which  the  Egyptians  exhibited  was  doubt- 
less greater.  Their  architecture  "was  on  the  grandest  scale, 
and  dwarfs  the  Greek  in  comparison."20  But  even  here  it  is 
to  be  noted  that  the  higher  qualities  of  art  were  wanting.  The 
architecture  produces  its  effect  by  mere  mass.  There  is  no 
beauty  of  proportion.  On  the  contrary,  the  gigantic  columns 
are  clumsy  from  their  undue  massiveness,  and  are  far  too 
thickly  crowded  together.  They  are  rather  rounded  piers 
than  pillars,  and  their  capitals  are  coarse  and  heavy.  The 
colored  ornamentation  used  was  over-glaring.  The  forms  of 
the  ornamentation  was  almost  always  stiff,  and  sometimes  ab- 
solutely hideous.21  In  mimetic  art  the  Egyptians  might  per- 
haps have  done  better,  had  they  been  at  liberty  to  allow  their 
natural  powers  free  scope.  But  they  worked  in  shackles  ;  a 
dull   dead    conventionalism   bore   sway  over   the  land;   and 


52  HISTOKY    OF    AKCIEKT    EGYPT. 

though  some  exceptions  occur,22  Egyptian  mimetic  art  is  in 
the  main  a  reproduction  of  the  same  unvarying  forms,  without 
freedom  of  design  or  vigor  of  treatment. 

In  morals,  the  Egyptians  combined  an  extraordinary  degree 
of  theoretic  perfection  with  an  exceedingly  lax  and  imperfect 
practice.  It  has  been  said 23  that  "  the  forty-two  laws  of  the 
Egyptian  religion  contained  in  the  125th  chapter  of  the  Book 
of  the  Dead  fall  short  in  nothing  of  the  teachings  of  Chris- 
tianity/' and  conjectured  that  Moses,  in  compiling  his  code  of 
laws,  did  but  "  translate  into  Hebrew  the  religious  precepts 
which  he  found  in  the  sacred  books "  of  the  people  among 
whom  he  had  been  brought  up.  Such  expressions  are  no 
doubt  exaggerated  ;  but  they  convey  what  must  be  allowed  to 
be  a  fact,  viz.,  that  there  is  a  very  close  agreement  between 
the  moral  law  of  the  Egyptians  and  the  precepts  of  the  Deca- 
logue. But  with  this  profound  knowledge  of  what  was  right, 
so  much  beyond  that  of  most  heathen  nations,  the  practice  of 
the  people  was  rather  below  than  above  the  common  level. 
The  Egyptian  women  were  notoriously  of  loose  character,  and, 
whether  as  we  meet  with  them  in  history,  or  as  they  are  de- 
picted in  Egyptian  romance,  appear  as  immodest  and  licen- 
tious.24 The  men  practised  impurity  openly,  and  boasted  of  it 
in  their  writings  ; 26  they  were  industrious,  cheerful,  nay,  even 
gay,  under  hardships,26  and  not  wanting  in  family  affection  ; 
but  they  were  cruel,  vindictive,  treacherous,  avaricious,  prone 
to  superstition,  and  profoundly  servile. 

The  use  of  the  stick  was  universal.  JSTot  only  was  the  bas- 
tinado the  ordinary  legal  punishment  for  minor  offences,27  but 
superiors  of  all  kinds  freely  beat  their  inferiors  ;  the  poor 
peasantry  were  compelled  by  blows  to  satisfy  the  rapacity  of 
the  tax-gatherers ; 28  and  slaves  everywhere  performed  their 
work  under  fear  of  the  rod,  which  was  applied  to  the  backs 
of  laggards  by  the  taskmaster.29  The  passions  of  the  Egyp- 
tians were  excessive,  and  often  led  on  to  insurrection,  riot,  and 
even  murder ;  they  were  fanatical  in  the  extreme,  ever  ready 
to  suspect  strangers  of  insulting  their  religion,  and  bent  on 
washing  out  such  insults  by  bloodshed.  When  conquered,  no 
people  were  more  difficult  to  govern ;  and  even  under  their 
native  kings  they  needed  a  strong  hand  to  keep  them  in  sub- 
jection. But  though  thus  impetuous  and  difficult  to  restrain 
when  their  passions  were  roused,  they  were  at  other  times  timid, 
cringing,  submissive,  prone  to  fawn  and  flatter.  The  lower 
classes  prostrated  themselves  before  their  superiors;  blows 
were  quietly  accepted  and  tamely  submitted  to.  The  great 
nobles  exhibited  equal  servility  towards  the  monarch,  whom 


MOKAL    CHARACTEK — POPULATION"    OF    EGYPT.  53 

they  addressed  as  if  he  were  a  god,30  and  to  whose  kind  favor 
they  attributed  it  that  they  were  allowed  to  continue  to  live.31 
Atogether  the  Egyptians  were  wanting  in  manliness  and  spirit. 
They  at  no  time  made  good  soldiers ;  and  though  they  had 
some  considerable  successes  in  their  early  wars,  when  they 
attacked  undisciplined  hordes  with  large  bodies  of  well-disci- 
plined troops,  yet  whenever  they  encountered  an  enemy  ac- 
quainted with  the  art  of  war,  they  suffered  defeat.  As  allies, 
they  were  not  to  be  depended  on.  Always  ready  to  contract 
engagements,  they  had  no  hesitation  in  breaking  them  where 
their  fulfilment  would  have  been  dangerous  or  inconvenient ; 
and  hence  their  neighbors  spoke  of  Egypt  as  a  "  bruised  reed, 
whereon  if  a  man  lean,  it  will  go  into  his  hand  and  pierce 
it."32 

Another  defect  in  the  Egyptian  character  was  softness  and 
inclination  to  luxurious  living.  Drunkenness  was  a  common 
vice  among  the  young ; 33  and  among  the  upper  class  generally 
sensual  pleasure  and  amusement  were  made,  ordinarily,  the 
ends  of  existence.  False  hair  was  worn  ;  dyes  and  cosmetics 
used  to  produce  an  artificial  beauty  ; M  great  banquets  were 
frequent ;  games  and  sports  of  a  thousand  different  kinds  were 
in  vogue  ; 35  dress  was  magnificent ;  equipages  were  splendid  ; 
life  was  passed  in  feasting,  sport,  and  a  constant  succession  of 
enjoyments.  It  is  true  that  some  seem  not  to  have  been 
spoiled  by  their  self-indulgence,  or  at  any  rate  to  have  retained 
in  old  age  a  theoretic  knowledge  of  what  was  right ; 36  but  the 
general  effect  of  such  a  life  cannot  but  have  been  hurtful  to 
the  character  ;  and  the  result  is  seen  in  the  gradual  decline  of 
the  Egyptian  power,  and  the  successive  subjections  of  the 
country  by  hardier  and  stronger  races,  Ethiopians,  Assyrians, 
Persians,  and  Macedonian  Greeks. 

There  is  considerable  difficulty  in  determining  the  amount  of 
the  population  of  ancient  Egypt.  Josephus  gave  the  number 
at  7,800,000  in  his  day,37  when  the  population  was  probably 
less  numerous  than  under  the  native  kings.  Diodorus  prefers 
the  round  number  of  7,000,000,  and  says  that  in  his  time  the 
population  was  not  less  than  it  had  been  under  the  Pharaohs.38 
An  English  scholar  of  repute39  regards  6,000,000  as  the  max- 
imum of  the  census  of  ancient  Egypt,  while  another40  is  con- 
vinced that  the  real  amount  was  not  above  5,000,000.  If  the 
class  of  professional  soldiers  really  numbered  above  400,000 
men,  as  Herodotus  declares,41  that  class  being  only  one  out  of 
seven,  distinct  altogether  from  the  priests,  the  herdsmen,  the 
shopkeepers,  the  boatmen,  the  swineherds,  and  the  interpret- 
ers,42 it  is  difficult  to  resist  the  conviction  that   the  native 


54  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

Egyptians  alone  must  have  amounted  at  the  least  to  five  mil- 
lions. To  this  a  considerable  addition,  an  addition  of  probably 
not  less  than  one-third,  must  be  made  for  slaves 43  and  casual 
visitors,  which  would  raise  the  sum  total  of  the  population 
nearly  to  the  estimate  of  Diodorus.  As  such  an  estimate,  even 
if  confined  to  the  Kile  valley,  the  Delta,  and  the  Fayoum 
alone,  would  not  imply  a  density  of  more  than  about  600  to 
the  square  mile, — a  rate  less  than  that  of  East  Flanders  and 
of  many  English  counties  which  are  not  particularly  thickly 
peopled,44 — it  may  well  be  accepted  as  probably  not  in  excess 
of  the  truth. 

We  have  now  to  pass  from  the  consideration  of  the  Egyp- 
tians themselves  to  that  of  the  peoples,  or  nations,  who  inhab- 
ited the  neighboring  countries. 

The  nations  which  bounded  Egypt  on  the  east,  the  west, 
and  the  south,  belonged  to  three  distinct  races,  and  bore  in 
the  Egyptian  language  three  distinct  appellations.  To  the 
west  were  the  Ribu  or  Liba,  who  may  safely  be  identified  with 
the  Libyans  of  the  Greek  historians  and  geographers,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  entire  north  coast  from  Egypt  to  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,45  after  whom  the  Greeks  called  the  whole  continent 
"Lib}<a."  The  monuments  represent  this  people  as  a  white 
race,  with  blue  eyes  and  fair  hair  ;  it  has  been  conjectured 
that  they  came  originally  from  Northern  Europe,46  and  crossed 
into  Africa  by  way  of  Spain  and  Italy.  Probably  they  found 
in  the  countries  which  they  overran  a  darker  people,  with 
whom  they  intermingled,  and  into  which  they  were  ultimately 
absorbed  ;  but  in  the  earlier  Egyptian  period  this  change  had 
not  taken  place,  and  the  Egyptians  represented  them  as  de- 
scribed above,  emphasizing  (it  may  be)  and  exaggerating  the 
tints  which  were  to  them  strange  and  unaccustomed.  The 
Ribu,  or  Libyans,  called  sometimes  Tahennu,47  were  numerous 
and  warlike ;  but  under  ordinary  circumstances  they  were 
greatly  divided,  and  the  occasions  were  "few  and  far  between" 
on  which  union  was  so  far  established  that  they  became  formi- 
dable to  any  of  their  neighbors.  Once  only  in  Egyptian  his- 
tory was  the  kingdom  of  the  Pharaohs  seriously  threatened 
from  this  quarter,  when  in  the  reign  of  Menephtah,  the  son  of 
Rameses  II.  (about  B.C.  1250),  a  great  invasion  of  Western 
Egypt  took  place  under  the  conduct  of  the  "chief  of  the 
Ribu,"48  and  a  doubtful  contest  was  waged  for  some  time 
between  this  prince  and  the  Egyptian  monarch. 

Towards  the  south,  Egypt  had  for  her  immediate  neighbors 
the  Nalisi  or  Xahasu,™  who  were  blacks  and  (it  is  thought)  true 
negroes,  with  out-turned  lips  and  woolly  hair,  and  who  wTere 


NATIONS    BORDERING    ON    EGYPT.  55 

found  in  the  Nile  valley  beyond  the  First  Cataract,  and  in  the 
country  on  either  side  of  it,  or  in  all  the  more  northern  por- 
tion of  the  tract  which  is  now  known  as  Nubia.  The  tribes 
of  the  Nahsi  were  numerous;  their  temper  was  "turbulent 
and  impatient  of  subjection  ;"  50  they  rejected  civilization,  wore 
scarcely  any  clothes,51  and  made  frequent  inroads  on  the  more 
southern  of  the  Egyptian  provinces  with  a  view  to  plunder  and 
rapine.  The  Egyptian  kings  were  forced  to  lead  expeditions 
against  them  continually,  in  order  to  keep  them  in  check  and 
punish  their  depredations  ;  but '  no  serious  danger  could  ever 
menace  the  monarchy  from  enemies  who,  though  numerous, 
were  ill-armed,  scattered,  and  quite  incapable  of  coalescing. 

Beyond  the  Nahsi,  however,  further  to  the  south,  and  in- 
clining to  the  east  of  south,  was  a  formidable  power — a  nation 
known  to  the  Egyptians  as  the  Kish  or  Kush,  and  to  the 
Greeks  and  Eomans  as  the  Ethiopians,  who  occupied  the  broad 
tract  lying  between  the  Nile  and  Bahr-el-Azrek  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  Atbara  on  the  other,6'2  extending  perhaps  also 
across  the  Atbara,  and  at  times  holding  the  Nile  valley  along 
its  entire  course  from  Khartoum  to  the  borders  of  Egypt.53 
This  people  was  not  of  negro  blood,  but  is  to  be  regarded  as 
Caucasian.54  It  was  ethnically  connected  with  the  Canaanites, 
the  southern  Arabians,  the  primitive  Babylonians  or  Accadians, 
and  with  the  Egyptians  themselves.  Its  best  modern  repre- 
sentatives are  probably  the  Gallas,  Agau,  Wolaitsa,  etc.,  of 
modern  Abyssinia.  This  people  formed,  at  any  rate  in  the 
later  Egyptian  times,  a  single  settled  monarchy,  with  a  capital 
at  Napata  (Gebel  Berkel)  or  at  Meroe  {DcDikalali).™  They 
were  to  a  considerable  extent  civilized,  though  their  civiliza- 
tion does  not  appear  to  have  been  self-originated,  but  was  due 
to  Egyptian  influence.  They  were  numerous,  warlike,  of  great 
strength,56  and  more  than  common  height  ;57  they  possessed  a 
fair  amount  of  discipline,  and  were  by  far  the  most  important 
of  the  enemies  against  whom  the  Egyptians  had  to  contend  in 
Africa. 

On  their  eastern  border,  where  it  was  not  washed  by  the  Red 
Sea,  the  Egyptians  came  into  contact  with  tribes  which  they 
called  by  the  generic  name  of  Amu,  "people,"  or  perhaps 
"herdsmen,"  58  whom  they  seem  to  have  regarded  with  a  special 
contempt  and  dislike.59  They  had  from  a  remote  period  been 
subject  to  aggression  in  this  quarter  ;  and  a  portion  of  the 
Amu  had  actually  effected  a  lodgement  within  the  territory 
naturally  belonging  to  Egypt,6"  and  held  all  the  northeastern 
portion  of  the  Delta  about  the  Lake  Menzaleh  and  the  cities 
known  as  Zoan  (Zan,  Tanis)  and  Kameses,61    These  Amu  were, 


56  HISTORY    OE    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

of  course,  Egyptian  subjects ;  but  there  were  likewise  Amu 
beyond  the  Egyptian  borders,  in  Syria  and  Palestine,  who  were 
almost  perpetually  at  war  with  Egypt  in  the  earlier  times.  Of 
these  Amu  the  most  important  tribes  were  those  of  the  Khita 
or  Kheta  ("Children  of  Heth,"  "Hittites"),  theKharu  (Chere- 
thites?),  and  the  Rutennu,  who  seem  to  represent  the  Syrians. 
Another  enemy  of  the  Egyptians  in  this  quarter  was  the  people 
called  Shasu,  perhaps  identical  with  the  Hyk-sos,62  and  seem- 
ingly Arabs.  Ordinarily  the  Shasu  were  not  regarded  as  a 
formidable  foe  ; 63  but  once  in  the  course  of  Egyptian  history, 
owing  to  circumstances  that  are  unexplained,  they  made  a  great 
invasion,  conquered  all  the  lower  country,  and  for  many  years 
held  it  in  subjection.  Otherwise  one  would  have  said  that 
Egypt  had  little  to  fear  from  her  immediate  neighbors  upon 
the  east,  who  were  at  once  numerically  weak,  and  powerless 
through  their  multitudinous  divisions.64 

There  was,  however,  a  danger  in  this  quarter,  at  which  it  is 
necessary  to  glance.  Beyond  the  line  of  Egypt's  immediate 
neighbors,  beyond  the  Amu  and  the  Shasu,  Syria  and  Arabia, 
further  to  the  east  and  the  northeast,  in  the  great  Mesopota- 
mian  plain,  and  the  highland  by  which  it  is  overlooked,  were 
to  be  seen,  hazily  and  dimly  through  the  intervening  space, 
the  forms  of  giant  empires,  already  springing  into  being  when 
monarchy  in  Egypt  was  still  young,  from  whose  rivalry  the 
foresight  of  the  wise  may  have  discerned  that  peril  would  ulti- 
mately ensue,  though  the  day  of  contact,  and  so  of  trial,  might 
be  far  distant.  A  civilized  State  rose  in  the  alluvial  plain 
upon  the  Lower  Tigris  and  Euphrates  not  very  long  after  the 
birth  of  civilization  in  Egypt.65  As  time  went  on,  a  second 
great  monarchy  and  a  third  were  formed  in  the  countries 
above  the  alluvium.  These  empires  were,  like  Egypt,  aggres- 
sive, aiming  at  a  wide,  if  not  a  universal,  dominion.  Col- 
lision between  them  and  Egypt  was  inevitable  ;  and  the  only 
question  was  when  it  would  occur.  Its  occurrence  was  the 
great  danger  with  which  Egypt  was  threatened  from  the  first. 
When  the  collision  came,  it  would  be  seen  whether  Asia  or 
Africa  was  the  stronger,  whether  Egyptian  discipline  and  skill 
and  long  experience  were  a  match  for  the  spirit,  the  dash, 
the  impetuous  valor  of  the  Asiatics.  Until  such  time,  the 
great  African  kingdom  was,  comparatively  speaking,  secure, 
and  might  calmly  address  itself  to  the  maintenance  and  devel- 
opment of  its  arts,  its  industries,  and  its  material  prosperity 
generally. 


EGYPTIAN    LANGUAGE.  57 


CHAPTER  IV. 

LANGUAGE   AND   WEITING. 

Proposed  Mode  of  Treatment.  General  Character  of  the  Language.  Connec- 
tion of  the  Ancient  Egyptian  with  the  Coptic.  Three  Forms  of  Egyptian 
Writing.  The  Hieroglyphic  Signs  Pictorial.  The  Signs  of  four  sorts,  Re- 
presentative, Figurative,  Determinative,  and  Phonetic.  Table  of  the  most 
common  Phonetics :  other  Phonetics.  Number  of  the  Signs.  Arrangement 
of  the  Writing.  Signs  for  Numerals— for  Gods— for  Months.  Egyptian 
Grammar. 

AiyviTTMH  .   .   .  8t(f>a<Tioi<TL  ypafx^aat.  xpewi'Tai. — HEROD,  ii,  36. 

It  is  not  proposed  in  the  present  chapter  to  attempt  anything 
more  than  a  popular,  and  so  a  superficial,  account  of  the  sub- 
jects put  forward  in  the  heading.  To  discuss  thoroughly  the 
Egyptian  language  and  writing  would  require  a  work  of  the 
full  dimensions  of  that  which  is  here  offered  to  the  public,  and 
would  besides  demand  an  amount  of  linguistic  knowledge  to 
which  the  present  writer  makes  no  pretension.  It  may  be 
added  that  such  a  discussion  would  scarcely  be  suited  to  the 
general  reader,  who  cannot  be  expected  to  interest  himself 
deeply  in  a  matter  which  is  confessedly  of  a  recondite  char- 
acter, not  to  be  mastered  without  prolonged  study,  and,  when 
mastered,  only  of  value  to  persons  who  intend  to  devote  them- 
selves to  the  sciences  of  Egyptology  or  comparative  philology. 
Such  persons  may  be  referred,  though  the  reference  is  scarcely 
necessary,  to  the  excellent  works  of  Champollion,  Lepsius, 
Brugsch,  Birch,  and  De  Rouge,  on  the  writing,  the  grammar, 
and  the  vocabulary  of  the  ancient  Egyptians1 — works  which 
treat  the  difficult  subject  in  a  most  masterly  way,  and  which 
leave  no  branch  of  it  untouched  or  even  incompletely  exam- 
ined. 

Speaking  generally,  the  Egyptian  language  may  be  de 
scribed  as  "an  agglutinate  monosyllabic  form  of  speech, 
presenting  analogies,  on  the  one  hand,  with  Turanian,  on  the 
other  with  Semitic  tongues.  The  grammar  is  predominantly 
Semitic :  the  pronouns,  prepositions,  and  other  particles,  are 
traceable  for  the  most  part  to  Semitic  roots  ;  the  Semitic  sys- 
tem of  pronominal  suffixes  is  used,  at  any  rate  partially.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  vocabulary  is  Semitic  in  comparatively 
few  instances,  its  main  analogies  being  with  the  Accadian, 
Mongolian,  and  other  Turanian  tongues.     As  is  generally  the 


??  2 


58  HISTOKY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

case  with  Turanian  languages/  the  bulk  of  the  roots  are  pecul- 
iar, standing  separate  and  unconnected  with  any  other  form 
of  speech. 

The  modern  representative  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  is  the 
Coptic,  which,  though  corrupted  by  an  Arabic  infusion,  is  its 
legitimate  descendant,  and  which  continued  to  be  spoken  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  Nile  valley  until  the  seventeenth  century. 
At  present  a  dead  language,  it  is  known  to  us  chiefly  from  the 
translations  into  it  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,4  which  are 
still  in  use  in  Egypt,  being  read  in  the  Coptic  churches,  though 
not  "understanded  of  the  people."  It  is  mainly  through  the 
Coptic  that  the  ancient  Egyptian  language  has  received  its 
interpretation. 

Egyptian  writing  is  of  three  distinct  kinds,  which  are  known 
respectively  by  the  names  of  Hieroglyphic,  Hieratic,  and  De- 
motic or  Enchorial.5  The  hieroglyphic  is  that  of  almost  all 
monuments,  and  is  also  found  occasionally  in  manuscripts. 
The  hieratic  and  demotic  occur  with  extreme  rarity  upon 
monuments,  but  are  employed  far  more  commonly  than  the 

hieroglyphic  in  the  papyrus  rolls  or  "books"  of  the  Egyptians. 
Both  of  them  are  cursive  forms  of  the  hieroglyphic  writing, 
invented  to  save  time,  and  suited  for  rapid  writing  with  the 
pen,  but  in  no  way  suited  for  carving  upon  stone  and  mani- 
festly not  intended  for  it.  They  have  been  called  "abbreviated 
forms;1'6  but  this  is  scarcely  correct,  for  they  occupy  more 
space  than  the  corresponding  hieroglyphics ;  but  they  could 
be  written  in  (probably)  one-tenth  of  the  time.  There  is  not 
much  difference  between  the  hieratic  and  the  demotic.  The 
former  was  the  earlier  of  the  two,  having  been  employed  as  far 
back  as  the  time  of  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  dynasties, 
or  perhaps  even  earlier  ;7  it  preserved  the  hieroglyphic  forms 
to  a  certain  extent.  These  are  nearly  lost  in  the  demotic, 
which  appears  to  have  been  introduced  about  the  seventh  cen- 
tury B.C.,8  and  which  rapidly  superseded  the  hieratic,  being 
simpler  and  consequently  easier  to  write.  Both  the  hieratic 
and  the  demotic  were  written  from  right  to  left. 


Vol.  T. 


Plate  XIIL 


Fig.  38.— Pyramid  of  Meydoun.— See  Page  93. 


Fig.  39.— Great  Pyramid  of  Saccarah.— See  Page  192. 


UJ-L 


Fig.  40.— Section  of  same,  showing  Original  Construction.-  See  Page  93. 


Plate  XIV. 


Vol.  I. 


Fig.  41.— General  View  of  the  Tomb-Chamber  of  the  Third  Pyramid.— Page  94. 


/<o     a  nc»TOrvFCT  nw  TTTK  BuKix.s  forminq  the  Roof. — See  Page  95. 


vol.  i. 


Plate  XV. 


Fig.  43.— Section  of  the  Third  Pyramid,  Showing  Passages.— See  Page  9G. 


Fig.  44,— Sarcophagus  of  MXCJuuNus.-See  Page  95. 


Plate  XVI. 


Vol.  I 


Fig.  45.— General  Plan  of  the  Pyramids  of  Ghizeh,— See  Page  96. 


r 


Fig.  46.— Section  of  the  Second  Pyramid  .—See  Page  96. 


VARIOUS    USES    OF    THE    HIEROGLYPHICS.  59 

It  is  the  essential  characteristic  of  the  hieroglyphic  writing, 
that  all  the  forms  used,  if  we  except  those  expressive  of  num- 
ber, are  pictures  of  objects.  At  the  first  glance,  we  see  in  a 
hieroglyphic  inscription  a  multitude  of  forms,  those  of  men, 
women,  children,  beasts,  birds,  reptiles,  insects,  human  hands, 
legs,  eyes,  and  the  like,  with  which  we  are  familiar  ;  but  these 
shapes  are  mixed  up  with  others,  not  so  readily  recognized, 
which  seem  to  us  at  first  sight  not  imitative,  but  conventional, 
as  circles,  squares,  half-circles,  ovals,  triangles,  curved  lines, 
wavy  lines,  small  segments  of  circles,  circles  crossed  diagonally, 
and  the  like.  Investigation,  however,  shows  that  this  apparent 
difference  is  not  a  real  one.  All  the  forms  used  are  pictures, 
more  or  less  successful,  of  objects  which  they  were  intended  to 
represent.     The  circle  o  represents  the  sun  ;  the  curved  line, 

placed  either  way,  (  or  '"^  the  moon  ;   the  oval  (^,  an  egg ; 

the  square,  with  an  opening,  n  a  house  ;  the  pointed  oval, 
<0  a  mouth,  etc.  Originally,  it  would  seem,  Egyptian  writ- 
ing was  entirely  picture  writing,  nothing  being  capable  of  being 
represented  by  it  but  objects  and  actions  that  the  eye  could 
see. 

Ultimately,  however,  the  system  became  much  more  com- 
plicated ;  and  the  hieroglyphics,  as  employed  in  the  historical 
times,  must  be  divided  into  at  least  four  clases.  First,  there 
were  some  which  continued  to  be  used  in  the  old  way,  to  desig- 
nate the  object  represented,  which  have  been  called  "ikono- 
graphic,  representational,  or  imitative  hieroglyphics." 9  These 
were  such  as  the  circle  for  the  sun,  the  curved  line  or  crescent 
for  the  moon  ;  a  figure  of  a  man,  a  woman  or  a  child  for 
an  actual  man,  woman,  or  child  ;  a  picture  of  a  soldier  armed 
with  bow  and  quiver  for  a  soldier  ;  etc.  These  direct  repre- 
sentations were  used  in  two  ways  :  either  they  stood  alone  to 
represent  the  object  intended,  or  they  followed  the  name  of 
the  object  written  phonetically.  "Thus  the  word  Ra,  '  sun/ 
might  be  written  in  letters  only,  or  be  also  followed  by  the 
ikonograph  of  the  solar  disk  (which,  if  alone,  would  still  have 
the  same  meaning)  ;  and  as  we  might  write  the  word  i  horse/ 
and  place  after  it  a  figure  of  that  animal,  so  did  they  after  their 

word  Mr  or  htor,  s  horse '  jj  ^"CV-  So  too  the  word  Aah 
or  Joh,    ( moon/  was   followed  by  the   crescent  I  HM   *•*, 

and  rot,  '  mankind/  by  a  figure  of  a  man  and  woman  ^  J." 1C 
In  these  cases  it  is  evident  that  the  ikonograph  was  mere  sur- 


60  HISTORY    OF    AKCIENT    EGYPT, 

pi  usage  ;  but  perhaps  it  facilitated  the  rapid  reading  of  the 
word  preceding  it. 

Secondly,  the  characters  were  used  figuratively,  or  symbol- 
ically. Thus  a  circle  O  represented  not  only  "the  sun,"  but 
als  "a  day,"  and  a  curved  line  or  crescent  ^— ^  not  only  "the 

moon,"  but  also  "a  month."  Similarly,  the  representation  of 
a  pen  and  inkstand  pa  stood  for  "writing,"  "to  write,"  "a 

scribe  ;"  a  man  pouring  out  a  libation  from  a  vase/j,  or  a 
vase  with  liquid  pouring  from  it  [,  or  even  a  simple  vase  in- 
verted 1^ ,  signified  "a  priest;"  an  egg  q  meant  "a  child," 
"a  son;"  a  seated  figure  with  a  curved  beard,  "a  god" 
£  ;  and,  with  a  remote  connection,  but  still  with  a  connection 

that  can  be  easily  traced,  a  bee  yl/  stood  for  "king,"11  a  vul- 
ture ^%L  for  "mother,"  12  a  serpent  for  "god  "  FO  ,  a  palm- 
branch  f  for  "year,"  a  "goose"  1^  for  "son,"  two  water- 
plants  of  different  kinds  for  "the  Upper  and  the  Lower 
Egypt."  Again,  the  fore-part  of  a  lion  -^  meant  "the  begin- 
ning "  of  anything,  and  the  hind-quarters  _£>  "  the  end ; "  a 
leg  within  a  trap  jf  meaiit  "deceit ;"  the  head  and  neck  of  a 
lion  erect  Qt  meant  "  vigilance  ; "  and,  with  a  symbolism  that 
was  obscurer  and  more  recondite,  a  beetle  (scarabseus)  ^J 
meant  the  "world,"  an  ostrich   feather  ^  "justice,"  and  a 

man  killing  himself  j\  "wickedness"  or  "atrocity."13 

A  third  use  of  the  hieroglyphics  was  as  "determinatives." 
These  were  most  commonly  added  after  proper  names,  and 
showed  the  class  to  which  they  belonged.  Thus  a  word  fol- 
lowed by  the  sitting  figure  with  a  curved  beard  ^  is  known 
to  be  the  proper  name  of  a  god  ;14  one  followed  by  the  figure  of 
a  man  \&  is  the  designation  of  a  man  ;  one  accompanied  by  a 


PHONETICS.  61 

circle  with  a  cross  inside  it  ©  is  the  name  of  a  place  in  Egypt ; 
one  followed  by  a  sign  intended  to  represent  mountains  ^^j 
is  the  name  of  a  foreign  country  ;  and  so  on.  Names  more- 
over which  are  not,  strictly  speaking,  proper  names,  but  desig- 
nate classes,  have  determinatives  attached  to  them  marking 
their  genus.  The  name  of  any  particular  kind  of  animal,  as 
ana,  "ibex,"  man,  "cat,"  etc.,  has  a  determinative  after  it 

resembling  a  short  mallet  rW  ,  which  is  supposed  to  represent 

the  skin  and  tail  of  an  animal,15  and  shows  that  the  word  whereto 
it  is  attached  designates  some  species  of  beast.     So  the  names 

of  classes  of  birds  are  followed  by  the  figure  of  a  bird^^,  of 
reptiles  by  a  snake"v"^ ,  of  plants  by  a  water-plant    ,  of  flowers 

by  three  blossoms  *S5*=,  of  buildings  by  the  sign  for  house n.16 

Finally,  the  great  bulk  of  the  hieroglyphics  in  all  inscrip- 
tions are  phonetic,  standing  either  for  letters  or  for  syllables,17 
most  commonly  the  former.18  The  Egyptians,  like  the  Phoe- 
nicians, resolved  speech  into  its  elements,  and  expressed  these 
elements  by  signs,  which  had  the  exact  force  of  our  letters. 
In  choosing  their  sign,  they  looked  ont  for  some  common  ob- 
ject, with  a  name  of  which  the  initial  element  was  identical 
with  the  sound  they  wanted  to  express.  Thus,  akliom  being 
the  name  of  an  eagle  in  Egyptian,  the  eagle  was  made  the  sign 
of  its  initial  sound,  A  ;  the  name  of  an  owl  in  Egyptian  being 
moulag,  the  figure  of  an  owl  was  made  to  express  M.19  But, 
unfortunately,  the  Egyptians  did  not  stop  here.  Not  content 
with  fixing  on  one  such  sign  in  each  case  to  express  each 
elementary  sound,  they  for  the  most  part  adopted  several.  An 
eagle,  the  leaf  of  a  water-plant,  and  a  hand  and  arm  to  the 
elbow  were  alike  employed  to  represent  the  sound  A.  The 
sound  B  was  expressed  by  a  human  leg  and  foot,  and  also  by  a 
bird  like  a  crane,  and  by  an  object  resembling  a  flower-pot.20 
For  M  there  were  four  principal  signs,  an  owl,  two  parallel 
straight  lines  joined  at  one  end  by  a  diagonal,  a  form  some- 
thing like  a  sickle,  and  a  sort  of  double-headed  baton.  There 
were  four  forms  for  T,  three  for  N,  for  K,  for  S,  for  J,21  for 
KH,  and  for  H,  while  there  were  two  for  L  or  R  (which  the 
Egyptians  regarded  as  the  same),  two  for  SH,  two  for  I,  for 
TJ,  and  for  P.  The  letters  F  and  D  were  about  the  only  ones 
that  were  represented  uniformly  by  a  single  hieroglyphic,  the 
former  by  the  cerastes  or  horned  snake,  the  latter  by  a  hand 
with  the  palm  upwards.22 


62  HISTORY   OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 

Besides  the  ordinary  phonetics  (see  Table),  the  Egyptians 
had  a  multitude  of  signs  whith  could  be  used  phonetically  in 
certain  groups,  more  especially  at  the  beginning  of  words,  but 
which  were  of  comparatively  rare  occurrence.  Lepsius  gave, 
in  1837,  a  list  of  54  such  signs  ; 23  but  the  subsequent  course  of 
research  has  added  largely  to  them.  There  are  probably  not 
less  than  100  signs  of  this  kind,  some  of  which  represent  let- 
ters, some  syllables,  their  special  characteristic  being  that  they 
can  only  be  used  in  certain  groups.  Many  of  them  occur  only 
in  single  words,  as  the  crux  ansata  9,  in  ankh,  "life," 
"living,"   "flower," 24  —  the   outstretched    arms    with    palms 

downwards,  —a— ,  in  nen>  the  negative  particle25 — the  croco- 
dile's tail,  ^b,  in  Kem,  Kemi,  "Egypt"  or  "  black  ;"  26  and 

the  like. 

The  subjoined  table  (Fig.  18),  will  give  the  general  phonetic 
alphabet  of  the  Egyptians  according  to  the  best  recent  author- 
ities. 

Altogether  the  number  of  signs  used  is  not  less  than  from 
nine  hundred  to  a  thousand  ; 2i  and  hence  the  difficulty  of  read- 
ing the  inscriptions,  even  now  that — thanks  to  the  Rosetta 
stone — the  veil  has  been  lifted.  The  student  has  to  bear  in 
mind  the  force  of  (say)  a  thousand  characters,  and  not  only  so, 
but  the  various  forces  that  many  of  them  have,  as  representa- 
tive, as  symbolic,  as  determinative,  and  as  phonetic.  He  has 
to  settle  to  his  own  satisfaction,  first,  the  class  to  which  they 
belong  in  each  instance,  and  secondly,  the  value  which  they 
have.  He  has  also  to  determine  whether  any  are  purely  super- 
fluous, the  Egyptians  having  had  a  fancy  both  for  repeating 
characters  Unnecessarily,  and  also  for  expressing  the  same 
sound  twice  over  by  variant  signs. 

The  hieroglyphics  are  sometimes  written  in  column,  one 
over  another  ;  but  this  is,  comparatively  speaking,  a  rare 
arrangement.  In  general,  as  in  most  other  forms  of  writing, 
the  characters  are  in  line,  with  only  an  occasional  super  inscrip- 
tion of  one  sign  over  that  which  in  pronunciation  follows  it. 
They  are  read,  when  written  in  line,  from  left  to  right,  or  from 
right  to  left,  according  to  the  direction  in  which  the  characters 
face.28  This  direction  is  most  clearly  seen  in  the  human  and 
animal  forms  ;  but  it  is  not  confined  to  these,  most  characters 
fronting  one  way  or  the  other.  The  direction  is  from  left  to 
right,  if  the  characters  face  to  the  left,  and  vice  versa. 

In  hieroglyphical  writing  the  numerals  from  one  to  nine  are 
expressed  by  vertical  strokes,  which,  between  three  and  ten, 
are  collected  in  two  groups,  thus  : — 


4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

II 
II 

III 
II 

III 
III 

Mil 
III 

Mil 

mi 

inn 

III! 

HIEROGLYPHIC    SIGNS — EGYPTIAN    GRAMMAR.  63 

12       3 
I     U       HI 

Ten  is  expressed  by  a  sort  of  arch  or  doorway  n  ;  twenty  by 

two  such  arches  n  n  ;  thirty  by  three  n  n  fi  ;  and  so  on.     For 

the  hundreds  the  sign  is  the  same  as  one  of  those  employed  to 
express  u,  ©  ;  for  the  thousands,  it  is  the  same  as  one  of  those 

employed  to  express  kli,  j;  and  for   ten  of  thousands,  it  is  a 

form  used  also  to  express  h,  |.     The  number  21,553  would  be 

expressed  in  a  hieroglyphical  inscription  thus: —  |    I  T  @<§@  nn  n 

It  may  be  added  that  most  of  the  Egyptian  gods  have  special 
signs  significative  of  them,  which  are  either  human  or 
animal  figures,  or  the  two  intermixed.  Their  names,  however, 
are    also    expressed    phonetically,    as    Amun    (Amnion)    by 


I  ^5^,  Phthah  or  Ptah  by  !  J,  and  the  like.  Signs  which 
cannot  be  regarded  as  phonetic  designate  the  several  months,  as 
""  |  **  jUyL'  which  designates  Thoth,  the  first  month,  corre- 


sponding to  our  September:  /JJA  csob,  which  designates  Paopi, 
the  second  month  ;  "~~*     ~  ,  which  designates  Phamenoph,  the 

seventh  month  ;  l^J^     £££5  ■>  which  is  the  sign  for  Mesore, 

the  twelfth  month.29 

In  conclusion,  a  few  remarks  will  be  added  on  the  subject  of 
Egyptian  grammar.  The  Egyptian  language  admitted  all  the 
nine  parts  of  speech,  but  was  very  deficient  in  conjunctions  and 
interjections.  It  had  a  single  article  only,  which  was  the  defi- 
nite one,  corresponding  to  the  English  "the."     The  article  was 

declined,  being  j9^  jrf^k   in    the    masculine     singular,30   td 

*  l^in  the  feminine  singular,31  and  nd   %l  in  the  plural  of 

both  genders.32 

Substantives  form  the  plural  by  adding  u,  as  neter,  "a  god," 
nrtera,  "gods,"  ta,  "a  land,"  tau,  "lands,"  uar,  "a  prince," 
uaru,  "princes,"  etc.  Adjectives,  participles,  and  possessive 
pronouns  do  the  same.     The  feminine  is  made  by  adding  t 


64  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

(m),  as  sa  or  se,  "a  son,"  set,  "a  daughter ;"  pd  neter  aa, 
"the  great  god  ;"  td  asbutu  aat,  "the  great  throne  ;  "  sa  neb, 
"every  man;"  kat  nebt,  "every  building;"  and  the  like. 
There  is  said  to  be  no  dual ; 33  but  we  find  the  form  ta  ( p^T  ), 

"land;"  doubled  for  two  lands,   -w-,  and  tripled  for   more 

than  two,  thus,   -ttt-  .     Tripling  a  sign  is  a  common  mode  of 

expressing  the  plural,  which  is  otherwise  signified  by  the  addi- 
tion of  three  vertical  lines  (either  1 1 1  or  i). 

Pronouns  were  either  used  independently  or  suffixed.  The 
independent  form  for  "I"  was  anak  or  anuk,  which  is  plainly 
identical  with  the  Hebrew  *33N,  the  Assyrian  anaku,  and  the 
Moabite  anak.  The  form  for  "thou"  was  ntek  (fern,  net)', 
for  "he,"  ntef,  or  su  ;  for  "she,"  ntes  ;  for  "we,"  nenanen; 
for  "ye,"  ntuten  ;  for  "they,"  ntesen  (natsen),  or  sen.  The 
forms  su  and  sen  may  compare  with  the  Hebrew  tfin  and  |n  ; 
but  otherwise  the  resemblance  to  the  Semitic  is  not  close. 

The   suffixed  pronoun   of  the  first  person  singular  was  -a, 

which  might  be  expressed  either  phonetically  by  I.  or  by  the 

figure  of  the  speaker ;  that  of  the  second  person  singular  was, 
in  the  masculine  -  k  (expressed  by  ""^^  F  or  rn),  in  the  fem- 
inine 4  (expressed  by  either  z=>  or  ^  )  ;  the  ordinary  suffix 
of  the   third  person  masculine  was  -f  (expressed  by  «  —  ),  of 

the  third  person  feminine  -s  (expressed  by  either  ~—  or  ]'  ) ) 
but  there  was  also  a  masculine  form  -su  (  Y\^  or  1  (&  )  to 
express  "him,"  and  a  feminine  form  -st  (*J[*  or  0  ^  or 
R  % — »)  to  express  "she,"  "her,"  etc.  In  the  plural  the  suffix 
of  the  first  person  was  -n  (^^^  )  0r  -mi  (/J7T  01"  Si  ^'  °^  ^le 


second  -ten  ( *S? )  or  -tenu  (*^T  or     JT   or  ^   ■);  of  the 


hi 


1 1 1 


S 


third  -u(\  b'suiTTi)>   or   (most   commonly)   -semi  (ex- 
pressed variously).34     The  form  -stu  ([I    *.)  is  likewise  found. 


EGYPTIAN    GRAMMAR.  65 

There  were  also  in  Egyptian  a  set  of  independent  possessive 
pronouns,  produced  by  combining  the  article  in  its  three 
forms  {pa,  ta,  and  na)  with  the  above  suffixes,  the  form  of  the 
article  being  determined  by  the  object  possessed,  that  of  the 
suffix  by  the  possessor.  Thus  "my  father  "  is  expressed  by 
pa-i-a  atef  "thy  father"  by  pa-i-Jc  atef,  "his  father"  by  pa- 
i-fatef,  "our  father"  by pa-i-nu  atef,  "your  father"  by  pa-i- 
tenuatef,  and  "their  f&ther  "  by  pa-i-u  or  pa-i-senu  atef .  If 
"mother"  be  substituted  for  "father,"  the  pronouns  become 
ta-l-a,  ta-i-k,  ta-i-f  ta-i-nu,  ta-i-tenu,  and  ta-i-u  or  ta-i-senu. 
If  the  noun  which  follows  the  pronoun  be  in  the  plural  num- 
ber, the  initial  syllable  becomes  na.  Thus  for  "  my  enemies  " 
we  must  say,  na-i-a  kheftu,  for  "thy  enemies"  na-i-k  kheftu, 
"his  enemies"  naif  kheftu,  "her  enemies"  nais  kheftu,  "our 
enemies"  nainu  kheftu,  "your  enemies"  naitenu  kheftu,  and 
"their  enemies"  naisenu  kheftu. 

The  conjugation  of  the  tenses  of  verbs  was  by  means  of  the 
suffixed  pronouns.  To  mark  the  first  person,  the  verb  was 
followed  by  a  figure  of  the  speaker,  which  is  supposed  to  have 
been  pronounced  a;  to  mark  the  second  person,  k  was  suffixed, 
or  t  if  the  agent  was  a  female  ;  to  mark  the  third,  /,  or  s  in 
case  of  a  female;  in  the  plural,  the  ordinary  terminations35 
were  nenu,  tenu,  and  senu,  for  "we,"  "you,"  "they  ;  "  as  will 
be  best  seen  by  an  example. 

^^\  Singular.  ^7,  Plural. 

y*  jet-a,  "I  say."  £^  jet-nenu,  "we  say." 

jft  III 

'x~\  "**■*     jet-k,  jet-t,  "thou      «&.     jet-tenu,  "ye   say." 
«*.     £j.  sayest."  ^^ 

-^    -^  •^ 

a      ^  jetf,  jets,  "he  ^     jet-senu,  "they  say." 

•*—  -**-    says,"  "she  says."   ^J£. 

III 
The  perfect  tense  was  marked  by  interposing  n  between  the 
Verb  and  the  pronoun,   thus  :  ^*f,  arf,  "he  makes,"         , 

arnf,  "he  made  "  or  "has  made."  The  future  was  formed  by 
prefixing  the  auxiliary  verb  I  \*,  au,  "to  be,"  together  with 

the  pronoun,  and  then  placing  r  before  the  verb,36  as  TO  ,  ara, 
"I  make," I  \^^^^,  auarar,  "I  am  for  making"  or  "  I  will 
make." 


66  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

To  form  the  passive,  tu  was  added  to  the  root  of  the  verb, 
the    pronominal    suffix    following.      Thus    from  ^  f\,    mes, 

"born,"  we  have  jj|  [\  m  jfr,  mestu-f,  "he  was  born,"  etc. 

A  remarkable  peculiarity  of  Egyptian  grammar  is  the  de- 
clension of  prepositions.  It  has  been  generally  recognized  by 
modern  comparative  grammarians  that  prepositions  are  in 
reality  abraded  forms  of  nouns  or  pronouns.  Declension  may, 
therefore,  be  said  to  belong  to  them  naturally;  though  in 
very  few  languages  does  any  vestige  of  their  inflection  remain. 
In  Egyptian,  however,  "all  prepositions  admit  of  a  plural  ;"37 
and  feminine  forms  are  also  not  uncommon.  For  instance, 
the  preposition  *»*"*,  en,   "of,"  becomes  frequently  """*,  ent, 


after  feminine  nouns  ;  and  @  or  *  >  na  or  nu>  after  plural 
ones.     Am,  "in,"  "into,"  has  the  plural  form -J-  %k    \*  ■> 

amu ;  er  or  art,  "to,"  "on,"  has  a  plural  aru  (1  <xf?)',  and  so 

on.  Egyptian  prepositions  are  very  numerous  ;  but  their  sense 
is  somewhat  indeterminate  :  lie?'  (<~>),  for  example,  has  the 

nine  meanings  of  "above,"  "up,"  "upon,"  "for,"  "by," 
"from,"  "out  of,"  "in,"  and  "about"  or  "in  the  act  of."  Er 
commonly  means  "to,"  or  "for  ;"  but  it  is  found  also  in  the 
senses  "with,"  "by,"  "than,"  "as,"  "as  far  as,"  "in,"  and 
"at."  Em  also  is  saidr38  to  have  the  senses  of  "as,"  "in," 
"for,"  "throughout,"  "towards,"  "by  means  of,"  "to," 
"from,"  and  "with." 

The  rarity  of  conjunctions  in  Egyptian  has  been  already 
mentioned.39  The  original  language  possessed  no  word  corre- 
sponding to  the  ordinary  copulative  "and  ;"  nor  was  it  until 

the  Ptolemaic  age  that  a  real  "and  "  ( ^jM?  ha)  was  invented.40 

Previously  the  usual  practice  was  to  let  the  connective  be  sup- 
plied by  inference,  as — 

Amen        ar  pet,  ta,  mau,  tuu. 

"  Amnion  has  made  heaven,  earth,  waters,  (and)  hills." 

"But  sometimes  the  preposition  h'na  (j^j)>  "with,"  was  em- 
ployed as  a  conjunction.      Thus  we    find  Har  h'na  Set  = 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XVIJ. 


Fig,  47, — Section  of  the  Great  Pyramid.— See  Page  97. 


Fix.  48. — Relieving  Stones  at  the  entrance  to  the  Great  Pyramid.— See  Pace  98. 


Plate  XVIII. 


Vol.  I 


3 


a; 


W 

H 

« 

s 

3 
E- 

M 
□ 

c 

H 


fan 


PECULIARITIES    OF    SYNTAX.  67 

"  Ilorus  with  Set"  for  "Horus  and  Set;"  pet  h'na  amus, 
"heaven  with  its  inhabitants,"  for  "heaven  and  its  inhab- 
itants." There  were  conjunctions,  however,  expressive  of 
"or,"  "nor,"  "for"  or  "because,"  "when,"  "after"  or  "while," 
"how,"  and  a  few  others.41  The  place  of  conjunctions  in  the 
construction  of  sentences  was  taken  generally  by  prepositions, 
which  were  used,  though  not  very  freely,  to  bind  the  different 
clauses  of  a  sentence  together. 

The  only  interjections  which  have  been  recognized  in  the 

inscriptions  are:  A!  (I    JD),    equivalent    to    our  "Ah!"   or 

"Oh  !"  half  )  gi  m^  II  ^),  a  stronger  form  of  the  same,  and 

ask  !  or  ast  /  (1  fl  s^3  or  J  If  j*),  which  has  the  force  of  " Lo  ! " 

or  "Behold!" 

The  following  are  the  chief  points  remarkable  in  Egyptian 
syntax  or  construction  : — 1.  The  sentences  are  short,  rarely 
exceeding  in  length  ten  words.  The  construction  is  simple, 
and  the  order  uniform.42  2.  The  adjective  always  follows  the 
noun,  and  the  nominative  case  almost  always  follows  the  verb. 
3.  The  adverb  generally  follows  the  adjective  or  verb  which  it 
qualifies.  4.  Neither  nouns  nor  adjectives,  nor  even  pronouns, 
have  cases.  The  want  is  supplied  by  a  free  use  of  prepositions. 
5.  Prepositions  are  always  prefixed  to  the  words  which  they  gov- 
ern. 6.  A  conjunction  used  to  join  two  words  together  is  some- 
times placed  after  the  second  word.48  7.  When  two  nouns  come 
together,  and  are  not  in  apposition,  the  latter  is  in  regimen,  as 
neb  ta,  "lord  of  earth  ;"  sa  Ra,  "son  of  Ka  ;"and  the  like. 
8.  There   are  several  forms  of  the  substantive  verb,  two   of 

which  (au,  I  \±,  and  an,  £z*0  are  use(^  as  auxiliaries.  9.  The 
negative  is  commonly  placed  at  the  beginning  of  a  sentence. 


68  HISTORY   OF   ANCIENT  EGYPT. 


CHAPTER  V. 

LITERATURE. 

General  Character  of  the  Egyptian  Literature,  mediocre— perhaps  at  present 
not  fairly  appreciated.  Variety  and  Extent  of  the  Literature.  Works  on 
Religious  Subjects—"  Ritual  of  the  Dead."  Shorter  Works  on  Religion — 
Specimen.  Historical  Poems— Specimens.  Lyrical  Poems— Specimen  from 
the  "  Song  of  the  Harper."  Travels.  Romances.  Autobiographies— Sketch 
of  the  "  Story  of  Saneha  "—Specimen.  Correspondence.  Scientific  Trea- 
tises.   Works  on  Magic. 

["  La  litterature  egyptienne  etait  nomhreuse  et  celebre.'n— Lenobmant,  "  Manuel 
d'Histoire  Ancienne  de  l'Orient,"  vol.  i,  p.  306. 

The  literature  of  the  Egyptians,  although  it  is  remarkable  for 
the  extent  and  variety  of  the  subjects  comprised  within  its 
range,  is,  beyond  a  doubt,  far  inferior  to  the  literatures  of 
Greece,  of  Rome,  and  of  the  more  eminent  among  modern 
countries.  Its  general  character  must  be  pronounced  medio- 
cre. History,  whether  as  recorded  on  monuments,  or  as  en- 
shrined in  books,  was  either  written  in  a  forced  and  stilted,  or 
in  a  dry  and  wholly  uninteresting  style.1  Poetry  was  in  a  more 
advanced  condition.  Like  the  Hebrew  poetry,  it  delighted  in 
parallelisms  and  antitheses  ;  while  it  transcended  Hebrew 
poetry  in  its  rhythmic  arrangement,  in  the  balance  of  the 
lines,  the  close  correspondence  of  clause  to  clause,  and  the 
strict  observance  of  'rhythmic  law  in  most  cases.2  Other 
branches  of  literature,  as  romance,  travels,  letters,  are  chiefly 
remarkable  for  an  extreme  and  almost  childish  simplicity  ; 
while  the  characteristic  of  some  classes  of  composition  is  ob- 
scurity and  confusion.3  A  general  feature  of  Egyptian  writing, 
in  its  more  ambitious  flights,  is  a  frequent  and  abrupt  change 
from  the  first  or  second  to  the  third  person,  with  as  sudden  a 
return  from  the  third  to  the  first  or  second,  and  an  equally 
abrupt  change  of  tense.4  It  is  supposed  that  these  startling- 
transitions,  for  which  there  is  no  discernible  reason  and  no 
discoverable,  or  at  any  rate  no  discovered,  law,  were  viewed  as 
elegances  of  style,  under  the  Egyptian  standard  of  taste,  and 
were  thus  especially  affected  by  those  who  aspired  to  be  con- 
sidered "fine  writers."5  No  doubt  it  may  be  urged,  with  a 
good  deal  of  reason,  that  different  ages  and  different  nations 
have  each  their  own  peculiar  styles,  and  that  we  modern 
Europeans  are  scarcely  fair  critics  of  a  literature  so  remote  in 


EXTENT    AND    VAKIETY    OF    LITEEATUKE.  69 

date  as  the  Egyptian,  and  one  so  different  in  character  from 
our  own  ;  but  as,  on  the  other  hand,  their  remoteness  and 
peculiarity  do  not  prevent  us  from  appreciating  the  master- 
pieces of  Greece  and  Rome,  the  Vedic  hymns,  the  Norse  sagas, 
or  even  the  Davidical  psalms,  so  it  is  probable  that  whenever 
there  is  real  merit  in  a  literature,  however  peculiar  it  may  be, 
the  merit  will  reveal  itself  to  the  candid  critic,  and  will  extort 
his  admiration.  A  better  argument  for  our,  at  present,  sus- 
pending our  judgment,  and  passing  no  sentence  of  unqualified 
condemnation  on  any  branch  of  Egyptian  writing,  is  furnished 
by  the  consideration  that  the  Egyptian  language  is  still  imper- 
fectly understood,  and  that  the  true  force  of  numerous  expres- 
sions, which  it  is  easy  enough  to  translate  literally,  is  probably 
missed  even  by  the  advanced  scholar.  Much  patient  study, 
not  only  of  linguistic  forms,  but  of  Egyptian  ideas  and  modes 
of  thought,  is  still  requisite  before  a  final  judgment  can  be 
confidently  given  as  to  the  position  which  Egyptian  literature 
is  entitled  to  hold  in  the  literature  of  the  world. 

Whatever  the  opinion  entertained  of  its  degree  of  excellence, 
concerning  the  extent  and  variety  of  Egyptian  literature  there 
can  be  no  dispute.  A  recent  writer,  of  great  authority  in  his 
day,  did  indeed  venture  to  lay  it  down  in  so  many  words,  that 
"the  Egyptians  had  no  literature  or  history  ;"5  but  he  would 
be  a  bold  man  who  at  the  present  date  should  venture  to 
maintain  this  paradox.  Besides  the  testimony  of  the  classical 
writers,6  which,  even  if  it  stood  alone,  legitimate  criticism  could 
not  safely  set  aside,7  we  have  now,  in  the  discovered  and  de- 
ciphered inscriptions  and  papyri,  a  mass  of  literary  matter, 
which  those  best  entitled  to  pronounce  an  opinion  declare  to 
rival  in  extent  the  existing  remains  of  any  other  known  ancient 
literature.8  Four  volumes  of  Egyptian  texts  have  been  already 
published  in  English  ; 9  while  in  France  and  Germany  the 
number  of  the  translations  made  is  far  greater.10  All  that  has 
hitherto  been  done  is,  we  are  told,  but  as  a  drop  in  the  bucket, 
compared  with  that  which  remains  to  be  done.  We  are  prom- 
ised a  long  succession  of  volumes  similar  to  those  that  have 
already  appeared  in  English  ;  and  even  this  extensive  series 
will  only  contain  "the  most  important  portions  of  this  ancient 
literature."  " 

If  the  extent  of  the  literature  is  thus  great  and  surprising, 
still  more  remarkable  is  the  variety  of  subjects  which  it  em- 
braces. Besides  history,  which  is  largely  represented  on  the 
monuments,  and  is  occasionally  illustrated  by  the  papyri,  Egyp- 
tologers enumerate  works  on  religion  and  theology  ;  poems,  his- 
torical and  lyrical ;  travels ;  epistolary  correspondence ;  reports. 


70  HISTORY    OE    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

military  and  statistical ;  romances,  or  rather  short  tales  ;  ora- 
tions ;  treatises  on  morals  and  rhetoric  ;  mathematical  and 
medical  works  ;  books  on  geography,  astronomy,  astrology,  and 
magic  ;  collections  of  proverbs  ;  calendars  ;  books  of  receipts  ; 
accounts;  catalogues  of  libraries,  and  various  others.12  The 
first  place  in  the  literature  is  occupied  undoubtedly  by  the  re- 
ligious books, 1B  which  are  longer,  more  elaborate,  and  more 
carefully  composed  than  the  rest,  and  which  held  a  position  in 
the  thoughts  of  the  people  analogous  to  that  of  the  Yedas  in 
India,  and  of  the  Bible  and  ecclesiastical  literature  in  Europe 
during  the  middle  ages. 

Of  all  the  religious  works  the  most  important  was  the  one 
which  is  commonly  called  "The  Funereal  Ritual,"14  or  "The 
Ritual  of  the  Dead,"  15  but  of  which  the  Egyptian  title  was 
"The  Manifestation  to  Light,"  or,  in  other  words,  the  Book 
revealing  light  to  the  soul.  This  book  claimed  to  be  a  revela- 
tion from  Thoth,  or  Hermes,  who  through  it  declared  the  will 
of  the  gods,  and  the  mysterious  nature  of  divine  things,  to 
man.16  Portions  of  it  are  expressly  stated  to  have  been  written 
by  the  very  finger  of  Thoth  himself,  and  others  to  have  been 
the  composition  of  a  "great  god."  17  It  was  in  such  high  es- 
teem, that  from  the  time  of  the  eleventh  dynasty  some  ex- 
tracts from  it  were  regularly  placed  in  the  coffins  of  the  dead, 
either  on  the  inner  sides  of  the  rectangular  chests  which  held 
the  mummies,  or  on  the  linen  bandages  in  which  the  corpse 
was  wrapped,  or  on  the  inner  walls  of  the  tomb,  or  sometimes 
on  all  three.  Besides  this,  copies  on  papyrus,  more  or  less 
complete,  were  frequently  buried  with  the  deceased,18  more 
especially  in  the  later  Pharaonic  times,  when  the  book  had 
taken  its  definitive  form  through  an  authoritative  revision 
made  under  the  twenty-sixth  dynasty. 

The  "Ritual  "  has  been  divided  into  three,19  and  again  into 
twenty-three  20  portions.  According  to  the  former  division, 
the  first  part  consists  of  the  first  sixteen  chapters,  and  contains 
forms  of  invocation  and  of  prayer  to  be  used  over  the  dead 
from  the  moment  of  his  decease  to  the  commencement  of  the 
process  of  embalming.21  The  second  part  opens  with  a  long 
chapter  which  has  been  considered  to  contain  "the  Egyptian 
faith."  22  It  is  mystical  in  the  highest  degree,  and  quite  unin- 
telligible to  a  modern,  after  all  the  explanations  which  it  has 
received.23  This  creed  is  followed  by  a  series  of  prayers,  con- 
tained in  three  chapters,  which  refer  to  the  justification  of  the 
deceased,  and  seem  intended  for  use  during  the  enrolment  of 
the  mummy  in  its  bandages.24  Then  come  prayers  or  spells 
in  six  chapters,  for  the  reconstruction  of  the  deceased  in  Hades  \ 


RITUAL    OP    THE    DEAD.  71 

others,  in  thirty-seven  chapters,  for  his  preservation  from  all 
the  dangers  of  Hades,  from  Typhonian  animals,  from  the 
Eater  of  the  Ass,  and  from  the  awful  block  of  the  execu- 
tioner ;  finally,  others,  in  sixty  chapters,  which  are  best  de- 
scribed as  "forms  for  various  occasions."  25 

The  third  part  of  the  "Ritual"  opens  with  the  famous 
chapter  (ch.  cxxv.)  known  as  the  "Hall  of  the  Two  Truths."26 
Here  the  deceased  is  represented  as  brought  before  the  judg- 
ment seat  of  Osiris,  in  order  that  after  a  searching  investiga- 
tion it  may  be  decided  whether  he  shall  be  admitted  into 
heaven  or  excluded  from  it.  Osiris  sits  on  a  lofty  throne, 
surrounded  by  forty-two  assessors.  An  interrogatory  com- 
mences. The  dead  person  must  give  proof  that  he  is  worthy 
of  the  life  to  come,  that  his  spiritual  knowledge  is  sufficient, 
and  that  his  life  on  earth  has  been  pure.  Each  of  the  forty- 
two  assessors  in  turn  questions  him,  bids  him  tell  his  mystic 
name  and  its  meaning.  In  reply,  he  addresses  each  in  turn 
by  name,  and  to  each  declares  his  innocence  of  some  class  of 
sin  or  other.  "I  have  not  blasphemed,"  he  says;87  "I  have 
not  deceived  ;  I  have  not  stolen  ;  I  have  not  slain  any  one 
treacherously ;  I  have  not  been  cruel  to  any  one  ;  I  have  not 
caused  disturbance  ;  I  have  not  been  idle  ;  I  have  not  been 
drunken  ;  I  have  not  issued  unjust  orders ;  I  have  not  been 
indiscreetly  curious  ;  I  have  not  multiplied  words  in  speaking  ; 
I  have  struck  no  one  ;  I  have  caused  fear  to  no  one  ;  I  have 
slandered  no  one  ;  I  have  not  eaten  my  heart  through  envy  ; 
I  have  not  reviled  the  face  of  the  king,  nor  the  face  of  my 
father ;  I  have  not  made  false  accusations ;  I  have  not  kept 
milk  from  the  mouth  of  sucklings  ;  I  have  not  caused  abortion  ; 
I  have  not  ill-used  my  slaves  ;  I  have  not  killed  sacred  beasts  ; 
I  have  not  defiled  the  river ;  I  have  not  polluted  myself ;  I 
have  not  taken  the  clothes  of  the  dead."  Nor  is  he  content 
with  this  negative  vindication  ;  he  goes  on,  and,  addressing 
the  great  conclave  of  the  gods,  exclaims:  "Let  me  go;  ye 
know  that  I  am  without  fault,  without  evil,  without  sin,  with- 
out crime.  Do  not  torture  me  ;  do  not  aught  against  me.  I 
have  lived  on  truth  ;  I  have  been  fed  on  truth  ;  I  have  made 
it  my  delight  to  do  what  men  command  and  the  gods  approve. 
I  have  offered  to  the  deities  all  the  sacrifices  that  were  their 
due ;  I  have  given  bread  to  the  hungry  and  drink  to  him  that 
was  athirst  ;  I  have  clothed  the  naked  with  garments  .  ,, 
My  mouth  and  my  hands  are  pure." 28  The  justification  of  the 
deceased  is  allowed,  and  he  passes  from  the  Hall  of  Truth  into 
Elysium.  The  remainder  of  the  "Ritual"  consists  of  about 
forty  chapters,29  and  is  still  more  mvstical  and  obscure  than 


72  HISTORY   OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 

the  earlier  portions.  The  deceased  appears  to  be  identified 
with  the  sun,  and  to  go  forth  with  the  sun  through  the  various 
regions  of  the  heavens,  seated  in  the  solar  boat.  Finally  he 
rises  to  such  a  pitch  of  perfection  as  to  become  identical  with 
the  utmost  that  the  Egyptians  could  imagine  of  divine,  and  to 
be  represented  by  a  symbolical  figure  which  unites  the  attri- 
butes of  all  the  divinities  contained  within  the  Egyptian 
Pantheon.30 

Among  other  religions  books  are  "The  Tears  of  Isis,"  of 
which  a  translation  will  be  found  in  the  "Records  of  the 
Past;"31  the  "Book  of  the  Respirations"  {Sai-an-Sinsin)  or 
"of  the  Breaths  of  Life,"  which  appears  in  an  English  dress  in 
the  same  work  ; 32  the  legend  of  the  "Destruction  of  Mankind 
by  Ra  ;"33  numerous  Solar  Litanies,  collections  of  hymns,  and 
the  like.  A  general  harmony  pervades  the  various  treatises 
upon  religion  ;  and  if  differences  are  to  be  traced,  they  will  be 
found  chiefly  within  the  "Ritual"  itself,  which  contains  signs 
of  having  been  composed  at  several  distinct  epochs.  The  com- 
positions are  always  rhythmical,  though  not  (so  far  as  appears) 
tied  down  by  very  strict  laws.  We  subjoin  an  extract  from 
the  "Book  of  the  Respirations,"  which  will  show  the  general 
character  of  the  shorter  religious  works.34 

Hail  to  the  Osiris,  .  .  .  ! 3B 

Ammon  is  with  thee  each  day, 

To  render  thee  life  : 

Apheru  openeth  to  thee  the  right  way. 

Thou  seest  with  thine  eyes  ; 

Thou  hearest  with  thine  ears  ; 

Thou  speakest  with  thy  mouth  ; 

Thou  walkest  with  thy  legs  ; 

Thy  soul  is  made  divine  in  heaven, 

And  can  effect  the  transformations  it  desireth. 

Thou  formest  the  joy  of  the  sacred  persea-tree36  in  On.37 

Thou  awakest  each  day  ; 

Thou  seest  the  rays  of  the  sun  ; 

Ammon  cometth  to  thee  with  the  breath  of  life  ; 

He  granteth  thee  to  breathe  in  thy  coffin. 

Thou  comest  on  earth  each  day  ; 

Thine  eyes  behold  the  rays  of  the  disk ; 

Truth  is  spoken  to  thee  before  Osiris  ; 

The  formulae  of  justification  are  on  thy  body. 

Horus,  the  defender  of  his  father,  protecteth  thee; 

He  maketh  thy  soul  like  the  souls  of  the  gods. 

The  soul  of  Ra  giveth  life  to  thy  soul ; 

The  soul  of  Shu  filleth  thy  lungs  with  soft  breath. 

The  Egyptian  poems  hitherto  discovered  are  of  no  great 
length.  The  historical  pieces,  which  have  been  dignified  with 
the  name  of  "Epic  Poems"38  do  not  fill,  at  the  utmost,  more 
than  ten  or  a  dozen  pages,  or  extend  to  much  above  a  hundred 


EPIC    POEMS — LYRICS.  73 

and  twenty  lines.  Their  style  will  be  sufficiently  indicated  by 
a  couple  of  extracts.  The  first  shall  be  from  the  composition 
of  Penta-our  on  an  exploit  of  Eameses  II.  in  one  of  his  cam- 
paigns against  the  Hittites.39 

"Glorious  is  thy  deed  of  valor!    Firm  in  heart,  thou  hast  saved  thine 
army  ; 
Saved  thy  bowmen  and  thy  horsemen  ;  son  of  Tum,  sure  none  is  like 

thee, 
Spoiler  of  the  land  of  Khita,  with  thy  [keen]  victorious  falchion. 
King  that  tightest  for  thy  soldiers  [stoutly]  in  the  day  of  battle, 
Great  of  heart,  in  fray  the  foremost,  all  the  world  cannot  resist  thee, 
Mighty  conqueror,  victorious  in  the  sight  of  all  thy  soldiers. 
No  gainsayer  [doubts  thy  glories].     Thou  art  Egypt's   [strength  and] 

guardian; 
All  thy  foes  thou  crushest,  bowest  down  the  Hittites'  backs  for  ever." 
Then  the  King  addressed  his  footmen,  and  his  horsemen,  and  his  chief- 
tains— 
All  who  in  the  fight  were  backward — "  Well  it  was  not  done  of  any, 
That  ye  Uft  me  [unsupported]  singly  with  the  foe  to  combat. 
Not  a  chieftain,  not  a  captain,  not  a  sergeant  came  to  aid  me — 
All  alone  I  had  to  battle  with  a  host  that  none  could  number. 
Nechtu-em-djom,  Nehr-ahruta,  they,  my  horses,  [and  they  only] 
Gave  me  succor  in  my  danger,  when  I  singly  fought  the  foeinen. 
Therefore  do  I  grant  them  henceforth,  when  I  rest  within  my  palace, 
Peacefully  to  champ  their  barley  in  the  sight  of  Ra  for  ever. 
As  for  Menna,  who  was  with  me,  [doughty]  squire  and  armor-bearer, 
Him  I  give  the  suit  of  armor  clad  in  which  I  fought  and  conquered, 
When  with  sword  of  might  I  battled,  and  ten  thousand  fell  before  me." 

Our  remaining  example  is  from  a  tablet  of  Thothmes  II. , 
one  of  the  greatest  monarchs  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty.  It 
has  been  described  as  a  "kind  of  hymn  or  song,  recounting 
the  victories  of  Thothmes,"  with  allusions  to  his  principal 
conquests  and  exploits  in  an  antithetical  strain.40  In  length 
it  only  extends  to  twenty-five  hieroglyph ical  lines  ;  but  each 
line  forms  a  sort  of  stanza,  and  the  whole  could  scarcely  be 
expressed  in  less  than  a  hundred  lines  of  our  heroic  measure. 
The  entire  poem  is  put  into  the  mouth  of  Ammon-Ra,41  the 
special  God  of  Thebes,  where  the  inscription  was  found,  and 
whom  Thothmes  regarded  as  his  father. 

Come,  Ra-men-Kheper,  come  to  me,  my  son, 
My  best  supporter,  come  and  glad  thyself 
In  my  perfections.     Everlastingly 
I  shine  but  as  thou  wishest.     My  full  heart 
Dilates  whene'er  thou  comest  to  my  temple. 
Thy  limbs  I  fondle  and  inspire  with  life 
Delicious,  till  thou  hast  more  power  than  I. 
Set  up  in  my  great  hall  I  give  thee  wealth, 
I  give  thee  strength  and  victory  o'er  all  lands. 
The  terror  and  the  dread  of  thee  1  have  spread 
Through  every  country  to  the  furthest  poles 
Of  heaven — I  make  all  hearts  to  quake  at  thee— 


74  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

Yea,  e'en  the  mighty  nation  of  Nine  Bows 

I  have  made  to  fear  the  echoes  of  thy  voice. 

The  chiefs  of  lands  are  clutched  within  thy  fist. 

Extending  mine  own  hands,  I  tie  for  thee 

In  bundles  the  fierce  Amu — thousands,  ay, 

And  tens  of  thousands-*— with  the  Northern  hordes, 

In  myriads  upon  myriads — that  they  yield 

To  be  thy  captives;  underneath  thy  shoes 

I  have  thrown  down  thy  foemen;  prostrate  crowds 

Of  the  perverse  lie  in  the  dust  before  thee. 

For  thee  the  Earth,  throughout  its  length  and  breadth, 

I  have  ordered;  for  thy  seat,  both  East  and  West; 

There  is  no  land  whereto  thou  hast  not  reached; 

There  is  no  nation  that  resists  thy  will. 

•  The  poems  called  "lyrical"  are  such  as  the  "Song  of  the 
Harper,"  a  composition  of  the  period  of  the  eighteenth  dy- 
nasty, which  has  been  translated  by  M.  Dumichen  and  others.42 
This  song  belongs  to  the  class  of  poems  which  "delight  in 
parallelisms  and  antitheses,  and  in  the  ornament  of  a  bur- 
den."43 It  is  divided  into  short  verses  of  about  equal  length, 
and  may  be  sufficiently  represented  by  the  following  version  of 
its  opening : — 

The  Great  One  has  gone  to  his  rest, 
»  Ended  his  task  and  his  race: 

Thus  men  are  aye  passing  away, 

And  youths  are  aye  taking  their  place. 
As  Ra  rises  up  every  morn, 

And  Tum44  every  evening  doth  set, 
So  women  conceive  and  bring  forth, 

And  men  without  ceasing  beget. 
Each  soul  in  its  turn  draweth  breath — 
Each  man  born  of  woman  sees  Death. 

Take  thy  pleasure  to-day, 

Father !     Holy  One !     See, 
Spices  and  fragrant  oils, 

Father,  we  bring  to  thee. 
On  thy  sister's  bosom  and  arms 

Wreaths  of  lotus  we  place  ; 
On  thy  sister,  dear  to  thy  heart, 

Aye  sitting  before  thy  face. 
Sound  the  song  ;  let  music  be  played  ; 
And  let  cares  behind  thee  be  laid. 

Take  thy  pleasure  to-day : 

Mind  thee  of  joy  and  delight! 
Soon  life's  pilgrimage  ends, 

And  we  pass  to  Silence  and  Night. 
Patriarch,  perfect  and  pure, 

Neferhotep,  blessed  one  !     Thou 
Didst  finish  thy  course  upon  earth, 

And  art  with  the  blessed  ones  now. 
Men  pass  to  the  silent  shore, 
And  their  place  doth  know  them  no  more. 


TRAVELS — ROMANCES.  75 

They  are  as  they  never  had  been, 

Since  the  Sun  went  forth  upon  high  ; 
They  sit  on  the  banks  of  the  stream 

That  floweth  in  stillness  by. 
Thy  soul  is  among  them  ;  thou 

Dost  drink  of  the  sacred  tide, 
Having  the  wish  of  thy  heart — 

At  peace  ever  since  thou  hast  died. 
Give  bread  to  the  man  who  is  poor, 
And  thy  name  shall  be  blest  evermore. 

One  work  only  has  been  discovered,  which  can  be  regarded 
as  a  book  of  "Travels."  It  seems  intended  to  give  an  account 
of  a  "Tour  in  Palestine,"  accomplished  by  a  Mohar,  or  engineei 
officer,45  in  about  the  fourteenth  century  B.C.;  but  its  exact 
purpose  is  somewhat  uncertain,  from  the  rhetorical  style  in 
which  it  is  written.  The  subjoined  extract  will  give  a  sufficient 
idea  of  it : — 

"  Thou  yokest  thy  horses,  swift  as  jackals,  to  the  chariot ; 
their  eyes  flash  ;  they  are  like  a  gust  of  wind,  when  it  bursts 
forth.  Thou  takest  the  reins ;  thou  seizest  thy  bow ;  we  be- 
hold the  deeds  of  thy  hand.  (Here  I  send  thee  back  the  Mo- 
har's  portrait,  and  make  thee  to  know  his  actions.)  Didst  thou 
not  go  then  to  the  land  of  the  Khita  (Hittites)?  Didst  thou 
not  behold  the  land  of  Aup?  Khatuma,46  dost  thou  not  know 
it?  Ikatai,  likewise,  how  great  it  is?  The  Tsor47  of  Rameses, 
the  city  of  Khaleb  (Aleppo)  in  its  neighborhood — how  goes  it 
with  its  ford?  Hast  thou  not  journeyed  to  Qodesh48  and  Tu- 
bakhi?  Hast  thou  not  gone  with  bowmen  to  the  Shasu?49 
Hast  thou  not  trodden  the  road  to  the  Mountain  of  Heaven,50 
where  flourish  the  cypresses,  the  oaks,  and  the  cedars  which 
pierce  the  sky?  There  are  the  numerous  lions,  the  wolves,  and 
the  hyenas,  which  the  Shasu  track  on  every  side.  Didst  thou 
not  ascend  the  mountain  of  Shaoua  ?  Oh  !  come  to  ...  . 
barta.  Thou  hastenest  to  get  there  ;  thou  crossest  its  ford  ; 
thou  hast  experience  of  a  Mohar's  trials  ;  thy  car  is  a  weight 
on  thy  hand  ;  thy  strength  fails.  It  is  night  when  thou  ar- 
rivest  ;  all  thy  limbs  are  wearied ;  thy  bones  ache  ;  thou  fall- 
est  asleep  from  excess  of  somnolence — thou  wakest  up  suddenly. 
It  is  the  hour  when  sad  night  begins,  and  thou  art  all  alone. 
Comes  there  not  a  thief  to  steal  what  lies  about?  See  !  he 
enters  the  stable — the  horses  are  disquieted — he  goes  back  in 
the  dark,  carrying  off  thy  clothes.  Thy  groom  wakes,  and 
sees  the  thief  retreating.  What  does  he  do?  he  carries  off  the 
rest.  Joining  himself  to  the  evil-doers,  he  seeks  refuge  among 
the  Shasu  ;  he  transforms  himself  into  an  Asiatic." 

The  Egyptian  novels,  or  romances,  have  attracted  more  at- 
tention than  any  other  portion  of  their  literature.     The  "Tata 


76  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

of  the  Two  Brothers,"  the  "Possessed  Princess,"  and  "The 
Doomed  Prince"  are  well-known  in  many  quarters,51  and  need 
not  be  reproduced  here.  Their  character  is  that  of  short  tales, 
like  the  "Novelle  "  of  Bocccacio,  or  the  stories  in  the  collection 
of  the  "Thousand  and  One  Nights."  They  are  full  of  most 
improbable  adventure,  and  deal  largely  in  the  supernatural. 
The  doctrine  of  metempsychosis  is  a  common  feature  in  them  ; 
and  the  death  of  the  hero,  or  heroine,  or  both,  causes  no  in- 
terruption of  the  narrative.  Animals  address  men  in  speech, 
and  are  readily  understood  by  them.  Even  trees  have  the 
same  power.  The  dead  constantly  come  to  life  again  ;  and 
not  only  so,  but  mummies  converse  together  in  their  cata- 
combs, and  occasionally  leave  their  coffins,  return  to  the 
society  of  the  living,  and  then,  after  a  brief  sojourn,  once 
more  re-enter  the  tomb.  The  state  of  morals  which  the 
novels  describe  is  one  of  great  laxity — not  to  say,  dissoluteness. 
The  profligacy  of  the  men  is  equalled  or  exceeded  by  that  of 
the  women,  who  not  unfrequently  make  the  advances,  and 
wield  all  the  arts  of  the  seducer.  The  moral  intention  of  the 
writers  seems,  however,  to  be  in  general  good,  since  dissolute 
courses  lead  in  almost  every  case  to  some  misfortune  or  disaster. 
With  the  romantic  character  of  the  Egyptian  tales  contrasts 
very  remarkably  the  prosaic  tone  of  one  or  two  autobiographies. 
Saneha,  an  officer  belonging  to  the  court  of  Osirtasen  I.  and 
his  co-regent,  Amenemha,  having  fallen  into  disgrace  with  his 
employers,  quits  Egypt  and  takes  refuge  with  Ammu-anshi, 
King  of  the  Tennu,  by  whom  he  is  kindly  treated,  given  his 
daughter  in  man  iage,  and  employed  in  the  military  service. 
The  favor  shown  him  provokes  the  jealousy  of  a  native  officer, 
formerly  the  chief  confidant  of  the  king  ;  and  this  jealousy 
leads  to  a  challenge,  a  duel,  the  defeat  of  the  envious  rival, 
and  the  establishment  of  Saneha  in  his  office.  After  this 
Saneha  accumulates  wealth,  has  many  children,  and  lives  to  a 
good  old  age  in  his  adopted  country.  But  at  length,  as  he  ap- 
proaches his  end,  the  "home-sickness"  comes  upon  him;  he 
is  possessed  with  an  intense  desire  of  revisiting  Egypt,  and  of 
being  "buried  in  the  land  where  he  was  born  ; "  52  he  therefore 
addresses  a  humble  petition  to  Osirtasen,  beseeching  his  per- 
mission to  return.53  The  King  of  Egypt  grants  his  request, 
accords  him  an  amnesty,  and  promises  him  a  restoration  to 
favor  when  he  reaches  his  court.  The  arrival  of  the  good 
news  makes  Saneha,  according  to  his  own  account,  almost 
beside  himself  with  joy  ; 54  but  he  arranges  his  affairs  in  the 
land  of  Tennu  with  a  great  deal  of  good  sense,  divides  his  pos- 
sessions among  his  children,  establishes  his  eldest  son  as  a  sort 


REMAINDER    OF    THE    LITERATURE.  77 

of  general  supervisor,  and  makes  provision  for  having  from  time 
to  time  a  statement  of  accounts  sent  to  him  in  Egypt.  He  then 
bids  his  family  adieu,  sets  off  on  his  journey,  and,  having  ac- 
complished it,  is  well  received  by  the  monarch,  notwithstand- 
ing the  opposition  of  the  royal  children.  The  promises  made 
to  him  are  performed,  and  he  remains  in  favor  with  Osirtasen 
"until  the  day  of  his  death."  55  Such  are  the  meagre  mate- 
rials, out  of  which  a  work  is  composed  which  extends  to  above 
five  hundred  lines — an  unusual  length  for  an  Egyptian  com- 
position. The  opening  of  this  story  will  show  the  mode  in 
which  so  poor  a  theme  was  expanded  and  made  to  serve  as  the 
subject  of  a  volume. 

"  When  I  was  on  the  point  of  setting  out  [from  Egypt],56  my 
heart  was  troubled  ;  my  hands  shook  ;  numbness  fell  on  all 
my  limbs.  I  staggered  ;  yea,  I  was  greatly  perplexed  to  find 
myself  a  place  of  repose.  In  order  to  account  for  my  travels, 
I  pretended  to  be  a  herbalist ;  twice  I  started  forth  on  my 
journey,  and  twice  I  returned  back.  I  desired  to  approach 
the  palace  no  more.  I  longed  to  become  free  ;  I  said  there  is 
no  life  like  that.  Then  [at  last]  I  quitted  the  House  of  the 
Sycamore  ;  I  lay  down  at  the  station  of  Snefru  ;  I  passed  the 
night  in  a  corner  of  the  garden  ;  I  rose  up  when  it  was  day 
and  found  one  preparing  for  a  journey.  When  he  perceived 
me  he  was  afraid.  But  when  the  hour  of  supper  was  come, 
I  arrived  at  the  town  of  ...  ;  I  embarked  in  a  barge 
without  a  rudder;  I  came  to  Abu  .  .  .  ;  I  made  the  jour- 
ney on  foot,  until  I  reached  the  fortress  which  the  king 
[of  Egypt]  had  made  in  order  to  keep  off  the  Sakti.57  An 
aged  man,  a  herbalist,  received  me.  I  was  in  alarm  when  I 
saw  the  watchers  upon  the  wall,  watching  day  after  day  in 
rotation.  But  when  the  hours  of  darkness  had  passed,  and 
the  dawn  had  broken,  I  proceeded  on  from  place  to  place,  and 
reached  the  station  of  Kamur.58  Thirst  overtook  me  on  my 
journey  ;  my  throat  was  parched  :  I  said,  'This  is  a  foretaste 
of  death/  Then  I  lifted  up  my  heart ;  I  braced  my  limbs. 
]  heard  the  pleasant  sound  of  cattle — I  beheld  a  Sakti.  He 
demanded  to  know  whither  I  journeyed,  and  addressed  me 
thus  :  '  0  thou  art  from  Egypt  ! ,  Then  he  gave  me  water,  he 
poured  out  milk  for  me  ;  I  went  with  him  to  his  people,  and 
was  conducted  by  them  from  place  to  place.  I  reached  .  .  .  ; 
I  arrived  at  Atima." 

It  is  impossible  within  the  limits  of  the  present  work,  to 
trace  in  detail  the  Egyptian  literature  any  further.  The  epis- 
tolary correspondence  and  despatches  present  much  that  is 
interesting,59  since  they  have  every  appearance  of  being  what 


7S  HISTORY    OF    AKCIEKT    EGYPT. 

they  profess  to  be — real  letters  and  real  despatches — though 
they  have  reached  our  time  in  "Collections,"  where  they  were 
placed  to  serve  as  patterns,  the  collections  in  question  corre- 
sponding to  modern  "Complete  Letter- Writers."  Some  of 
the  letters  were  perhaps  written  with  a  view  to  publication, 
and  are  therefore  to  a  certain  extent  forced  and  artificial ;  but 
the  majority  seem  to  be  the  spontaneous  production  of  writers 
only  intent  upon  amusing  or  instructing  their  correspondents. 
The  scientific  treatises,  on  the  other  hand,  are  disappointing. 
The  medical  works  which  have  been  examined  give  a  poor 
idea  of  the  point  reached  by  the  physicians  of  Pharaonic  times. 
They  imply  indeed  a  certain  knowledge  of  anatomy,  and  con- 
tain some  fairly  good  observations  upon  the  symptoms  of  dif- 
ferent maladies  ;  but  the  physiology  which  they  embody  is 
fantastic,  and  they  consist  in  the  main  of  a  number  of  prescrip- 
tions for  different  complaints,  which  are  commontyof  the  most 
absurd  character.60  The  geometry  is  said  to  be  respectable,61 
but  has  perhaps  not  been  as  yet  sufficiently  studied.  The 
astronomy  is  tainted  by  the  predominance  of  astrological  ideas. 
But  the  lowest  intellectual  depth  seems  to  be  reached  in  the 
"Magical  Texts,"  where  the  happiness  and  misery  of  mankind 
appear  to  be  regarded  as  dependent  upon  spells  and  amulets, 
and  receipts  are  given  to  protect  men  against  all  the  accidents 
of  life,  against  loss  of  fortune,  against  fire,  against  death  by 
violence,  and  even  (it  would  seem)  against  suffering  in  the 
world  to  come.62  It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  belief  in  magic 
was  widely  spread  among  the  ancient  Egyptians,  and  that 
the  elevating  tendency  of  their  religious  ideas  was  practically 
neutralized  by  this  debasing  and  most  immoral  superstition. 


FERTILITY    OF    EGYPT.  79 


CHAPTER  VI. 

AGRICULTURE. 

Extraordinary  Productiveness  of  Egypt  in  Ancient  Times.  Tenure  of  Land 
under  the  Pharaohs— Absence  of  Governmental  Interference  with  the  Cul- 
tivation. Farming  Operations— Preparation  of  the  Soil.  Character  of  the 
Plough  used.  Mode  of  Ploughing.  Use  of  the  Hoe.  Sowing.  Kinds  of 
Corn  Grown.  Cultivation  ot  Wheat — of  Barley — of  the  Doura  or  Holcus 
Sorghum.  Great  Variety  of  other  Crops.  System  of  Irrigation  employed. 
Use  of  the  Shadoof.  Hydraulic  Works  of  the  Fayoum.  Cultivation  of  the 
Olive.    Cultivation  of  the  Vine.    Care  of  Cattle. 

'AirovriTOTaTa  Kapnov  KOixi^ovTat  £k  777?. — HEROD,  ii,  14. 

The  extraordinary  fertility  of  Egypt,  consequent  upon  the 
abundance  of  water,  the  good  qualities  of  the  alluvial  soil,  and 
the  rich  dressing  of  mud  which  it  receives  every  year  by  means 
of  theannual  inundation,  has  been  noted  in  a  former  chapter  ; l 
where  some  notion  has  been  also  given  of  the  great  abundance 
and  variety  of  its  vegetable  productions — -natural  and  artificial 
— during  the  period  with  which  we  are  here  especially  con- 
cerned 2  —  that  of  the  independent  monarchy.  Egypt  was 
reckoned  in  ancient  times  the  principal  granary  of  the  civil- 
ized world.  In  any  famine  or  scarcity  elsewhere  it  was  to  this 
quarter  that  the  nations  looked  for  the  supplies  which  were 
necessary  to  enable  them  to  tide  over  the  existing  distress,  and 
save  them  from  actual  starvation.3  Under  the  Persians,  the 
country,  besides  feeding  itself,  supplied  corn  regularly  for  its 
garrison  of  120,000  Persian  troops,  and  also  paid  to  the  treas- 
ury at  Susa  an  annual  tribute  of  money,  amounting  to  nearlv 
170,000/.  sterling.4  In  Roman  times  its  cereal  exports  were 
of  such  importance  to  Italy  that  the  trade  enjoyed  the  peculiar 
protection  of  the  State,5  and  the  general  imperial  system  of 
provincial  government  received  special  modifications  in  its 
adaptation  to  Egypt  in  consequence  of  the  almost  absolute 
dependence  of  the  Roman  people  on  the  produce  of  the  Egyp- 
tian cornfields.6  This  vast  superabundance  of  the  food  pro- 
duced in  the  country  beyond  the  needs  of  the  inhabitants 
arose,  no  doubt,  in  great  part  from  the  natural  advantages  of 
the  position  ;  but  it  was  due  also,  to  a  considerable  extent,  to 
the  industrious  habits  of  the  people  and  to  their  employment 
of  good  methods  of  husbandry.  Their  natural  intelligence, 
which  was  remarkable,  having  been  applied  for  many  centu- 


80  HISTORY   OF  AKCIEKT  EGYPT. 

ries  to  making  the  most  of  the  capabilities  of  their  exception- 
ally favored  region,  led  them  by  degrees  to  the  general  adop- 
tion of  a  system  and  of  methods  which  were  in  the  highest 
degree  successful/  and  which  are  rightly  regarded  as  among 
the  main  causes  of  that  extraordinary  wealth,  prosperity,  and 
eminence  whereto  Egypt  attained  under  the  Pharaohs. 

It  cannot  be  said  with  truth  that  there  was  anything  in  the 
tenure  of  land  in  ancient  Egypt  which  much  favored  produc- 
tion, or  which  accounts  for  its  agricultural  pre-eminence. 
Peasant  proprietors  seem  not  to  have  existed.  The  owners  of 
the  soil  were8  the  kings,  the  priestly  communities  attached  to 
the  different  temples,  and  the  "  territorial  aristocracy " 9  or 
wealthy  upper  class,  which  was  numerous  and  had  considera- 
ble political  influence.  These  last  cultivated  their  estates 
chiefly  by  means  of  slave-labor,10  which  is  naturally  a  wasteful 
and  extravagant  mode,  though  doubtless  strict  and  severe  su- 
perintendence may,  where  the  work  required  is  of  a  simple 
kind,  obtain  from  those  employed  a  large  amount  of  toil,  and 
so  of  produce.  The  kings  and  the  communities  of  priests  were 
in  the  habit  of  letting  their  lands  in  small  allotments  to  fellahin, 
or  peasants  ;  "  and  the  nobles  may  likewise  have  done  this  in 
some  cases,  or  may  have  employed  free  instead  of  slave  labor 
on  the  farms  which  they  kept  in  their  own  hands.12  It  is  un- 
fortunate that  we  do  not  know  what  proportion  the  ordinary 
rent  bore  to  the  annual  produce  or  profit.13  Diodorus  seems 
to  have  thought  that  the  rate  established  in  his  time  was  low ; 
but,  if  it  be  true  that  price  is  determined  by  the  proportion  of 
demand  to  supply,  and  if  the  demand  for  land  must  always 
have  been  great  in  Egypt  owing  to  the  numerous  population, 
and  the  supply  limited  owing  to  the  small  amount  of  cultiva- 
ble territory,  it  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  rents  were  at 
least  as  high  there  as  in  other  countries.  The  only  advantage 
— and  it  was  certainly  no  inconsiderable  advantage — which  the 
ancient  Egyptian  peasantry  enjoyed  over  their  modern  repre- 
sentatives in  the  same  country,  or  in  the  East  generally,  would 
seem  to  have  been,  that  they  were  not  vexatiously  interfered 
with  by  the  government,  which  (unless  in  extraordinary  cases) 
neither  required  of  them  forced  labor,  nor  limited  their  freedom 
of  choice  with  respect  to  crops,  nor  in  any  way  cramped  them 
in  any  of  their  farming  operations.14  It  is  governmental  inter- 
ference which  is  the  curse  of  the  laboring  class  in  the  East — 
the  liability  to  be  impressed  for  military  service  or  for  employ- 
ment upon  the  public  works — roads,  canals,  bridges,  palaces, 
temples — the  liability  to  be  forbidden  to  grow  one  kind  of  pro- 
duce and  commanded  to  grow  another — and  the  crowning  vex- 


EGYPTIAN"    PLOUGH    AND    PLOUGHING.  81 

ation  15  of  having  to  adjust  one's  harvest  operations  to  the  con- 
venience or  caprice  of  the  tax-gatherer,  who  prevents  the  crops 
from  being  gathered  in  until  he  has  taken  his  share.  If  the 
Egyptian  peasant  under  the  Pharaohs  was  really  free  from  this 
entire  class  of  restrictions  and  interferences,  it  must  be  allowed 
that,  so  far,  his  condition  contrasted  favorably  with  that  of 
Oriental  field-laborers  generally.  But  this  difference  does  not 
appear  sufficient  to  account  for  the  enormous  produce  which 
the  land  was  made  to  yield.  We  return,  therefore,  to  our  pre- 
vious statement — that  the  patient  and  untiring  industry  of  the 
laborer,  and  the  excellence  of  the  methods  which  he  employed, 
were  main  causes  in  bringing  about  the  wonderful  result. 

Though  there  was  no  season  of  the  year  in  which  agricul- 
tural labors  were  suspended  in  Egypt,  yet  the  special  time  for 
the  activity  of  the  husbandman,  which  may  consequently  be 
regarded  as  the  commencement  of  the  agricultural  year,  was 
upon  the  subsidence  of  the  waters.  As  the  most  elevated  lands, 
which  were  those  nearest  the  river,16  began  to  reappear,  which 
was  generally  early  in  October,  preparations  were  at  once  made 
for  the  sowing  of  the  grain  upon  the  alluvium  just  deposited. 
According  to  Herodotus,17  there  were  parts  of  Egypt  where  it  was 
unnecessary  to  use  either  plough  or  hoe  ;  the  seed  was  scattered 
upon  the  rich  Nile  deposit,  and  was  trodden  in  by  beasts — 
sheep,  goats,  or  pigs,18 — after  which  the  husbandman  had 
nothing  to  do  but  simply  to  await  the  harvest.  This  state  of 
things  must,  however,  in  every  age  have  been  exceptional. 
For  the  most  part,  upon  ordinary  lands  it  was  necessary,  or  at 
any  rate  desirable,  to  make  some  preparation  of  the  ground  ; 
and  the  plough,  or  the  hoe,  or  both,  were  put  into  active  em- 
ployment over  the  greater  part  of  the  territory. 

The  plough  (Fig.  17)  used  was  of  a  simple  character.  It 
consisted  of  the  indispensable  ploughshare,  a  double  handle, 
and  a  pole  or  beam,  whereto  the  animals  that  drew  the  imple- 
ment were  attached.  The  beam  and  stilt  were  fastened  to- 
gether by  thongs  or  by  a  twisted  rope,  which  kept  the  share 
and  the  beam  at  a  proper  distance,  and  helped  to  prevent  the 
former  from  penetrating  too  deeply  into  the  earth.  It  is  un- 
certain whether  the  share  was  ever  shod  with  metal. 19  Ap- 
parently it  was  simply  of  wood,  which  may  have  been  sufficient 
with  a  soil  so  light  and  friable  as  the  Egyptian.20  There  were, 
of  course,  no  wheels  and  no  colter.  In  general  character  the 
implement  did  not  much  differ  from  that  of  the  modern  Turks 
and  Arabs.21  Its  chief  peculiarity  was  the  rounded  sweep  of 
the  stilt  and  handles,  which  (to  judge  by  the  monuments)  wras 
nearly,  though  not  quite,  universal.22 


82  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

The  plough  was  commonly  drawn  by  two  oxen  or  two  cows23 
(Fig.  19),  which  were  either  yoked  to  it  by  the  shoulders,  or 
else  attached  by  the  horns.  In  the  former  case  a  somewhat 
elaborate  arrangement  of  shoulder-pieces  and  pads  was  em- 
ployed ; 24  in  the  latter,  the  cross-bar  in  which  the  pole  termi- 
nated was  simply  lashed  with  four  thongs  to  the  base  of  the 
horns.  Sometimes  a  single  ploughman  guided  the  plough  by 
one  of  the  handles  with  his  left  hand,  while  in  his  right  he 
carried  a  whip  or  a  goad.  More  often  the  implement  gave 
employment  to  two  laborers,  one  of  whom  held  the  two  han- 
dles in  his  two  hands,  while  the  other  drove  the  animals  with 
whip  or  goad,  and  no  doubt  turned  them  when  the  end  of  the 
furrow  was  reached. 

In  soils  whose  quality  was  very  light  and  loose,  the  hoe 
(Fig.  20)  took  the  place  of  the  plough.  Three  or  four  peas- 
ants provided  with  hoes  (Fig.  21)  went  over  the  ground  about 
to  be  sown,25  and  sufficiently  prepared  the  surface  by  a  slight 
"scarification.'" 26  The  hoe,  like  the  plough,  was  of  wood.27 
It  consisted  of  three  parts — a  handle,  a  pick  or  blade,  and  a 
twisted  thong  connecting  them.  It  was  sometimes  rounded, 
sometimes  sharpened  to  a  point,  but  never  (so  far  as  appears) 
sheathed  with  metal  at  the  end.  The  shape  was  curious,  and 
has  been  compared  to  our  letter  A.28  It  required  the  laborer 
to  stoop  considerably  to  his  work,  and  cannot  be  regarded  as  a 
very  convenient  implement. 

As  soon  as  the  ground  was  prepared  sufficiently,  the  sowing 
took  place.  Drill-soAving,  though  practised  by  the  Assyrians 
from  a  very  early  date,29  seems  to  have  been  unknown  in  Egypt ; 
and  the  sower,  carrying  with  him  the  seed  in  a  large  basket, 
which  he  held  in  his  left  hand,  or  else  suspended  on  his  left 
arm  (sometimes  supporting  it  also  with  a  strap  passed  round 
his  neck),  spread  the  seed  broadcast  over  the  furrows.30  No 
harrow  or  rake  was  employed  to  cover  it  in.  It  lay  as  it  fell, 
and,  rapidly  germinating,  soon  covered  the  bare  soil  with 
verdure. 

The  grain  most  largely  cultivated  by  the  Egyptians  was 
probably  the  modern  door  a,  which  Herodotus  called  zea  or 
olyra,*1  and  which  is  a  kind  of  spelt.  This  grain  takes  from 
three  to  four  months  to  ripen,  and,  if  sown  in  October,  might 
be  reaped  in  February.  It  is  now,  however,  not  often  sown 
till  April,  and  we  may  perhaps  conclude  that  the  primary  at- 
tention of  the  husbandman  was  directed,  in  ancient  as  in 
modern  times,  to  the  more  valuable  cereals,  wheat  and  barley, 
which  were  required  by  the  rich  ;  and  that  the  doora,  which 
was  needed  only  by  the  poor,  was  raised  chiefly  as  an  after- 


Tol.  I. 


Plate  XIX. 


Fig.  51. — King's  Chamber  and  Chambers  of  Construction,  Great  Pyramid. — Page  98, 


Fig.  52.— Section  of  Brick  Pyramid  at  Illahoun.  -See  Page  102.— Note  97. 


Plate  XX. 


Vol.I 


Fig.  53. -Southern  Stone  Pyramid  of  Dashoor.-  See  Page  102. 


Fig.  54.— Outer  Casing  Stones  of  the  Great  PyRAMiD.-See  Page  101. 


CULTIVATION    OF    WHEAT.  83 

crop.  Wheat  and  barley  would  be  put  into  the  ground  in 
November,  and  would  then  be  left  to  the  genial  influences 
of  sun  and  air,32  which,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  would 
ripen  the  barley  in  four  and  the  wheat  in  five  months.  No 
hoeing  of  weeds,  no  frightening  of  birds,33  no  calling  upon 
heaven  for  rain,34  seems  to  have  been  required.  The  husband- 
man might  safely  trust  to  nature  for  an  ample  return.  Boun- 
teous Mother  Earth  gave  from  her  teeming  breast  "the  staff 
of  life"  in  prodigal  abundance,  and  corn  was  gathered  "as  the 
sand  of  the  sea — very  much  " — till  men  "left  numbering."35 

The  wheat  grown  was  always  bearded,36  and  comprised  nu- 
merous varieties,  one  of  which  bore  several  ears  upon  a  single 
stalk.37  It  was  cut  with  a  toothed  sickle,  a  little  below  the 
ear,  and  was  either  put  into  baskets,  like  hops  in  England,  or 
sometimes  bound  up  in  sheaves  (Fig.  23),  arranged  so  that  the 
ears  appeared  at  both  ends  of  the  sheaf.  When  the  baskets 
were  full  they  were  conveyed,  either  by  men  or  donkeys,  to 
the  threshing-floor,  and  their  contents  emptied  into  a  heap. 
An  ass  carried  two  baskets,  which  were  placed  across  his  back 
like  panniers  ;  but  a  single  basket  was  regarded  as  a  load  for 
two  men,  and  w7as  slung  upon  a  pole  which  they  bore  upon 
their  right  shoulders.  Sometimes,  instead  of  being  carried 
straight  to  the  threshing-floor,  the  corn  was  borne  from  the 
harvest-field  to  a  storehouse  or  granary,  and  retained  there  as 
much  as  a  month.38  Threshing  was  effected  by  the  tread  of 
cattle39  (Fig.  24),  which  were  driven  round  and  round  the 
threshing-floor,  while  a  laborer  with  a  pitchfork  threw  the 
unthreshed  ears  into  their  path.  The  threshed  corn  was  im- 
mediately winnowed  (Fig.  25)  by  being  tossed  into  the  air 
with  shovels  in  a  draughty  place,40  so  that,  while  the  corn  fell, 
the  chaff  was  blown  off.  When  this  operation  was  over,  the 
cleansed  grain  was  collected  into  sacks,  and  carried  to  the 
granary,  where  it  was  stored  until  required  for  use. 

The  cultivation  of  barley  was  similar  to  that  of  wheat,  and 
commenced  at  the  same  time  ;  but  the  harvest  took  place  a 
month  earlier.  A  large  quantity  must  have  been  grown  ;  for 
barley  bread  was  in  much  request,  and  the  grain  was  also 
malted,  and  beer  brewed  from  it.41  Horses  were  no  doubt  fed 
largely  on  it,  as  they  are  universally  throughout  the. East ;  and 
it  may  have  been  employed  also  to  fatten  cattle.42 

The  doora  harvest  (Fig.  26)  is  represented  on  the  monu- 
ments as  taking  place  at  the  same  time  as  the  wheat  harvest ;  ** 
but  this  is  perhaps  not  intended  as  the  assertion  of  a  fact.  In 
modern  Egypt  the  chief  crop  is  sown  in  April  and  reaped  in 
July  j44  and  the  ancient  practice  may  have  been  similar.    The 


84  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 

doom  was  not  cut  with  the  sickle,  but  pulled  up  by  the  roots, 
which  were  then  freed  from  earth  by  means  of  the  hand.45  It 
was  bound  in  sheaves  and  carried  to  a  storehouse,  where  it 
probably  remained  till  it  was  dry.  It  was  then  unbound,  and 
drawn  by  the  hand  through  an  instrument  armed  at  one  end 
with  a  set  of  metal  spikes,  which  detached  the  heads  from  the 
straw.46  These  were  then,  it  is  probable,  threshed  and  win- 
nowed in  the  usual  way. 

When  the  wheat  and  barley  had  been  put  into  the  ground, 
the  laborer  proceeded  to  make  preparations  for  other  crops. 
Several  kinds  of  pulse  were  largely  cultivated,  as  beans,47  peas, 
and  lentils  of  two  distinct  varieties.48  Artificial  grasses,  as 
clover,  lupins,  and  vetches,  were  grown  to  furnish  provender 
for  the  cattle  during  the  time  of  the  inundation.49  Flax  was 
raised  in  large  quantities  for  the  linen  garments  which  were  so 
indispensable  ;  cotton  was  cultivated  to  some  extent,  as  were 
safflower,  indigo,  the  castor-oil  plant,  sesame,  and  various  me- 
dicinal herbs.  Again,  there  was  a  most  extensive  cultivation  of 
esculent  vegetables,  as  garlic,  leeks,  onions,  endive,  radishes, 
melons,  cucumbers,  lettuces,  etc.,  which  formed  a  most  im- 
portant element  in  the  food  of  the  people.  The  raising  of 
these  various  crops,  of  which  each  farmer  cultivated  such  as 
took  his  fancy  or  suited  his  soil,  gave  constant  employment  to 
the  agricultural  class  throughout  the  entire  year,  and  rendered 
every  season  an  almost  equally  busy  time. 

This  constant  cultivation  resulted,  in  part,  from  the  mild 
climate,  which  favored  vegetation  and  rapid  growth  at  all  sea- 
sons, in  part  from  the  system  of  irrigation,  which  had  been 
established  at  a  very  ancient  date,  and  which  was  maintained 
with  the  greatest  care  by  the  government.  The  Egyptians 
were  not  content  with  the  mere  natural  advantages  of  the  Nile 
inundation.  By  an  elaborate  system  of  canals,  with  embank- 
ments, sluices,  and  flood-gates,  they  retained  the  overflow  in 
what  were  in  fact  vast  resorvoirs,  from  which,  after  the  Nile 
had  retired,  the  greater  part  of  the  cultivable  territory  could 
obtain  a  sufficient  supply  of  the  life-giving  fluid  during  the 
remainder  of  the  year.  By  embankments  they  also  kept  out 
the  Nile  water  from  gardens  and  other  lands  where  its  adir^ 
sion  would  have  been  injurious,  watering  these  in  some  other 
way,  as  from  wells  or  tanks.50  The  government  had  a  general 
control  over  the  main  cuttings,  opening  and  closing  them  ac- 
cording to  certain  fixed  rules,  which  had  for  their  object  the 
fair  and  equitable  distribution  of  the  water  supply  over  the 
whole  territory.  Each  farm  received  in  turn  sufficient  to  fill 
its  own  main  reservoir,  and  from  this  by  a  network  of  water- 


CULTIVATION    OF    THE    OLIVE.  85 

courses  continually  diminishing  in  size  the  fluid  was  conveyed 
wherever  needed,  and  at  last  brought  to  the  very  roots  of  the 
plants.  The  removal  or  replacing  of  a  little  mud,  with  the 
hand  or  with  the  foot/1  turned  the  water  hither  or  thither,  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  husbandman,  who  distributed  it  as  his 
crops  required. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  which  (as  already  observed  52) 
were  more  elevated  than  the  rest  of  the  land,  and  in  gardens, 
and  other  places  occasionally,  the  shadoof,  or  hand-swipe,  was 
used,53  and  water  raised  from  the  river  or  from  wells  to  the 
height  of  the  soil,  over  which  it  was  then  spread  in  the  usual 
way.  Ground  thus  cultivated  was  commonly  portioned  out 
into  square  beds,  "like  salt-pans,"54  each  enclosed  by  its  own 
raised  border  of  earth,  so  that  the  water  could  be  kept  in  or 
kept  out  of  each  bed  without  difficulty. 

In  one  part  of  Egypt  a  large  district,  naturally  barren,  was 
rendered  richly  productive  by  hydraulic  works  of  an  extraor- 
dinarily grand  and  elaborate  character.55  This  was  the  tract 
called  now  the  Fayoum,  which  is  a  natural  depression  in  the 
Libyan  desert,  lying  at  the  distance  of  eight  or  ten  miles  from 
the  Nile  valley,  and  occupied  in  part  by  the  natural  lake 
known  as  Birket-el-Keroun,  the  "Lake  of  the  Horn."  A 
canal  derived  from  the  Nile,  30  feet  deep  and  160  feet  wide, 
was  carried  westward  through  a  gorge  in  the  Libyan  hills  a 
distance  of  at  least  eight  miles  to  the  entrance  of  this  basin, 
the  southeastern  portion  of  which  was  separated  from  the  rest 
by  a  vast  dam  or  dyke,56  within  which  the  water  introduced 
by  the  canal  accumulated,  and  which  formed  the  artificial 
"Lake  Mceris"  of  Herodotus.57  From  this  vast  reservoir  ca- 
nals were  carried  in  all  directions  over  the  rest  of  the  basin, 
which  sloped  gently  towards  the  Keroun  ;  and  the  Nile  water, 
with  its  fertilizing  deposit  and  prolific  qualities,  was  thus 
spread  over  the  entire  region,58  which  was  as  large  as  many  an 
English  county. 

The  land  of  this  tract,  which  was  irrigated  but  not  over- 
flowed by  the  Nile  water,  admitted  the  growth  of  at  least  one 
valuable  product  for  which  the  rest  of  Egypt  was  unsuitable. 
The  olive  was  cultivated,  according  to  Strabo,59  only  in  the 
Arsinoite  nome  (the  Fayoum),  and  in  some  of  the  gardens  of 
Alexandria.  It  produced  a  fruit  which  was  remarkably  fleshy,60 
but  which  did  not  yield  much  oil,61  nor  that  of  a  very  good 
quality.62  Still  the  cultivation  was  pursued,  and  the  oil  ex- 
tracted was  doubtless  superior  to  the  kinds,  which  were  more 
largely  produced,  from  the  sesame  and  from  the  castor-oil 
plant. 


►>3 


86  HISTORY    OF    ANCIEKT    EGYPT. 

A  more  important  and  far  more  widely-spread  cultivation 
was  that  of  the  vine.64  The  edge  of  the  Nile  valley  towards 
the  desert,  the  Hdger,  as  it  is  now  called,  being  a  light  soil, 
consisting  of  clay  mixed  with  sand  or  gravel,65  was  suitable  for 
the  growth  of  the  vine,  which  is  found  to  have  been  largely 
cultivated  along  the  whole  tract  from  Thebes  to  Memphis, 
particularly  in  the  vicinity  of  the  great  towns.  It  was  also 
grown  in  the  Fayoum,66  and  towards  the  western  skirt  of  the 
Delta,  at  Anthylla,67  in  the  Mareotis,68  and  at  Plinthine,69  still 
further  to  the  westward.  The  alluvial  soil,  which  constituted 
nine-tenths  of  cultivable  Egypt,  was  ill  suited  for  it ;  but  still 
there  were  places  within  the  alluvium  where  vines  were  grown, 
as  about  Sebennytus,  the  produce  of  which  tract  is  celebrated 
by  Pliny.70 

Vines  were  sometimes  kept  low  (as  now  in  France  and  Ger- 
many), and  grew  in  short  bushes,  which,  apparently,  did  not 
need  even  the  support  of  a  vine-stake  ; 71  but  more  commonly 
they  were  allowed  to  spread  themselves,  and  were  trained 
either  in  bowers  (Fig.  27)  or  on  a  framework  of  posts  (Fig. 
28)  and  poles — as  now  in  Italy — which  formed  shady  alleys 
raised  about  seven  feet  from  the  ground.  Sometimes,  espe- 
cially where  the  vineyard  was  attached  to  a  garden,  the  posts 
were  replaced  by  rows  of  ornamental  columns,  painted  in  bright 
colors,  and  supporting  rafters,  and  perhaps  a  trellis-work,  from 
which  the  grapes  hung  down.  This  mode  of  growth  shaded 
the  roots  of  the  plants,  and  facilitated  the  retention  of  moist- 
ure, which  would  have  evaporated  if  the  culture  had  been 
more  open,  owing  to  the  intense  heat  of  the  sun.  There  was 
generally  a  tank  of  water  near  the  vines,  from  which  they 
could  be  supplied  if  needful  ; 7S  but  great  caution  was  required 
when  recourse  was  had  to  this  method,  since  too  much  moist- 
ure was  very  hurtful  to  the  vine. 

As  the  fruit  approached  maturit}^,  it  was  apt  to  invite  the 
attack  of  birds  ;  and  boys  were  constantly  employed  in  the 
vineyards  at  this  period  to  alarm  the  depredators  with  shouts, 
and  sometimes  to  thin  their  numbers  with  slings.73  Finally, 
the  bunches  were  carefully  gathered  by  the  hand,  and,  if  in- 
tended to  be  eaten,  were  arranged  in  flat  open  baskets,  or,  if 
destined  for  the  winepress,  were  closely  packed  in  deep  baskets 
or  hampers,  which  men  carried  on  their  heads,  or  by  means  of 
a  yoke  upon  their  shoulders,  to  the  storehouse  or  shed,  wdiere 
the  pressing  was  accomplished  either  by  treading  or  by  squeez- 
ing in. a  bag.  The  juice  seems  sometimes  to  have  been  drunk 
unfermented  ; 74  but  more  commonly  fermentation  was  awaited, 
after  which  the  wine  was  stored  away  m  vases  or  amphoras 


REARING    Otf    CATTLE.  87 

(Fig.  29)  of  an  elegant  shape,  which  were  closed  with  a  stop- 
per, and  then  hermetically  sealed  with  moist  clay,  pitch,  gyp- 
sum, or  other  suitable  substance.75  The  wines  in  best  repute 
were  those  made  at  Anthylla,76  and  in  the  Mareotis,77  or  tract 
about  Lake  Marea,  now  Mariout ;  the  Sebennytic  wine  was 
also  highly  esteemed,78  while  that  made  in  the  Thebaid,  and 
especially  about  Coptos,  was  regarded  as  peculiarly  light  and 
wholesome.79 

Though  Egypt  was  in  the  main  an  agricultural  rather  than 
a  pastoral  country,  yet  the  breeding  and  rearing  of  cattle  and 
other  animals  was  everywhere  a  part  of  the  farmer's  business, 
and  in  some  districts  occupied  him  almost  exclusively.  Large 
tracts  in  the  Delta  were  too  wet  for  the  growth  of  corn,  and  on 
these  cattle  were  grazed  in  vast  quantities  by  "the  marshmen," 
as  they  were  called,80  a  hardy  but  rude  and  lawless  race81  who 
inhabited  the  more  northern  parts  of  Egypt,  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  great  lakes.  Elsewhere,  too,  cattle  were  reared,  partly  for 
agricultural  work,  as  ploughing,  treading  in,  and  again  tread- 
ing out  the  grain  ; 82  partly  for  draught ;  and  partly  also  for  the 
table,  beef  and  veal  being  common  articles  of  food.83  Three 
distinct  varieties  of  cattle  were  affected,  the  long-horned,  the 
short-horned,  and  the  hornless.84  During  the  greater  part  of 
the  year  they  were  pastured  in  open  fields  on  the  natural 
growth  of  the  rich  soil,  or  on  artificial  grasses,  which  were 
cultivated  for  the  purpose  ;  but  at  the  time  of  the  inundation 
it  was  necessary  to  bring  them  in  from  the  fields  to  the  farm- 
yards, or  the  villages,  where  they  were  kept  in  sheds  or  pens 
on  ground  artificially  raised,  so  as  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  river.85  At  times,  when  there  was  a  sudden  rise  of  the 
water,  much  difficulty  was  experienced  in  the  removal  of  the 
cattle  from  their  summer  to  their  autumn  quarters ;  and 
the  monuments  give  frequent  representations  of  the  scenes 
which  occurred  on  such  occasions — scenes  of  a  most  exciting 
character.86  As  the  waters  overflow  the  fields  and  pastures, 
the  peasants  appear,  hurrying  to  the  spot  on  foot  or  in  boats, 
intent  on  rescuing  the  animals  (Fig.  30).  "Some,  tying  their 
clothes  upon  their  heads,  drag  the  sheep  and  goats  from  the 
water,  and  put  them  into  boats  ;  others  swim  the  oxen  to  the 
nearest  high  ground  ; " 87  here  men  drive  the  cattle  towards 
the  vessels  which  have  come  to  save  them  ;  their  nooses  are 
thrown  over  their  horns  or  heads,  by  which  they  are  drawn 
towards  their  rescuers.  For  some  months  from  this  time,  the 
whole  of  the  cattle  in  Egypt  were  fed  in  stalls,88  partly  on 
wheaten  straw,  partly  upon  artificial  grasses,  cut  previously 
•  and  dried  for  the  purpose.     They  passed  the  night  in  sheds, 


88  HISTOKY    OF    AHCIENT    EGYPT. 

and  were  tethered  during  the  day  in  straw-yards,  where  their 
wants  were  carefully  attended  to.89  Sick  cattle  received  med- 
ical treatment  (Fig.  31),  drugs  being  administered  to  them  in 
balls,  which  were  forced  down  their  throats  in  the  exact  style 
of  modern  veterinary  art.90 

In  some  parts  of  Egypt  herds  were  fed  upon  common  pas- 
tures, or,  at  any  rate,  were  liable  to  become  intermixed,  and 
owners  had  to  secure  themselves  against  losses  by  putting  a 
mark  upon  their  beasts.  This  was  effected  by  tying  their  legs 
together,  throwing  them  down,  and  then  branding  them  with 
a  red-hot  iron  upon  their  shoulders  (Fig.  32).  The  paintings 
in  the  tombs  at  Thebes  exhibit  to  us  this  process  in  detail, 
showing  the  heating  of  the  iron  at  a  fire,  its  application  to  the 
prostrate  cows,  and  the  distress  of  the  calves  at  the  struggles 
and  moans  of  their  mothers. 

Besides  cattle,  the  Egyptian  farmers  bred  considerable  num- 
bers of  sheep  (Fig.  33),  goats  (Fig.  35),  and  pigs  (Fig.  34). 
A  single  individual  in  one  instance  records  upon  his  tomb  that 
he  was  the  owner  of  834  oxen,  220  cows,  2,234  goats,  760  don- 
keys, and  974  sheep.91  Mutton  was  not  held  in  much  esteem,92 
and  sheep  were  consequently  but  seldom  killed  for  food.  The 
Egyptians  kept  them  mainly  for  the  sake  of  their  wool,  which 
was  required  for  the  manufacture  of  the  cloak  or  ordinary 
outer  garment  of  the  people,93  for  carpets  and  rugs,94  and  per- 
haps for  the  coverings  of  couches  and  chairs.  Egyptian  sheep 
are  said  to  have  yielded  two  fleeces  each  year,  and  also  to  have 
produced  lambs  twice,95  which  would  cause  the  increase  of  the 
flock  to  be  rapid.  It  is  uncertain  for  what  purpose  goats  were 
kept.  They  were  occasionally  sacrificed,96  and  therefore,  no 
doubt,  employed  as  food  ;  but  this  practice  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  frequent,  and  will  not  account  for  the  large  num- 
bers which  were  bred  and  reared.  Possibly  their  milk  was 
an  article  of  Egyptian  diet,97  or  their  hair  may  have  been  used, 
as  it  was  by  the  Israelites  when  they  quitted  Egypt,98  in  the 
manufacture  of  certain  fabrics,  as  tent-coverings  and  the  like. 
The  Egyptian  goats  are  not,  however,  represented  as  long- 
haired. 

It  is  certain  that  swine  were  largely  kept  in  Egypt,  since 
the  swineherds  were  sufficiently  numerous  to  form  one  of  the 
recognized  classes  into  which  the  population  was  divided.99 
According  to  Herodotus,100  there  were  occasions  upon  which 
the  Egyptians  were  bound  to  sacrifice  them,  and  once  a  year 
each  Egyptian  partook  of  the  flesh ;  but  otherwise  this  was 
regarded  as  utterly  unclean  ;  the  swineherds  were  despised 
and  disliked ;  and  pork  was  a  forbidden  food.     Still  swine 


DOMESTIC    AND    WILD    ANIMALS.  89 

"frequently  formed  part  of  the  stock  of  the  farmyard,101  either 
on  account  of  their  usefulness  in  treading  in  the  grain  after 
it  was  sown,102  or  perhaps  because  they  cleared  land  rapidly 
of  roots  and  weeds,  whose  growth  was  greatly  favored  by 
the  inundation.103  Pork  may  also,  though  forbidden  by  the 
ordinances  of  the  religion,  have  been  eaten  by  many  of  the 
lower  orders,  who  had  not  much  to  lose  in  social  rank,  were 
free  from  religious  prejudice,  and  found  the  meat  palatable 
and  savory. 

The  pig  of  Egypt,  if  we  may  trust  the  monuments,104  was  a 
hideous-looking  animal,  long-legged  and  long-necked,  cov- 
ered with  rough  hair,  and  with  a  crest  of  bristles  along  the 
wdiole  neck  and  back.  The  hog  was  especially  ugly ;  in  the 
sow  the  worst  features  were  somewhat  modified,  while  in 
the  sucking-pig  there  was  nothing  particular  or  fitted  to  attract 
remark. 

Egyptian  cultivators,  while  depending  for  their  profits  mainly 
upon  the  growth  of  grain  and  vegetables  and  the  increase  of 
their  flocks  and  herds,  did  not  neglect  those  smaller  matters 
of  the  dovecote  and  the  poultry-yard,  which  often  eke  out  a 
modern  farmer's  income  and  are  sometimes  not  unimportant 
to  him.  The  domestic  fowl  was  perhaps  not  known  under 
the  Pharaohs  ; 105  but  the  absence  of  this  main  support  of  the 
poultry-yard  was  compensated  for  by  the  great  abundance  of 
the  ducks  and  geese,  more  especially  the  latter,  which  consti- 
tuted one  of  the  main  articles  of  food  in  the  country,106  were 
offered  to  the  gods,107  and  were  reckoned  among  the  most  val- 
uable of  farming  products.  The  very  eggs  of  the  geese  were 
counted  in  the  inventories  wherewith  land-stewards  furnished 
their  masters.108  The  geese,  themselves,  in  flocks  of  fifty  or 
more,  were  brought  under  the  steward's  eye  to  be  inspected 
and  reckoned.  Goslings  for  the  service  of  the  table  were 
delivered  to  him  in  baskets.109  Ducks,  though  less  common 
than  geese,  were  likewise  among  the  produce  of  the  farm- 
yard ;110  and  pigeons,  which  were  a  favorite  article  of  food,111 
must  also  have  engaged  the  attention  of  the  producing  class. 

It  is  among  the  most  remarkable  features  of  Egyptian  farm- 
ing, that  not  domestic  animals  only,  but  wild  ones  also,  were 
bred  and  reared  on  the  great  estates.  Wild  goats,  gazelles, 
and  oryxes  appear  among  the  possessions  of  the  larger  land- 
owners,112 no  less  than  oxen,  sheep,  and  goats;  and  similarly, 
in  the  poultry-yard,  the  stork,  the  vulpanser,  and  other  wild 
fowl  share  the  farmer's  attention  with  ordinary  ducks  and 
geese.113  Probably  no  sharp  line  of  distinction  had  been  as  yet 
drawn  between  domestic  andjwild  animals;  it  was  not  known 


90  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

how  far  domestication  might  be  successfully  carried  \  expert* 
ments,  in  fact,  were  in  progress  which  ultimately  proved  fail- 
ures, the  birds  and  beasts  either  not  being  capable  of  being 
thoroughly  tamed,  or  not  nourishing  under  human  control 
sufficiently  to  make  it  worth  the  breeder's  while  to  keep  on 
with  them. 

Another  curious  feature  of  Egyptian  husbandly  was  the 
entire  absence  of  wagons  m  and  the  very  rare  use  of  carts.11* 
Agricultural  produce  was  transported  from  the  field  to  the 
barn  or  farm-yard  mainly  by  human  labor,116  the  peasants  car- 
rying it  in  bags  or  baskets  on  their  shoulders,  or  slung  between 
two  men  on  a  pole,  or  sometimes  by  means  of  a  yoke.  Where 
this  simple  method  was  insufficient,  asses  were  commonly  em- 
ployed to  remove  the  produce,  which  they  carried  in  panniers 
or  else  piled  upon  their  backs.117  In  conveying  grain,  or  pro- 
vender, or  cattle  even,  to  a  distant  market,  it  is  probable  that 
boats  were  largely  used,118  water  communication  between  all 
parts  of  Egypt  being  easy  by  means  of  the  Nile  and  the  exten- 
sive canal  systems,  while  roads  did  not  exist,  and  the  country, 
being  everywhere  intersected  by  water  channels,  was  ill  adapted 
for  wheeled  vehicles.119 

The  beasts  of  burden  used  in  Egypt  were  asses,  cows,  and 
oxen.  Horses,  which  were  carefully  bred  from  the  time  of 
their  introduction,  probably  under  the  eighteenth  dynasty,120 
were  regarded  as  too  noble,  and  perhaps  too  valuable,  for  such 
a  purpose.  They  were  commonly  either  ridden  121  or  employed 
to  draw  curricles  and  chariots,122  chiefly  by  men  of  the  upper 
classes.  Farmers  are  said  to  have  made  use  of  them  occasion- 
ally to  draw  the  plough; ira  but  this  cannot  have  been  a  common 
practice.  Great  numbers  were  required  for  the  war-chariots, 
which  formed  so  important  an  element  in  the  Egyptian  mili- 
tary force  ;  the  cavalry  employed  almost  as  many  ; 124  a  brisk 
trade  in  them  was  also  carried  on  with  Syria  and  Palestine, 
where  they  were  in  great  request,  and  fetched  high  prices.125 
They  seem  not  to  have  been  allowed  to  graze  in  the  fields,  but 
to  have  been  kept  constantly  in  stables  and  fed  on  straw  and 
barley.126  On  the  whole,  it  is  clear  that  their  connection  with 
agriculture  was  but  slight ;  and  this  brief  notice  of  them  will 
therefore  suffice  for  the  purposes  of  the  present  chapter. 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XXI. 


n't  ll'1 


Plate  XXII. 


Vol.  I 


r 


Fig.  56.— Doric  Pillar  and  Section 
of  Base.— See  Page  103. 


Fig.  57. — Egyptian  Pillar  and  Sec 
tion  of  Base.— See  Page  103. 


Fig.  53.— See  Pa-re  103. 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XXI II. 


Fig.  60.— Ground-Pla>  of  Temple  at  Medinet-Abou.— See  Page  105c 


Plate  XXIV. 


Vol.  I. 


tig.  (il.— Section  of  Temple  at  Medinet-Abou. — See  Page  105. 


ii.iitj'Vv'Vv,  i,      MM]  \ '  M 

iKp*  m-SJm.  i iiijiii&J4E 

.in »■....   \ — ■'»;!  ■  '  rr — mi"  ^!ir~!ih 


Fig.  62.— Section  of  Hall,  Rameseum,  Thebes.— See  Page  106. 


r 


Fig.  03  -Steles  in  front  of  Granite  Cell.  Great  Temple,  Karnak.— See  Page  109. 


EGYPTIAN    ARClklTECTUKE.  91 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ARCHITECTURE. 

Earliest  Egyptian  Architecture,  sepulchral.  Most  ancient  Tombs.  Primitive 
stepped  Pyramids— Pyramid  of  Meydoun— of  Saccarah.  Great  Pyramids 
of  Ghizeh.  Intention  of  the  Pyramids.  Their  teclmic  excellence.  Theii 
aesthetic  merit.  Pyramids  of  two  elevations.  Rock  Tombs.  Primitive 
Temples.  Later  ones— Temple  at  Medinet  Abou— Kameseum— Great  Tem- 
ple of  Kamak.  Obelisks.  Southern  Karnak  Temple.  Mammeisi.  Beau- 
ties of  the  Architecture— Massiveness— Elegance  of  Columns  and  Capitals 
—  Caryatide  Piers— Employment  of  Color.  Egyptian  domestic  Archi- 
tecture. Pavilion  of  Barneses  III.  Houses  of  Private  Persons.  Chief 
Peculiarities  of  Egyptian  Construction.  Non-employment  of  the  Arch— 
Symmetrophobia— Contrivances  for  increasing  apparent  Size  of  Buildings. 

<bacr\v  [AiyvTrTioi]  Seiv  9avixd^eiv  fiaWov  tovs  apxt-TCKTOvas  rwv  epAwv  ij  tovs  /SacrAei?. 

— DiOD.  Sic.  i,  64. 

The  origin  of  Architecture  in  the  proper  sense  of  the  term.,1 
is  different  in  different  countries.  In  most  it  springs  from  the 
need  which  man  has  of  shelter,  and  the  desire  which  he  enter- 
tains of  making  his  dwelling-place  not  merely  comfortable,  but 
handsome.  In  some  this  desire  seems  not  to  have  been  early 
developed ;  but  in  lieu  of  it,  the  religious  sentiment  brought 
architecture  into  life,2  the  desire  which  worked  being  that  of 
giving  to  the  buildings  wherein  God  was  worshipped  a  grandeur, 
a  dignity,  and  a  permanency  worthy  of  Him.  According  to 
Herodotus,3  the  first  Egyptian  edifice  of  any  pretension  was  a 
temple  ;  and,  could  we  depend  on  this  statement,  it  would 
follow  that  Egypt  was  one  of  the  countries  in  which  archi- 
tecture sprang  from  religion.  The  investigations,  however, 
conducted  on  Egyptian  soil  by  modern  inquirers,  have  led  most 
of  them  to  a  different  conclusion,  and  have  seemed  to  them  to 
justify  Diodorus  in  the  important  place  whicn  he  assigns,  in 
speaking  of  Egyptian  architecture,  to  the  Tomb.  "The  inhab- 
itants of  this  region,"  says  the  learned  Siceliot,  "consider  the 
term  of  man's  present  life  to  be  utterly  insignificant,  and  de- 
vote by  far  the  largest  part  of  their  attention  to  the  life  after 
death.  They  call  the  habitations  of  the  living  '  places  of 
sojourn/  since  we  occupy  them  but  for  a  short  time  ;  but  to 
the  sepulchres  of  the  dead  they  give  the  name  of  i  eternal 
abodes/  since  men  will  live  in  the  other  world  for  an  infinite 
period.  For  these  reasons  they  pay  little  heed  to  the  construc- 
tion of  their  houses,  while  in  what  concerns  burial  they  place 
no  limit  to  the  extravagance  of  their  efforts.1'4 


92  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

The  early  Egyptian  remains  are  in  entire  harmony  with  this 
statement.  They  consist  almost  exclusively  of  sepulchral  edi- 
fices. While  scarcely  a  vestige  is  to  be  found  of  the  ancient 
capital,  Memphis,  its  necropolis  on  the  adjacent  range  of  hills 
contains  many  hundreds  of  remarkable  tombs,  and  among  them 
the  "Three  Pyramids"  which,  ever  since  the  time  of  Herodotus, 
have  attracted  the  attention  of  the  traveller  beyond  all  the 
other  marvels  of  the  country.  The  art  of  pyramid  building, 
which  culminated  in  these  mighty  efforts,  must  have  been 
practised  for  a  considerable  period  before  it  reached  the  degree 
of  perfection  which  they  exhibit ;  and  it  is  an  interesting  ques- 
tion, whether  we  cannot  to  a  certain  extent  trace  the  progress 
of  the  art  in  the  numerous  edifices  which  cluster  around  the 
three  giants,  and  stretch  from  them  in  two  directions,  north- 
ward to  Abu-Roash,  and  southward  as  far  as  the  Fayoum.5 
The  latest  historian  of  architecture  has  indeed  conjectured 
that  one,  at  any  rate,  of  the  most  interesting  of  these  subordi- 
nate buildings  is  of  later  date  than  the  Three  ; 6  but  the  best 
Egyptologists  are  of  a  different  opinion,  and  regard  it  as  among 
the  most  ancient  of  existing  edifices.7  It  is  not  improbable 
that  some  of  the  smaller  unpretentious  tombs  are  earlier,  as 
they  are  simpler,  than  any  of  the  pyramidal  ones,  and  it  is 
therefore  with  these  that  we  shall  commence  the  present  ac- 
count of  Egyptian  sepulchral  architecture. 

Around  the  pyramids  of  Ghizeh,  and  in  other  localities  also, 
wherever  pyramids  exist,  are  found  numerous  comparatively 
insignificant  tombs  which  have  as  yet  been  only  very  partially 
explored  and  still  more  imperfectly  described.  "Their  general 
form  is  that  of  a  truncated  pyramid,  low,  and  looking  exter- 
nally like  a  house  with  sloping  walls,  with  only  one  door  lead- 
ing to  the  interior,  though  they  may  contain  several  apart- 
ments ;  and  no  attempt  is  made  to  conceal  the  entrance.  The 
body  seems  to  have  been  preserved  from  profanation  by  being- 
hid  in  a  well  of  considerable  depth,  the  opening  into  which 
was  concealed  in  the  thickness  of  the  walls."8  The  ground-plan 
of  these  tombs  is  usually  an  oblong  square,  the  walls  are  of 
great  thickness,  and  the  roofs  of  the  chambers  are  in  some 
instances  supported  by  massive  square  stone  piers.  There  is 
little  external  ornamentation  ; 9  but  the  interior  is  in  almost 
every  instance  elaborate^  decorated  with  colored  bas-reliefs, 
representing  either  scenes  of  daily  life  or  religious  and  mystic 
ceremonies. 

It  was  no  great  advance  on  these  truncated  pyramids  to 
conceive  the  idea  of  adding  to  their  height  and  solidity  by  the 
superimposition  of  some  further  stories,  constructed  on  a  sim- 


GEE  AT    PYRAMID    OF    SACCARAH.  93 

ilar  principle,  but  without  internal  chambers.  An  example  of 
this  stage  of  construction  seems  to  remain  in  the  curious  mon- 
ument at  Meydoun,  called  by  some  a  "pyramid,"  by  others  a 
"tower,"  10  of  which  Fig.  38  is  a  representation. 

This  monument,  which  is  emplaced  upon  a  rocky  knoll,  has 
a  square  base,  about  200  feet  each  way,  and  rises  at  an  angle 
of  74°  10',  in  three  distinct  stages,  to  an  elevation  of  nearly 
125  feet.  The  first  stage  is  by  far  the  loftiest  of  the  three, 
being  little  short  of  seventy  feet  ;  the  second  somewhat  exceeds 
thirty-two  feet,  while  the  third  (which,  however,  may  origi- 
nally have  been  higher)  is  at  present  no  more  than  twenty-two 
feet  six  inches.11  The  material  is  a  compact  limestone,  and 
must  have  been  brought  from  a  considerable  distance.  The 
blocks,  which  vary  in  length,  have  a  thickness  of  about  two 
feet,  and  "have  been  worked  and  put  together  with  great 
skill."19  No  interior  passages  or  chambers  have  as  yet  been 
discovered  in  this  edifice,  which  lias,  however,  up  to  the  pres- 
ent date,  been  examined  very  insufficiently. 

After  the  idea  of  obtaining  elevation,  and  so  grandeur,  by 
means  of  stages  had  been  once  conceived,  it  was  easy  to  carry 
out  the  notion  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  that  which  had 
approved  itself  to  the  architect  of  the  Pyramid  of  Meydoun 
(Fig.  38).  Accordingly  we  find  at  Saccarah  an  edifice  similar 
in  general  character  to  the  Meydoun  pile,  but  built  in  six  in- 
stead of  three  stages.13  The  proportions  are  also  enlarged 
considerably,  the  circumference  measuring  1,490  feet  instead 
of  800,  and  the  height  extending  to  200  feet  instead  of  125. 
The  stages  still  diminish  in  height  as  they  rise  ;  but  the  dim- 
inution is  only  slight,  the  topmost  stage  of  all  falling  short 
of  the  basement  one  by  no  more  than  eight  feet  and  a 
half.14 

The  sides  of  the  several  stages  have  a  uniform  slope  (Fig.  40), 
which  is  nearly  at  the  same  angle  with  that  of  the  Meydoun 
building— viz.  73°  30'  instead  of  74°  10'.  The  core  of  the 
Saccarah  pyramid  (Fig.  39)  is  of  rubble  ;  15  but  this  poor  nu- 
cleus is  covered  and  protected  on  all  sides  with  a  thick  casing 
of  limestone,  somewhat  roughly  hewn  and  apparently  quarried 
on  the  spot.  In  the  rock  beneath  the  pyramid,  and  almost 
under  its  apex,16  is  a  sepulchral  chamber  paved  with  granite 
blocks,  which,  when  discovered,  contained  a  sarcophagus,17 
and  was  connected  with  the  external  world  by  passages  care- 
fully concealed.  A  doorway  leading  into  another  smaller 
chamber,  a  low  and  narrow  opening,  was  ornamented  at  the 
sides  by  green  cubes  of  baked  clay,  enamelled  on  the  surface, 
alternating  with  small  limestone  blocks;  and  the  limestone 


94  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

lintel,  which  covered  in  the  doorway  at  the  top,  was  adorned 
with  hieroglyphics.18 

Among  other  peculiarities  of  this  pyramid  are  its  departure 
from  correct  orientation,  and  its  oblong-square  shape.  It  is 
said  to  be  "the  only  pyramid  in  Egypt  the  sides  of  which  do 
not  exactly  face  the  cardinal  points.'"  19  The  departure  is  as 
much  as  4°  35',  and  can  therefore  scarcely  have  been  unin- 
tentional. To  intention  must  also  be  ascribed  the  other  pecu- 
liarity (which  is  not  unexampled),20  since  the  length  by  which 
the  eastern  and  western  sides  exceeded  the  northern  and  south- 
ern was  certainly  as  much  as  43  feet.  According  to  a  conjec- 
ture of  the  principal  explorer,  the  original  difference  was  even* 
greater,  amounting  to  63  feet,  or  more  than  one-fifth  of  the 
length  of  the  shorter  sides.21 

When  multiplication  of  the  stages  had  once  been  conceived 
of  as  possible,  it  became  a  mere  question  of  taste  for  the  de- 
signer or  the  orderer  of  a  monument  how  numerous  the  stages 
should  be.  It  was  as  easy  to  make  them  sixty  as  six,  or  two 
hundred  as  two.  Evidence  is  wanting  as  to  intermediate  ex- 
periments ;  but  it  seems  soon  to  have  suggested  itself  to  the 
Egyptian  builders  that  the  natural  limit  was  that  furnished 
by  the  thickness  of  the  stones  with  which  they  built,  each 
layer  of  stones  conveniently  forming  a  distinct  and  separate 
stage  (Fig.  37).  Finally,  when  a  gw<m-pyramid  was  in  this 
way  produced,  it  would  naturally  occur  to  an  artistic  mind  to 
give  a  perfect  finish  to  the  whole  by  smoothing  the  exterior, 
which  could  be  done  in  two  ways — either  by  planing  down 
the  projecting  angles  of  the  several  stages  to  a  uniform  level,22 
or  by  filling  up  the  triangular  spaces  between  the  top  of  each 
step  and  the  side  of  the  succeeding  one. 

There  are  from  sixty  to  seventy  pyramids  remaining  in  Egypt23 
Which  appear  to  have  been  constructed  on  these  principles. 
Agreeing  in  form  and  in  general  method  of  construction,  they 
differ  greatly  in  size,  and  so  in  dignity  and  grandeur.  As  it 
would  be  wearisome  to  the  reader  if  we  were  to  describe  more 
than  a  few  of  these  wTorks,  and  as  it  has  been  usual  from  the 
most  ancient  times  to  distinguish  three  above  all  the  rest,24  wre 
shall  be  content  to  follow  the  example  of  most  previous  histo- 
rians of  Egypt,  and  to  conclude  our  account  of  this  branch  of 
Egyptian  architecture  with  a  brief  description  of  the  Three 
Great  Pyramids  of  Ghizeh. 

The  smallest  of  these  constructions  (Fig.  41),  wThich  is  usually 
regarded  as  being  the  latest,  was  nearly  of  the  same  general 
dimensions  as  the  stepped  pyramid  of  Saccarah  recently  de- 
scribed.    It  a  little  exceeded  the  Saccarah  building  in  height^ 


THIRD    PYRAMID.  95 

while  it  a  little  fell  short  of  it  in  circumference.  The  base 
was  a  square,  exact  or  nearly  so,  each  side  measuring  354  feet 
and  a  few  inches.25  The  perpendicular  height  was  218  feet, 
and  the  angle  of  the  slope  fifty-one  degrees.  The  pyramid 
covered  an  area  of  two  acres  three  roods  and  twenty-one  poles, 
and  contained  above  nine  millions  of  cubic  feet  of  solid  ma- 
sonry, calculated  to  have  weighed  702,460  tons.26  Originally 
it  was  built  in  steps  or  stages,27  like  the  Saccarah  monument ; 
the  stages,  however,  were  perpendicular,  and  not  sloping  ;  they 
seem  to  have  been  five  in  number,  and  were  not  intended  to 
be  seen,  the  angles  formed  by  the  steps  being  at  once  filled  in 
with  masonry.  Externally  the  lower  half  of  the  pyramid  was 
covered  with  several  layers  of  a  beautiful  red  granite,28  bev- 
elled at  the  joints,29  while  the  casing  of  the  upper  half  as  well  as 
the  main  bulk  of  the  interior  was  of  limestone.  Nearly  below 
the  apex,  sunk  deep  in  the  native  rock  on  which  the  pyramid 
stands,  is  a  sepulchral  chamber,  or  rather  series  of  chambers, 
in  one  of  which  was  found  the  sarcophagus  of  the  monarch 
whom  tradition  had  long  pointed  out  as  the  builder  of  the 
monument.30  The  chamber  in  question,  which  measures 
twenty-one  feet  eight  inches  in  length,  eight  feet  seven  inches 
in  breadth,  and  eleven  feet  three  inches  in  its  greatest  height,31 
runs  in  a  direction  which  is  exactly  north  and  south,  and  is 
composed  entirely  of  granite.  The  floor  was  originally  formed 
of  large  masses  well  put  together,  but  had  been  disturbed  be- 
fore any  modern  explorer  entered  the  room  ;  the  sides  and 
ends  were  lined  with  slabs  two  and  a  half  feet  thick  ;  while 
the  roof  was  composed  of  huge  blocks  set  obliquely,  and  ex- 
tending from  the  side  walls,  on  which  they  rested,  to  the  cen- 
tre, where  they  met  at  an  obtuse  angle  (Fig.  42).  Internally 
these  blocks  had  been  caved  out  after  being  put  in  place, 
and  the  roof  of  the  chamber  was  thus  a  pointed  arch  of  a  de- 
pressed character.  The  slabs  covering  the  sides  had  been 
fastened  to  the  rock  and  to  each  other  by  means  of  iron 
cramps,  two  of  which  were  found  in  situ.™ 

The  sarcophagus  (Fig.  44)  which  the  chamber  contained 
was  extremely  remarkable.  Formed,  with  the  exception  of 
the  lid,  of  a  single  mass  of  blue-black  basalt,  and  exhibiting 
in  places  marks  of  the  saw  which  had  been  used  in  quarrying 
it,  it  had  been  carved  and  polished  with  great  care,  and  was  a 
beautiful  object.33  The  ends  almost  exactly  reproduced  those 
doorways  of  ancient  tombs  which  have  been  already  mentioned 
as  imitations  of  woodwork,34  while  the  sides  showed  a  continu- 
ation of  the  same  carving,  and  are  thought  to  represent  the 
facade  of  a  palace.35     Externally  the  sarcophagus  was  eight 


96  HISTORY   OF   ANCTEKT   EGYPT, 

feet  long,  three  feet  high,  and  three  broad  ;  internally  the 
dimensions  were  six  feet  by  two.36  The  weight  was  nearly 
three  tons.37 

In  the  close  neighborhood  of  the  sepulchral  chamber,  and 
connected  with  it  by  a  short  passage  (Fig.  43),  was  another 
larger  one,  which  is  thought  to  have  also  once  held  a  sarcoph- 
agus ; 38  but  this  cannot  be  regarded  as  certain.  Two  pas- 
sages lead  out  of  the  larger  apartment,  a  lower  and  a  higher 
one.  The  lower  one  is  1?5  feet  long,  and  conducts  from  the 
great  chamber  to  the  external  air,  at  first  along  a  level,  but 
afterwards  by  an  incline,  which  rises  gently  at  an  angle  of  26° 
2'.  The  other  passage  is  much  shorter.  It  leads  out  of  the 
upper  part  of  the  great  chamber,  at  first  horizontally,  but 
afterwards  at  a  slope  of  27°  34',  terminating  where  it  reaches 
the  surface  of  the  rock  and  comes  in  contact  with  the  masonry 
of  the  pyramid.39  It  is  conjectured  that  this  was  the  original 
entrance,  and  that  the  monument,  as  first  designed,  w7as  to 
have  had  a  base  of  only  180  feet  and  an  elevation  of  145  ;  but 
that  afterwards,  either  the  original  designer  or  a  later  sovereign 
conceived  the  idea  of  enlarging  the  work,  and,  having  built 
over  the  upper  passage,  constructed  a  new  one.40 

The  Second  Pyramid  of  Ghizeh  (Fig.  45),  situated  KKE. 
of  the  Third,  at  the  distance  of  about  two  hundred  and  seventy 
yards,  had  an  area  which  was  about  four  times  as  large,  and 
attained  an  elevation  exceeding  that  of  the  Third  by  a  little 
more  than  a  hundred  feet.  The  base  was  a  square,  each  side 
of  which  measured  707  feet ;  the  sides  rose  at  an  angle  of  52° 
20' ;  and  the  perpendicular  height  was,  consequently,  454 
feet.41  The  area  covered  amounted  to  almost  eleven  acres  and 
a  half  ;42  the  cubic  contents  are  estimated  at  71,670,000  feet ; 
and  the  weight  of  the  entire  mass  is  calculated  at  5,309,000 
tons.43  Like  most  other  pyramids,  it  contained  a  sepulchral 
chamber  almost  under  the  apex  ;  this  was  carved  out  of  the 
solid  rock,  but  covered  in  by  the  basement  stones  of  the  edi- 
fice (Fig.  46),  which  were  here  sloped  at  an  angle.44  The 
length  of  the  chamber  from  east  to  west  wras  forty-six  feet,  its 
breadth  from  north  to  south  a  little  more  than  sixteen  feet,  its 
greatest  height  twenty-two  feet.45  It  contained  a  plain  granite 
sarcophagus,  without  inscription  of  any  kind,  wdiich  was  sunk 
into  the  floor,46  and  measured  in  length  eight  feet  seven  inches, 
in  breadth  three  feet  six  inches,  and  in  depth  three  feet.47  The 
chamber  was  connected  with  the  world  without  by  two  pas- 
sages, one  of  which,  commencing  in  the  north  side  of  the 
pyramid,  at  the  height  of  fifty  feet  above  the  base,  descended 
to  the  level  of  the  base  at  an  angle  of  25°  55',  after  which  it 


SECOND    AND    GREAT    PYRAMIDS.  97 

became  horizontal  ;  while  the  other,  beginning  outside  the 
pyramid  in  the  pavement  at  its  foot,  descended  at  an  angle  of 
21°  40'  for  a  hundred  feet,  was  horizontal  for  sixty  feet,  and 
then,  ascending  for  ninety-six  feet,  joined  the  upper  passage 
halfway  between  the  outer  air  and  the  central  chamber.48 
Connected  with  the  horizontal  part  of  the  lower  passage  were 
two  other  smaller  chambers,  which  did  not  appear  to  have 
been  sepulchral.  These  measured  respectively  eleven  feet  by 
six  and  thirty-four  feet  by  ten.49  They  were  entirely  hewn  out 
of  the  solid  rock,  and  had  no  lining  of  any  kind.  The  pas- 
sages were  in  part  lined  with  granite  ; 50  and  granite  seems  to 
have  been  used  for  the  outer  casing  of  the  two  lower  tiers  of 
the  pyramid,51  thus  extending  to  a  height  of  between  seven  and 
eight  feet ;  but  otherwise  the  material  employed  was  either  the 
limestone  of  the  vicinity,  or  the  better  quality  of  the  same  sub- 
stance which  is  furnished  by  the  Mokattam  range.  The  con- 
struction is  inferior  to  that  of  either  the  First  or  the  Third 
Pyramid  ;  it  is  loose  and  irregular,  in  places  "a  sort  of  gigantic 
rubble-work,"  composed  of  large  blocks  of  stone  intermixed 
with  mortar,52  and  seems  scarcely  worthy  of  builders  who  were 
acquainted  with  such  far  superior  methods. 

The  First  Pyramid  of  Ghizeh— the  "Great  Pyramid"  (Fig. 
47),  as  it  is  commonly  called — the  largest  and  loftiest  build- 
ing which  the  world  contains,  is  situated  almost  due  northeast 
of  the  Second  Pyramid,53  at  the  distance  of  about  200  yards. 
It  was  placed  on  a  lower  level  than  that  occupied  by  the  Second 
Pyramid,  and  did  not  reach  to  as  great  an  elevation  above  the 
plain.54  In  height  from  the  base,  however,  it  exceeded  that 
pyramid  by  twenty-six  feet  six  inches,  in  the  length  of  the 
base  line  by  fifty-six  feet,  and  in  the  extent  of  the  area  by  one 
acre  three  roods  and  twenty-four  poles.  Its  original  perpen- 
dicular height  is  variously  estimated,  at  480,  484,  and  485 
feet.55  The  length  of  its  side  was  764  feet,56  and  its  area  thir- 
teen acres  one  rood  and  twenty-two  poles.  It  has  been  famil- 
iarly described  as  a  building  "more  elevated  than  the  Cathe- 
dral of  St.  Paul's,  on  an  area  about  that  of  Lincoln's  Inn 
Fields."57  The  solid  masonry  which  it  contained  is  estimated 
at  more  than  89,000,000  cubic  feet,  and  the  weight  of  the 
mass  at  6,848,000  tons.58  The  basement  stones  are  many  of 
them  thirty  feet  in  length  59  and  nearly  five  feet  high.  Alto- 
gether, the  edifice  is  the  largest  and  most  massive  building  in 
the  world,60  and  not  only  so,  but  by  far  the  largest  and  most 
massive — the  building  which  approaches  it  the  nearest  being 
the  Second  Pyramid,  which  contains  17,000,000  cubic  feet  less< 
and  is  very  much  inferior  in  the  method  of  its  construction. 


98  HISTORY    OF    AKCIENT    EGYPT. 

The  internal  arrangement  of  chambers  and  passages  in  the 
Great  Pyramid  is  peculiar  and  complicated.  A  single  entrance 
in  the  middle  of  the  northern  front,  opening  from  the  thir- 
teenth step  or  stage  from  the  base,  conducts  by  a  gradual  in- 
cline, at  an  angle  of  26°  41',  to  a  subterranean  chamber,  deep 
in  the  rock,  and  nearly  under  the  apex  of  the  building,  which 
measures  forty-six  feet  by  twenty-seven,  and  is  eleven  feet 
high.61  The  passage  itself  is  low  and  narrow,  varying  from 
four  to  three  feet  only  in  height,  and  in  width  from  three  feet 
six  inches  to  two  feet  nine.  It  is  necessary  to  creep  along 
the  whole  of  it  in  a  stooping  posture.  The  sides,  which  are 
perpendicular,  are  formed  of  blocks  of  Mokattam  limestone, 
and  the  passage  is  roofed  in  by  flat  masses  of  the  same.  Above 
two  such  masses  are  seen,  at  the  entrance  (Fig.  48),  two 
stones,  and  then  two  more  placed  at  an  angle,  and  meeting 
so  that  they  support  each  other,  and  act  as  an  arch,  taking 
off  the  pressure  of  the  superincumbent  masonry.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  the  same  construction  has  been  emplo}red  along 
the  whole  passage  until  it  enters  the  rock.62  This  it  does  at 
the  distance  of  about  forty  yards  from  the  outer  air,  after 
which  it  is  carried  through  the  rock  in  the  same  line  for  about 
seventy  yards,  nearly  to  the  subterranean  chamber,  with  which 
it  is  joined  by  a  horizontal  passage  nine  yards  in  length.  No 
sarcophagus  wras  found  in  this  chamber,  which  must,  however, 
it  is  thought,  have  originally  contained  one.63 

At  the  distance  of  twenty-one  yards  from  the  entrance  to 
the  pyramid  an  ascending  passage  goes  off  from  the  descend- 
ing one,  at  an  angle  which  is  nearly  similar,64  and  this  passage 
is  carried  through  the  heart  of  the  pyramid,  with  the  same 
height  and  width  as  the  other,  for  the  distance  of  124  feet. 
At  this  point  it  divides.65  A  lowT  horizontal  gallery,  110  feet 
long,  conducts  to  a  chamber,  winch  has  been  called  "the 
Queen^s,"  66  a  room  about  nineteen  feet  long  by  seventeen  feet 
broad,  roofed  in  writh  sloping  blocks,  and  having  a  height  of 
twenty  feet  in  the  centre.67  Another  longer  and  much  loftier 
gallery  or  corridor  continues  on  in  the  line  of  the  ascending 
passage  for  150  feet,  and  is  then  joined  by  a  short  passage  to 
the  central  or  main  chamber — that  in  which  was  found  the 
sarcophagus  of  Cheops,  or  Khufu.*8  The  great  gallery  is  of 
very  curious  construction  (Fig.  49).  It  is  five  feet  twro  inches 
wride  at  the  base,  and  is  formed  of  seven  layers  of  stones,  each 
layer  projecting  a  little  beyond  the  one  below  it,  so  that  the 
gallery  contracts  as  it  ascends  ;  and  the  ceiling,  which  measures 
only  about  four  feet,  is  formed  of  flat  stones  laid  across  this 
space,  and  resting  on  the  two  uppermost  layers  or  tiers.      The 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XXV 


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—Ground-plan  of  the  Rameseum.— See  Page  106. 


Plate  XXVL 


Vo'    L 


Fig.  65.— Hall  of  Columns  in  the  Great  Temple  of  Karnak.— See  Page  108. 


OBJECT    OF    THE     PYRAMIDS.  99 

central  chamber  (Fig.  51),  into  which  this  gallery  leads,  has 
a  length  (from  east  to  west)  of  thirty-four  feet,  a  width  of 
seventeen  feet,  and  a  height  of  nineteen.69  It  is  composed 
wholly  of  granite,  beautifully  polished,70  and  is  roofed  in  a. 
manner  which  shows  great  ingenuity  and  extreme  care.  In 
the  first  place,  nine  enormous  granite  blocks,  each  of  them 
measuring  nearly  nineteen  feet  long,71  are  laid  across  the  room 
to  form  the  ceiling  ;  then  above  these  there  is  a  low  chamber, 
roofed  in  similarly  ;  this  is  followed  by  a  second  chamber,  a 
third,  and  a  fourth  ;  finally,  above  the  fourth,  is  a  triangular 
opening,  roofed  in  by  blocks  that  slope  at  an  angle  and  sup- 
port each  other,  like  those  over  the  entrance.  Further,  from 
the  great  chamber  are  carried,  northwards  and  southwards, 
two  ventilators  or  air  passages,  which  open  on  the  outer  sur- 
face of  the  pyramid,  and  are  respectively  233  and  174  feet 
long.72  These  passages  are  square,  or  nearly  so,  and  have 
a  diameter  varying  between  six  and  nine  inches.  Finally, 
it  must  be  noted  that  from  the  subterranean  chamber  a  pass- 
age is  continued  towards  the  south,  which  is  horizontal,  and 
extends  a  distance  of  fifty-three  feet,  where  it  abruptly  termi- 
nates without  leading  to  anything.73 

Many  speculations  have  been  indulged  in,  and  various  most 
ingenious  theories  have  been  framed,  as  to  the  object  or  objects 
for  which  the  pyramids  were  constructed,  and  as  to  their  per- 
fect adaptation  to  their  ends.  It  has  been  supposed  that  the 
Great  Pyramid  embodies  revelations  as  to  the  earth's  diameter 
and  circumference,  the  true  length  of  an  arc  of  the  meridian, 
and  the  proper  universal  unit  of  measure.74  It  has  been  con- 
jectured that  it  was  an  observatory,  and  that  its  sides  and  its 
various  passages  had  their  inclinations  determined  by  the  posi- 
tion of  certain  stars  at  certain  seasons.75  But  the  fact  seems 
to  be,  as  remarked  by  the  first  of  living  English  Egyptologers,76 
that  "these  ideas  do  not  appear  to  have  entered  into  the  minds 
of  the  constructors  of  the  pyramids,"  who  employed  the  meas- 
ures known  to  them  for  their  symmetrical  construction,77  but 
had  no  theories  as  to  measure  itself,  and  sloped  their  passages  at 
such  angles  as  were  most  convenient,  without  any  thought  of 
the  part  of  the  heavens  whereto  they  would  happen  to  point. 
The  most  sound  and  sober  view  seems  to  be,  that  the  pyramids 
were  intended  simply  to  be  tombs.78  The  Egyptians  had  a 
profound  belief  in  the  reality  of  the  life  beyond  the  grave,  and 
a  conviction  that  that  life  was,  somehow  or  other,  connected 
with  the  continuance  of  the  body.  They  embalmed  the  bodies 
of  the  dead  in  a  most  scientific  way  ;  and  having  thus,  so  far 
as  was  possible,  secured  them  against  the  results  of  natural 


100  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

decay,  they  desired  to  secure  them  also  against  accidents  and 
against  the  malice  of  enemies.  With  this  view  they  placed 
them  in  chambers,  rock-cut,  or  constructed  of  huge  blocks  of 
stone,  and  then  piled  over  these  chambers  a  mass  that  would, 
they  thought,  make  it  almost  impossible  that  they  should  be 
violated.  The  leading  idea  which  governed  the  forms  of  their 
constructions  was  that  of  durability  ; 79  and  the  pyramid  ap- 
pearing to  them  to  be,  as  it  is,  the  most  durable  of  architect- 
ural forms,  they  accordingly  adopted  it.  The  passages  with 
which  the  pyramids  are  penetrated  were  required  by  the  cir- 
cumstance that  kings  built  their  sepulchres  for  themselves, 
instead  of  trusting  to  the  piety  of  a  successor,  and  thus  it  was 
necessary  to  leave  a  way  of  access  to  the  sepulchral  chamber. 
No  sooner  was  the  body  deposited  than  the  passage  or  passages 
were  blocked.  Huge  portcullises,  great  masses  of  granite  or 
other  hard  stone,  were  placed  across  them,80  and  these  so  ef- 
fectually obstructed  the  ways  that  moderns  have  in  several 
instances  had  to  leave  them  where  they  were  put  by  the  build- 
ers, and  to  quarry  a  path  round  them.81  The  entrances  to  the 
passages  were  undoubtedly  "intended  to  be  concealed,"82  and 
were,  we  may  be  sure,  concealed  in  every  case,  excepting  the 
rare  one  of  the  accession,  before  the  tomb  was  finished,  of  a 
new  and  hostile  dynasty.83  As  for  the  angles  of  the  passages, 
whereof  so  much  has  been  said,  they  were  determined  by  the 
engineering  consideration,  at  what  slope  a  heavy  body  like  a 
sarcophagus  could  be  lowered  or  raised  to  most  advantage, 
resting  without  slipping  when  required  to  rest,  and  moving 
readily  when  required  to  move.84  The  ventilating  passages 
of  the  Great  Pyramid  were  simply  intended  to  run  in  the  line 
of  shortest  distance  between  the  central  chamber  and  the  ex- 
ternal air.  This  line  they  did  not  exactly  attain,  the  northern 
passage  reaching  the  surface  of  the  pyramid  about  fifteen  feet 
lower,  and  the  southern  one  about  the  same  distance  higher 
than  it  ought,  results  arising  probably  from  slight  errors  in 
the  calculations  of  the  builders. 

In  considering  the  architectural  merit  of  the  pyramids,  two 
points  require  to  be  kept  distinct — first  their  technic,  and 
secondly  their  artistic  or  aesthetic  value. 

Technically  speaking,  a  simple  pyramid  is  not  a  work  of 
much  difficulty.  To  place  masses  of  stone  in  layers  one  upon 
another,  each  layer  receding  from  the  last,  and  the  whole 
rising  in  steps  until  a  single  stone  crowns  the  summit ;  then 
to  proceed  downwards  and  smooth  the  faces,  either  by  cutting 
away  the  projections  or  by  filling  up  the  angles  of  the  steps, 
is  a  process  requiring   little  constructive  art  and   no  very  re- 


ARCHITECTURAL    AND    ESTHETIC    MERIT.  101 

markable  engineering  skill.  If  the  stones  are  massive,  then, 
of  course,  a  certain  amount  of  engineering  proficiency  will  be 
implied  in  their  quarrying,  their  transport,  and  their  eleva- 
tion into  place;  but  this  last  will  be  much  facilitated  by  the 
steps,  since  they  afford  a  resting-place  for  the  block  which  is 
being  raised,  at  each  interval  of  two  or  three  feet.85  Had  the 
Egyptian  pyramids  been  nothing  more  than  this — had  they 
been  merely  solid  masses  of  stone — the  technic  art  displayed 
in  them  would  not  have  been  great.  We  should  have  had  to 
notice  for  approval  only  the  proper  arrangement  of  the  steps 
in  a  gradually  diminishing  series,86  the  prudent  employment 
of  the  largest  blocks  for  the  basement  and  of  smaller  and  still 
smaller  ones  above,  and  the  neat  cutting  and  exact  fitting  of 
the  stones  (Fig.  54)  that  form  the  outer  casing.87  As  it  is, 
however,  the  pyramid-builders  are  deserving  of  very  much 
higher  praise.  Their  constructions  were  not  solid,  but  had 
to  contain  passages  and  chambers — chambers  which  it  was 
essential  should  remain  intact,  and  passages  which  must  not 
be  allowed  to  cause  any  settlement  or  subsidence  of  the  build- 
ing. It  is  in  the  formation  of  these  passages  and  chambers 
that  the  architects  of  the  pyramids  exhibited  their  technic 
powers.  "No  one  can  possibly  examine  the  interior  of  the 
Great  Pyramid"  (Fig.  55),  says  Mr.  Fergusson,  "without 
being  struck  with  astonishment  at  the  wonderful  mechanical 
skill  displayed  in  its  construction.  The  immense  blocks  of 
granite  brought  from  Syene — a  distance  of  500  miles — polished 
like  glass,  and  so  fitted  that  the  joints  can  scarcely  be  detected. 
Nothing  can  be  more  wonderful  than  the  extraordinary  amount 
of  knowledge  displayed  in  the  construction  of  the  discharging 
chambers  over  the  roof  of  the  principal  apartment,  in  the 
alignment  of  the  sloping  galleries,  in  the  provision  of  venti- 
lating shafts,  and  in  all  the  wonderful  contrivances  of  the 
structure.  All  these,  too,  are  carried  out  with  such  precision 
that,  notwithstanding  the  immense  superincumbent  weight, 
no  settlement  in  any  part  can  be  detected  to  the  extent  of  an 
appreciable  fraction  of  an  inch.  Nothing  more  perfect  mechan- 
ically has  ever  been  erected  since  that  time."  88 

iEsthetically,  the  pyramids  have  undoubtedly  far  less  merit. 
"In  itself,"  as  the  writer  above  quoted  well  observes,  "there 
can  be  nothing  less  artistic  than  a  pyramid."  89  It  has  no  ele- 
ment of  architectural  excellence  but  greatness,  and  this  it  con- 
ceals as  much  as  possible.  "A  pyramid  never  looks  as  large 
as  it  is  ;  and  it  is  not  till  you  almost  touch  it  that  you  can 
realize  its  vast  dimensions.  This  is  owing  principally  to  all 
its  parts  sloping  away  from  the  eye  instead  of  boldly  challeng- 


102  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

ing  observation."90  Still,  the  great  pyramids  of  Egypt,  haw 
ing  this  disadvantage  to  struggle  against,  must  be  said  to  have 
overcome  it.  By  the  vastness  of  their  mass,  by  the  impression 
of  solidity  and  durability  which  they  produce,  partly  also  per- 
haps by  the  symmetry  and  harmony  of  their  lines  and  their 
perfect  simplicity  and  freedom  from  ornament,  the}r  do  convey 
to  the  beholder  a  sense  of  grandeur  and  majesty,  they  do  pro- 
duce within  him  a  feeling  of  astonishment  and  awe,  such  as  is 
scarcely  caused  by  any  other  of  the  erections  of  man.  In  all 
ages  travellers  have  felt  and  expressed  the  warmest  and  strong- 
est admiration  for  them.91  They  impressed  Herodotus  as  no 
works  that  he  had  seen  elsewhere,  except  perhaps  the  Baby- 
lonian. 9'2  They  astonished  Germanicus,  familiar  as  he  was 
with  the  great  constructions  of  Kome.93  They  stirred  the  spirit 
of  Napoleon,  and  furnished  him  with  one  of  his  most  telling- 
phrases.94  Greece  and  Kome  reckoned  them  iimong  the  Seven 
AVonders  of  the  world.95  Moderns  have  doubted  whether  they 
could  really  be  the  work  of  human  hands.96  If  they  possess 
one  only  of  the  elements  of  architectural  excellence,  the}-  pos- 
sess that  element  to  so  great  an  extent  that  in  respect  of  it 
they  are  unsurpassed,  and  probably  unsurpassable. 

Before  quitting  altogether  the  subject  of  the  pyramids  it 
should  perhaps  be  noted — first,  that  the  Egyptians  not  unfre- 
quently  built  brick  pyramids,97  and  prided  themselves  upon 
constructing  durable  monuments  with  so  poor  a  material;98 
and  secondly,  that  they  occasionally  built  pyramids  with  two 
distinct  inclinations.  The  southern  stone  pyramid  of  Dashoor 
(Fig.  53),  which  has  a  base  of  nearly  C17  feet,  is  commenced 
at  an  angle  of  54°  15',  and,  if  this  slope  had  been  continued, 
must  have  risen  to  an  elevation  of  nearly  400  feet.  When, 
however,  the  work  had  been  carried  up  to  the  height  of  about 
150  feet,  the  angle  was  suddenly  changed  to  one  of  42°  only, 
and  the  monument  being  finished  at  this  low  slope,  lost  sixty 
feet  of  its  proper  elevation,  falling  short  of  340  feet  by  a  few 
inches."  The  effect  of  a  pyramid  of  this  kind  is  pronounced 
to  be  unpleasant ;  10°  and  there  can  be  little  doubt 101  that  the 
change  of  construction,  when  made,  was  an  afterthought  re- 
sulting from  a  desire  to  complete  the  work  more  rapidly  than 
had  been  at  first  intended. 

Besides  the  brick  and  stone  tombs  thus  elaborately  con- 
structed, the  Egyptians  were  also  in  the  habit  of  forming 
rock-sepulchres  by  excavations  in  the  mountains  whereby  the 
Nile  Valley  was  bordered.  These  excavated  tombs  belong  to 
a  period  somewhat  later  than  that  of  the  pyramids,  and  have 
but  few  architectural  features,  being  for  the  most  part  a  mere 


ROCK-SEPULCHRES.  103 

succession  of  chambers  and  passages,102  with  walls  and  ceilings 
ornamented  by  painting  and  sculpture,  but  devoid  of  any 
architectural  decoration.  Still,  there  are  certain  exceptions 
to  the  general  rule.  Occasionally  the  entrances,  and  again 
the  larger  chambers,  are  supported,  by  columns  ;  and  these, 
though  for  the  most  part  plain,  have  in  some  instances  an 
ornamentation  which  is  interesting,  showing  as  it  does  the 
germ  of  features  which  ultimately  came  to  be  employed  widely 
and  recognized  as  possessing  great  merit.  In  the  earliest  of 
the  rock-tombs  the  pillar  is  a  mere  pier,103  at  first  square  or, 
at  any  rate,  rectangular  ;  then  the  projecting  angles  are  cut 
away,  and  the  shape  becomes  octagonal  ;  finally,  the  octagon 
is  rounded  off  into  a  circle  (Fig.  58).  This  form  being  too 
simple,  an  ornamentation  of  it  is  projected,  and  that  sort  of 
shallow  fluting  appears  which  characterizes  the  Doric  order 
of  the  Greeks  (Fig.  56).  Several  tombs  at  Beni  Hassan,  in 
Middle  Egypt,  exhibit  pillars  so  like  the  Grecian  that  they 
have  obtained  the  name  of  "Pro to-Doric.'"  104  Sixteen  shallow 
curved  indentations,  carried  in  straight  lines  from  top  to  bot- 
tom of  the  columns,  streak  them  with  delicate  varieties  of 
shade  and  light,  adding  greatly  to  their  richness  and  effect. 
The  sides  slope  a  little,  so  that  the  column  tapers  gently  ;  but 
there  is  no  perceptible  entasis  or  hyperbolic  curve  of  the  sides. 
The  base  is  large,  and  there  is  a  square  plinth  between  the 
column  and  the  architrave,  which  latter  is  wholly  unorna- 
mented.     The  entire  effect  is  simple  and  pleasing.105 

Another  still  more  elegant  and  thoroughly  Egyptian  column 
(Fig.  5?),  which  is  found  occasionally  in  the  early  tombs,  seems 
to  deserve  description.  This  appears  to  imitate  four  reeds  or 
lotus  stalks,  clustered  together  and  bound  round  with  a  liga- 
ture near  the  top,  above  which  they  swell  out  and  form  a  cap- 
ital. This  pillar  stands — like  the  other — on  its  own  base, 
and  is  rather  more  tapering.  It  was  sometimes  delicately  col- 
ored with  streaks  and  bars  of  blue,  pink,  yellow,  green,  and 
white,  which  gave  it  a  very  agreeable  appearance.106 

The  spaces  between  the  pillars  are  sometimes  occupied  by 
curvilinear  roofs,107  which,  though  not  exhibiting  any  engineer- 
ing skill,  since  they  are  merely  cut  in  the  rock,  imply,  at  any 
rate,  an  appreciation  of  the  beauty  of  coved  ceilings,  and 
suggest,  if  they  do  not  prove,  an  acquaintance  with  the  arch. 
Such  a  knowledge  was  certainly  possessed  by  the  later  Egyp- 
tians, and  may  not  improbably  have  been  acquired  even  at  the 
very  remote  date  to  which  the  tombs  in  question  belong. 

Although  their  early  architecture  is  almost  entirely  of  a 
sepulchral  character,  yet  we  have  a  certain  amount  of  evidence 


104  HISTOKY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

that,  even  from  the  first,  the  Temple  had  a  place  in  the  regards 
of  the  Egyptians,  though  a  place  very  much  inferior  to  that 
occupied  by  the  Tomb.  Not  only  is  the  building  of  temples 
ascribed  by  the  ancient  writers  to  more  than  one  of  the  early 
kings,108  but  remains  have  been  actually  found  which  the  best 
authorities  view  as  edifices  of  this  class,109  belonging  certainly 
to  a  very  ancient  period.  One  such  edifice  has  been  discovered, 
and  at  least  partially  explored,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  Second  Pyramid — that  of  Chephren — and  may  be  con- 
fidently regarded  as  of  his  erection.  It  consists  mainly  of 
a  single  apartment,  built  in  the  form  of  the  letter  T  (Fig.  59), 
and  measuring  about  100  feet  each  way.  The  entrance  was  in 
the  middle  of  the  crossbar  of  the  T,  which  was  a  sort  of  gallery 
100  feet  long  by  twenty-two  wide,  divided  down  the  middle 
by  a  single  range  of  oblong-square  piers,  built  of  the  best 
Syenite  granite.  From  this  gallery  opened  out  at  right  angles 
the  other  limb  of  the  apartment,  which  had  a  length  of  nearly 
eighty  feet  with  a  breadth  of  thirty-three,  and  was  divided  by 
a  double  range  of  similiar  piers  into  three  portions,  just  as  our 
churches  commonly  are  into  a  nave  and  two  aisles.  The  tem- 
ple has  no  roof,  but  is  believed  to  have  been  covered  with 
granite  blocks,  laid  across  from  the  walls  to  the  piers,  or  from 
one  pier  to  another.  The  walls  were  lined  with  slabs  of  ala- 
baster, arragonite,  or  other  rare  stones,  skilfully  cut  and  deftly 
fitted  together  ;  and  the  temple  was  further  adorned  with 
statues  of  the  founder,  having  considerable  artistic  merit,  and 
executed  in  green  basalt,110  a  close-grained  and  hard  material. 
A  certain  number  of  narrow  passages,  leading  to  small  cham- 
bers, were  connected  with  it,  but  these  must  be  regarded  as 
mere  adjuncts,  not  interfering  with  the  main  building. 

There  is  no  beauty  of  ornamentation  and  but  little  construc- 
tive skill  in  the  temple  which  we  have  been  considering.  It 
has  been  described  as  "the  simplest  and  least  adorned  in  the 
world."  1H  Still,  we  are  told  that  the  effect  is  pleasing.  "All 
the  parts  of  the  building  are  plain — straight  and  square,  with- 
out a  single  moulding  of  any  sort,  but  they  are  perfectly  pro- 
portioned to  the  work  they  have  to  do.  They  are  pleasingly 
and  effectively  arranged,  and  they  have  all  that  lithic  grandeur 
which  is  inherent  in  large  masses  of  precious  materials."  112 

The  means  do  not  exist  for  tracing  with  any  completeness 
the  gradual  advance  which  the  Egyptians  made  in  their  tem- 
ple-building, from  edifices  of  this  extreme  and  archaic  sim- 
plicity to  the  complicated  and  elaborate  constructions  in  which 
their  architecture  laltimately  culminated.  The  dates  of  many 
temples  are  uncertain  ;  others,  of  which  portions  are  ancient, 


EARLIEST    TEMPLES.  105 

have  been  so  altered  and  improved  by  later  builders  that  their 
original  features  are  overlaid,  and  cannot  now  be  recovered. 
We  can  only  say,  that  as  early  as  the  time  of  the  twelfth  dyn- 
asty the  obelisk  was  invented  and  became  ani  adjunct  and  orna- 
ment of  the  temple,113  its  ordinary  position  being  at  either  side 
of  a  doorway  of  moderate  height,  which  it  overtopped  ;  and 
that  soon  after  the  accession  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty — if 
not  even  earlier — round  pillars  were  introduced  m  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  square  piers,  which  they  gradually  superseded,  re- 
taining however  to  the  last,  in  their  massive  form,  a  pier-like 
character.  About  the  same  time  the  idea  arose  (which  after- 
wards prevailed  universally)  of  forming  a  temple  by  means  of 
a  succession  of  courts,  colonnaded  or  otherwise,  opening  one 
into  another,  and  generally  increasing  in  richness  as  they  re- 
ceded from  the  entrance,  but  terminating  in  a  mass  of  small 
chambers,  which  Avere  probably  apartments  for  the  priests. 

The  progress  of  the  Egyptian  builders  in  temples  of  this 
kind  will  perhaps  be  sufficiently  shown  if  we  take  three  speci- 
mens, one  from  Medinet-Abou,  belonging  to  the  early  part  of 
the  eighteenth  dynasty ;  another,  that  of  the  Rameseum,  be- 
longing to  the  very  best  Egyptian  period — the  reign  of  Rameses 
II.,  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty  ;  and  the  third,  that  magnificent 
temple  at  Karnak,  the  work  of  at  least  seven  distinct  mon- 
archs,  whose  reigns  cover  a  space  of  about  five  hundred  years, 
which  has  been  well  compared  to  the  greatest  mediaeval  cathe- 
drals,115 gradually  built  up  by  the  piety  of  successive  ages, 
each  giving  to  God  the  best  that  its  art  could  produce,  and  all 
uniting  to  create  an  edifice  richer  and  more  various  than  the 
work  of  any  single  age  could  ever  be,  yet  still  not  inharmoni- 
ous, but  from  first  to  last  repeating  with  modifications  the 
same  forms  and  dominated  by  the  same  ideas. 

The  temple  at  Medinet-Abou  (Fig.  61)  faces  to. the  south- 
east.116 It  is  entered  by  a  doorway  of  no  great  height,  on 
either  side  of  which  are  towers  or  "pylons"  of  moderate  ele- 
vation,117 built  (as  usual)  with  slightly  sloping  sides,  and 
crowned  by  a  projecting  cornice.  The  gateway  is  ornamented 
with  hieroglyphics  and  figures  of  gods  ; 118  but  the  pylons,  ex- 
cept on  their  internal  faces,  are  plain.  Having  passed  through 
this  portal,  the  traveller  finds  himself  in  a  rectangular  court, 
rather  more  than  sixty  feet  long  by  thirty  broad,  bounded  on 
either  side  by  a  high  wall,  and  leading  to  a  colonnaded  build- 
ing. This,  which  is  the  temple  proper  (Fig.  60),  consists  of 
an  oblong  cell,  intended,  probably,  to  be  lighted  from  the 
roof,  and  of  a  gallery  or  colonnade  running  entirely  round 
the  cell,  and  supported  in  front  and  at  the  sides  by  square 


106  HISTORY   OF   ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

piers.  The  side  colonnades  have  a  length  of  about  fifty  feet, 
while  the  front  colonnade  or  porch  has  a  length  of  thirty-five 
or  forty.  The  space  between  the  cell  and  the  piers  is  a  dis- 
tance of  about  nine  feet,  and  this  has  been  roofed  in  with 
blocks  of  stone  extending  horizontally  across  it ;  but  the  roof^ 
thus  formed,  having,  apparently,  shown  signs  of  weakness  in 
places,  and  further  support  having  been  needed,  four  octago- 
nal pillars  have  been  introduced  at  the  weak  points.119  The 
position  of  three  of  these  is  fairly  regular ;  but  one  stands 
quite  abnormally,  as  will  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  plan 
(Fig.  59).  At  either  end  of  the  front  gallery  or  porch  are 
apartments — one  nearly  square,  about  fifteen  feet  by  twelve  ; 
the  other  oblong,  about  twenty-seven  feet  by  fifteen.  In  this 
latter  are  two  round  pillars  with  bell  or  lotus  capitals,120  in- 
tended to  support  the  roof.  In  the  rear  of  the  temple,  and 
in  the  same  line  with  the  side  piers,  are  a  group  of  six  apart- 
ments, opening  one  into  another,  and  accessible  only  from  the 
gallery  immediately  behind  the  cell.  The  whole  interior  of 
the  temple  is  profusely  ornamented  with  hieroglyphics  and 
sculptures,  chiefly  of  a  religious  character.  Externally  this 
building  can  have  had  but  little  grandeur  or  beauty  ;  inter- 
nally it  can  scarcely  have  been  very  satisfactory;  but  the  sculp- 
tures, whose  effect  was  heightened  by  painting,  may  have 
given  it  a  certain  character  of  richness  and  splendor. 

A  great  advance  upon  this  edifice  had  been  made  by  the 
time  when  Rameses  II.  constructed  the  building,  known  for- 
merly as  the  Memnonium,121  and  now  commonly  called  the 
Eameseum,122  at  Thebes  (Fig.  62).  Still,  the  general  plan  of 
the  two  buildings  is  n-ot  very  dissimilar  (Fig.  64).  The  en- 
trance-gateway stood,  similarly,  between  two  tall  pylons,  or 
"pyramidal  masses  of  masonry,  which,  like  the  two  western 
towers  of  a  Gothic  cathedral,  are  the  appropriate  and  most 
imposing  part  of  the  structure  externally."  123  It  led,  like  the 
other,  into  a  rectangular  courtyard,  bounded  on  either  side  by 
high  walls,  which,  however,  were  in  this  instance  screened 
by  a  double  colonnade,  supported  on  two  rows  of  round  pillars, 
ten  in  each  row.124  From  this  courtyard  a  short  flight  of  steps, 
and  then  a  broad  passage,  conducted  into  an  inner  peristyle 
court,125  a  little  smaller,126  but  very  much  more  splendid  than 
the  outer.  On  the  side  of  entrance,  and  on  that  opposite, 
were  eight  square  piers,  with  colossi  in  front,  each  thirty  feet 
high  ;  while  on  the  right  and  left  were  double  ranges  of  cir- 
cular columns,  eight  in  each  range,  the  inner  one  being  con- 
tinued on  behind  the  square  piers  which  faced  the  spectator 
on  his  entrance.     Passing  on  from  this  court  in  a  straight 


TEMPLE    OF    KERNAK.  107 

line,  and  mounting  another  short  staircase,  the  traveller  found 
himself  in  a  pillared  hall  of  great  beauty,  formed  by  forty- 
eight  columns  in  eight  rows  of  six  each,127  most  of  which  are 
still  standing.  The  pillars  of  the  two  central  rows  exceed  the 
others  both  in  height  and  diameter.128  They  are  of  a  different 
order  from  the  side  pillars,  having  the  bell-shaped  or  lotus 
capital  which  curves  so  gracefully  at  the  top  ;  while  the  side 
capitals  are  contracted  as  they  ascend,  and  are  decidedly  less 
pleasing.  The  whole  of  the  hall  was  roofed  over  with  large 
blocks  of  stone,  light  being  admitted  into  it  mainly  by  means 
of  a  clerestory  in  tho  way  shown  by  the  section  above.  All 
the  columns,  together  with  the  walls  enclosing  them,  were 
beautifully  ornamented  with  patterns,  hieroglyphics,  and  bas- 
reliefs  cut  in  the  stone  and  then  brilliantly  colored.129  Behind 
the  hall  were  chambers,  probably  nine  in  number,130  perhaps 
more,  the  two  main  ones  supported  by  eight  pillars  each,  and 
lighted,  most  likely,  by  a  clerestory ;  the  others  either  dark  or 
perhaps  receiving  light  through  windows  pierced  in  the  outer 
walls. 

A  magnificent  ornament  of  this  temple,  and  probably  its 
greatest  glory,  was  a  sitting  colossus  of  enormous  size,  formed 
of  a  single  mass  of  red  Syenite  granite,  and  polished  with  the 
greatest  care,  which  now  lies  in  fragments  upon  the  soil  of  the 
great  courtyard  and  provokes  the  astonishment  of  all  behold- 
ers.131 Its  original  height  is  estimated  at  eighteen  yards,  and 
its  cubic  contents  at  nearly  12,000  feet,132  which  would  give 
it  a  weight  of  almost  900  tons  !  It  was  the  largest  of  all  the 
colossal  statues  of  Egypt,  exceeding  in  height  the  two  seated 
colossi  in  its  vicinity,  one  of  which  is  known  as  "the  vocal 
Memnon,"  by  nearly  seven  feet.133 

The  Great  Temple  of  Karnak  (Fig.  66)  is  termed  by  the 
latest  historian  of  architecture  "  the  noblest  effort  of  architect- 
ural magnificence  ever  produced  by  the  hand  of  man."  134  It 
commences  with  a  long  avenue  of  crio-sphinxes  135  facing  to- 
wards each  other,  and  leading  to  a  portal,  placed  (as  usual) 
between  two  pylons,  one  of  which  is  still  nearly  complete  and 
rises  to  the  height  of  135  feet.136  The  portal  gives  access  to  a 
vast  open  court,  with  a  covered  corridor  on  either  side  resting 
upon  round  pillars,  and  a  double  line  of  columns  down  the 
centre.  The  court  and  corridors  are  275  feet  long,  while  the 
distance  from  the  outer  wall  of  the  right  to  that  of  the  left 
corridor  is  329  feet.137  The  area  of  the  court  should  thus  be 
nearly  100,000  square  feet.  A  portion  of  it,  however,  on  the 
right  is  occupied  by  a  building  which  seems  to  have  been  a 
shrine  or  sanctuary  distinct  from  the  main  temple.     This  edi- 


108  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

fice,  placed  at  right  angles  to  the  walls  of  the  court,  interrupts 
the  colonnade  upon  the  right  after  it  has  reached  about  half 
its  natural  length,  and,  projecting  in  front  of  it,  contracts  the 
court  in  this  quarter,  while  at  the  same  time  it  penetrates 
beyond  the  line  of  the  walls  to  a  distance  of  about  120  feet. 
It  is  constructed  in  the  usual  manner,  with  two  pylons  in  front, 
an  entrance  court  colonnaded  on  three  sides,  an  inner  pillared 
chamber  lighted  from  the  roof,  and  some  apartments  behind, 
one  of  which  is  thought  to  have  been  the  sanctuary.138  Small 
in  proportion  to  the  remainder  of  the  vast  pile  whereof  it  forms 
a  part,  this  temple  has  yet  a  length  of  160  feet  and  a  breadth 
of  nearly  eighty,139  thus  covering  an  area  of  12,500  square  feet 
(Fig.  67).  It  is  ornamented  throughout  with  sculptures  and 
inscriptions,  which  have  been  finished  with  great  care. 

On  the  side  of  the  court  facing  the  great  entrance  two  vast 
pylons  once  more  raised  themselves  aloft,  to  a  greater  height, 
probably,  than  the  entrance  ones,140  though  now  they  are  mere 
heaps  of  ruins.  In  front  of  them  projected  two  masses  like 
the  antce  of  a  portico,  between  which  a  flight  of  seven  steps 141 
led  up  to  a  vestibule  or  antechamber,  fifty  feet  by  twenty, 
from  which  a  broad  and  lofty  passage  conducted  into  the  won- 
derful pillared  hall  (Fig.  65)  which  is  the  great  glory  of  the 
Karnak  edifice.  In  length  nearly  330  feet,142  in  width  170, 143 
this  magnificent  apartment  was  supported  by  164  massive 
stone  columns,  divided  into  three  groups — twelve  central  ones, 
each  sixty-six  feet  high  and  thirty-three  in  circumference, 
forming  the  main  avenue  down  its  midst ;  while  on  either  side 
sixty-one,  of  slightly  inferior  dimensions,144  supported  the 
huge  wings  of  the  chamber,  arranged  in  seven  rows  of  seven 
each,  and  two  rows  of  six  (Fig.  68).  The  internal  area  of  the 
chamber  was  above  56,000  square  feet,  and  that  of  the  entire 
building,  with  its  walls  and  pylons,  more  than  88,000  square 
feet,  a  larger  area  than  that  covered  by  the  Dom  of  Cologne, 
the  greatest  of  all  the  cathedrals  of  the  Xorth.145  The  slight 
irregularity  in  the  arrangement  of  the  pillars  above  noticed 
was  caused  by  the  projection  into  the  apartment  at  its  further 
end  of  a  sort  of  vestibule  (enclosed  by  thick  walls  and  flanked 
at  the  angles  by  square  piers)  which  stood  out  from  the  pylons, 
wherewith  the  hall  terminated  towards  the  southeast.  These 
seem  to  have  been  of  somewhat  smaller  dimensions  than  those 
which  gave  entrance  to  the  hall  from  the  courtyard  ; 146  but 
their  height  can  scarcely  have  been  less  than  a  hundred  or  a 
hundred  and  twenty  feet. 

Passing  through  these  inner  propyloea,  the  visitor  found 
himself  in  a  long  corridor  open  to  the  sky,  and  saw  before 


THE    INNER    SANCTUAKY.  109 

him  on  either  hand  a  tall  tapering  obelisk  of  rose-colored 
granite  covered  with  hieroglyphics,147  and  beyond  them  fresh 
propylaea — of  inferior  size  to  any  of  the  others,  and  absolutely 
without  ornament — which  guarded  the  entrance  into  a  clois- 
tered court,148  240  feet  long  by  sixty-two  broad,  running  at  right 
angles  to  the  general  axis  of  the  edifice.  The  roof  of  the 
cloister  was  supported  by  square  piers  with  colossi  in  front, 
the  number  of  such  piers  being  thirty-six.  In  the  open  court, 
on  either  hand  of  the  doorway  which  gave  entrance  into 
it,  stood  an  obelisk  of  the  largest  dimensions  known  to  the 
Egyptians,149  a  huge  monolith,  100  feet  high  and  above  eight 
feet  square  at  the  base,  which  is  calculated  to  have  contained  1 38 
cubic  metres  of  granite,  and  to  have  weighed  nearly  360  tons.150 
Leaving  these  behind  him,  and  ascending  a  second  short  flight 
of  steps,  the  visitor  passed  through  a  portal  opposite  to  that  by 
which  he  had  entered  the  cloistered  court,  and  found  himself 
in  a  small  vestibule,  about  forty  feet  by  twenty,  pierced  by  a 
doorway  in  the  middle  of  each  of  its  four  sides,  and  conduct- 
ing to  a  building  which  seems  properly  regarded  as  the  adytum 
or  inmost  sanctuary  of  the  entire  temple.151  This  was  an  edi- 
fice about  120  feet  square,  composed  of  a  central  cell  of  pol- 
ished granite  (Fig.  63),  fifty-two  feet  long  by  fourteen  broad, 
surrounded  by  a  covered  corridor,  and  flanked  on  either  side 
by  a  set  of  small  apartments,  accessible  by  twenty  small  door- 
ways from  the  court  in  which  the  building  stood.  The  style 
here  was  one  of  primitive  simplicity.  No  obelisks,  no  colossi, 
no  pillars  even,  if  we  except  three  introduced  to  sustain  a 
failing  roof,152  broke  the  flat  uniformity  of  the  straight  walls. 
Nothing  was  to  be  seen  in  the  way  of  ornament  excepting  the 
painted  sculptures  and  hieroglyphical  legends  wherewith  the 
walls  were  everywhere  adorned,  and  two  short  stelae  or  prisms 
of  pink  granite,  which  stood  on  either  side  of  the  entrance  to 
the  granite  cell.  This  cell  itself  was  broken  into  three  parts. 
Passing  between  the  stelae,  one  entered  a  porch  or  ante-room,  six- 
teen feet  broad  and  about  six  feet  deep,  from  which  a  doorway 
about  eight  feet  wide  led  into  a  first  chamber,  or  "Holy  Place," 
twenty  feet  long  by  fourteen.  Hence,  another  doorway,  of  the 
same  width  as  the  first,  conducted  into  the  "Holy  of  Holies," 
an  oblong  square,  twenty-seven  feet  by  fourteen,  richly  deco- 
rated both  on  walls  and  ceiling  with  paintings.  The  general 
resemblance  in  plan  of  this  sacred  cell,  with  its  inner  and  outer 
apartments,  its  porch,  and  its  two  stelae  before  the  porch,  to 
the  Temple  of  the  Jews — similiarly  divided  into  three  parts, 
and  with  "Jachin  and  Boaz"  in  front  153 — must  strike  every 
student  of  architecture. 


110  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

The  entire  square  building  here  described,  whereof  the 
granite  cell  was  the  nucleus  or  central  part,  stood  at  one  end 
of  a  vast  open  court  154  which  surrounded  it  on  three  sides. 
The  court  itself  was  enclosed  by  high  walls,  behind  which 
were  long  corridors,  thought  to  have  been  divided  formerly 
into  numerous  rooms  for  priests  or  guards,155  and  running  the 
whole  length  of  the  court,  from  the  southeastern  pylons  of  the 
cloister  to  an  edifice  at  the  further  extremity  of  the  court, 
which  must  now  engage  our  attention.  This  was  a  pillared 
hall,  140  feet  long  by  fifty-five  feet  wide,156  containing  two  rows 
of  massive  square  columns  or  piers,  and  two  rows  of  round 
pillars  with  bell-shaped  capitals  reversed.  The  round  pillars 
supported  a  lofty  roof,  with  a  clerestory  admitting  the  light  of 
day,  while  the  square  piers,  rising  to  a  less  height,  formed, 
comparatively  speaking,  low  aisles  on  either  side  of  the  grand 
avenue.  The  axis  of  the  hall  was  at  right  angles  to  the  gen- 
eral axis  of  the  temple.  It  was  entered  by  three  doors,  two 
placed  symmetrically  in  the  centre  of  the  northwestern  and 
southeastern  walls,  the  other,  strangely  and  abnormally,  at  its 
southern  corner.  Around  this  hall  were  grouped  a  number 
of  smaller  chambers,  some  supported  by  pillars,  some  by  square 
piers,  while  others  were  so  narrow  that  they  could  be  roofed 
over  by  blocks  of  stone  resting  only  on  the  side  walls.  The 
number  of  these  small  apartments  seems  to  have  been  not  less 
than  forty.157 

It  is  time  now  to  turn  from  the  details  of  this  vast  edifice, 
or  rather  mass  of  edifices,  to  its  broad  features  and  general 
dimensions.  It  is  in  shape  a  rectangular  oblong,  nearly  four 
times  as  long  as  it  is  wide,  extending  from  N.W.  to  S.E.  a  dis- 
tance of  1,200  feet,  and  in  the  opposite  direction  a  distance  of 
about  340  feet.158  One  projection  only  breaks  the  uniformity 
of  the  oblong,  that  of  the  dependent  sanctuary,  which  interrupts 
the  right  hand  corridor  of  the  entrance  court.  The  entire 
area,  including  that  of  this  dependent  sanctuary,  is  about 
396,000  square  feet,  or  more  than  half  as  much  again  as  that 
covered  by  St.  Peter's  at  Rome.159  The  structure  comprised 
two  extensive  courts — one  colonnaded,  the  other  plain ;  an 
oblong  cloister,  supported  on  piers  ornamented  with  colossi  ; 
four  splendid  obelisks  ;  two  sanctuaries,  one  central,  one  sub- 
ordinate ;  and  two  vast  pillared  halls,  one  of  them  exceeding 
in  dimensions  any  other  in  Egypt,  and  covering  with  its  walls 
and  pylons  more  space  than  that  occupied  by  the  cathedral  of 
Cologne.  The  French  engineers  observe  that  the  cathedral  of 
Xotre  Dame  would  have  stood  entirely  within  it  ;  16°  and  this 
is  perfectly  true  so  far  as  area  is  concerned,  though  not,  of 


MAGNITUDE    OP    THE    BUILDING — ESTHETIC    MERIT.       Ill 

course,  in  respect  of  elevation.  The  greatest  height  of  the 
Karnark  pylons  was  not  more  than  about  140  feet,  and  the 
height  from  the  floor  to  the  roof  of  the  Great  Hall  did  not 
exceed  seventy-six  feet.  Still,  the  dimensions  of  the  hall,  the 
mass  of  material  which  it  contained,  and  the  massive  character 
of  its  construction,  are  truly  wonderful  and  admirable  ;  and  it 
is  well  said,  that  "when  we  consider  that  this  is  only  a  part  of 
a  great  whole,  we  may  fairly  assert  that  the  entire  structure  is 
among  the  largest,  as  it  undoubtedly  is  one  of  the  most  beauti- 
ful, buildings  in  the  world."  161  Moreover,  it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered, that  besides  the  buildings  here  described  "there  are 
other  temples  to  the  north,  to  the  east,  and,  more  especially, 
to  the  south ;  and  pylons  connecting  these,  and  avenues  of 
sphinxes  extending  for  miles,  and  enclosing  walls  and  tanks 
and  embankments,"  so  that  the  conclusion  seems  to  be  just, 
that  the  whole  constitutes  "such  a  group  as  no  other  city  ever 
possessed  either  before  n  since,"  and  that  "Saint  Peter's  with 
its  colonnades  and  the  Vatican,  make  up  a  mass  insignificant 
in  extent  .  .  .  compared  with  this  glory  of  Thebes  with  its  sur- 
rounding temples."  162 

With  respect  to  the  aesthetic  merit  of  the  building  different 
estimates  may  be  formed.  There  are  some  to  whom  Egyptian 
architecture  is  altogether  distasteful,  and  it  must  be  granted  to 
have  faults  which  place  it  considerably  below  the  best  and 
greatest  styles  ;  but  few  can  visit  the  remains  themselves  and 
gaze  upon  the  "long  vista  of  courts  and  gateways  and  halls  and 
colonnades,"  with  "here  and  there  an  obelisk  shooting  up  out 
of  the  ruins  and  interrupting  the  opening  view  of  the  forest  of 
columns,"  163  without  being  moved  to  wonder  and  admiration 
at  the  sight.  The  multiplicity  and  variety  of  the  parts,  the 
grandeur  of  all,  the  beauty  of  some,  the  air  of  strangeness  and 
of  remote  antiquity  which  hangs  over  the  scene,  the  thousand 
associations — historical  and  other — which  it  calls  up,  evoke  an 
interest  and  a  delight  which  overpower  criticism,  and  dispose 
the  spectator  to  exclaim  that  never  has  he  beheld  anything  so 
glorious.  More  especially  is  admiration  excited  by  the  ruins 
of  the  Great  Hall.  "No  language,"  says  a  writer  not  given  to 
strong  displays  of  feeling,  "no  language  can  convey  an  idea  of 
its  beauty,  and  no  artist  has  yet  been  able  to  reproduce  its 
form  so  as  to  convey  to  those  who  have  not  seen  it  an  idea  of 
its  grandeur.  The  mass  of  its  central  piers,  illumined  by  a 
flood  of  light  from  the  clerestory,  and  the  smaller  pillars  of 
the  wings  gradually  fading  into  obscurity,  are  so  arranged 
and  lighted  as  to  convey  an  idea  of  infinite  space  ;  at  the 
same  time  the  beauty  and  massiveness  of  the  forms,  and  the 


112  HISTORY   OF  ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

brilliancy  of  their  colored  decorations,  all  combine  to  stamp 
this  as  the  greatest  of  man's  architectural  works,  but  such  a 
one  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  reproduce,  except  in  such  a 
climate,  and  in  that  individual  style,  in  which  and  for  which 
it  was  erected."  164 

Among  the  ornaments  of  the  Great  Temple  of  Karnak  the 
obelisk  has  been  mentioned.  It  is  a  creation  purely  Egyp- 
tian, which  has  scarcely  ever  elsewhere  been  even  imitated 
with  success.165  Such  specimens  as  exist — in  Eome,  Paris, 
Constantinople,  London — are  the  spoil  which  Egypt  has  yield- 
ed to  her  conquerors  or  the  tribute  which  she  has  paid  to  her 
protectors,  not  the  production  of  the  countries  which  they  adorn. 
It  is  very  remarkable  that  the  Romans,  fond  as  they  were  of 
the  gigantic  in  architecture,  and  special  admirers  as  they 
showed  themselves  to  be  of  the  obelisk,  never  themselves  pro- 
duced one.  Though  in  possession  for  about  six  centuries  of  the 
granite  quarries  of  Syene,  whence  the  Egyptians  obtained  the 
greater  number  of  their  huge  monoliths,  they  preferred  lowering 
and  carrying  oif  the  creations  of  Egyptian  art  to  exerting  their 
own  skill  and  genius  in  the  production  of  rival  monuments. 
Eome  boasted  in  the  time  of  her  full  splendor  twelve  obelisks, 
but  every  one  of  them  had  been  transported  from  Egypt  to 
Italy.  166_ 

Architects  commonly  divide  the  obelisk  into  three  parts,167 
the  base,  the  shaft  or  obelisk  proper,  and  the  pyramidian 
which  crowns  the  summit  ;  but,  materially,  the  parts  are  two 
only,  since  the  pyramidian  is  ordinarily  in  one  piece  with  the 
shaft  which  it  terminates.  The  base  is  always  separate,  and 
may  consist  of  a  single  block  or  of  two  placed  stepwise,  which 
is  the  arrangement  infthe  case  of  the  obelisk  before  the  church 
of  St.  John  Lateran  at  Rome.  This  is  the  grandest  monument 
of  the  kind  that  exists  anywhere,  or  is  known  to  have  existed. 
Exclusively  of  the  base,  it  has  a  height  of  105  feet,168  with  a 
width  diminishing  from  nine  feet  six  inches  to  eight  feet 
seven  inches.169  It  is  estimated  to  have  contained  4,945  cubic 
feet  (French),  and  to  have  weighed  above  450  tons.170  An 
ordinary  height 171  for  an  obelisk  wras  from  fifty  to  seventy  feet, 
and  an  ordinary  weight  from  200  to  300  tons.172 

Obelisks  as  erected  by  the  Egyptians  commonly  stood  in 
pairs.  Their  position  was  in  front  of  a  temple,  on  either  side 
of  its  gateway.  Some  have  conjectured  that  they  represented 
solar  rays,173  and  were  specially  dedicated  to  the  sun;174  but 
both  these  views  have  been  combated,  and  must  be  regarded 
as  uncertain.  Architecturally  they  served  the  purpose  of  the 
Roman  column,  the  Gothic  spire,  and  the  Oriental  minaret ; 


OBELISKS — TEMPLES.  113 

they  broke  the  too  frequent  horizontal  lines  with  their  quasi- 
vertical  ones,  and  carried  the  eye  upwards  from  the  flat  earth, 
to  the  dome  of  heaven.  They  were  especially  valuable  in 
Egyptian  architecture  from  the  comparative  lightness  and 
slimness  of  their  forms,  where  all  otherwise  was  over-massive 
and  heavy.175  The  proportions  of  the  obelisk  differed  within 
certain  limits  ;  but  the  most  satisfactory  had  an  elevation  about 
eleven  times  their  diameter  at  the  base.176 

Before  quitting  the  subject  of  temples,  it  seems  desirable  to 
note  that  the  Egyptian  buildings  to  which  this  term  is  com- 
monly applied  are  of  two  classes.  Some,  and  especially  the 
more  magnificent,  such  as  that  at  Karnak  (above  described), 
and  again  that  at  Luxor,  seem  to  deserve  the  name  which  has 
been  given  them,177  of  "Palace  Temples,"  being  places  which 
were  at  once  the  residences  of  the  kings  and  structures  in 
which  the  people  assembled  for  worship.  Others  are  entirely 
free  from  this  double  character.  The  southern  temple  at 
Karnak  is  (Fig.  69)  "strictly  a  temple,  without  anything  about 
it  that  could  justify  the  supposition  of  its  being  a  palace."  178 
It  is  a  perfectly  regular  building,  consisting  of  two  pylons, 
approached  through  an  avenue  of  sphinxes,  of  a  hypaethral 
court,  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  a  double  colonnade,  of  a 
pillared  hall  lighted  from  the  roof  in  the  usual  way,  a  cell 
surrounded  by  a  corridor  or  passage,  and  a  small  hall  beyond 
supported  by  four  columns.179  This  temple  is  pronounced  to 
have  considerable  "intrinsic  beauty,"  18°  and  is  interesting  as 
having  furnished  a  model  which  continued  to  be  followed  in 
Greek  and  Roman  times. 

Another  description  of  Egyptian  temple,  intended  for  re- 
ligious purposes  only,  is  that  which  is  known  under  the  title 
of  mammeisi,  an  edifice  dedicated  to  the  Mother  of  the  Gods 
(Fig.  70).  Temples  of  this  kind  are  cells,  containing  either 
one  or  two  chambers,  and  surrounded  by  a  colonnade  in  front, 
flank,  and  rear.  They  are  of  oblong  form,  and  are  sometimes 
approached  by  a  flight  of  steps  in  front,  which  conducts  to  the 
doorway.181  The  size  is  always  small ;  and  they  would  be  un- 
important were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  they  appear  to  have 
been  selected  by  the  Greeks  as  the  models  after  which  they 
should  construct  their  own  religious  edifices,  which  were  in 
most  instances  peristylar,  and  which  changed  but  little  from 
the  Egyptian  type  beyond  rounding  the  square  piers  and  sur- 
mounting the  flat  architrave  with  a  pediment. 

It  will  have  been  seen  that  Egyptian  architecture  depended 
for  its  effect,  first,  upon  its  size  and  massiveness  ;  secondly,  on 
the  beauty  of  certain  forms,  which  were  constantly  repeated, 


114  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT     EGYPT. 

as  the  pillar,  the  caryatide  pier,  and  the  obelisk  ;  thirdly 
and  lastly,  on  the  richness  and  brilliancy  of  its  sculptured 
and  colored  ornamentation.  The  massiveness  appears  most 
remarkably  in  the  pyramids,  and  in  the  pylons  or  great  flank- 
ing towers  at  the  entrances  of  palaces  and  temples  ; 18'2  but  it 
is  not  shown  only  in  these  structures — it  pervades  the  entire 
style,  and  meets  us  everywhere,  in  pillars,  in  lintels,  in  colossi, 
in  monolithic  chambers,  in  roofs,  in  walls,  in  obelisks.  How- 
ever great  the  diameter  of  a  column,  it  has  usually  in  each  of 
its  layers  no  more  than  four  stones,183  while  all  the  layers  are 
of  enormous  thickness.  Lintels  of  doorways  sometimes  exceed 
forty  feet  in  length  ; 184  colossi  weigh  above  800  tons  ; 185  mono- 
lithic chambers  not  much  less  ; 186  roofing  stones  have  a  length 
of  thirty  feet,  and  a  weight  of  above  sixty  tons  ; 187  obelisks,  as 
we  have  seen,188  range  from  170  to  450  tons.  In  mere  ordi- 
nary walls  the  stones  are  usually  of  vast  size,  and  the  thickness 
of  such  walls  is  surprising.  It  is  not  as  in  Assyria  and  Baby- 
lonia, where  the  material  used  was  crude  brick,  and  the  wall 
which  had  to  sustain  a  serious  weight  was  necessarily  of  great 
breadth  ;  the  Egyptians  used  the  best  possible  materials — 
sandstone,  close-grained  limestone,  or  granite — yet  still  made 
their  walls  almost  as  broad  as  the  Mesopotamians  themselves. 
This  could  .only  be  from  a  pure  love  of  massiveness. 

The  column  is  undoubtedly  among  the  most  effective  of 
architectural  forms.  In  Egypt  its  special  characteristic  is 
its  solidity,  or  the  very  large  proportion  borne  by  the  diameter 
to  the  height.  Whereas  in  the  perfected  architecture  of  the 
Greeks,  the  column  where  it  is  thickest  must  have  a  height  at 
least  equalling  six  diameters,189  in  Egypt  the  height  rarely  much 
exceeds  four  diametersf  and  is190  sometimes  not  above  three. 
In  many  cases  it  about  equals  the  extreme  circumference  of  the 
pillar,  This  extreme  circumference  is  not  always  at  the  base. 
Columns  are  found  which  swell  gradually  as  they  ascend,  and 
do  not  attain  their  full  width  till  they  have  reached  a  fourth 
or  fifth  of  their  height.  They  then  contract  gently,  and  are 
narrowest  just  below  the  capital,  where  they  commonly  present 
the  appearance  of  being  bound  round  by  cords  (Fig.  71). 
Other  columns  are,  like  the  Greek,  largest  at  the  base,  and 
taper  gradually  from  bottom  to  top  ;  but  in  no  case  have  they 
the  Greek  swell  or  entasis. 

The  shafts  of  Egyptian  columns  are  sometimes  plain,  but 
more  commonly  have  an  ornamentation.  This  is  effected  by 
sculpture  or  painting,  or  both.  Some,  as  already  noticed,191 
are  merely  fluted  like  the  Greek  ;  others  have  a  perfectly 
smooth  surface,  but  are  adorned  with  painting. m    In  general, 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XXVII.— a. 


ESGSBSHESTjS 


..  nun 


1 


slflntDS 


Fig.  66— Ground  Plan  of  Great  Temple  at  Karnak.— See  Page  107. 


Plate  XXVII.—  h 


EGYPTIAN    CAPITALS.  115 

however,  the  surface  is  more  or  less  sculptured,  and  at  the  same 
time  is  painted — often  with  much  taste  and  delicacy.  For  the 
most  part  vetegable  forms  have  been  imitated.  The  column 
bulges  out  from  its  base  like  a  water-plant,  andi  s  then  sculpt- 
ured so  as  to  resemble  a  number  of  stalks  tied  together  at  the 
top  or  at  intervals,  and  finally  swelling  above  the  last  com- 
pression into  a  calix.193  Or  it  has  the  leaves  and  flowers  of 
water-plants  delicately  traced  upon  it  and  colored  naturally.194 
Or,  finally,  it  retains  the  mere  general  form  derived  from  pil- 
lars thus  moulded,  and  substitutes  hieroglyphics  and  human 
or  divine  figures  for  the  simple  decoration  of  earlier  times.195 
Capitals  are  of  four  principal  forms.  One,  which  has  been 
called  the  "lotus  blossom  "  or  "bell  "  (Fig.  72)  capital,196  begins 
with  a  slight  swell  above  the  top  of  the  shaft — is  then  nearly 
cylindrical  for  a  while  ;  after  which  it  curves  outwards  very 
considerably,  and  terminates  in  a  lip,  which  is  rounded  off  into 
a  flat  surface.  Water-plants  of  various  kinds  are  represented 
on  these  "  bell-capitals,"  which  are  among  the  most  beautiful 
of  the  architectural  forms  invented  by  the  Egyptians.  Another 
kind  of  capital  is  that  which  is  thought  to  imitate  a  lotus  bud, 
or  a  group  of  such  buds,  with  the  upper  portion  removed.197 
It  swells  out  considerably  from  the  top  of  the  shaft,  after 
which  it  contracts,  and  is  terminated  abruptly  by  a  plain  square 
stone,  placed  on  it  to  receive  the  architrave.  Capitals  of  this 
type  are  frequent  at  Thebes,  but  rare  elsewhere.198  The  prin- 
cipal varieties  are  the  following  (Fig.  73). 

A  third  form,  which  is  very  unusual,  consists  of  the  bell-capi- 
tal reversed,  a  freak  of  the  architect  which  is  said  ,not  to  add 
either  to  the  beauty  or  the  strength  of  the  building.199  There 
is  also  a  compound  capital  which  is  decidedly  unpl easing,200 
consisting  of  four  human  heads  placed  at  the  summit  of  the 
ordinary  bell-capital,  between  it  and  the  architrave  (Fig. 
74). 

The  proportion  of  the  capital  to  the  shaft  was  considerably 
beyond  that  approved  by  the  Greeks,201  though  less  than  the 
proportion  which  prevailed  in  Judaea  202  and  in  Persia.203  In- 
stances are  found  in  which  the  height  of  the  capital  is  as  much 
as  one-third  of  the  shaft,204  though  it  is  more  commonly  one- 
fourth,  and  sometimes  even  as  little  as  one-fifth.205  The  ap- 
pearance of  "heaviness"  produced  by  the  thickness  of  the 
pillars  is  increased  by  the  defect  here  noticed,  which  makes 
each  column  seem  to  be  overloaded  at  the  top  and  to  be  sink- 
ing under  its  own  weight. 

Another  peculiarity  in  the  Egyptian  use  of  columns  is  the 
narrowness  of  the  intercolumniation.     Main  avenues  of  pillars 


116  HISTOEY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

are,  indeed,  sometimes  of  a  fair  width,  extending  to  nearly  two 
diameters  in  some  cases.206  But  the  spaces  left  between  the 
pillars  at  the  sides,  instead  of  being,  as  in  Grecian  art,  the 
same  or  nearly  the  same,  frequently  do  not  equal  a  single  di- 
ameter,207 and  are  scarcely  ever  as  much  as  a  diameter  and  a 
half.  Thus  the  columns  are  unduly  crowded  together,  and  in 
the  great  pillared  halls  the  forest  of  stems  stands  so  thick  that, 
except  in  front  and  on  either  flank,  the  view  is  everywhere 
interrupted,  and  the  immensity  of  the  space  enclosed  cannot 
be  seen  from  any  point.  The  intention,  seemingly,  is  to 
make  sure  that  the  roof  shall  have  an  ample  support,  and  to 
this  desire  is  sacrificed  every  other  consideration. 

The  caryatide  piers  (Fig.  75)  of  the  Egyptians  were  even 
more  massive  than  their  columns.  Square  in  plan,  slightly 
pyramidical  in  outline,  narrowing  (that  is  to  say)  as  they  rose, 
and  spaced  at  short  distances  one  from  another,  with  a  heavy 
cornice  above  them,  they  had  no  ornament  to  take  off  from 
their  solid  strength  beyond  a  few  hieroglyphics  and  the  figure 
from  which  they  take  their  name.  .  This  was  a  colossus,  gen- 
erally from  twenty-five  to  thirty-five  feet  high,208  which  wa? 
placed  directly  before  the  pier  on  a  pedestal  of  one  or  two- 
steps.  Solemn  and  stately  stand  the  figures,  clothed,  appar< 
ently,  in  tight-fitting  vests,209  with  miters  upon  their  heads, 
and  arms  crossed  upon  their  breasts,  each  exactly  like  all  the 
others,  with  expressionless  countenances,  emblems  of  complete 
repose.  Unlike  the  similarly  named  statues  of  the  Greeks, 
they  do  not  afflict  the  beholder  with  the  spectacle  of  human 
forms  oppressed  by  the  burden  of  a  crushing  weight  whereof 
they  can  never  be  rid.  (The  caryatides  of  Egypt  bear  no  bur- 
ben  at  all.  They  stand  in  front  of  the  piers,  entirely  distinct 
from  them,  though  touching  them,  and  for  the  most  part  do 
not  even  quite  reach  to  the  architrave  which  the  piers  sup- 
port.210 They  are  not  slaves  condemned  to  an  ignominious 
punishment,211  but  emblems  of  a  divine  presence,  impressing 
the  spectator  with  a  sense  that  the  place  wherein  they  stand 
is  holy  ground. 

Obelisks,  as  already  observed,212  were  among  the  lightest  of 
the  forms  used  by  the  Egyptians.  Architecturally  they  must 
have  been  intended  to  relieve  the  eye,  wearied  by  the  too 
great  massiveness  of  pillars,  piers,  and  pylons,  with  the  con- 
trast of  a  slim  delicate  spire,  rising  gracefully  among  them 
and  cutting  the  horizontal  lines  at  right  angles.  They  were 
generally  placed  at  the  entrances  to  temples,  one  on  either 
side  of  the  main  doorway;  but  sometimes  they  are  found  in 
the  interior  of  buildings.     The  great  Palace-Temple  at  Kar- 


USE  OF  COLORED  DECORATION".  117 

nak  was  adorned,  as  we  have  seen,  with  four ;  but  in  general 
a  temple  had  no  more  than  two,  and  most  temples  were  alto- 
gether without  them.  The  conventional  necessity  of  setting 
them  up  in  pairs 213  gave  rise  to  occasional  awkwardness.  When 
obelisks  of  the  largest  size  were  ordered,  it  was  difficult  to  find 
in  the  quarries  two  masses  of  granite  ninety  or  a  hundred  feet 
long  without  break  or  flaw  in  them.  Flaws  might  even  be 
discovered  when  the  work  had  proceeded  to  a  certain  point, 
and  an  obelisk  intended  to  have  reached  a  certain  length  might 
in  consequence  have  to  be  shortened.  The  result  was  that  in 
some  instances  the  pair  of  obelisks  supplied  were  not  of  equal 
height  ;  and  this  want  of  symmetry  had  to  be  met  by  artifice. 
The  shorter  obelisk  was  given  a  higher  pedestal  than  the 
taller  one,  and  was  sometimes  even  advanced  a  little  towards 
the  spectator  that  it  might  appear  as  large  as  the  other.214 
Obelisks  seem  most  usually  to  have  been  votive  offerings  set 
up  by  monarchs  before  temples,  partly  to  propitiate  the  gods, 
but  mainly  for  their  own  glory.  The  inscriptions  upon  them 
set  forth  in  every  case  the  greatness  and  the  victories  of  their 
erector. 

It  is  difficult  for  one  who  has  not  visited  Egypt  to  pro- 
nounce positively  on  the  merit  or  demerit  of  the  Egyptian 
colored  decoration.  If  we  could  feel  sure  that  the  effect  pro- 
duced was  really  such  as  is  represented  by  the  French  artists 
who  made  the  drawings  for  the  "Description,"  we  should  have 
to  assign  it  high  praise,  as  at  once  tasteful,  rich,  and  harmo- 
nious. Nothing  in  decorative  color  can  well  be  more  admira- 
ble than  the  representation  given  in  that  magnificent  work  of 
the  interior  of  a  temple  at  PhilaB,  restored  to  what  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  its  ancient  condition.'215  The  design  is 
excellent ;  the  tints  are  pleasing ;  and  the  arrangement  by 
which  thin  lines  of  white  separate  between  colors  that  would 
otherwise  offer  too  strong  a  contrast,  leaves  nothing  to  be  de- 
sired. The  pale  gray  of  the  stucco  also,  predominating 
throughout,  subdues  the  whole,  and  prevents  any  appearance 
of  glare  or  gaudiness.  But  it  is  difficult  to  decide  how  much 
this  admirable  drawing  owes  to  the  accurate  observation  of 
facts,  how  much  it  is  indebted  for  its  beauties  to  the  imagina- 
tion and  the  good  taste  of  the  designers.  Egyptian  coloring 
in  its  primitive  aspect  is  to  be  seen  only  in  the  rock-tombs, 
where,  we  are  told,  the  paintings  have  all  the  freshness  of 
works  executed  but  yesterday.216  Much  admiration  is  expressed 
for  these  paintings  by  many  who  have  visited  the  tombs  and 
described  them  ; 2"  but  nothing  can  well  be  more  disappoint- 
ing than  to  turn  from  the  glowing  descriptions  that  have  been 


118  HISTOEY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

given  by  these  writers  to  the  representations  made  by  artists 
in  the  magnificently  illustrated  works  of  Rosellini  and  Lep- 
sius,  on  which  no  expense  has  been  spared.  Of  crude,  coarse, 
and  inharmonious  coloring  we  behold  in  these  works  abun- 
dant specimens ;  of  what  is  really  harmonious  and  artistic  in 
color  we  observe  scarcely  anything.  A  few  vases  and  some  of 
the  patterns  upon  ceilings  are  fairly  good  ; 218  but  these  are 
exceptions,  and  in  general  the  coloring  is  about  as  bad  as  col- 
oring can  be.  A  coarse  and  violent  red,  a  dull  blue,  and  a 
staring  yellow  predominate  ;  white,  the  great  chastener  and 
subduer  of  color,  is  introduced  but  scantily.  Strong  tints 
prevail  ;  half  tones  are  scarcely  to  be  seen.  Shading  is  of 
course  unknown  :  and  the  whole  style  cannot  but  be  pro- 
nounced crude,  harsh,  and  unpleasing.  Still,  it  is  to  be  borne 
in  mind  that  these  illustrated  works  are  not  the  originals,  and 
that  what  they  present  to  us  are  fragments  detached  from  their 
surroundings  ;  and  it  would  evidently  be  unsafe  to  conclude 
upon  such  data  that  the  general  effect  actually  produced  upon 
the  beholder  by  an  Egyptian  temple,  seen  as  a  whole,  was  not 
heightened  and  improved  by  the  painted  decoration,219  which 
wras  certainly  rich  and  brilliant,  though  wre  may  suspect  that 
it  wanted  delicacy  and  wrould  have  seemed  to  moderns  over- 
glaring. 

Before  this  chapter  is  brought  to  a  close  a  few  wrords  must 
be  said,  first,  with  regard  to  the  domestic  architecture  of  the 
Egyptians,  and,  secondly,  concerning  some  peculiarities  of 
their  construction. 

The  specimens  which  exist  of  the  domestic  architecture  are 
few  and  fragmentary.  Excluding  the  great  buildings  above 
described,  which  seem  to  have  been  at  once  temples  and  royal 
residences,  there  is  but  one  example  remaining  of  a  mere 
dwelling-house,  and  that  example  is  believed  to  be  at  the  pres- 
ent time  incomplete.220  It  stands  in  the  near  vicinity  of  the 
temple  at  Medinet-Abou,  which  has  already  engaged  our  at- 
tention,221 and  is  commonly  called  a  "pavilion"  222  (Fig.  83), 
having  been  built  for  himself  as  a  sort  of  private  residence  by 
one  of  the  kings.223  It  consists  at  present  of  a  court  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  buildings  three 
stories  high,  which  attain  an  elevation  of  thirty-seven  feet  above 
the  actual  level  of  the  soil,  and  must  have  had  originally 
an  elevation  of  about  fifty  feet.224  The  buildings  consist  of 
three  rectangular  blocks,  with  three  rooms  in  each,  one  above 
the  other,  and  two  narrow  erections  enclosing  passages  that 
connect  the  three  sets  of  rooms  together.  All  the  rooms  are 
small,  the  largest  not  exceeding  seventeen  feet  by  thirteen, 


HOUSES    OF    PEIVATE    PERSONS.  119 

and  the  smallest  being  about  nineteen  feet  by  nine.  All  were 
lighted  by  windows  except  the  ground-flour  room  of  the  main 
block  at  the  end  of  the  court,  which  obtained  light  only  from 
its  doorways.  The  walls  are  of  great  strength  and  solidity ; 
the  roof  and  the  ceilings  of  the  chambers,  except  perhaps  in  one 
instance,  were  of  stone.  A  wooden  ceiling  is  thought  to  have 
separated  the  ground-floor  room  of  the  main  block  from  the 
apartment  above  it  ;  225  but  this  has  been  destroyed,  and  the 
two  rooms  form  now  only  one.  The  buildings  are  ornamented, 
both  externally  and  internally,  with  hieroglyphics  and  sculpt- 
ures of  the  usual  type ;  226  but  the  ornamentation  is  on  the 
whole  somewhat  scanty.  The  entire  edifice  was  of  the  same 
height,  and  was  crowned  with  a  sort  of  battlement,  of  which 
the  annexed  is  a  representation  (Fig.  80).  Its  plan  was  re- 
markably varied  in  outline,  and  the  numerous  projections  and 
recesses  must  have  rendered  the  play  of  light  and  shade  upon 
the  building  curious  and  striking. 

In  the  pictorial  representations  which  ornament  the  rock- 
tombs  we  sometimes  meet  with  buildings  which  appear  to  be 
private  residences.  In  one  case  227  we  have  what  seems  to  rep- 
resent the  exterior  facade  of  a  house,  on  the  side  on  which  it 
was  ordinarily  approached.  The  building  divides  itself  into 
three  portions,  a  centre  and  two  wings  (Fig.  77).  The  central 
part,  which  is  higher  than  the  rest,  is  crowned  by  a  steep 
roof,228  shaped  like  a  truncated  pyramid ;  below  this  is  a  pro- 
jecting cornice,  and  below  the  cornice  a  plain  wall,  broken 
only  by  a  door  at  the  right-hand  corner.  Adjoining  the  door 
is  the  right  wing,  which  consists  of  two  stories — a  basement 
one,  ornamented  with  four  pillars  unequally  spaced,  and  a  first 
floor,  likewise  with  four  pillars,  which  are  equally  spaced,  and 
thus  not  directly  super-imposed  over  those  below  them.  Be- 
tween the  pillars  are  represented  stands  with  vases  and  eat- 
ables, from  which  we  gather  that  the  pillars  are  detached  from 
the  mansions,  and  form  in  the  one  case  a  colonnade,  in  the 
other  a  gallery.  The  character  of  the  left  wing  is  similar,  but 
it  does  not  extend  so  far  as  the  other,  and  is  ornamented  with 
only  four  pillars,  two  to  each  story.  The  wings  have  an  archi- 
trave above  the  pillars,  and  are  then  crowned  with  a  sort  of 
double  cornice.  The  character  of  the  pillars  is  thoroughly 
Egyptian. 

Another  tomb  exhibits  to  us  the  internal  courtyard  (Fig.  78) 
of  a  three-storied  mansion  of  much  elegance,  apparently  deco- 
rated for  a  festival.229  A  central  doorway,  supported  on  either 
side  by  thin  pillars  representing  a  lotus  plant,  gives  entrance 
to  a  staircase,  which  rises  directly  from  it,  and  conducts  prob- 


120  HISTORY    OF    AXCIEKT    EGYPT. 

ably  to  the  upper  apartments.230  The  staircase  seems  to  be 
carpeted  and  to  have  a  mat  at  the  foot  of  the  first  step.  To 
the  left  we  see  on  the  ground-floor  a  doorway  and  three 
small  windows  , protected  by  perpendicular  bars.  Above  this 
rises  a  story,  built,  seemingly,  of  wood  or  crude  brick,  and 
broken  by  two  windows  with  the  blinds  231  drawn  down  nearly 
to  the  bottom.  At  the  top  is  an  open  gallery,  supported  on 
four  pillars,  which  sustain  a  painted  cornice.  On  the  right  of 
the  main  entrance  the  ground-floor  is  perfectly  plain,  except 
that  it  is  pierced  about  its  centre  by  a  low  doorway.232  Above 
it  the  first-floor  presents  to  the  eye  nothing  but  a  drapery  or 
awning,  which  hangs  in  front  of  it  and  leaves  its  character  a 
mystery.  The  second  floor  exhibits  pillars  at  either  end,  and 
between  them  what  is  perhaps  another  awning,  though  this  is 
"not  quite  clear.  Above  this  there  is  a  long  range  of  very  short 
pillars,  which  seem  to  support  an  upper  gallery,  constituting 
on  this  side  a  sort  of  fourth  story,233  though  one  too  low  to 
have  been  inhabited.  Finally,  the  entire  house  is  crowned  by 
a  cornice  painted  in  stripes  of  red,  bine,  and  white,  and  rest- 
ing at  either  end  on  a  lotus  pillar  of  the  same  character  with 
those  at  the  main  entrance. 

A  third  representation  of  an  Egyptian  house  is  given  by 
Rosellini  in  his  great  work,234  which  has  clearly  four  stories, 
but  it  is  drawn  in  so  conventional  a  manner  that  but  little  can 
be  concluded  from  it  as  to  the  actual  Egyptian  arrangements. 
The  doors  by  which  the  house  was  entered  being,  as  it  would 
seem,  at  the  side,  are  introduced  sideways  into  the  front  wall 
above  and  below  one  of  the  windows.  The  three  upper 
stories  are  represented  rtn  section  (Fig.  81),  and  exhibit  the 
contents  of  the  apartments.  No  staircase  by  which  they  could 
be  reached  is  visible,  and.  their  inhabitants  must  apparently 
have  flown  up  into  them.  The  cornice  of  the  house,  which 
is  painted  in  the  usual  way,  supports  three  large  masses  of  the 
papyrus  plant. 

On  the  whole,  we  may  perhaps  conclude,  with  Mr.  Fergus- 
son,235  that  though  the  Egyptian  houses  "exhibited  nothing  of 
the  solidity  and  monumental  character  which  distinguished 
their  temples  and  palaces,  they  seem  in  their  own  way  to  have 
been  scarcely  less  beautiful.  They  were,  of  course,  on  a 
smaller  scale,  and  built  of  more  perishable  materials  ; 236  but 
they  appear  to  have  been  as  carefully  finished  and  decorated 
with  equal  taste  to  that  displayed  in  the  greater  works." 

The  peculiarities  of  Egyptian  construction,  whereto,  in  con- 
clusion, it  is  desired  to  draw  attention,  are  three  in  number, 
viz. :  1.  Their  non-employment  of  the  arch  as  a  constructive 


EGYPTIAN    USE    OF    THE    AKCH.  121 

expedient  and  preference  of  perpendicular  supports  and  hori- 
zontal imposts;  2.  Their  "symmetrophobia,"  or  dislike  of 
exactness  and  regularity  either  in  the  general  arrangements 
or  in  the  details  of  their  buildings ;  and  3.  Their  skilful  use 
of  certain  contrivances  for  increasing  the  apparent  size,  espe- 
cially the  apparent  length,  of  their  more  important  and  more 
imposing  edifices.  This  last  lias  been  entirely  left  out  of 
sight  by  recent  writers,  on  Egyptian  architecture,237  though  it 
is  a  peculiarity  well  worthy  of  study  and  imitation. 

That  the  Egyptians  were  acquainted  with  the  principle  of 
the  arch  (Fig.  76),  and  made  occasional  use  of  it  in  their 
minor  edifices,  is  now  generally  admitted.238  Not  only  do 
coved  roofs  appear  in  some  of  the  rock-tombs,239  which  might 
lead  one  to  suspect  such  an  acquaintance,  but  actual  arches 
have  been  found,  both  in  brick  and  stone,  in  connection  with 
hieroglyphical  legends  and  in  purely  Egyptian  buildings.  The 
latest  historian  of  architecture  goes  so  far  as  to  maintain  240 
that  the  Egyptians  had  all  the  knowledge  needed  for  the  em- 
ployment of  the  arch  to  any  extent  in  their  constructions,  and 
that  they  purposely  abstained  from  its  use  from  a  dislike  of 
the  complexity  which  it  would  have  introduced,  and  a  convic- 
tion of  its  architectural  weakness,  as  a  form  wanting  in  dura- 
bility. "The  Arabs,"  he  observes,  "have  a  proverb  that  the 
arch  never  sleeps  ; "  and  it  really  exerts  unceasingly  a  thrust- 
ing force  laterally  upon  tlie  walls  at  its  side  and  centrically 
upon  the  keystone,  which  tends  to  destroy  the  building  where- 
of it  is  a  part.  Its  employment  would  not  have  accorded  with 
the  governing  ideas  of  Egyptian  architecture,  which  were 
durability,  repose,  and  strength  ;  and  therefore  they  did  not 
employ  it.  The  position  here  laid  down  may  be  true  ;  but  it 
can  never  be  more  than  a  hypothesis,  since  it  is  quite  impossi- 
ble to  prove  that  a  people  knew  how  to  do  that  which  they 
never  attempted  to  do.  The  Egyptians  never  made  any  ap- 
plication of  the  arch  on  a  grand  scale  or  to  large  edifices. 
They  were  acquainted  with  the  form  as  one  that  would  bear 
a  weight ;  but  it  would  seem  to  have  had  no  charms  for  them. 
This  is  not  surprising,  since  arches  would  not  have  given  the 
same  impression  of  stability,  firmness,  and  strength  which  is 
produced  by  the  solid  masses  of  flat  stone  that  compose  their 
roofs.  Instead  of  maintaining  that  they  deliberately  pre- 
ferred these  roofs  to  vaulted  ones,  it  would  probably  be  nearer 
the  truth  to  say,  that,  being  entirely  content  with  flat  roofs, 
the  idea  of  constructing  vaulted  ones  never  occurred  to 
them. 

The  "symmetrophobia"  of  the  Egyptians241  is  a  peculiarity 


122  HISTORY   OF   ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

which  developed  itself  gradually,  and  is  strongest  in  the  latest 
times.  It  appears  most  strikingly  in  such  buildings  as  the 
great  temples  of  Luxor  and  Philae,  where,  on  proceeding  from 
one  court  to  another,  we  find  the  axis  of  the  building  vio- 
lently changed,24'  and  the  lines  running  in  entirely  new  direc- 
tions. But,  apart  from  these  extreme  cases,  it  appears  that 
the  Egyptians  had  a  general  dislike  to  exact  correspondency 
and  uniformity,  preferring  variation  within  limits.  The  dif- 
ference in  the  elevation  of  the  four  corners  of  the  Great  Pyra- 
mid, noticed  by  Fergusson,243  is  very  remarkable,  as  also  is 
the  striking  irregularity  in  the  first  or  entrance  court  at  Kar- 
nak,  where  the  temple  of  Rameses  II.  breaks  the  line  of  the  * 
right-hand  colonnade,  while  the  left-hand  one  is  continuous 
and  complete.244  Other  lesser  irregularities  are  such  as  the 
following.245  Detached  pylons  have  frequently  their  axis  at 
an  angle  with  that  of  the  building  whereon  they  depend  ;  the 
columns  in  a  colonnade  are  often  unequally  spaced  ;  doorways 
that  correspond  in  position  are  of  different  sizes:  caryatide 
piers  and  rounded  columns  are  united  in  the  same  colonnaded 
court,  occupying  different  sides ;  columns  contained  within 
the  same  pillared  hall  have  completely  different  capitals,  and 
are  of  different  heights  ;  the  wings  of  houses  do  not  match  ; 
courts  are  seldom  square  ;  their  angles  and  the  angles  of  rooms 
are  frequently  not  right  angles.  It  is  manifest  that  the  Egyp- 
tians "purposely  avoided  regularity,"  and  the  conjecture  is 
probable  that  they  did  this  "with  a  view  of  not  fatiguing  the 
eye."  246  The  principle  would  seem  to  be  sound  within  certain 
limits.  Absolute  uniformity  is  wearisome,  and  to  be  es- 
chewed ;  but  violent  irregularities  are  displeasing.  The  Egyp- 
tians, even  in  the  best  times,  somewhat  overstepped  the  true 
mean  ;  their  mingling  of  different  sorts  of  columns,  and  of 
columns  with  caryatide  or  other  piers,  cannot  be  defended ; 
but  it  was  not  until  their  art  had  greatly  declined  under  the 
depressing  influence  of  foreign  conquest  that  they  reached 
their  extreme  practices,  the  complete  change  in  the  axis  of 
a  building  and  the  employment  of  twenty  different  capitals 
for  the  columns  of  a  single  apartment.247 

The  contrivance  for  augmenting  the  apparent  size  of  build- 
ings, of  which  we  have  to  speak  in  conclusion,  is  the  following. 
Egyptian  buildings  of  large  extent  for  the  most  part  rise  as  we 
penetrate  into  them.  When  we  pass  from  one  limb  to  another, 
we  generally  ascend  a  few  steps.  Sometimes,  however,  the 
ascent  is  more  gradual.  At  the  Rameseum,248  and  again  at 
Edfou,249  the  level  of  the  ground  rises  from  column  to  column, 
each  column  being  placed  on  a  low  step  a  little  above  the  pre- 


Hate  XXVIII. 


Vol.  I. 


'SM/'SS/M///////////////////////////////////,:////////m/;/m 

Fig.  68.— Section  of  Smaller  Pillared  Hall,  Great  Temple,  Karnak.— Page  108. 


Iiiillllll 


....::i::Udjd 

•  • • >>«| •  •  ■ 


1IUII1III] 

Fig.  69.— Ground  Plan  of  Southern  Temple,  Karnak.— See  Page  113. 


aag 


Fig.  70.—  Mammeisi,  or  Temple  of  the  "  Mother  of  the  Gods."— See  Page  113. 


Vol  I. 


Plate  XXIX. 


-y  £V? 


!!■ 


2.  3.  4. 

Fig.  71. — Egyptian  Columns. — See  Page  114. 


Fig.  72.—  Egyptian  Bell-Capitals.— See  Page  115. 


Plate  XXX. 

■n 


Vol,  L 


uli  II       mi 

i 

1 

1 

iS 

ii 

Fig.  73.-  Egyptian  Lotus  Capitals.— See  Pa^e  li5. 


Fig.  74.— See  Page  115. 


iifiiiifif w; .    '  "wm 

^u^'Mz^nn^-M^^  'i.    n"-;iir'  in^"-iii----iii^g||i^s^ 


2^*Jk^;uv<Ei]4 


Fig.  75.— Caryatide  Figures.— bee  Page  116. 

.   1 


Fig.  76.— Egyptian  Arches.— See  Page  121. 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XXXI. 


Fig.  77.— An  Egyptian  Dwelling-house,  viewed  in  Front.— See  Page  119. 


J 


)( )( If  )(T  Igggggl 


Fig.  78  —An  Egyptian  Dwelling-house,  viewed  r^o-r  Internal  Court.— Page  1 


STATUES.  123 

ceding  one.  The  effect  is  similar  to  that  produced  in  a  mod- 
ern theatre  by  the  slope  of  the  floor  from  the  foot-lights  to  the 
back  of  the  stage.  It  is  aided  by  the  general  arrangements  of 
doors  and  pylons,  which  diminish  in  size  as  we  advance.  An 
illusory  perspective  is  in  this  way  produced  ;  the  vistas  of  pil- 
lars seem  twice  the  length  that  they  really  are,  and  the  entire 
building  appears  to  be  of  an  extent  almost  interminable.  If 
it  be  one  of  the  worst  faults  that  an  architect  can  commit,  to 
make  his  edifice  appear  smaller  than  it  is,  and  if  the  construc- 
tors of  the  pyramids  are  to  be  considered  blamable  in  this  re- 
spect, the  later  Egyptian  builders  must  be  regarded  as  deserv- 
ing of  no  small  commendation  for  an  arrangement  which, 
without  introducing  any  unworthy  artifice,  makes  the  size  of 
their  constructions  even  greater  in  appearance  than  it  is  in 
reality. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

MIMETIC   ART. 

Sculpture  of  Ancient  Egypt— Single  Statues  of  full  size— peculiarities.  Groups. 
Principal  Defects  and  Merits.  Statuettes.  General  Uniformity  and  its 
Causes.  Works  in  high  Relief,  rare.  Works  in  Bas-relief  and  Intaglio. 
Defects.  Superiority  of  the  Animal  over  the  Human  Forms.  Examples 
— Gazelle  Hunt— Lion  Hunt.  Foreshortening.  Want  of  proportion.  Ab- 
sence of  Perspeetive.  Ugliness.  Four  classes  of  Subjects :  1.  Religious ; 
2.  Processional;  3.  Military;  and  4.  Domestic.  Playful  Humor  in  the  Do- 
mestic Scenes.  Egyptian  Painting— its  general  Character.  Mechanism 
employed— Colors.  Paintings  good  as  Wall  Decorations.  Stages  of  Egyp- 
tian Mimetic  Art. 

*'  Les  Egyptiens  ont  ete,  avant  les  Orecs,  celui  de  tous  les  peuples  de  Vantiquite 

2ui  a  parte  les  arts  plastiques  an  plus  haul  degre  de  perfection  et  de  grandeur.''1 — 
(ENORMANT,  "  Manuel  d'Histoire  Ancienne  de  l'Orient,"  vol.  i.  p.  537. 

The  sculpture  of  ancient  Egypt  falls  under  the  three  heads  of 
statuary,  or  sculpture  in  the  round;  relief,  or  representation 
of  forms  on  a  flat  surface  by  means  of  a  certain  projection; 
and  intaglio,  or  representation  by  the  opposite  process  of  cut- 
ting the  forms  into  the  stone  or  marble,  and  thus  sinking  them 
below  the  surface.  This  last  includes  a  process,  almost  pecu- 
liar to  Egypt,  which  has  been  called  cavo-relievo,  or  intaglio- 
relievato,1  whereby  the  figures  are  first  incised,  and  then  given 
a  siight  relief,  which  raises  them  almost,  but  not  quite,  to  the 
level  of  the  stone  outside  them. 

Completely  detached  statues  of  full  size  were,  comparatively 
speaking,  rare  in  Egypt ;  and  when  they  occur,  their  merit  is 
but  slight.     Only  about  six  or  seven  attitudes  seem  to  have 


124  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

been  allowed  ;  and  these  are  repeated  with  a  monotony  that  is 
absolutely  wearisome  through  the  twenty  centuries,  or  more, 
during  which  Egyptian  civilization  lasts.  Single  figures 
usually  stand  upright  with  their  arms  dependent  at  their 
sides,  or  crossed  upon  their  breast,  and  their  feet  equally 
advanced  ;  or  they  are  in  a  walking  attitude,  with  the  left  foot 
(invariably)  set  before  the  right,2  aud  the  arms  pendent ;  or 
they  sit  on  thrones,  with  their  arms  laid  along  their  thighs, 
and  the  hands  extended  with  palms  downward  ;  or  they  kneel 
upon  the  ground  with  botli  knees  similarly  placed,  and  hold 
in  their  two  hands  a  shrine  containing  an  image  of  some  god  ; 
or  finally  they  are  seated  on  the  ground,  with  both  knees 
drawn  up  nearly  to  the  chin,  and  the  arms  resting  upon  them, 
the  lower  part  of  the  person  being  enveloped  in  a  robe  or  pet- 
ticoat. No  movement  is  exhibited,  no  energy,  scarcely  any 
action  even.  The  faces  are  for  the  most  part  expressionless, 
though  sometimes  they  are  evidently  intended  for  portraits, 
and  great  pains  have  been  taken  to  render  them  close  imita- 
tions of  nature.3  The  mechanical  finish  is  high,  a  perfectly 
smooth  surface  being  produced,  however  stubborn  the  mate- 
rial.4 But  the  artistic  finish  is  the  lowest  conceivable.  There 
is  no  rendering  of  veins  or  muscles,  no  indication  of  any  ana- 
tomical study,  no  appearance  even  of  acquaintance  with  the 
human  skeleton.5  The  limbs  are  smooth  and  rounded — the 
general  proportions  not  bad — though  altogether  the  forms  are 
too  slim  to  accord  with  Western  notions  of  beauty  :  but  all  the 
higher  qualities  of  art,  as  understood  in  the  West,  are  wanting 
— there  is  composure  and  calm  dignity,  but  there  is  no  expres- 
sion, no  vigor,  no  life,  no  attempt  to  grapple  with  difficulties, 
no  idealism.  The  sculpture  seems  altogether  incipient,  unde- 
veloped. It  is  not,  as  has  been  justly  observed,  "modelled 
grossly,  but  summaril}T,"  6 — that  is  to  say,  it  does  not  fail  of  its 
aims  through  inability  to  give  effect  to  them,  but  its  aims  are 
low.  It  seeks  to  indicate  the  human  form,  rather  than  to  ex- 
press it,  to  give  the  general  contour  rather  than  a  representa- 
tion of  details,  to  embody  repose  and  not  action  ;  there  is 
nothing  rude,  gross,  or  coarse  about  it ;  on  the  contrary,  the 
forms  have  delicacy  and  elegance,  but  they  are  incompletely 
rendered  ;  they  are  good,  as  far  as  they  go,  but  they  do  not  go 
far ;  the  artist  has  stopped  short  of  the  nature  which  he  had 
before  his  eyes,  and  has  preferred  not  to  imitate  too  closely. 

In  the  walking  statues  (Fig.  85),  the  want  of  completeness 
is  strikingly  shown  by  the  fact,  that  the  legs,  though  repre- 
sented as  separate,  are  not  disengaged  from  the  stone,  the 
space  between  them  not  having  been   hollowed   out.  .  This 


DEFECTS    OF    STATUES.  125 

peculiarity  does  not  extend,  however,  except  occasionally,  to 
figures  in  bronze  or  wood,  which,  so  far,  are  superior  to  the 
stone  figures. 

Another  curious  peculiarity  of  Egyptian  stone  statues  is 
the  support  which  is  given  to  them  at  the  back.  Except  in 
the  case  of  sitting  figures  (Fig.  87),  which  have  the  support 
of  their  chairs  or  thrones,  Egyptian  stone  statues  have  almost 
invariably  at  their  back  an  upright  slab  or  plinth,  sometimes 
resembling  an  obelisk,  against  which  the  figures  lean,  and  with 
which  they  are  in  a  manner  blended.  This  is  probably  ex- 
plained rightly,  as  the  reminiscence  of  a  time  when  all  statues 
were  attached  to  walls,  and  constituted  mere  architectural 
adornments.7 

The  Egyptian  statuaries  did  not  stop  at  single  figures,  but 
sometimes  proceeded  to  the  composition  of  groups.  Two 
figures,  a  husband  and  a  wife  (Fig.  8G),  not  unfrequently  oc- 
cupy a  single  seat.  Generally  they  sit  separate;  but  some- 
times they  hold  hands,  or  the  husband  has  his  arm  placed 
around  his  wife's  waist.8  Occasionally,  the  man  is  seated  on  a 
chair,  accompanied  by  standing  figures  of  his  wife  and  children, 
sculptured  on  a  smaller  scale,  and  evidently  intended  as  acces- 
sories.9 The  composition  is  in  every  case  rude  and  inartificial, 
no  attempt  being  made  at  " grouping,"  in  the  technical  sense, 
or  at  producing  an  effective  whole. 

Besides  the  negative  defects,  which  have  been  here  noticed, 
there  are  some  positive  ones,  which  must  not  be  glossed  over, 
whereby  a  great  part  of  the  statuary  is  rendered  repulsive, 
rather  than  attractive — at  any  rate,  to  the  modern  European. 
The  figures  are,  for  the  most  part,  too  elongated;  and  the 
limbs  especially  are  too  long  for  the  body.  The  ears  are  mis- 
placed, the  hole  of  the  ear  being  made  parallel  with  the  pupil 
of  the  eye,10  instead  of  with  the  nostrils  (Fig  84).  The  inlay- 
ing of  the  eye  in  a  different  material  from  the  rest  of  the 
statue,  which  is  common,  offends  a  correct  taste ; "  and  the 
prolongation  of  the  eyebrows  and  eyelids  nearly  to  the  ears  is 
unnatural  and  unpleasing.  The  great  masses  of  hair  hang- 
ing down  on  either  side  of  the  face  in  heavy  blocks,  concealing 
the  neck  and  resting  upon  the  shoulders,  the  broad  and  de- 
pressed nose  verging  upon  a  negro  type,  the  prominent  cheek- 
bones, the  large  mouth,  and  full,  half  out-turned  lips,  are  even 
more  disagreeable,  and  produce  an  ensemble  from  which  the 
eye  instinctively  turns  away,  and  on  which  it  can  only  bring 
itself  to  gaze  with  difficulty.1'2  The  dark  material  commonly  in 
use,  and  the  smears  of  red  paint  often  observable,  render  the 
physiognomies  even  more  repulsive  than  they  would  have  been 


126  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

otherwise,  and  produce  disgust  and  aversion.  Again,  the 
grotesque  figures  of  the  gods,  sometimes  coarse-featured  and 
dwarfish,  often  mixing  together  animal  and  human  forms,13 
always  utterly  devoid  of  the  faintest  trace  of  beauty,  lower  the 
general  character  of  the  statuary  where  it  might  have  been 
expected  to  be  highest,  and  tempt  the  lover  of  high  art  to 
question  whether  the  Egyptian  attempts  ought  to  be  allowed 
the  name  of  Art  at  all.  If  we  pass  from  the  contemplation 
of  the  Apollo  Belvedere  to  that  of  an  Egyptian  representation 
of  Phthah  (Fig.  88)  or  Bes, w  we  seem  to  step  from  one  world 
to  another,  from  one  pole  of  production  to  its  opposite  ;  and 
it  is  difficult  to  persuade  ourselves  that  one  and  the  same  term 
ought  to  embrace  the  two. 

If,  however,  we  contemplate  Egyptian  statuary  in  Egypt  it- 
self— on  its  native  soil — as  it  was  intended  to  be  seen  by  those 
who  wrought  it,  we  shall  find  reason  to  modify  some  of  these 
views,  and  to  allow  that,  while  devoid  of  the  excellencies 
which  we  commonly  associate  with  Greek  art,  it  had  merits  of 
its  own,  and  was  not  wholly  contemptible.  Sculpture  in  Egypt 
was  almost  entirely  "architectonic,"  15  and  was  intended  simply, 
or  at  any  rate  mainly,  for  architectural  embellishment.  The 
Great  Colossi  (Fig.  92),  the  most  remarkable  of  the  Egyptian 
efforts,  were  set  up  in  temples,  or  in  their  immediate  neigh- 
borhood, and  to  be  rightly  judged  must  be  viewed  in  connec- 
tion with  those  buildings.  The  statues  of  the  gods  had  their 
proper  place  in  shrines  prepared  for  them,  and  were  not  out  of 
keeping  with  their  surroundings.  The  grand  effect  of  the 
Osiride  images  in  the  temple  courtyards  lias  been  already 
noticed.16  Even  the  rprivate  statues  of  individuals  were  in- 
tended for  ornaments  of  tombs,  and  seen,  by  torchlight  only, 
in  those  dark  abodes,  must  have  been  impressive.  Altogether, 
the  judgment  appears  to  be  sound,  that  "the  sculptures  were 
well  adapted  for  architectural  effect,  from  their  grand,  simple, 
and  vertical  lines,  their  great  regularity,  squareness  and  re- 
pose." 17  They  had  strength  and  massiveness,  majesty  and 
grandeur,  simplicity  and  dignity;  above  all,  they  had  about 
them  an  air  of  profound,  eternal,  unchanging  rest. 

The  smaller  statuettes  (Fig.  90),  in  bronze,  basalt,  or  clay, 
are  less  dignified  than  the  statues,  but  have  greater  elegance 
and  grace.18  Some  female  figures,  apart  from  their  uncouth 
Egyptian  head-dress,  are  decidedly  pleasing,  though  it  must  be 
admitted  that  they  are  too  slender  to  satisfy  an  eye  accustomed 
to  the  rounded  forms  of  the  Greeks.  Animals  (Fig.  89)  are 
also  rendered  sufficiently  well  in  the  round.  The  pair  of  lions 
in  the  Southern  Gallery  at  the  British  Museum  have  consider- 


RESTRAINTS    ON    EGYPTIAN    ART.  127 

able  artistic  excellence.  The  Great  Sphinx  (Fig.  93)  of  the 
Pyramids,  though  scarcely  deserving  of  all  the  praises  which 
have  been  lavished  upon  it,19  must  be  admitted  to  be  a  striking 
monument,  and  to  impress  the  spectator,  not  only  by  its  bulk, 
but  by  its  air  of  impassive  dignity.  Other  sphinx  figures 
(Fig.  82)  are  considered  to  have  a  certain  calmness  and 
grandeur.  There  are  also  statuettes  of  bulls,  monkeys,  and 
dogs,20  which  are  characteristic  and  fairly  good. 

It  has  been  urged  by  many,21  that  the  principal  deficiencies 
of  Egyptian  statuary — the  general  uniformity  of  design,  the 
stiffness  and  want  of  grace,  the  absence  of  motion  from  the 
forms,  and  of  character  and  expression  from  the  faces,  nay, 
even  the  incompleteness  of  the  representation — were  the  results, 
not  so  much  of  inability  to  do  better  on  the  part  of  the  artists, 
as  of  a  constraint  imposed  upon  them  from  without  by  the 
religious  prejudices  of  a  dominant  hierarchy.22  It  is  undoubt- 
edly true  that  nothing  more  tends  to  cramp  Art  and  prevent 
its  satisfactory  development,  than  laws  against  change,  espe- 
cially when  they  are  imposed  from  without,  and  rest  upon  a  re- 
ligious rather  than  an  artistic  basis.  It  is  also  tolerably  certain 
that  there  existed  in  ancient  Egypt  a  religious  censorship  of 
Art — that  "hieratic  canons"  were  laid  down  and  commanded 
to  be  observed  a — and  that  a  restraint  was  thus  placed  upon 
genius  and  invention.  But  it  may  be  remarked,  on  the  other 
hand,  that  the  laws  against  change  cannot  have  been  absolute, 
since  there  are  decided  differences  of  style  at  different  periods,24 
and  that  freedom  of  treatment  must  have  been,  to  a  certain 
extent,  allowed,  since  the  animal  forms  at  any  rate  improve 
as  time  goes  on,  and  are  best  about  the  period  of  the  eigh- 
teenth and  nineteenth  dynasties.  In  representations  that  are 
strictly  religious,  the  amount  of  change,  it  is  true,  was  slight, 
and  there  it  is  probable  that  "hieratic  canons"  really  pre- 
vailed ;  but  in  the  portrait  statues  and  the  statuettes  this  is 
scarcely  likely  to  have  been  the  case,  and  the  uniformity  which 
is  observable  must,  it  would  seem,  be  attributed  to  some  want 
of  artistic  conception  or  power.  A  similar  conclusion  is 
naturally  drawn  from  a  general  consideration  of  the  bas-reliefs 
and  intaglios,  which,  though  boasting  more  freedom  of  treat- 
ment than  the  statues,  still  participate  in  their  characteristics 
of  uniformity,  stiffness,  and  want  of  finish. 

High  relief — the  exhibition  of  human  and  animal  forms  in 
connection  with  a  flat  surface,  but  very  much  raised  above  it 
— which  was  common  in  Persia,25  Lycia,26  and  Greece,  is  very 
rarely  found  in  Egypt.  The  few  reliefs  of  the  kind  which 
occur   possess   scarcely  any    merit.     It   is   scarcely   necessary 


128  HISTORY   OE   ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

to  present  specimens  of  these  uncouth  works,  which  can 
possess  no  attraction  for  any  but  professional  students  of  art, 
who  may  desire  to  see  sculpture  of  every  kind  in  its  rudest 
and  most  primitive  condition.  For  such  persons  a  few  refer- 
ences are  given  in  the  subjoined  note/'7 

The  bas-reliefs  and  intaglios  of  the  Egyptians  will  be  treated 
together,  their  general  effect  being  very  similar,  and  the  com- 
position in  both  kinds  being  marked  by  nearly  the  same  char- 
acteristics, praiseworthy  or  the  contrary.  In  general  the 
defects  are  glaring,  and  preponderate  greatly  over  the  merits. 
With  rare  exceptions,  the  figures  are  represented  in  profile, 
stiffly  erect,  and  standing  still,  or  walking  in  a  formal,  stately 
manner.  The  eye  is  drawn  in  full,  not  as  it  really  appears 
sideways,  but  as  if  seen  from  the  front.  It  is  long  and  narrow, 
often  set  a  little  obliquely;  and  both  eye  and  eyebrow  are 
prolonged  nearly  to  the  ear.  The  ear  is  placed  too  high  in  the 
head,  and  is  generally  somewhat  too  large.  The  limbs  are  for 
the  most  part  too  slim,  and  the  hands  and  feet  are  stiff, 
straight,  and  of  undue  size.  Where  variety  of  attitude  occurs, 
the  drawing  is  generally  incorrect,  and  the  new  attitude  im- 
possible. For  instance,  sometimes  the  head  is  turned  com- 
pletely round,  and  the  man  who  walks  one  way  looks  directly 
the  other  (Fig.  97).  Female  tumblers  (Fig.  96)  lean  back- 
wards till  their  hands  reach  the  ground  with  the  palms  down- 
ward. Others  defy  all  the  laws  of  gravity,  and  lean  back  in  a 
position  which  could  not  be  retained  for  a  moment.28 

Composition  is  in  general  formal,  artificial,  and  constrained. 
In  the  processional  scenes  the  same  figure  is  reiterated  twenty, 
thirty,  fifty,  or  a  hundred  times.  There  is  scarcely  any  idea 
of  grouping,  of  balance^  or  even  of  a  main  point  of  interest  to 
which  the  rest  shall  be  subordinate.  In  the  battle  scenes,  it 
must  be  admitted,  this  defect  is  not  so  apparent.  There  the 
monarch  is  the  central  object,  and  the  whole  remainder  of 
the  composition,  being  intended  simply  for  his  honor  and 
glory,  is  intentionally  subordinated  to  him.  But  in  this  case 
another  defect  obtrudes  itself.  The  artist,  distrusting  his 
ability  to  give  the  necessary  pre-eminence  to  the  royal  figure 
by  the  means  ordinarily  considered  legitimate^ — position,  fin- 
ish, expression,  convergence  of  the  attention  of  the  others  to 
him — has  had  recourse  to  the  rude  and  inartistic  expedient 
of  making  his  superiority  apparent  by  mere  difference  of  size. 
Kameses  towers  above  his  soldiers  and  his  enemies,  not  as  Saul 
above  the  children  of  Israel,29  or  Ajax  above  the  Argives,30  but 
as  Gulliver  above  the  people  of  Lilliput.  The  colossal  figure 
of  the  great  king  dwarfs  all  the  others,  not  into  subordination 


EXCELLENCE    OF    ANIMAL    FORMS.  129 

merely,  but  into  insignificance;31  and  it  is  necessary  that  we 
should  shut  him  out  from  our  vision  before  we  can  take  an 
interest  in  the  details  of  the  battle.  These  are  sufficiently 
lively  and  varied  ;  they  exhibit  confusion,  turmoil,  strange 
attitudes  of  dying  and  dead,  life,  motion,  energy  ;  but  it  can 
scarcely  be  said  that  they  are  artistic.  The  reliefs  in  question 
may  represent  truthfully  enough  the  varied  and  separate  inci- 
dents of  an  ancient  battle-field  ;  but  the  want  of  mass,  of 
grouping,  and  of  perspective  renders  them  singularly  ineffec- 
tive as  pictures.32 

iEsthetically,  by  far  the  best  of  the  Egyptian  reliefs  are 
those  in  which  animals  form  the  entire  subject,  or  at  any  rate 
constitute  the  preponderating  element.33  The  Pharaonic  ar- 
tists had  a  happy  knack  of  catching  the  leading  characteristics 
of  beast34  and  bird,35  and  rendering  them  effectively  though 
simply.  A  purely  animal  scene,  represented  by  Rosellini  in 
his  great  work,36  is  graceful  and  pleasing,  full  of  life,  and 
characterized  by  an  artistic  touch  which  is  very  unusual. 
The  subjoined  woodcut  repeats  a  portion  of  this  drawing, 
and  will  give  a  tolerable  idea  of  its  general  style  (Fig.  94). 

A  nobler,  grander,  and  altogether  superior  design  may  be 
seen  at  Medinet-Abou,  on  the  external  wall  of  the  great  pal- 
ace, facing  the  north.37  This  is  a  composition  in  which  the 
monarch,  standing  by  himself  in  his  chariot  (Fig.  99),  ad- 
vances at  full  speed  in  the  chase  of  a  wounded  lion,  while  at 
the  same  time  attacked  from  behind,  probably  by  another 
similar  beast,38  he  turns  himself  round  and  directs  his  spear 
against  the  assailant.  Under  his  horses,  which,  as  usual, 
prance  high  in  the  air,  lies  the  body  of  a  lion  pierced  by  two 
arrows,  and  struggling  in  the  agonies  of  death.  The  hunted 
animal  is  in  front.  Though  pierced  by  three  arrows  and  a 
javelin,  he  continues  his  mad  career,  rushing  through  the 
water-plants,  from  which  we  may  conclude  that  he  has  been 
aroused  by  the  beaters.  The  whole  piece  is  remarkable  for 
the  boldness  and  freedom  of  the  outline,  for  the  spirit  of  the 
composition,  the  good  drawing  of  the  lions,  the  expression  of 
suffering  in  their  countenances,  and  the  contrast  which  they 
offer  to  each  other  and  to  the  remaining  figures  of  the  design.39 
Their  massive  forms  compare  well  with  the  slim  and  graceful 
horses ;  their  violent  action  sets  off  the  comparative  impassive- 
ness  of  the  main  figure.  Moreover,  the  balance  of  the  com- 
position, if  we  imagine  another  lion  behind,  is  good  ;  part 
corresponds  to  part,  yet  not  too  closely  or  exactly ;  and, 
by  the  greater  elevation  of  the  horses'  crests  and  the  hun- 
ter's spear,  the  "  principle  of  the  pyramid "  is  asserted,  and 


130  HISTOBY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

a  unity  given  to  the  design  which  it  might  otherwise  have 
lacked. 

Like  the  human,  the  animal  figures  (Fig.  98)  are  drawn  for 
the  most  part  strictly  in  profile  ;  but  there  are  a  certain  number 
of  exceptions,  where  the  animal  is  turning  round,  and  the 
form  is  to  a  certain  extent  foreshortened.40  Occasionally  even 
more  ambition  is  shown,  and  more  difficult  attitudes  are  at- 
tempted, as  in  the  Beni  Hassan  scene  above  mentioned,  where 
some  of  the  dogs  turn  their  full  faces  to  the  spectator,  and  the 
antelopes  are  drawn  in  the  act  of  falling  prone  to  earth,  or 
represented  as  struggling  to  shake  off  the  hounds  which  have 
got  hold  of  them. 

Among  the  main  defects  of  the  Egyptian  designs  are  the 
non-observance  of  proportion  and  the  almost  entire  inability 
to  represent  anything  in  perspective,  as  it  is  really  seen.  Not 
only  are  royal  personages  drawn  commonly  on  a  larger  scale 
than  the  officers  and  others  in  attendance  upon  them,  but  in 
the  tomb  scenes  even  the  ordinary  paterfamilias  is  given  a 
similar  advantage  over  his  servants  and  laborers*  This  advan- 
tage he  sometimes  shares  with  his  wife,  who  sits  with  him  on 
the  same  seat 41  and  is  drawn  on  the  same  scale. -2  The  animal 
forms  are,  on  the  other  hand,  frequently  too  small,  cows  being 
represented  as  about  half  the  height  of  a  man,43  and  donkeys 
as  less  than  half.44  When  an  elephant  is  depicted,  the  top  of 
his  back  only  just  reaches  his  attendant's  waist ; 45  and  the 
head  of  the  giraife  a  very  little  overtops  that  of  the  man  who 
leads  him.46  The  accessories  of  a  battle  scene,  towns,  forts, 
rivers,  are  on  a  scale  absurdly  disproportioned  to  the  men,  the 
horses,  and  the  chariots-;47  while  in  domestic  scenes  the  per- 
sons represented  often  exceed  in  height  the  doors  of  the 
mansions.48 

The  inability  to  present  a  scene  in  perspective  is,  no  doubt, 
one  common  to  the  Egyptian  artists  with  other  primitive  de- 
signers ;  but  it  is  a  defect  which  attains  in  Egypt  an  intensity 
almost  without  a  parallel  elsewhere.  A  phalanx  of  soldiers  is 
represented  by  a  mass  of  figures  ranged  one  above  the  other, 
either  in  completely  distinct  lines,  or  in  such  a  position  that 
each  more  distant  row  shows  above  the  nearer  ones  to  the  ex- 
tent of  half  the  height.49  As  a  general  rule,  what  is  distant 
and  would  be  partially  or  entirely  hidden  by  intervening  ob- 
jects is  raised  up,  if  the  artist  wishes  to  show  it,  and  exhibited 
at  a  higher  level.  The  animals  and  the  targets,  whereat  shoot- 
ers aim,  are  represented  as  close  to  them  ;  and  the  full  face  of 
the  target  is  shown,  when  it  ought  to  be  nearly,  if  not  quite, 
invisible,50     Where  a  river,  pond,  or  pool  has  to  be  indicated, 


Plate  XXXII. 


Vol.  I. 


Fig.  79.— See  Page  119.— Note  226. 


irnrnTtTpm 


Fig.  80.— See  Page  119. 


Fig.  81.— An  Egyptian  House, 
partly  in  Section.— See  Page  120 


Fig.  82. --Ordinary  Sphinx. 


Crio-Sphinx.— See  Page  127. 


Vol. 


Plate  XXXIII. 


iffiJlS 


Fig.  83.— Ground-Plan  and  View  of  the  Pavilion  of  Rameses  III.— See  Page  118. 


FOUR    CLASSES    OF    DRAWINGS.  131 

the  entire  surface  is  presented  to  view,  being  lifted  up  (Fig.  109) 
and  placed  at  right  angles  to  the  eye  of  the  spectator.51  Gar- 
dens are  commonly  given  in  ground-plan,  though  the  buildings 
which  they  contain  stand  erect/2  exhibiting  their  sides  and  not 
their  roofs.  Altogether,  the  rules  of  perspective  are  com- 
pletely ignored  or  defied,  and  no  representation  is  accurate, 
unless  limited  to  objects  which  are  all  at  the  same  distance  and 
in  the  same  plane. 

Further,  there  is  the  same  defect  in  the  bas-reliefs  of  the 
Egyptians  which  has  been  already  noticed  in  their  statuary,53 
the  frequent  intrusion  of  simply  hideous  forms  into  the  de- 
signs, more  especially  where  these  have  a  religious  character. 
The  three  huge  and  misshapen  figures,54  so  frequent  upon  the 
ceilings  of  temples,  which  are  supposed  to  represent  "the 
heavens,"  oppress  the  imagination  of  one  who  stands  under 
them. with  the  sense  of  a  superincumbent  nightmare.  Bes  in 
all  his  forms  is  fearful  to  behold  ;  Taouris,  Savak  (Fig.  108), 
and  Cerberus  are  not  much  better ;  even  Osiris  has  presenta- 
tions which  are  repulsive  ;  and  the  constant  recurrence  of  the 
Priapic  Khem  is  a  perpetual  eyesore.  All  the  forms  of  the 
gods  are  more  or  less  disagreeable  ;  the  stiff  constrained  out- 
lines, the  tight-fitting  robes,  the  large  clumsily-drawn  hands 
and  feet,  the  frequent  animal  heads  and  enormous  head- 
dresses, the  ugly  or  inexpressive  faces,  compose  an  ensemble 
as  unpleasant  as  can  easily  be  conceived,  and  recall  the  mon- 
strosities of  Brahminical  and  Buddhistic  religious  representa- 
tions. It  seems  strange  that  artists,  who  occasionally  at  any 
rate  show  taste  and  aesthetic  culture,  should  consent  to  repro- 
duce from  age  to  age  stereotyped  forms  of  a  character  which 
sound  artistic  judgment  must  always  pronounce  repulsive  and 
disgusting. 

The  bulk  of  the  drawings  are  of  a  sober  and  serious  char- 
acter. They  may  be  divided  into  : — 1.  The  strictly  religious, 
where  worship  of  some  kind  or  other — generally  sacrifice — is 
offered  to  the  gods,  or  where  they  strengthen  and  sustain  the 
monarch,  or  where  the  soul  passes  through  some  of  the  scenes 
which  it  will  have  to  undergo  after  death.  2.  The  proces- 
sional, where  the  king  goes  in  state,  or  where  tribute  is  brought 
to  him,  or  where  the  pomp  of  a  funeral,  or  the  inauguration 
of  an  officer,  or  some  other  civil  ceremony,  forms  the  subject. 
3.  The  war  scenes,  including  battles  by  sea  and  land,  the 
siege  of  forts,  the  march  of  armies,  the  return  home  with 
booty  and  captives,  etc.;  and  4.  The  scenes  of  common  life, 
represented  exclusively  in  the  tombs,  where  the  deceased  is 
presented  with  offerings,   or  with  inventories  of  his  worldly 


132  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

goods,  or  exhibits  liis  skill  in  the  chase,  or  depicts  his  house 
and  its  environs,  or  the  processes  of  the  trade  which  he  fol- 
lowed when  alive,  or  the  entertainments  which  he  gave  and 
the  large  number  of  his  guests  and  friends,  or  the  amuse- 
ments which  he  delighted  in.  These  tomb  scenes  are  the  most 
numerous  and  the  most  interesting;  and,  while  perhaps  the 
highest  inventive  qualities  are  displayed  by  the  artists  who 
decorate  the  walls  of  temples  and  palaces  with  gigantic  battle- 
pieces,  it  is  in  the  sepulchres  that  we  observe  the  lightest 
touch,  the  freest  drawing,  the  greatest  variety  of  artistic  excel- 
lence. Solemn  as  are  the  associations  which  attach  to  the 
grave,  it  is  here,  and  here  only,  in  the  sepulchral  chambers,  in 
the  close  vicinity  of  the  tombs,  that  the  Egyptian  artists  shake 
off  the  weight  of  seriousness  which  elsewhere  oppresses  them, 
and  condescend  to  be  sportive  and  amusing,  to  exhibit  playful- 
ness and  humor,  to  approach  or  even  pass  the  line  which 
separates  serious  drawing  from  caricature.  There  is  a  tomb 
near  Thebes,  where,  in  the  middle  of  an  entertainment,  a 
guest  is  represented  as  bringing  down  the  apartment  upon 
the  feasters  by  leaning  against  a  central  pillar,  and  upsetting 
it.55  In  another  tomb,  ladies,  not  of  too  refined  an  appear- 
ance, converse  with  animation  about  their  ear-rings,  and  ap- 
praise them,  or  inquire  where  they  were  bought.  The  humor 
is  sometimes  even  more  broad.56  "In  one  of  the  royal  sepul- 
chres at  Thebes  we  see  an  ass  and  a  lion  singing  and  accom- 
panying themselves  on  the  phorminx  and  the  harp.  Another 
design  is  the  burlesque  of  a  battle-piece.  A  fortress  is  attacked 
by  rats,  and  defended  by  cats,  who  are  mounted  on  the  battle- 
ments. The  rats  bring  a  ladder  to  the  walls  and  prepare  to 
scale  them,  while  a  body  armed  with  spear,  shield,  and  bow 
protect  the  assailants,  and  a  rat  of  gigantic  size,  in  a  chariot 
drawn  by  dogs,  has  pierced  the  cats  with  his  arrows,  and 
swings  round  his  axe  in  exact  imitation  of  Kameses  dealing 
destruction  on  his  enemies.  In  a  papyrus  of  the  Museum 
of  Turin,  a  cat  is  seen  with  a  shepherd's  crook  watching  a 
flock  of  geese,  and  a  cynocephalus  ape  playing  on  the  flute."  5T 
Souls  returning  from  Hades  after  judgment  in  the  form  ol 
pigs,  under  the  protection  of  monkeys,  have  a  crestfallen  ex- 
pression of  countenance  which  is  quaint  and  ludicrous.58 

Of  painting,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  word,  the  Egyptians 
knew  absolutely  nothing.  No  surface  was  ever  completely 
covered.  The  Egyptians  drew  figures  of  men  and  animals, 
together  with  other  objects,  in  outline  on  a  white  or  whitish 
background,  and  then  filled  in  the  outline,  or  portions  of  it, 
with  masses  of  uniform  hue.     No  shading  or  softening  off  of 


PAINTING — GAMUT    OF    COLOR.  133 

the  tints  was  practised.59  All  the  exposed  parts  of  a  man's 
body  were  colored  of  a  uniform  red-brown  ;  all  the  exposed 
parts  of  a  woman's  of  a  lighter  red  or  a  yellow.  Except  in 
the  case  of  a  few  foreigners,  the  hair  and  beard  were  pitch 
black.  Dresses  were  predominantly  white,  but  had  their  folds 
marked  by  lines  of  red  or  brown,  and  were  sometimes  striped 
or  otherwise  patterned,  generally  with  red  or  blue.60  Most 
large  surfaces  61  were  more  or  less  patterned,  in  general  with 
small  patterns  of  various  colors,  including  a  good  deal  of 
white.  Altogether  the  effect  was  one  of  combined  flatness 
and  spottiness,  the  white  background  showing  far  too  strongly 
and  isolating  the  different  parts  of  the  picture  one  from 
another. 

The  mechanism  of  painting  was  effected  as  follows  :  First 
of  all  the  stone,  whether  it  were  sandstone,  or  fossiliferous 
limestone,  or  even  granite,  was  covered  over  with  a  coating 
of  stucco,6'2  which  was  white  or  whitish,  and  which  prevented 
the  colors  from  being  lost  by  sinking  into  the  ground.  Fresco 
painting  was  unknown  :  the  Egyptians  allowed  the  composi- 
tion whereon  they  painted  to  become  completely  dry  before 
they  commenced  even  to  sketch  in  their  figures,  much  less  to 
paint  them.  An  outline  was  first  drawn  with  red  paint,  or 
red  chalk,  on  the  prepared  surface  ;  when  this  was  satisfac- 
torily executed,  the  filling  in  began.  The  scale  of  colors 
known  to  the  artists  was  not  extensive.  Besides  black  and 
white,  and  the  three  primitive  colors,  red,  blue,  and  yellow, 
the  Egyptians  employed  only  green  and  brown,  together  with 
a  light  wash  of  the  black  which  produced  a  sort  of  gray.63 
The  black  is  a  bone-black,64  very  decided  and  very  durable  ; 
the  white  is  a  preparation  of  pure  chalk  with  a  slight  trace 
of  iron.  The  red  and  the  yellow  are  ochres,  the  coloring 
matter  being  iron,  not,  however,  artificially  introduced,  but 
mixed  by  nature  with  the  earthy  substance.65  The  blue  color 
is  derived  from  the  oxide  of  copper  ;  but  before  becoming 
a  pigment  it  has  been  combined  with  glass,  which  has  then 
by  trituration  been  reduced  into  a  fine  powder.  The  green 
is  this  same  preparation,  combined  with  a  certain  amount  of ... 
yellow  ochre.66  The  brown  is  probably  a  mixture  of  the  blue- 
black  with  the  red. 

A  somewhat  narrow  gamut  of  color  was  thus  formed.  The 
Egyptian  artists  appear  to  have  enlarged  it  by  employing 
several  shades  of  the  primitive  colors — three,  at  least,  of 
blue,  one  very  dark,  another  of  medium  hue,  and  a  third 
very  light,  resembling  our  "sky-blue  ;"  two  of  red,  a  scarlet, 
and  a  red-brown  ;  and  at  least  two  of  yellow,  a  darker  and 


134  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

a  lighter.67  They  used  also  at  least  two  shades  of  green, 
and  several  of  brown,  ranging  from  a  light  drab  to  a  hue 
nearly  approaching  black.  But  they  were  ignorant  of  lilac, 
of  purple,  of  orange,  of  crimson,  of  olive,  and  were  thus  com- 
pelled to  abstain  from  all  attempts  to  produce  that  sort  of 
beauty  which  is  caused  by  the  employment  of  half-tints,  and 
the  "soft  and  gradual  transition  from  one  tint  to  another," 
which  is  to  the  eye  what  "an  harmonious  concert  of  music 
is  to  the  ear,"  68  and  which  especially  characterizes  the  Italian 
schools  of  Bologna  and  Venice.  They  had  to  depend  on  the 
broad  contrasts  of  the  primitive  tints  mainly,  and  were  thus 
thrown  upon  the  style  of  coloring  which  produces  its  effects 
by  striking  contrasts.69  It  is  quite  possible  to  obtain  a  good 
result  in  this  way.  Only  let  care  be  taken  that  the  colors 
are  strong  and  forcible,  that  a  balance  is  maintained,  and  / 
that  the  masses  are  broad,  and  not  too  much  entangled  or 
interspersed,  and  an  effect  is  produced  which  is  simple  and 
grand,  effective  and  pleasing.  The  Egyptians,  unhappily, 
broke  up  their  masses  of  color,  and  intermixed  them  in  such 
a  way  that  a  sense  of  unquiet  is  produced  ;  there  is  a  general 
flutter  and  disturbance  ;  the  eye  finds  nothing  upon  which 
it  can  dwell  long,  or  repose  with  a  feeling  of  satisfaction. 

The  painting  was  executed  in  a  sort  of  distemper.  The 
colors  were  mixed  with  water,  and  with  a  certain  rather  mod- 
erate amount  of  gum,  which  rendered  the  mixture  more  tena- 
cious and  adhesive.70  They  were  applied,  as  already  observed,71 
to  a  stuccoed  surface,  which  might  either  be  flat  and  un- 
broken, or  already  prepared  by  the  chisel  with  figures  in 
relief  or  intaglio.  These  figures,  by  the  variations  of  their 
surfaces,  enjoyed  the  advantage  of  a  slight  variety  of  light 
and  shade,  which  helped  to  mark  them  out,  and  gave  their 
contour  greater  definiteness.  Some  compensation  was  thus 
introduced  for  the  absence  of  painted  chiaroscuro ;  but  the 
compensation  was  slight,  and  did  not  extend  to  all  classes  of 
paintings. 

Altogether  it  must  be  said  that  while,  as  artistic  produc- 
tions, the  Egyptian  paintings  possess  only  a  low  degree  of 
merit,  as  wall  decorations  they  were  undoubtedly  effective  and 
striking.  Where  the  sun  always  shines  and  the  air  is  always 
clear,  where  nature  lights  up  the  landscape  upon  every  side 
with  mellow  hues  and  bright  effects,  pale  plain  surfaces  of 
stone,  such  as  match  well  with  the  dull  gray  of  northern 
lands,  are  unsuitable,  offend  the  eye,  seem  tame  and  out  of 
harmony.  The  brilliant  hues  which  covered  the  walls  of  the 
Egyptian  temples,  inside  and  outside,  illuminated  them  with 


EPOCHS    OF   EGYPTIAN"    ART.  135 

a  warmth  that  well  accorded  with  their  surroundings,  and 
rendered  them  the  richest-looking  and  brightest  objects  in  a 
scene  that  was  all  brightness  and  richness.  As  the  ancient 
Greeks  employed  color  externally  in  the  pediments  and  other 
parts  of  their  temples,72  and  the  Italians  of  the  Middle  Ages 
warm  marbles  and  stone  of  many  different  hues  in  their  pal- 
aces and  churches,73  so  these  primitive  builders  made  the  ex- 
terior, as  well  as  the  interior,  of  their  edifices  to  glow  with 
color,  from  an  instinctive  feeling  of  what  was  truly  fitting 
and  harmonious.  Separately,  the  colors  are  often  crude,  if 
not  coarse,  and  the  contrasts  sometimes  over-violent ; 74  but,  in 
their  entirety,  the  paintings  had  no  doubt  a  pleasing  effect, 
and  "greatly  improved  "  the  appearance  of  the  buildings  which 
they  decorated.75 

Egyptian  mimetic  art  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  a  history. 
Its  most  notable  characteristic  is  its  general  unchangingness 
and  want  of  progress.  Crystallized  in  its  infancy,  it  presents 
to  us  from  first  to  last  a  strange  unparalleled  sameness,  an 
extraordinary  monotony.  Still,  while  this  is  its  most  striking 
feature,  and  the  first  and  main  impression  which  it  produces 
on  those  who  study  it,76  prolonged  attention  enables  the  in- 
quirer to  perceive  certain  minor  differences  which  underlie  this 
general  uniformity,  and  prove  that,  whatever  might  be  in- 
tended, change  to  a  certain  extent  did  in  fact  intrude  itself, 
and  that  progress,  development,  decay,  renaissance,  are  con- 
sequently terms  not  wholty  inapplicable  to  the  art  of  Egypt  at 
different  periods.  The  earliest  remains  found  at  Saccarah 
and  at  Meydoun,  consisting  in  part  of  statues,  in  part  of  painted 
bas-reliefs,  exhibit  a  certain  amount  of  rudeness  and  indecision, 
a  certain  weakness  and  want  of  regular  method,  indicative  of 
an  incipient  art  which  is  as  yet  imperfectly  formed  and  does 
not  know  exactly  how  to  proceed.77  When  we  reach  the  time 
of  the  fourth  dynasty,  improvement  is  observable,  more  espe- 
cially in  the  statuary,  which  rapidly  attains  the  highest  degree 
of  perfection  that  it  ever  reached  in  Egypt.  The  portrait- 
statues  of  Chephren,  and  of  various  private  persons  contempo- 
rary with  him  or  with  the  other  Pyramid  kings,  are  the  best 
specimens  which  occur  of  Egyptian  sculpture  "in  the  round," 
and  are  regarded  by  some  as  "rivalling  the  busts  and  statues  of 
Rome."  78  Up  to  this  time  Egyptian  art  is  thought  to  have 
been  wholly,  or  at  any  rate  to  a  great  extent,79  untrammelled 
by  law  ;  and  so  far  as  statuary  is  concerned,  it  has  a  natural- 
ness in  the  human  forms  that  disappears  afterwards.  But  the 
bas-reliefs  of  the  period  are  decidedly  inferior  to  those  of  a 
later  time.     Not  only  is  the  aim  low,  scenes  of  common  life 


13G  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

being  alone  exhibited,  but  the  rendering  is  unsatisfactory,  the 
different  representations  being  wanting  in  variety,  and  the 
best  of  them  deficient  in  expression  and  life.  A  new  epoch 
introduces  itself  with  the  twelfth  dynasty,  when  hieratic  canons 
were  absolutely  enforced,80  and  art,  cramped  so  far,  found 
compensation  in  an  increased  delicacy  of  rendering,  an  elegance 
and  a  harmony  never  previously  realized.81  New  ideas  sprang 
into  being  under  the  fostering  influence  of  enlightened  princes. 
Obelisks  were  erected  ;  piers  were  superseded,  by  columns  ;  and 
an  architectural  order  was  elaborated,  which  at  a  later  date 
approved  itself  to  the  Greeks.82  Sculpture  at  the  same  time 
took  a  fresh  start.  The  tombs  of  Beni-Hassan  reproduce  in 
a  general  way  those  of  a  more  primitive  age  at  Saccarah  and 
Ghizeh  ;  but  the  touch  is  more  delicate,  the  proportions  are 
better,  and  the  subjects  are  more  varied.  After  the  time  of 
the  twelfth  dynasty,  Egyptian  art  does  not  so  much  decline  as 
disappear,  until  the  great  reaction  sets  in  under  the  eighteenth 
dynasty,  when  the  Egyptian  nation  attains  its  acme,  and  the 
perfection  of  art,  as  of  most  other  things,  is  reached.  The 
"grand  style"  is  now  brought  into  existence,83  and  supersedes 
the  humbler  and  more  prosaic  one  that  had  hitherto  prevailed. 
Colossi  are  erected  ;  huge  battle-scenes  are  composed,  contain- 
ing hundreds  of  figures  ;  variety  of  attitude  is  studied  ;  life 
and  energy  are  thrown  into  the  drawing ;  even  the  countenances 
lose  their  immobility  and  have  a  certain  amount  of  feeling  and 
expression.  But  after  the  space  of  about  three  centuries  a 
rapid  decline  sets  in  84 — the  higher  qualities  of  art  disappear — 
there  is  no  more  invention,  no  more  expressiveness — convention 
resumes  the  grasp  upon  art  which  it  had  relaxed,  and  a  dead 
period  begins  which  continues  till  the  time  of  the  first  Psamatik. 
Then  there  was  a  renaissance.85  By  a  not  unnatural  reaction, 
the  style  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty  was  discarded,  and  the 
artists  took  the  older  productions  of  the  fourth  and  fifth 
dynasties  for  their  models,  imitating  them  in  all  their  principal 
details,  but  "with  greater  smoothness,  fineness,  and  floridity." 86 
Much  grace  is  visible  in  the  countour  of  the  figures — but  the 
old  vigor  is  not  attained — all  is  too  rounded  and  smooth — the 
muscles  cease  to  be  marked — and  the  attempted  reproduction 
falls  (as  commonly  happens)  very  much  below  the  antique 
standard.87  Ultimately  Egyptian  art  is  debased  by  intermix- 
ture with  Greek,88  most  unpleasing  effects  being  produced  by  a 
barbarous  attempt  to  combine  two  styles  absolutely  and  essen- 
tially incongruous.  But  this  last  stage  of  decline  need  not 
occupy  us  here,  since  it  falls  beyond  the  time  whereto  the 
present  history  is  confined. 


EGYPTIAN    AKITHMETIC.  137 


CHAPTER  IX. 

SCIENCE, 

jSgyptiah  Science.  Arithmetic.  Geometry.  Astronomy— Observations  of 
Eclipses— Planetary  Occultations— Motions  and  Periods  of  the  Planets- 
Tables  of  the  Stars— Acquaintance  with  true  Solar  Year— General  Char- 
acter of  the  Astronomy.  Egyptian  Astrology.  Medicine.  Engineering. 
Science; 

Ilepl  AlyvnTov  ai  ju.a0Tj/u.aTi/cai  7rpwTov  te'xva.1  <rvvi(Jtt\aav. — ARISTOT.  Metaph.  i.  1. 

The  sciences  in  which  the  ancient  Egyptians  appear  to  have 
made  a  certain  amount  of  progress,  and  which  will  be  alone 
considered  in  the  present  sketch,  are  astronomy,  geometry, 
arithmetic,  medicine,  and  engineering.  The  bulk  of  the 
physical  sciences  are  of  recent  growth,  and  were  utterly  un- 
known, even  to  the  ancient  Greeks.  Morals,  metaphysics, 
logic,  and  political  science,  in  which  the  Greeks  made  consider- 
able advances,  were  either  unknown  to  the  Egyptians,  or  at 
any  rate  not  cultivated  by  them  in  a  scientific  manner. !  There 
remain  the  abstract  sciences  of  arithmetic  and  geometry, 
together  with  the  practical  ones  of  astronomy,  medicine,  and 
engineering,  with  respect  to  which  there  is  evidence  that  they 
engaged  the  attention  of  this  primitive  people,  and  were 
-elaborated  to  a  certain  extent,  though  very  different  opinions 
may  be  entertained  as  to  the  degree  of  perfection  which  was 
reached  in  them. 

Arithmetic  is  a  science  some  knowledge  of  which  must  of 
necessity  be  possessed  by  every  nation  that  is  not  wholly 
barbarous.  Savages  frequently  cannot  count,  or,  at  any  rate, 
not  beyond  some  low  number,  as  five,  six,  or  ten; 2  but  the 
needs  of  civilized  life,  of  buying  and  selling,  hiring  and  letting, 
even  of  knowing  the  extent  of  one's  possessions,  require  a 
familiarity  with  tolerably  high  figures,  and  the  power  of  per- 
forming certain  numerical  processes.  The  Egyptians  had  an 
arithmetical  notation  similar  to  that  of  the  Phoenicians,  the 
Etruscans,  and  the  Eomans,  whereby  distinct  signs  being 
attached  to  the  unit,  to  ten,  to  a  hundred,  a  thousand,  ten 
thousand,  etc.,  other  numbers  were  expressed  by  repetition 
of  these  characters.  Just  as  a  Koman  expressed  7,423  bv 
MMMMMMMOCCOXXIII,  so  an  Egyptian   rendered  it  by 

liin!''  an(^  sim^ar^y  with  other  numbers,  ex- 
cepting that  the  Egyptians  did  not  have  special  signs  for  five, 
fifty,  or  five  hundred,  like  the  Roman  V,  L,  and  D.  It  has  been 
-observed,3  and   it   is  undoubtedly   true,  that  "the  Egyptian 


138  HISTORY   OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 

method  must  have  been  very  inconvenient  for  calculation;"  but 
this  difficulty  was  in  practice  overcome,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  all  the  ordinary  operations  of  arithmetic  were  per- 
formed as  successfully  in  Egypt,  or  in  Rome,  as  among  our- 
selves. Numbers  were  dealt  with  readily  as  far  as  millions,4  and, 
no  doubt,  would  have  been  carried  further,  if  it  had  been  neces- 
sary for  practical  purposes.  Speculative  calculations  seem 
not  to  have  been  indulged  in,  or  at  any  rate  we  have  no  evi- 
dence that  they  were,  and  the  generally  practical  character  of 
the  Egyptian  mind  is  against  the  supposition.  In  this  they 
differed  from  the  Babylonians,  who  formed  tables  of  squares, 
not  for  any  immediate  practical  purpose,  but  as  arithmetical 
exercitations.5 

The  geometry  of  the  Egyptians  originated,  we  are  told/ 
from  the  peculiar  conditions  of  their  country,  which,  owing  to 
the  changes  produced  by  the  annual  inundation,  required  the 
constant  employment  of  land-surveying.  Accurate  land- 
surveying  involves  a  knowledge  of  trigonometry,  and  it  would 
seem  to  have  been  mainly  in  this  direction  that  the  Egyptians 
pushed  their  mathematical  inquiries.  Pythagoras,  who  studied 
mathematics  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,7  and  is  said  to  have 
"introduced  geometrical  problems  from  Egypt  into  Greece,"8 
was  especially  proud  of  his  demonstration  of  that  fundamental 
problem  of  trigonometry,  that  in  every  right-angled  triangle, 
the  squares  of  the  two  sides  containing  the  right  angle  equal 
the  square  of  the  hypothenuse,  or  side  subtending  the  right 
angle.9  It  is  not  absolutely  certain  that  the  Samian  philoso- 
pher learnt  the  demonstration  of  this  truth,  or  even  the  truth 
itself,  in  Egypt;  but  we  may  at  least  suspect  that  his  Egyptian 
studies  either  embraced,  or  at  any  rate  led  him  on  to  the  appre- 
hension of  the  truth,  which  was  clearly  not  known  to  the 
Greeks  before  his  day.  So,  too,  with  regard  to  the  scanty  re- 
mains which  have  come  down  to  us  of  Egyptian  geometry,  we 
are  told  that  the  problems  treated  of  belong  to  "plane  trigo- 
nometry," including  its  simple  necessary  elements,  and  going 
somewhat  beyond  them.10  How  far  beyond,  we  are  not  in- 
formed; but  modern  criticism  is  probably  right  in  questioning 
whether  any  very  considerable  advance  was  ever  made  by  the, 
native  Egyptians  beyond  mere  plane  trigonometry,  and  in  re^ 
garding  spherical  trigonometry  and  conic  sections  as  outside 
the  range  of  their  mathematical  science.11  It  is  quite  possible^ 
however,  that  their  geometry  had  a  development  of  a  different 
kind — that  it  "led  on  to  geography,"  and  the  formation  oi 
maps,12  the  first  employment  of  which  is  ascribed  by  sonn 
Greek  writers  to  the  Egyptians. 13 


ASTRONOMY — OBSERVATION    OF    ECLIPSES.  139 

The  early  direction  of  Egyptian  thought  to  the  subject  of 
astronomy  is  so  largely  attested  14  that  the  most  skeptical  of 
modern  historical  critics  does  not  attempt  to  deny  it.15  What 
is  questioned,  and  what  must  be  allowed  to  be,  to  a  considera- 
ble extent,  questionable,  is  the  degree  of  their  proficiency  in 
the  science — the  amount  of  astronomical  knowledge  to  which 
they  actually  attained  by  their  own  unassisted  efforts,  prior  to 
the  time  when  the  science  passed  from  their  hands  into  those 
of  the  Greeks.  It  seems  not  to  be  doubted  by  any  that  their 
attention  was  given  : — 1.  To  eclipses  of  the  sun  and  moon  ; 
2.  to  occupations  of  the  planets  ;  3.  to  the  motions  of  the 
planets  and  the  determination  of  their  periodic  and  synodic 
times  ;  4.  to  the  construction  of  tables  of  the  fixed  stars,  and 
the  mapping  them  out  into  constellations  ;  and  5.  to  the  set- 
tling of  the  exact  length  of  the  true  solar  year.16 

Eclipses  are  phenomena  which  naturally  attract  the  notice 
even  of  barbarous  and  ignorant  peoples,  by  whom  they  are 
generally  regarded  as  fearful  portents,  indicative  of  the  divine 
anger  and  of  coming  calamity.17  There  can  be  no  reasonable 
doubt  that  the  Egyptians  from  an  early  date  observed  eclipses, 
both  of  the  sun  and  moon,18  and  entered  their  occurrence  in 
the  books  wherein  all  important  events  were  registered  by 
them.19  Whether  they  knew  their  causes,  whether  they  reg- 
istered them  scientifically,  whether  they  could  to  any  extent 
predict  them,  are  matters  on  which  it  is  impossible  to  come  to 
definite  conclusions  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  or 
rather  of  our  ignorance.  It  has  been  conjectured  20  that  Pyth- 
agoras derived  from  Egypt  his  acquaintance21  with  the  fact 
that  the  sun  is  the  true  centre  of  the  planetary  system,  and 
the  earth  a  spherical  body  revolving  round  it — a  fact  which, 
when  known,  leads  on  naturally  to  true  conceptions  as  to  the 
nature  of  eclipses.  But  we  cannot  be  certain  that  the  knowl- 
edge, if  he  possessed  it,  reached  him  in  this  way.  Doubt  is 
thrown  on  the  scientific  character  of  the  Egyptian  registration 
by  the  circumstance  that  neither  Hipparchus  nor  Ptolemy, 
who  both  lived  in  Egypt,  availed  themselves,  so  far  as  appears, 
of  the  Egyptian  records  ; 22  nor  is  it  easy  to  see  how,  with  their 
loose  ideas  on  the  subject  of  chronology,23  Egyptian  savants 
could  assign  to  their  observations  such  definite  dates  as  might 
render  them  of  service  in  later  ages.  With  regard  to  predic- 
tion we  have  no  evidence  beyond  the  fact  that  Thales,  who 
studied  in  Egypt,24  is  said  to  have  on  one  occasion  predicted 
an  eclipse  of  the  sun  ; 25  but  here  again,  even  if  we  accept  the 
fact,  there  is  nothing  to  prove  that  the  advanced  knowledge  of 
the  Milesian  sage  was  the  result  of  his  Egyptian  studies.     It  is 


140  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

quite  conceivable  that  he  derived  it  from  Babylon,  where  the 
cycle  of  223  lunations  (or  eighteen  years  and  ten  days),  which 
is  sufficient  for  the  prediction  of  lunar,  and  to  some  extent  of 
solar  eclipses,  was  certainly  known.26 

That  occultations  of  the  planets  by  the  moon  were  carefully 
noted  by  the  Egyptians,  we  have  the  testimony  of  Aristotle, 
who,  after  describing  an  occultation  of  Mars  by  the  moon, 
i  proceeds  to  state  that  similar  occultations  of  other  stars  (i.  e. 
planets)  had  been  noted  by  the  Egyptians  and  Babylonians, 
who  had  observed  the  heavens  for  many  years  and  communi- 
cated to  the  Greeks  many  oral  reports  concerning  each  of  the 
stars.27  Such  occultations  are  of  primary  importance  for  the 
determination  of  astronomical  distances  ;  but,  in  order  to  be 
of  service,  they  must  be  carefully  timed  and  repeated  at  sev- 
eral distant  places.  It  is  not  quite  clear  that  the  Egyptians 
could  measure  time  very  accurately  : 28  and  though  the  priests 
at  the  various  seats  of  learning — Iieliopolis,  Thebes,  Memphis 
— would  in  all  probability  observe  the  phenomena  of  occulta- 
tions from  those  different  localities,  yet  we  do  not  hear  of  their 
comparing  notes  or  drawing  any  conclusions  from  recorded 
differences  in  their  observations.  Thus  the  knowledge  ob- 
tained was  scarcely  so  productive  as  we  might  have  expected 
it  to  be  ;  the  results  which  modern  science  derives  from  an  oc- 
cultation or  a  transit  were  not  attained,  nor  even  apprehended 
as  attainable  ;  probably,  the  bare  fact  of  the  occultation,  to- 
gether with  some  rough  note  of  its  time,  was  all  that  was  put 
on  record  ;  and  thus  not  even  was  material  of  much  value  for 
future  progress  accumulated. 

The  motions  of  the  planets,  which  were  somewhat  strangely 
neglected  by  the  earlier'  Greek  astronomers,29  attracted  atten- 
tion in  Egypt  from  very  primitive  times,  and  must  have  been 
studied  with  great  care,  since  conclusions  not  very  remote  from 
the  truth  were  arrived  at  concerning  them.  Eudoxus,  who  is 
expressly  stated  to  have  derived  his  knowledge  of  the  planetary 
movements  from  Egypt,30  laid  it  down  that  the  periodic  time 
of  Saturn,  or  the  period  in  which  that  planet  completes  his 
orbit,  was  thirty  years;  the  periodic  time  of  Jupiter,  twelve 
years  ;  that  of  Mars,  two  years  ;  that  of  Venus  and  of  Mercury, 
like  that  of  the  Earth,  one  year.31  The  real  times  are,  re- 
spectively : — 

Years.  Days.  Hours. 

Saturn 29  174  1 

Jupiter 11  315  14 

Mars     ,. 1  321  23 

Venus 234  16 

Mercury 87  28 


periodic  and  synodic  periods*  141 

So  that,  with  regard  to  three  out  of  the  five  planets  known  to 
the  ancients,  the  error  is  inconsiderable  ;  while  with  regard  to 
one  (Mercury)  the  error,  though  great,  may  readily  be  con- 
doned if  we  consider  the  nearness  of  Mercury  to  the  sun,  and 
the  consequent  difficulty  of  making  exact  observations  respect- 
ing it.  The  somewhat  large  error  observable  in  the  case  of 
Venus  is  curious,  and  not  readily  explicable.  Perhaps  Eu- 
doxus  only  meant  that  the  two  planets  nearest  the  sun  com- 
pleted their  orbits  within  the  space  of  one  year,  not  that  they 
took  the  full  year  to  complete  them.  It  is  noticeable  that  in 
laying  down  his  periodic  times,  Eudoxus  in  no  case  introduces 
any  fractions  of  years. 

It  is  otherwise  in  his  statement  of  the  "synodic  periods"  of 
the  planets,  or  the  times  of  their  periodic  conjunctions.  Here, 
once  more,  he  derives  his  knowledge  from  Egypt ; 32  and  the 
knowledge  is,  comparatively  speaking,  exact  and  accurate. 
The  periods  are  given  in  months  and  days.  The  synodic 
period  of  Mercury  is  110  days ;  of  Venus,  nineteen  months ; 
of  Mars,  eight  (twenty-five?)  months  and  twenty  days;  of 
Jupiter  and  Saturn,  almost  exactly  thirteen  months.33  If  the 
emendation  proposed  M  in  the  case  of  Mars  be  accepted,  these 
numbers  give  a  very  close  approximation  to  the  true  times,  as 
will  be  seen  by  the  subjoined  table  : — 

Eudoxus'  time.     True  time.    Excess.    Defect. 


Saturn     . 

390  days 

378  days 

2 

Jupiter    . 

390     " 

399     " 

— 

3 

T3~u 

Mars 

770     " 

780     " 

— 

l 

T7 

Venus 

570     " 

584     " 

— 

7 

Mercury  . 

110     " 

116     " 

— 

8 
~5Z 

The  error  is  in  no  case  so  much  as  one-eighteenth,  and  in  one 
case  (if  the  proposed  reading  be  right)  is  as  little  as  one- sev- 
enty-seventh. 

The  Scholiast  upon  Aratus  tells  us  that  the  Greeks  derived 
their  tables  of  the  fixed  stars  from  the  Egyptians  and  Chal- 
deans.35 The  distribution  or  grouping  of  the  stars  was  the 
subject  of  one  of  the  astronomical  books  assigned  to  Thoth  or 
HertiiSe,  and  required  to  be  learnt  by  the  horoscopus,36  a  priest 
of  high  rank  in  Egypt.  This  grouping,  of  course,  included 
an  arrangement  of  the  constellations  through  which  the  sun 
travels ;  out  the  Egyptian  arrangement  did  not  correspond 
with  that  of  the  ordinary  "signs  of  the  Zodiac,"  which  the 
Greeks  (apparently)  derived  from  the  Babylonians,37  and  which 
the  later  Egyptians  borrowed  from  the  Greeks.38  It  is  said 
indeed  to  have  been,  like  that,  duodecimal;39  but  the  names> 


142  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

of  the  groups,  and  probably  the  groups  themselves,  were,  *\i 
any  rate  for  the  most  part,40  different.  Hence  there  is  mucn 
difficulty  in  interpreting  the  older  astronomical  monuments  of 
Egypt,  it  being  seldom  possible  to  identify  the  stars  men- 
tioned under  their  obscure  and  strange  nomenclature.41 

The  ordinary  Egyptian  year  consisted,  like  our  own  ordi- 
nary year,  of  365  days,  but  was  divided  differently.  It  con- 
tained twelve  months,  each  of  thirty  clays  ;  after  the  expiration 
of  which,  at  the  close  of  the  year,  five  days  were  interca- 
lated.4'2 All  ordinary  reckoning  was  by  this  year  ;  and  even 
the  festivals  followed  it,  with  the  result  that  in  the  course  of 
time  they  circled  round  the  entire  range  of  the  seasons,  the 
festival  which  was  properly  a  summer  one  becoming  in  turn 
a  spring  festival,  a  winter,  and  an  autumn  one.43  This  effect 
followed  from  the  omission  from  the  calendar  of  the  quarter- 
day  by  which  the  true  solar  year  is  in  excess  of  365  days,  or  of 
any  compensation  for  it,  such  as  is  furnished  by  the  extra  day 
of  our  "leap-years."  Still,  this  excess  appears  to  have  been 
known  to  the  Egyptians,  whose  "Sothiac  Cycle"  was  founded 
upon  it.  This  was  a  period  of  1,461  vague,  or  1,460  true 
years,  which  was  certainly  recognized  by  the  later  Egyptians,44 
and  is  believed  to  be  indicated  by  monuments  of  the  Phara- 
onic  time.45  It  was  called  by  the  Egyptians  Sothiac,  because 
they  fixed  its  commencement  at  a  date  when  the  Dog  Star, 
which  they  called  Sothis,  rose  heliacally,  on  the  first  day  of 
the  month  Thoth,  which  was  the  beginning  of  their  year. 
Now  Sirius  rose  heliacally  in  Egypt,  on  the  first  of  Tliotli,  in 
the  years  B.C.  2782  and  1322,  and  again  in  A.D.  138.  This 
last-named  year  was  certainly  known  to  the  Egyptians  as  the 
first  of  a  Sothiac  cycle  ;  46rthe  year  B.C.  1322  was  probably  so 
known  ;47  concerning  the  year  B.C.  2782  we  have  no  evidence. 
On  the  whole,  however,  there  would  seem  to  be  grounds  for 
believing  that  the  Sothiac  period  was  known  and  used  even 
anterior  to  the  time  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  and  therefore 
that  the  Egyptians  had  from  a  remote  antiquity  advanced  so 
far  on  the  road  to  accuracy  and  exactness  as  to  fix  the  solar 
year,  not  at  365,  but  at  365}  days.  They  do  not  appear,  on 
the  other  hand,  to  have  been  aware  that  that  estimate  is  in 
excess,  or  to  have  made  any  arrangements  for  neutralizing  the 
error  such  as  are  carefully  provided  by  the  Gregorian  calendar 
now  in  general  use. 

The  Egyptians  also  knew  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic  to  the 
equator,48  and  found  a  way  of  determining  an  exact  meridian 
line.49  It  has  been  supposed  that  they  were  acquainted  with 
the  precession  of  the  equinoxes;50  but  the  grounds  for  this 


MEDICAL    SCIENCE.  143 

opinion  are  insufficient.  Their  astronomy  must  thus  be  pro- 
nounced on  the  whole  not  very  advanced,  and  rather  empiri- 
cal than  scientific,  rather  practical  than  speculative.  Brugsch 
well  says  of  it  :  "Astronomy  with  the  Egyptians  was  not 
that  mathematical  science  which  calculates  the  movements  of 
the  stars  through  the  construction  of  grand  systems  of  the 
heavens.  It  was  rather  a  collection  of  the  observations  which 
they  had  made  on  the  periodically  recurring  phenomena  of 
earth  and  sky  in  Egypt,  the  bearings  of  which  upon  each 
other  could  not  long  escape  the  notice  of  the  priests,  who  in 
the  clear  Egyptian  nights  observed  the  brilliant  luminaries  of 
their  firmament.  Their  astronomical  knowledge  was  founded 
on  the  base  of  empiricism,  not  on  that  of  mathematical 
inquiry."  51 

The  astronomy  of  the  Egyptians  seems  to  have  been  less 
tainted  with  astrology  than  that  of  most  ancient  nations.  In 
their  calendar,  certain  days  were  reckoned  as  lucky  and  others 
as  unlucky  in  connection  with  stellar  influences  ; 52  and  horo- 
scopes were  occasionally  cast  for  individuals  from  the  general 
aspect  of  the  stars  at  their  birth,53  or  from  the  supposed  influ- 
ence of  certain  ruling  constellations.54  But  astrology  did  not 
hold  in  Egypt  the  place  that  it  held  in  Babylonia.  If  not 
altogether  "an  exotic  in  the  country,"  55  it  was  at  any  rate  of 
no  great  account ;  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  extant 
literature  bears  upon  it  ;56  and  the  references  made  to  its  em- 
ployment by  the  Egyptians  in  the  works  of  the  classical 
writers  are  few  and  scanty.57 

In  medicine,  the  Egyptians  were  regarded  by  their  contem- 
poraries as  remarkably  advanced  ;58  and  it  seems  to  be  certain 
that  they  had  studied  the  subject  from  a  remote  period.  The 
composition  of  medical  works  was  assigned  by  tradition  to 
more  than  one  of  the  most  ancient  kings,59  while  by  some 
these  antique  productions  were  regarded  as  composed  by  one 
of  the  native  deities.60  All  physicians  were  expected  to  study 
them  ;  and  were  required  to  employ  the  prescribed  remedies, 
and  in  no  case  to  resort  to  others,  unless  the  regularly  author- 
ized prescriptions  proved  unavailing.  Any  transgression  of 
this  rule  of  practice,  if  followed  by  the  death  of  the  patient, 
was  a  capital  offence.31  It  is  evident  that,  under  such  a  system, 
while  rash  experiments  would  almost  certainly  be  prevented, 
the  progress  and  improvement  of  the  healing  art  would  suffer 
no  inconsiderable  hindrance.  Still,  medical  knowledge  seems 
to  have,  notwithstanding,  progressed.  Homer  praised  the 
skill  of  the  Egyptian  physicians;62  and  no  sooner  did  the 
Persian  kings  become  masters  of  Western  Asia  than  they  had 


144  HISTOKY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

recourse  to  Egypt  for  their  medical  advisers.63  If  it  be  true 
that  post-mortem  examinations  were  allowed,  and  indeed  com- 
manded by  royal  authority,64  we  can  understand  that  advances 
would  be  made  in  Egypt,  since  elsewhere  there  was  generally 
a  prejudice  against  the  dissection  of  the  human  subject.  It 
is  clear  also  that  the  subdivision  of  the  medical  profession, 
which  prevailed  among  the  Egyptians,65  must  have  had  a  ten- 
dency, in  some  respects,  to  advance  medical  knowledge  by 
specializing  it.  On  the  other  hand,  such  information  as  has 
reached  us  of  the  treatment  actually  employed  is  not  of  a  nature 
to  raise  our  estimate  of  the  proficiency  attained.  The  monthly 
use  of  emetics  and  clysters  for  the  purpose  of  purging  the 
body  of  its  ill  humors;66  though  analogous  to  a  practice  widely 
current  in  Western  Europe  a  hundred  years  ago,  is  scarcely 
one  in  accordance  with  modern  notions  of  hygiene.  The  pre- 
scriptions of  the  medical  treatises,  so  far  as  they  have  been 
deciphered  and  translated,  are  absurd,  and  their  physiological 
views  seem  to  be  purely  imaginary  and  fantastic.67  On  the 
whole,  while  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  science  of  med- 
icine was  better  understood  in  Egypt  than  in  any  other  coun- 
try during  the  period  with  which  we  are  concerned  in  this 
history,  the  positive  knowledge  possessed  must  be  pronounced 
to  have  been  not  very  considerable. 

In  one  respect,  and  in  one  only,  do  the  scientific  attainments 
of  the  Egyptians  seem  to  have  been  really  great  and  surprising. 
Their  engineering  science  is  certainly  most  remarkable  ;  and, 
though  it  has  perhaps  been,  like  their  sculpture,  over-praised,68 
yet  beyond  dispute  there  is  much  in  it  that  is  truly  deserving 
of  our  warm  admiration.  r  In  their  cutting  of  hard  materials, 
in  their  finished  polish  of  surfaces,  in  their  exact  production 
of  whatever  angle  they  required,  in  their  perfect  fitting  of 
stone  to  stone,  and  again  in  their  power  of  quarrying,  trans- 
porting, and  raising  into  place  enormous  masses,  this  ancient 
people  was,  and  still  is,  unsurpassed.  In  stone-cutting  the 
results  attained  are  with  reason  declared  to  equal  those  which 
are  effected  at  the  present  day  by  the  aid  of  gunpowder  and  of 
steam  machinery  in  the  quarries  of  Aberdeen.69  In  mechani- 
cal skill  their  great  works  are  as  perfect  as  anything  that  has 
ever  been  produced  since.70  In  massiveness  of  construction 
they  far  exceed  all  that  any  other  nation  has  ever  attempted. 
The  engineering  student  is  naturally  lost  in  admiration  when 
he  contemplates  the  huge  masses  so  prodigally  employed  by 
the  Egyptians  in  their  temples,  their  palaces,  and  their  tombs 
— blocks  of  stone  thirty  or  forty  feet  long,  used  in  walls  or  for 
the  lintels  of  doors — obelisks  weighing  from  200  to  450  tons, 


ENGINEERING    SCIENCE.  145 

each  a  wonder  to  the  Western  world,  but  in  Egypt  a  common 
ornamentation,  sometimes  set  up  in  avenues — monolithic 
chambers  and  colossi  weighing  800  tons71 — and  all  apparently 
moved  with  ease  to  the  point  required,  as  though  there  were 
no  mechanical  difficulties  whatsoever  in  the  transportation. 
At  the  first  blush,  one  is  apt  to  suppose  that  practical  me- 
chanics must  have  been  profoundly  studied  and  pushed  to 
great  perfection  by  a  people  which  could  with  such  apparent 
ease  produce  such  an  enormous  number  of  colossal  works. 
But  such  accounts  as  we  obtain  from  the  classical  writers  of 
the  manner  in  which  their  grandest  achievements  were  ef- 
fected, and  such  representations  as  they  have  themselves  left 
us  of  their  methods  of  proceeding,  are  calculated  to  dispel 
these  ideas,  and  to  lower  very  considerably  our  estimate  of 
their  mechanical  science.  The  transportation  of  the  hugest 
colossi  was  effected  by  the  simple  plan  of  attaching  ropes  to 
them  in  front  and  dragging  the  enormous  mass  by  main  force 
from  the  quarry  where  it  was  hewn  to  the  place  where  it  was 
intended  to  set  it  up.72  Human  muscular  power  was  the  mo- 
tive force  used  ;  and  scarcely  any  mechanical  art  or  expedients 
were  employed  to  facilitate  the  operation.  No  levers  were 
made  use  of,  so  far  as  appears,  no  rollers.73  Beyond  the  round- 
ing off  in  front  of  the  sledge  whereon  the  colossus  was  placed, 
and  the  lubricating  of  the  ground  over  which  it  had  to  be 
dragged  by  some  oily  substance,  no  ingenious  contrivance  was 
had  recourse  to.  Sheer  strength  accomplished  the  object  aimed 
at,  which  must  have  been  achieved  slowly,74  painfully,  and  with 
much  waste  of  power.  It  is  difficult  to  persuade  oneself  that 
horrible  accidents  did  not  occur  with  some  frequency,  when 
blocks  of  such  an  enormous  size  and  weight  were  moved  long 
distances  by  large  gangs  of  human  laborers.75 

The  raising  into  place  of  obelisks,  lintels  of  doors,  and 
roofing  blocks,  such  as  those  which  cover  in  the  sepulchral 
chamber  of  the  Great  Pyramid,76  must  have  called  into  play 
some  larger  amount  of  mechanical  art,  and  can  scarcely  have 
been  managed  without  machines.  It  is  certainly  curious  that 
machines  are  nowhere  represented  in  the  Egyptian  sculptures;  " 
but  Herodotus  tells  us  that  they  were  really  employed  in  the 
•construction  of  the  pyramids,78  and  modern  observation  con- 
firms his  statement.79  The  machines  may  have  been  simple, 
or  they  may  have  been  complex.  As  we  have  no  representa- 
tions or  descriptions  of  them,  it  is  impossible  to  determine 
their  character.  But  at  any  rate  they  were  such  that  works, 
difficult  of  execution  even  at  the  present  day,  were  accom- 
plished by  them.     Obelisks  of  the  largest  size  were  emplaced 


146  HISTORY   OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 

upon  their  pedestals  successfully  ;  pyramids  were  built  up  to 
the  height  of  nearly  500  feet ;  temples  were  roofed  in  with 
huge  masses  of  limestone  or  granite.  Whatever  were  the 
means  employed,  the  ends  were  most  certainly  effected  ;  and 
the  lower  the  opinion  which  we  form  of  the  mechanical  appli- 
ances in  use,  the  higher  must  be  our  admiration  of  the  skill 
which,  with  such  poor  means,  produced  such  vast  results. 


CHAPTEK  X. 

RELIGION. 

Large  share  occupied  by  Religion  in  the  Life  of  the  Nation— Esoteric  and 
Exoteric  Systems.  Nature  of  the  Esoteric  Religion.  Opinions  concerning 
God,  concerning  Evil,  and  concerning  the  Soul.  Exoteric  Religion.  Local 
origin  of  the  Polytheism.  Egyptian  Pantheon— Amnion— Kneph — Khem 
— Phthah— Maut— Sati— Neith— the  Sun-Gods,  Ra, Osiris,  etc.  Osirid  Myths. 
Minor  Deities— Athor,  Isis,  Khons,  Thoth,  etc.  Powers  of  Evil,  Set,  Nubi, 
Taouris,  Bes,  Apap.  Genii,  Anubis,  Amset,  Hapi,  etc.  Orders  of  Gods. 
Triads.  Character  of  the  Worship— Prayers,  Hymns,  Sacrifices.  Animal 
Worship.  Apis,  Mnevis,  and  Bacis  Bulls— Momemphite  Cow.  Origin  of 
the  Animal  Worship.  Outward  Aspect  of  the  Religion — Festivals,  Proces- 
sions, and  Worship  of  Ancestors.    The  Mysteries. 

"  Toute  en  Egypte  portait  Vempriente  de  la  Religion. "— Lenormant,  "Manuel 
d'Histoire  Ancienne  de  1'Orient,"  vol.  i.  p.  521. 

The  most  important  element  in  the  thought  of  a  nation,  that 
which  beyond  aught  else  forms  and  influences  its  charac- 
ter, which  underlies  allrits  customs,  and  comes  to  the  surface 
in  ten  thousand  various  and  surprising  ways,  is  its  Religion. 
The  Egyptians  were  profoundly  religious.  What  most  struck 
Herodotus,  when,  in  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  before  our 
era,  he  visited  the  country,  was  the  extreme  devotion  of  its  in- 
habitants. "The  Egyptians,"  he  says,1  "are  religious  to  ex- 
cess, far  beyond  any  other  race  of  men  ;  "  and,  accordingly,  the 
greater  portion  of  his  description  of  Egypt  is  occupied  with  an 
account  of  the  priests,  the  temples,  and  the  religious  ceremonies.3 
We  have  seen  that,  in  the  architectural  remains,  the  Temple 
dominates  over  the  Palace,  and  is  itself  dominated  by  the 
Tomb,3  both  the  Temple  and  the  Tomb  being  the  expression 
of  religious  ideas.  Everywhere  in  Egypt  gigantic  structures 
upreared  themselves  into  the  air,  enriched  with  all  that  Egyp- 
tian art  could  supply  of  painted  and  sculptured  decoration, 
dedicated  to  the  honor,  and  bearing  the  sacred  name,  of  some 
divinity.     The  great  temple  of  each  city  was  the  centre  of  its 


Date  XXXIV. 


Vol.  I. 


Fig.  84.— Bust  of  an  Egyptian 
King.— See  Page  125. 


Fig.  85.-2.  Egyptian  sitting  Statue.— Page  134. 


Fig  87,-1.  Egyptian  Walking     Fte 
Statue.— Sec  ¥z.Le  t.o. 


c\n*>r*>  n?»  two  Statues,  Husband  Ajfis 
VCtito.— See  Page  125. 


VoLL 


Plate  XXXV. 


Fig.  88.— Egyptian  Figures  of  Phthah  and  Bes.— See  Page  126. 


Fig.  89.— Modelled  Figures  of  Animal?.— See  Page  126. 


RELIGION    AMONG    THE    EGYPTIANS.  147 

life.  A  perpetual  ceremonial  of  the  richest  kind  went  on 
within  its  walls,  along  its  shady  corridors  or  through  its  sun-lit 
courts — long  processions  made  their  way  up  or  down  its  avenues 
of  sphinxes — incense  floated  in  the  air — strains  of  music  re- 
sounded without  pause — all  that  was  brightest  and  most  costly 
met  the  eye  on  every  side — and  the  love  of  spectacle,  if  not 
deep  religious  feeling,  naturally  drew  to  the  sanctuary  a  con- 
tinual crowd  of  worshippers  or  spectators,  consisting  partly  of 
strangers,  but  mainly  of  the  native  inhabitants,  to  whom  the 
ceremonies  of  their  own  dear  temple,  their  pride  and  their  joy, 
furnished  a  perpetual  delightful  entertainment.4  At  times  the 
temple  limits  were  overpassed,  and  the  sacred  processions  were 
earried  through  the  streets  of  the  town,  attracting  the  gaze  of 
all ;  or,  embarking  on  the  waters  of  the  Nile  or  of  some  canal 
derived  from  it,  glided  with  stately  motion  between  the  houses 
on  either  side,  a  fairer  and  brighter  sight  than  ever.5  The 
calendar  was  crowded  with  festivals,  and  a  week  rarely  passed 
without  the  performance  of  some  special  ceremony,  possessing 
its  own  peculiar  attractions.  Foreigners  saw  with  amaze  the 
constant  round  of  religious  or  semi-religious  ceremonies,  which 
seemed  to  know  no  end,  and  to  occupy  almost  incessantly  the 
main  attention  of  the  people. 

Nor  was  the  large  share  which  religion  had  in  the  outer  life 
of  the  nation  the  sole  or  the  most  important  indication  of  the 
place  which  it  held  in  their  thoughts  and  regards.  Religion 
permeated  the  whole  being  of  the  people.  "  Writing  was  so 
full  of  sacred  symbols  and  of  allusions  to  the  mythology  that 
it  was  scarcely  possible  to  employ  it  on  any  subject  which  lay 
outside  the  religion.  Literature  and  science  were  little  more 
than  branches  of  theology.  The  arts  were  scarcely  employed 
for  any  other  purpose  than  with  a  view  to  worship,  and  for 
the  glorification  of  some  god  or  of  some  deified  monarch. 
Religious  laws  and  precepts  were  so  numeroup.  so  multiplied, 
that  it  was  impossible  to  exercise  a  profession,  or  even  to  ob- 
tain subsistence  and  provide  for  one's  daily  wants,  without 
having  constantly  present  to  the  memory  the  regulations  estab- 
lished by  the  priests.-  Every  province  had  its  special  divinities, 
its  own  peculiar  rites,  its  special  sacred  animals.  It  even 
seems  as  if  the  sacerdotal  element  had  presided  at  the  original 
distribution  of  the  country  into  nomes  or  cantons,  and  that 
these  were,  at  the  outset,  not  civil,  but  religious  divisions."6 

To  understand  the  Egyptians,  it  is  thus  absolutely  necessary 
to  have  something  like  a  clear  idea  of  their  religion.  The 
subject  is,  no  doubt,  one  of  great  complexity  and  considerable 
obscurity  ;  the  views  of  the  best  authorities  with  respect  to  it 


148  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT     EGYPT. 

still  differ  to  no  small  extent  ;7  but  a  certain  number  of  char- 
acteristic features,  belonging  to  the  inner  life,  seem  to  lm\e 
obtained  general  recognition  while  there  is  a  still  more  com- 
plete agreement  as  to  the  outward  presentation  of  the  religion 
in  the  habits  and  actions  of  the  people.  In  the  present 
sketch,  mere  speculation  will  be,  as  far  as  possible,  avoided  ; 
and  only  those  conclusions  set  forth  with  regard  to  which  there 
is  something  like  a  general  accord  among  the  persons  best 
acquainted  with  the  Egyptian  remains,  whether  sculptured  or 
literary. 

First,  then,  it  appears  to  be  certain  that  the  Egyptian  re- 
ligion, like  most  other  religions  in  the  ancient  world,  had  two 
phases  or  aspects  : 8  one,  that  in  which  it  was  presented  to  the 
general  public  or  vast  mass  of  the  population  ;  the  other,  that 
which  it  bore  in  the  minds  of  the  intelligent,  the  learned,  the 
initiated.  To  the  former  it  was  a  polytheism  of  a  multitudi- 
nous, and  in  many  respects  of  a  gross,  character  :  to  the  latter 
it  was  a  system  combining  strict  monotheism  with  a  meta- 
physical speculative  philosophy  on  the  two  great  subjects  of 
the  nature  of  God  and  the  destiny  of  man,  which  sought  to 
exhaust  those  deep  and  unfathomable  mysteries.  Those  who 
take  the  lowest  views  of  the  Egyptian  religion  9  admit  that 
"the  idea  of  a  single  self-existent  deity,"  was  involved  in  the 
conceptions  which  it  set  forth,10  and  is  to  be  found  not  unfre- 
quently  in  the  hymns  and  prayers  of  the  Ritual.11  It  is  im- 
possible that  this  should  have  been  so,  unless  there  w7ere  a 
class  of  persons  who  saw  behind  the  popular  mythology, 
understood  its  symbolical  or  metaphysical  character,  and  were 
able  in  this  way  to  reconcile  their  conformity  to  the  established 
worship  with  the  great  truths  of  natural  religion  which,  it  is 
clear,  they  knew  and  which  they  must  have  cherished  in  their 
heart  of  hearts. 

The  primary  doctrine  of  the  esoteric  religion  undoubtedly 
was  the  real  essential  Unity  of  the  Divine  Nature.  The  sacred 
texts  taught  that  there  was  a  single  Being,  "the  sole  producer 
of  all  things  both  in  heaven  and  earth,  Himself  not  produced 
of  any" — "the  only  true  living  God,  self-originated" — "who 
exists  from  the  beginning" — "who  has  made  all  things,  but 
has  not  Himself  been  made."  12  This  Being  seems  never  to 
have  been  represented  by  any  material,  even  symbolical,  form.13 
It  is  thought  that  He  had  no  name,  or,  if  He  had,  that  it  must 
have  been  unlawful  either  to  pronounce  or  write  it.14  He  was 
a  pure  spirit,  perfect  in  every  respect — all-wise,  almighty,  su- 
premely good. 

The  gods  of  the  popular  mythology  were  understood,  in  the 


EXOTERIC    AND    ESOTERIC    SYSTEMS.  149 

esoteric  religion,  to  be  either  personified  attributes  of  the 
Deity,  or  parts  of  the  nature  which  He  had  created,  considered 
as  informed  and  inspired  by  Him.  Num  or  Kneph  repre- 
sented the  creative  mind,  Phthah  the  creative  hand,  or  act  of 
creating  ;  Maut  represented  matter,  Ra  the  sun,  Khons  the 
moon,  Seb  the  earth,  Khem  the  generative  power  in  nature, 
Nut  the  upper  hemisphere  of  heaven,  Athor  the  lower  world 
or  under  hemisphere. ;  Thoth  personified  the  Divine  wisdom  ; 
Amnion,  perhaps,  the  Divine  mysteriousness  or  incomprehen- 
sibility ;  Osiris  (according  to  some)  the  Divine  goodness.  It  is 
difficult  in  many  cases  to  fix  on  the  exact"  quality,  act,  or  part 
of  nature  intended  ;  but  the  principle  admits  of  no  doubt. 
No  educated  Egyptian  priest  certainly,  probably  no  educated 
layman,  conceived  of  the  popular  gods  as  really  separate  and 
distinct  beings.  All  knew  that  there  was  but  one  God,  and 
understood  that  when  worship  was  offered  to  Khem,  or  Kneph, 
or  Phthah,  or  Maut,  or  Thoth,  or  Ammon,  the  One  God  was 
worshipped  under  some  one  of  His  forms  or  in  some  one  of  His 
aspects.  It  does  not  appear  that  in  more  than  a  very  few 
cases  did  the  Egyptian  religion,  as  conceived  of  by  the  initi- 
ated, deify  created  beings,  or  constitute  a  class  of  secondary 
gods  who  owed  their  existence  to  the  supreme  God.  Ra  was 
not  a  San-Deity  with  a  distinct  and  separate  existence,  but  the 
supreme  God  acting  in  the  sun,  making  his  light  to  shine  on 
the  earth,  warming,  cheering,  and  blessing  it  ;  and  so  Ra  might 
be  worshipped  with  all  the  highest  titles  of  honor,15  as  indeed 
might  any  god,16  except  the  very  few  which  are  more  properly 
called  genii,  and  which  corresponded  to  the  angels  of  the 
Christian  system.  Such  is  Anubis,  the  conductor  of  souls  in 
the  lower  world,17  and  such  probably  are  the  four  "genii  of  the 
dead,"  Amset,  Tuamutef,  Hapi  (Apis),  and  Kebhsnauf,  who 
perform  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  the  ceremonial  of  Amenti.18 

It  is  difficult  to  decide  what  were  the  esoteric  views  of  the 
Egyptians  with  regard  to  Evil.  Several  deities,  as  Set  or 
Sutech,  Nubi,  or  (as  Wilkinson  reads  the  name)  Ombo,19  and 
Apepi  or  Apophis,  the  great  serpent,  seem  to  be  personifi- 
cations of  evil ;  and  the  strongest  antagonism  is  represented 
as  existing  between  these  and  the  favorite  divinities  of  the 
Egyptians,  as  Ammori,  Khem,  Phthah,  Ra,  Osiris  ;  but 
whether,  as  among  the  Persians,'20  two  original  Principles,  one 
of  Good,  and  the  other  of  Evil,  were  intended,  or  whether 
Evil  was  viewed  as  "a  necessary  part  of  the  universal  system, 
inherent  in  all  things  equally  with  good,"21  and  so  as  one  aspect 
of  the  Divine  nature,  is  to  some  extent  doubtful.  It  is  hard 
to  believe  that,  if  the  pantheistic  notion,  by  which  Sin  and 


150  HISTORY   OF   ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

Evil  generally  are  considered  to  be  equally  of  the  essence  of 
God  with  goodness,  had  been  the  real  belief  of  the  Egyptian 
priesthood,  their  protests  in  favor  of  virtue  and  against  vice 
of  all  kinds  could  have  been  so  strong  and  earnest  as  they 
are.22  It  is  also  difficult  to  imagine  that  the  priests  would 
have  allowed  the  general  obliteration  of  the  monumental  em- 
blems of  Set,  which  is  noticed  by  Egyptologists,23  if  they  had 
Viewed  him  as  really  an  aspect  of  the  Supreme  Being.  Per- 
haps the  Egyptian  priests  at  no  time  thought  out  the  problem 
of  the  origin  and  nature  of  evil,  but  were  content  with  indis- 
tinct and  hazy  notions  upon  the  subject.  Perhaps  their  views 
varied  at  different  times,  inclining  during  the  earlier  ages  to 
the  pantheistic  doctrine,  in  the  later  to  the  Persian  tenet  of 
Two  Principles.24 

The  continuance  of  the  soul  after  death,  its  judgment  in 
another  world,  and  its  sentence  according  to  its  deserts,  either 
to  happiness  or  suffering,  were  undoubted  parts  both  of  the 
popujar  and  of  the  more  recondite  religion.  It  was  the  uni- 
versal belief  that,  immediately  after  death,  the  soul  descended 
into  the  lower  world  and  was  conducted  to  the  Hall  of  Truth 
(or  "of  the  Two  Truths"),29  where  it  was  judged  in  the  pres- 
ence of  Osiris  and  the  forty-two  doemones,  the  "Lords  of 
Truth"  and  judges  of  the  dead.  Anubis,  "the  director  of 
the  weight,"  26  brought  forth  a  pair  of  scales,  and,  placing  in 
one  scale  a  figure  or  emblem  of  Truth,  set  in  the  other  a  vase 
containing  the  good  actions  of  the  deceased,  Thoth  standing 
by  the  while,  with  a  tablet  in  his  hand,  whereon  to  record  the 
result.27  According  to  the  side  on  which  the  balance  inclined, 
Osiris  delivered  sentencer  If  the  good  deeds  prepon derated, 
the  blessed  soul  was  allowed  to  enter  the  "boat  of  the  sun,"  28 
and  was  conducted  by  good  spirits  to  Aahlu  (Elysium),  to  the 
"pools  of  peace,"  29  and  the  dwelling-place  of  Osiris.  If,  on 
the  contrary,  the  good  deeds  were  insufficient,  if  the  ordeal 
was  not  passed,  then  the  unhappy  soul  was  sentenced,  accord- 
ing to  its  deserts,  to  begin  a  round  of  transmigrations  in  the 
bodies  of  more  or  less  unclean  animals  ;30  the  number,  nature, 
and  duration  of  the  transmigrations  depending  on  the  degree 
of  the  deceased's  demerits,  and  the  consequent  length  and 
severity  of  the  punishment  which  he  deserved,  or  the  purifi- 
cation which  he  required.  Ultimately,  after  many  trials,  if 
purity  was  not  attained,  the  wicked  soul  underwent  a  final 
sentence  at  the  hands  of  Osiris,  Judge  of  the  Dead,  and,  being 
pronounced  incurable,  suffered  complete  and  absolute  annihi- 
lation.31 The  good  soul,  having  first  been  freed  from  its  in- 
firmities by  passing    through    the    ba.sin  of  purgatorial  fire 


ATTRIBUTES    OF    GODS    LOCAL.  151 

guarded  by  the  four  ape-faced  genii,32  and  then  made  the  com- 
panion of  Osirisfor  3,000  years,  returned  from  Amenti,  re-en- 
tered its  former  body,  rose  from  the  dead,  and  lived  once  more 
a  human  life  upon  earth.  This  process  was  reiterated  until 
a  certain  mystic  cycle  of  years  became  complete,  when  finally 
the  good  and  blessed  attained  the  crowning  joy  of  union 
with  God,  being  absorbed  into  the  Divine  Essence,  and 
thus  attaining  the  true  end  and  full  perfection  of  their 
being.33 

Such,  in  outline,  was  the  general  belief  of  educated  Egyp- 
tians upon  the  highest  subjects  of  human  thought — the  nature 
of  God,  and  the  ultimate  destiny  of  man.  On  minor  points 
varieties  of  opinion  no  doubt  existed  at  different  times  and  in 
different  parts  of  the  country.  More  especially  was  there  di- 
versity in  the  arrangements  which  were  made  of  the  Divine 
attributes  and  aspects  into  groups,  and  the  subordination  of 
some  of  those  groups  to  others,  arrangements  which  became 
the  basis  of  the  well-known  disposition  of  the  popular  gods 
into  "orders,"  forming  a  sort  of  divine  hierarchy.34  It  would 
seem  that  the  selection  of  attributes  and  aspects  made  by  the 
Egyptians  was  not  the  result  of  exact  thought  or  of  philo- 
sophic analysis,  but  was  casual  and  partial.  The  priests  of 
one  district  made  one  selection,  of  another  another.  Even 
where  the  same  selection  was  made,  different  names  were 
given.  The  attributes  noticed,  and  separated  off,  increased 
in  number  as  time  went  on  ,  and  it  was  not  until  a  compara- 
tively late  period  that  graduation  and  arrangement  were  at- 
tempted. Then,  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  different 
views  were  taken.  There  must  always  be  much  that  is  arbi- 
trary in  distinctions  between  the  primary  and  secondary  quali- 
ties of  any  existence.  When  the  existence  is  the  mysterious 
and  inscrutable  Author  of  Nature,  the  arbitrariness  is  apt  to 
be  excessive.  Hence  the  remarkable  diversity  of  the  Egyp- 
tian groupings,  the  details  of  which  will  be  given  in  a  later 
portion  of  this  chapter. 

It  has  been  supposed  by  some  that  the  Egyptian  esoteric  re- 
ligion comprised  a  recognition  of  the  fact,  first  made  known  to 
mankind  distinctly  by  Christianity,  that  the  Divine  nature  is 
a  Trinity  in  Unity.  In  the  seventeenth  century  Cud  worth 
strongly  supported  this  view;35  and  in  modern  times  it  has 
been  favored  by  some  of  those  avIio  are  opposed  to  the  doctrine 
and  desirous  of  tracing  it  to  a  merely  human  origin.  But  the 
grounds  upon  which  Cud  worth  rested  his  belief  were  long  ago 
examined  and  refuted  by  Mosheim,36  who  showed,  in  the  first 
place,  that  the  authority  on  whom  the  English  divine  relied 


152  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

was  untrustworthy,  and,  in  the  second,  that  he  did  not  make 
the  assertion  which  was  ascribed  to  him.  Modern  investiga- 
tion of  the  religious  books  and  inscriptions  of  Egypt  confirms 
the  view  of  Mosheim  ;  for,  though  in  the  local  worships  of  the 
country  "triads"  were  very  numerous,  there  is  not  the  slightest 
indication  of  the  Egyptians  having  possessed  any  such  conception 
as  that  of  a  Trinity  in  Unity.  The  Supreme  Being  was  viewed  as 
in  his  essence  absolutely  One,  and,  when  divided  up,  was  divided 
not  into  three,  but  into  a  multitude  of  aspects.  The  "triads  "  are 
not  groups  of  persons,  but  of  attributes  ;  the  Three  are  not  co- 
equal, but  distinctly  the  reverse,  the  third  in  the  triad  being 
always  subordinate  ;  nor  is  the  division  regarded  as  in  any  case 
exhaustive  of  the  Divine  nature,  or  exclusive  of  other  divisions. 
The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  is  thus  in  no  sense  an  Egyptian 
doctrine  ;  and  it  is  quite  fanciful  to  suppose  that  it  even,  in 
any  sense,  grew  out  of  the  Egyptian  affection  for  "triads;" 
the  doctrine,  as  has  been  frequently  shown,  underlies  the  most 
ancient  portions  of  the  Pentateuch,  and  is  most  reasonably 
regarded  as  involved  in  that  primeval  revelation  which  God 
vouchsafed  to  our  first  parents  in  Paradise. 

It  is  essential  to  a  true  conception  of  the  popular  Egyptian 
religion  that  we  recognize  the  fact  that  the  polytheistic  system 
ultimately  adopted  grew  up  gradually,  its  various  parts  having 
originated  separately  in  different  portions  of  the  country.31 
The  geographical  conformation  of  Egypt  has  a  natural  ten- 
dency to  produce  separation  ;  and,  historically,  it  seems  cer- 
tain, not  only  that,  owing  to  its  conformation,  Egypt  was  at 
various  times  divided  into  several  distinct  kingdoms,  but  that 
originally  all  the  nomes  were  distinct  communities,  having 
their  peculiar  customs  and  ideas,  among  which  the  most 
markedly  peculiar  were  those  connected  with  religion.  No 
doubt  "a  certain  unit)7  of  religious  conception"  prevailed 
throughout  the  whole  country  ;  but  this  unity,  as  has  been 
well  said,38  "was  rather  a  national  agreement  in  the  mode  of 
expressing  the  religious  sentiment  common  to  mankind"  than 
any  more  definite  acceptance  of  a  single  religious  system. 
Egyptian  worships  and  gods  were,  primarily,  local ;  and  the 
Pantheon  was  gradually  formed  b}7  joining  together  the  vari- 
ous local  groups  and  arranging  them  into  a  sort  of  hierarchy. 
Even  these  arrangements,  though  proceeding  upon  the  same 
principle,  were  not  alvva}7s  uniform  ;  and  the  chief  centres  at 
any  rate  of  religious  knowledge  in  the  country  had  their  sep- 
arate and,  to  some  extent,  conflicting  systems.39  In  most  places 
there  was  very  slight  recognition  of  any  deities,  except  those 
of   the   district ;   and   thus   the   polytheism,    which   theoret- 


THE    GREAT    GODS — AMMON".  153 

ically  was   excessive,  practically  was   confined  within   narrow 
limits. 

In  treating  of  the  several  Egyptian  gods,  it  will  be  conven- 
ient, first  of  all,  to  take  them  separately,  and  describe,  so  far 
as  is  possible,  their  general  character  and  attributes,  and  then 
to  arrange  them  in  the  recognized  groups,  whether  these  were 
strictly  local,  or  such  as  obtained  more  widely.  The  order 
followed  in  the  general  description  will  be  based  upon  that 
which,  in  his  later  years,  was  advocated  by  Wilkinson.40 

AMON  or  AMMON.      (Egypt.  Am-n.) 

Am mon  (Fig.  105)  was  the  great  god  of  Thebes,  the  south- 
ern Egyptian  capital.  According  to  Manetho,41  his  name  sig- 
nified "concealment"  or  "that  which  is  concealed  ;"  and  this 
meaning  is  confirmed  both  by  the  fact,  which  is  now  certain, 

that  the  root  amn,  1  JJJSSJ,  in  the  hieroglyphics  has  the  sig- 


nification "to  veil,"  "to  hide,"42  and  also  by  statements  in  the 
religious  poems  of  the  Egyptians.43  We  may  therefore  safely 
adopt  the  view  of  Plutarch,44  that  the  original  notion  of  Am- 
nion was  that  of  a  concealed  or  secret  god,  one  who  hid  him- 
self and  whom  it  was  difficult  to  find ;  or,  in  other  words,  that 
the  mysterious  and  inscrutable  nature  of  the  Deity  was  the 
predominant  idea  in  the  minds  of  those  who  first  worshipped 
God  under  this  name.     Amnion's  most  common  title  is  suten- 

neteru,  ^  ^  j,  "king  of  the  gods,"  and  hence  he  was  nat- 
urally identified  by  the  Greeks  and  Komans  with  their  Zeus 
or  Jupiter,45  who  alone  of  their  deities  had  that  epithet.46  He 
is  also  called  liek  or  hyk,  "the  ruler."  Other  titles  borne  by 
him  are — "the  Lord  of  Heaven,"  "the  Eldest  of  the  Gods," 
"the  Lord  of  the  Throne,"  "the  Strong  Bull,"  and  "the 
Horus  (sun)  of  the  two  Egypts."47  To  him  was  dedicated 
the  first  mystic  region  in  the  other  world.  Originally,  he 
seems  to  have  been  worshipped  only  in  Thebes ;  but  the  con- 
quests made  by  the  Diospolite  kings  carried  his  cult  south- 
wards kito  Nubia  and  even  to  Meroe.48  In  Lower  Egypt,  on 
the  other  hand,  he  at  no  time  obtained  any  acknowledgment, 
Phthah  taking  his  place  at  Memphis,  Neith  at  Sal's,  Ra  at  On 
or  Heliopolis,  and  other  gods  elsewhere. 

The  form  under  which  he  was  worshipped  was  that  of  a 
man,  walking  or  sitting  upon  a  throne,49  and  crowned  with  a 
head-dress,  whereof  the  distinguishing  feature  was  a  pair  of 
enormously  tall  stiff  feathers,50  standing  side   by   side,  some- 


154  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

times  plain,  sometimes  varied  by  four  or  five  broad  black  bars.81 
The  color  of  his  body  when  he  is  painted,  is  light  blue,  a  tint 
which  has  been  supposed  to  indicate  "his  peculiarly  exalted 
and  heavenly  nature."  52  He  is  clothed  in  the  ordinary  Egyp- 
tian shenti  or  tunic,  a  closely  fitting  garment,  reaching  from  the 
paps  nearly  to  the  knees,  and  confined  at  the  waist  by  a  girdle, 
besides  which  he  wears  only  a  collar,  armlets,  bracelets,  and 
anklets.  In  his  hands  he  ordinarily  bears  the  aiikli  and  the 
sceptre  or  hooked  stick  {uas),  the  symbols  of  life  and  purity,58 
to  which  are  added  occasionally  the  crook  and  flagellum,  signs 
of  the  divine  power  to  control  and  punish. 

Originally  Ammon  was  quite  distinct  from  Ea,  "the  Sun," 
no  two  ideas  being  more  absolutely  opposed  than  those  of  "a 
concealed  god  "  and  of  the  great  manifestation  of  Divine  power 
and  great  illuminator  of  all  things  on  earth,  the  solar  lumi- 
nary. But  from  the  time  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty54  a  union 
of  the  two  divinities  took  .place,  and  Ammon  was  worshipped 
thenceforth  almost  exclusively  as  Ammon-Ra,  and  was  depicted 
with  the  solar  orb  on  his  head.55  This  power  of  amalgamating 
deities  arose,  as  already  explained,56  from  the  essential  mono- 
theism that  underlay  the  Egyptian  polytheism,  whereby  any 
two  or  more  attributes  or  aspects  of  the  Divine  nature  mighfe 
be  worshipped  together.  Nor  was  this  the  only  combination 
in  which  Ammon  had  part.  He  appears  in  the  sculptures  not 
unfrequently  as  Ammon-Khem,  or  Ammon-Kamutf,57  which 
has  the  same  force,  and  has  then  the  form  of  Khem,  with  the 
head-dress  of  Ammon.  He  is  also  found  occasionally  as  Am- 
mon-Kneph,  and  has  the  ram's  head  with  horns  curved 
downwards.  Further,  as  Ammon-Ra,  he  takes  naturally,  in 
some  cases,  the  attributes  of  Turn,  Harmachis,  or  Osiris,  since 
they  were,  as  will  be  explained  later,  mere  forms  of  the  Sun- 
God,  and  so  really  identical  with  Ra. 

Ammon,  as  Ammon,  had  many  mystic  names  (Fig  101). 
Amongst  them  were  the  following  : — Iruka,  Markata,  Ruta, 
Nasakabu,  Tanasa-Tanasa,  and  Sharushatakata.58  The  mean- 
ing of  these  terms  is  uncertain,  and  it  would  seem  that  they  were 
but  seldom  used.  Ammon  is  ordinarily  invoked  as  "Amen  "  or 
"Amen-Ra,"  "chief"  or  "king  of  the  gods,"  and  "lord  of  all 
earthly  thrones."  The  hymns  addressed  to  him  are  often  re- 
markable for  their  simplicity  and  beauty.  "0  Ammon,"  says 
one  suppliant,  "lend  thine  ear  to  him  who  stands  all  alone  be- 
fore the  tribunal.  He  is  poor  ;  he  is  not  rich.  The  Court 
oppresses  him  ;  silver  and  gold  (are  needed)  for  the  clerks  of 
the  books  ;  garments  for  the  servants.  There  is  no  other 
(Vmmon,  that  acteth  as  a  judge,  to  deliver  a  man  from  his 


Plate  XXXVI. 


Vol.  I. 


<i&.  ai.— Head  of  Female.— bee  ^uge  133.       Fig.  1)2  -Rames-6  iA.-  Sue  I'a-e  1£6 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XXXVII. 


Fig.  93.— Sphinx  of  the  Pyramids.— See  Page  127. 


Fig.  94.— Hunting  the  Gazelle  and  Haiie.— See  Page  129. 


Plate  XXXVIII. 


Vol.  L 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XXXIX. 


Fig.  96.— Female  Tumbler,  in  an  im- 
possible attitude  .  —See  Page  128. 


Fig.  97.— Figure  of  an  Egyptian  Priest. 
—See  Page  128. 


Animals  foreshortened.- -See  Page  130. 


ADDRESS    TO    AMMON — KNEPH.  155 

misery ;  that,  when  the  poor  man  comes  before  the  tribunal, 
maketh  the  poor  to  go  forth  rich." 59  "  Thou  art  He  that  giveth 
bread,"  says  another,  "to  him  that  has  none  ;  that  maintaineth 
the  servant  of  thy  house.  Let  no  prince  be  my  defender  in 
my  troubles ;  let  not  my  memorial  be  placed  before  men. 
My  Lord  is  my  defender ;  I  know  his  power ;  He  is  a  strong 
defender  ;  there  is  none  mighty  beside  him.  Strong  is  Ammon, 
and  knoweth  how  to  make  answer.  He  fulfileth  the  desire  of 
all  those  who  pray  to  him."60  As  Ammon-Ra,  the  addresses 
made  to  him  are  more  elaborate.  One,  which  has  been  trans- 
lated by  Mr.  Goodwin,  extends  to  above  two  hundred  lines,  and 
contains  several  curious  and  striking  passages,  as  for  instance 
the  following : — 

"Hail  to  thee,  Ra,  Lord  of  truth!  Whose  shrine  is  hidden, 
Lord  of  the  gods  ;  Creator,  sailing  in  thy  boat ;  at  whose  com- 
mand the  gods  were  made  ;  Turn,  the  maker  of  men  ;  that  sup- 
portest  their  works,  that  givest  them  life,  that  knowest  how 
one  differeth  from  another  ;  that  listenest  to  the  poor  who  is  in 
distress  ;  that  art  gentle  of  heart  when  a  man  crieth  unto  thee  ; 
Thou  who  deliverest  the  fearful  man  from  the  violent ;  who 
judgest  the  poor  and  the  oppressed  ;  Lord  of  wisdom,  whose  pre- 
cepts are  wise  ;  at  whose  pleasure  the  Nile  overflows  her  banks  ; 
Lord  of  mercy,  most  loving,  at  whose  coming  men  live ; 
Opener  of  every  eye  ;  proceeding  from  the  firmament ;  Causer 
of  pleasure  and  light,  at  whose  goodness  the  gods  rejoice,  their 
hearts  reviving  when  they  see  Thee."  61 

KNEPH.     (Egypt.  Khnum  or  Num.) 

Kneph  was  the  special  god  of  Elephantine,  but  he  was  wor- 
shipped also  in  all  the  more  southern  parts  of  Egypt,  in  Nubia, 
and  in  Ethiopia.62  We  are  told  that  his  name  was  identical  in 
meaning  with  the  Greek  7tvevjua,  "spirit,"  or  "breath."  If 
we  may  accept  this  statement  on  the  authority  of  Plutarch  and 

Diodorus,63  and  regard  the  root  num,  W  ^* ,  as  really  equiva- 
lent to  nef,^^,  "breath,"  we  must  suppose  that  the  original 

notion  of  Kneph  was  that  of  God  as  a  spirit,  moving  over 
matter  and  breathing  into  it  form  and  life.64  This  special 
notion  was,  however,  soon  overlaid  and  superseded  by  the  more 
general  one  that  he  was  the  Creator,  and  in  a  peculiar  sense 
the  creator  of  mankind.65  He  was  also  regarded  as  presiding 
in  some  special  way  over  water,  which  was  expressed  by  nem, 

W  ZZZ>  ^  wel1  as  by  mu>  \l   j"  %££>  m  Egyptian.66    In 


156  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

this  capacity  he  was  "lord  of  the  inundation." 67  He  had  fur- 
ther a  position  among  the  gods  of  the  lower  world/8  which 
does  not  belong  to  Amnion,  who  may  be  prayed  to  by  the 
dead/9  but  is  in  no  sense  an  infernal  god. 

Kneph  (Fig.  103)  was  figured  as  a  man  walking,  like  Am- 
nion, but  with  the  head  of  a  ram.  This  head  has  commonly 
two  sets  of  horns,  both  those  curving  downwards,  which  are 
characteristic  of  the  real  animal,  and  a  second  pair,  spiral, 
growing  from  the  top  of  the  head,  which  are  properly  those  of 
the  he-goat.70  These  latter  horns  appear  also  on  the  head 
of  the  sitting  god  which  completes  the  hieroglyph  of  Kneph, 

;  and  the  form  of  the  entire  animal  is  not  unfre- 

quently  attached  to  his  name,  without  (as  it  would  seem)  any 
phonetic  force.  The  he-goat,  with  spiral  horns  extended, 
must  therefore  be  considered  as  his  emblem,  though  the  ram 
was  the  animal  especially  sacred  to  him.  Above  and  between 
the  spiral  horns  we  see  sometimes  the  asp  or  uraeus,  while 
occasionally  that  place  is  occupied  by  the  vase,71  which  was  the 
main  element  in  his  name.  In  his  two  hands  he  bears,  like 
Amnion,  the  sceptre,  uas,  and  the  emblem  of  life,  ankh. 
His  color  is  a  bright  green.72 

Kneph  is  also  found  with  the  peculiar  crown  (atef)  on  his 
head,  which  more  commonly  characterizes  Ra  or  Osiris,  a 
crown  composed  of  the  solar  disk,  with  an  ostrich-feather  on 
either  side,  and  between  the  feathers  a  tall  striped  conical  cap, 
surmounted  by  a  flower  or  a  tassel.73  Occasionally,  but  very 
rarely,  he  has  for  distinctive  mark  simply  the  uraeus,  which  is 
placed  on  his  head,  or  a  little  over  it.74 

The  Greeks  confused  Kneph  with  Ammon,'5  not  unnat- 
urally;76 and  some  moderns  so  far  agree  with  them  as  to 
consider  Kneph  "a  form  of  Amnion."77  This  view,  however, 
is  not  generally  accepted,  and  it  would  seem  to  be  no  other- 
wise true  than  in  so  far  as  all  Egyptian  gods  were,  to  the  initi- 
ated, forms  of  the  Supreme  God,  and  so  interchangeable  one 
with  another.  In  the  minds  of  the  vulgar,  Kneph  was  as  dis- 
tinct from  Ammon  as  from  Phthah  or  Khem,  and  had  his* 
own  temples,  his  own  form,  his  own  color,  his  own  proper 
sacrifices,  ceremonies,  and  the  like.  Though  the  embodiment 
of  God  as  a  spirit,  he  was  a  less  spiritual  conception  than  Am- 
mon. His  position  in  the  hierarchy  was  probably  between 
Ammon  and  Khem,  with  both  of  whom  he  had  certain  points 
in  common.  Less  mysterious  than  Amnion,  less  remote  from 
matter,  less  purely  immaterial,  he  was  of  a  more  ethereal  na- 


KHEM.  157 

ture  than  Khem,  whose  grosser  attributes  were  not  reproduced 
in  him.  Bunson  supposes  that  in  order  of  time  Khem  was 
anterior  to  Kneph  ; 7S  but,  if  this  were  so,  of  which  there  is  no 
proof,  still  in  idea  Kneph  must  be  assigned  the  precedence. 
Kneph  was  the  creative  spirit,  Khem  the  generative  power  ; 
Kneph  presided  over  men,  Khem  over  nature.  Kneph  has 
higher  titles  than  any  which  belong  to  Khem.  He  was  "the 
god  who  made  the  sun  and  moon  to  revolve  under  the  heaven 
and  above  the  ea,rth,  and  who  created  the  world  and  all  things 
in  it" — "the  god  who  forms  on  his  wheel  the  divine  limbs  of 
Osiris" — "the  god  who  forms  the  mothers,  the  progenitresses 
of  the  Divine  Beings" — "the  sculptor  of  all  men."79  It  was 
not  without  some  reason  that  Wilkinson  originally  placed  him 
at  the  head  of  the  Egyptian  Pantheon,80  though  ultimately  he 
assigned  that  place  to  Ammon. 

KHEM.     (Egypt.  Khem81  or  Khemi.) 

The  full  Egyptian  idea  of  Khem  (Fig.  106)  can  scarcely  be 
presented  to  the  modern  reader,  on  account  of  the  grossness 
of  the  forms  under  which  it  was  exhibited.  Some  modern 
Egyptologists8*2  endeavor  to  excuse  or  palliate  this  grossness  ; 
but  it  seems  scarcely  possible  that  it  should  not  have  been 
accompanied  by  indelicacy  of  thought,  or  that  it  should  have 
failed  to  exercise  a  corrupting  influence  upon  life  and  morals. 
Khem,  no  doubt,  represented  to  the  initiated  merely  the  gen- 
erative power  in  nature,  or  that  strange  law  by  which  Jiving 
organisms,  animal  and  vegetable,  are  enabled  to  reproduce 
their  like.  But  who  shall  say  in  what  exact  light  he  pre- 
sented himself  to  the  vulgar,  who  had  continually  be- 
fore their  eyes  the  indecent  figures  under  which  the 
painters  and  sculptors  portrayed  him?  As  impure  ideas  and 
revolting  practices  clustered  around  the  worship  of  Pan  in 
Greece  and  later  Eome,  so  it  is  more  than  probable  that  with 
the  worship  of  Khem  in  Egypt  were  connected  similar  ex- 
cesses. Besides  his  Priapic  or  "ithyphallic"  form,83  Khem's 
character  was  marked  by  the  assignment  to  him  of  the  goat 
as  his  symbol,84  and  by  his  ordinary  title,  Ka-mutf,  "the  Bull 
of  his  Mother,"  L  e.,  of  Nature. 

Apart  from  the  gross  feature  here  noticed,  Khem/s  image 
may  be  readily  recognized  by  its  being  enveloped  in  swathes, 
like  a  mummy,  with  the  exception  of  the  right  arm,  which  is 
upraised  and  brandishes  the  fiagellum.  Another  distinguish- 
ing mark  of  Khem  is  the  long  bar  which  descends  to  the 
ground   from   the  back  of  his   head,  and   seems  intended  to 


158  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

prevent  him  from  falling.  He  wears  the  same  head-dress  as 
Ammon,  and  has  very  generally  a  cross,  shaped  like  the  letter 
X,  upon  his  breast.85 

As  the  god  of  the  vegetable  world,  Khem  is  represented 
generally  with  trees  or  plants  about  him,  and  the  Egyptian 
kings  oiler  him,  herbs  and  flowers,  or  cut  the  corn  or  till  the 
soil  in  his  presence.86  The  special  seat  of  his  worship  was 
Chemmis,87  or  more  properly  Ohemmo,  a  place  which  evi- 
dently took  its  name  from  him,  and  which  the  Greeks  appro- 
priately called  "Pan's  city"  (Panopolis).  But  he  was  also 
worshipped  in  Thebes,  and,  to  some  extent,  in  Egypt  gener- 
ally. A  feast  was  held  in  his  honor,  called  "the  bringing 
forth  of  Khem,"  whereat  bulls,  geese,  incense,  wine,  and  fruit 
were  offered.88 

The  titles  of  Khem  are  best  set  forth  in  an  inscription  be- 
longing to  the  time  of  Darius  Hystaspis,  which  was  found  in 
the  temple  of  Ammon  at  El-Khargeh.89  He  is  there  called 
"the  God  Khem,  who  raises  his  lofty  plumes,90  king  of  the 
gods,  lifter  of  the  hand,91  lord  of  the  crown,  powerful,  from 
whom  all  fear  emanates,  the  Kamutf  who  resides  in  the  fields, 
horned  in  all  his  beauty,  engendering  the  depths."  Like 
Ammon,  he  was  occasionally  identified  with  the  Sun,92  the 
source  of  warmth  and  so  of  all  mundane  life,  and  was  wor- 
shipped as  Kliem-Pa,  or  "Khem,  the  Sun-God."  He  is  even 
said  in  some  inscriptions 93  to  have  been  "engendered  by  the 
Sun  ; "  but  this  can  only  have  been  a  loose  mode  of  expression, 
since  beyond  all  doubt  he  was  regarded  as  a  form  of  the  Su- 
preme God,  and  so  as  self-originated.  Hence  one  of  his  titles 
was  "father  of  his  own  father." 

PHTHAH.      (Egypt.  Ptah.) 

Phthah,    A  |    (Fig.    104),    the   Egyptian    god   whom   the 

Greeks  identified  with  their  Hephaistos,94  was  the  actual 
physical  creator,  the  "demiurge,"  as  the  Greeks  called  him, 
the  shaper  and  framer  of  the  material  universe.  The  special 
seat  of  his  worship  was  Memphis  ;  but  he  was  also  very  gen- 
erally adored,  and  figures  of  him  are  found  in  all  parts  of 
Egypt.  These  figures  are  of  three  very  distinct  forms.  The 
commonest  is  that  of  a  man  swathed  like  a  mummy,  but  with 
the  hands  left  free,  to  allow  of  his  holding  in  front  of  him  the 
sceptre  (uas)  and  the  sign  of  life  (ankli),  with  which  is  com- 
bined, generally,  the  so-called  Nilometer,  or  emblem  of  sta- 
bility.    The  head  is  covered  with  a  close-fitting  cap,  and  from 


9'.1 


PHTHAH.  159 

the  drapery  behind  the  neck  there  comes  out  a  string  to  which 
is  appended  a  bell-shaped  tassel.95  Another  figure  is  that  of 
a  man  walking,  dressed  in  the  ordinary  tunic  (shenti),  and 
holding  the  anJcli  and  uas,  only  to  be  distinguished  from  fig- 
ures of  Amnion  by  the  head-dress,  which,  instead  of  the  tall 
plumes,  is  either  the  plain  cap,  or  the  striped  head-dress  of  a 
king  with  lappets  in  front.96  The  third  form  is  that  of  a 
pigmy,  naked,97  often  with  misshapen  legs  and  feet  turned 
inwards,  and  usually  with  a  scarabaeus  on  the  top  of  the  skull. 
Occasionally  this  figure  is  double,  with  four  legs  and  four  arms, 
hawk-headed  at  the  back  and  human-headed  in  front. 

The  pigmy  forms  and  certain  others — modifications,  chiefly, 
of  the  second  type 98 — are  regarded  as  representing  Phthah 
under  a  special  character,  as  Phthah-Sokari  or  Phthah-Sokari- 
Osiris  ;  that  is  to  say,  Phthah  viewed  as  having  some  special 
connection  with  Osiris,  the  lord  of  the  lower  world.  In  the 
figures  which  front  two  ways  Phthah  would  seem  to  be  repre 
sented  by  the  human,  and  Sokari  by  the  hawk-headed,  form." 
No  wholly  satisfactory  explanation  has  as  yet  been  given  of  the 
reasons  for  this  union  ;  but  perhaps  they  are  to  be  found  in 
the  vivifying  power  of  Phthah,  and  the  supposed  resurrection 
of  Osiris  from  the  dead,  which  may  have  been  regarded  as 
effected  through  Phthalrs  influence. 

The  principal  titles  of  Phthah  are — "the  Lord  of  Truth," 
"the  Lord  of  the  World,"  and  "the  beautiful-faced."  10°  He  is 
also  called  "the  father  of  the  beginnings,"  and  " the  creator  of 
all  that  is  in  the  world."  10i  Ma,  "Truth,"  is  sometimes  repre- 
sented as  standing  before  him  ;  and  Jamblichus  was  no  doubt 
right  in  saying  that  he  was  considered  to  have  created  all 
things,  "not  deceptively,  but  with  truth"™  The  four-barred 
emblem  of  stability  is  especially  characteristic  of  him,  and  un- 
less when  he  bears  the  character  of  Phthah-Sokari,  generally 
appears,  either  in  his  hands,  on  his  head,  or  at  his  back.  It 
is  even  used,  together  with  the  scarabseusv  and  the  solar  disk, 
as  emblematic  of  him,  without  the  addition  of  any  human 
figure.103 

The  derivation  of  the  word  Phthah  (Ptah)  is,  perhaps, 
doubtful ;  but  the  most  probable  theory  connects  it  with  an 
Egyptian  root,  pet-h  or  pet-hu,  "to  open."  104  Phthah  was  the 
great  "opener"  or  "  revealer" — the  god  who  brought  every- 
thing out  of  the  ideal  into  the  actual — who  made  the  pre- 
viously hidden  deity  (Amnion)  manifest.  At  Memphis  he  was 
the  chief,  if  not  the  sole  object  of  worship  to  the  people  ;  and 
the  kings  of  Thebes,  after  they  became  masters  of  Lower 
Egypt,  were  among  his  ardent  devotees,  and  often  called  him 


160  HISTOEY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

their  "father."  105  His  temple  at  Memphis  seems  to  have  been 
regarded  by  Herodotus  as  more  magnificent  than  any  other  in 
Egypt,  though  it  has  now  almost  wholly  disappeared,  and  the 
traveller  can  with  difficulty  trace  its  site.  Monarch  after 
monarch  adorned  it  with  statues  and  gateways/06  each  seeking 
to  outdo  his  predecessors  ;  but  the  ravages  of  time,  and  the 
still  more  destructive  hand  of  man,  have  swept  away  the  en- 
tire pile,  and  a  single  colossus  of  the  second  Eameses  is  almost 
all  that  remains  to  attract  attention  to  the  place. 


107 


MATJT.     (Egypt.  Mut.) 

Maut,  "the  mother"  (Fig.  107),  which  is  the  meaning  of 
the  word..,  was  a  "great  goddess,"  worshipped  especially  at 
Thebes,  in  connection  with  Ammon  (or  Ammon-Ea)  and 
Ohons.  She  represented  the  passive  principle  in  nature,  and 
corresponded  to  the  classical  Ehea  or  Cybele,  rather  than  to 
Latona,  with  whom  she  is  identified  by  Herodotus.108  Among 
her  titles  the  chief  were,  "Lady  of  Heaven,"  "Queen  of  the 
gods,"  "giver  of  all  life  for  ever,"  and  "mistress  of  dark- 
ness." 109  In  the  last  mentioned  phrase  the  darkness  intended 
is  not  that  of  night,  nor  of  the  Lower  World,  but  the  prime- 
val darkness  of  chaos,  ere  light  was,110  which  the  Egyptians 
regarded   as,  in  a  certain  sense,  "the   one   principle   of   the 


universe."  m 


Maut  is  expressed  in  Egyptian  either  by 

both  forms  being  phonejtic,  and  the  latter  emblematic  as  well, 
since  the  vulture  was  the  Egyptian  type  of  maternity.112  She 
is  represented  by  a  female  figure  wearing  the  pslient  or  double 
crown,  the  emblem  of  sovereignty  both  over  Upper  and  Lower 
Egypt,  placed  upon  a  cap  ornamented  with  the  head,  body, 
and  wings  of  a  vulture.  Wilkinson  notes  that  the  pslient  is 
not  worn  by  her  as  by  the  Egyptian  kings,  the  one  crown 
placed  within  the  other,  but  that  the  two  crowns  are  worn 
side  by  side,113  that  of  Upper  Egypt  being  nearest  to  the  spec- 
tator. In  her  two  hands  she  bears  the  ankli  and  either  the 
hooked  sceptre  (uas)  or  else  one  terminating  in  a  lotus-flower. 
She  is  draped  in  the  ordinary  close-fitting  robe,  confined  be- 
low the  breasts  by  a  girdle,  and  wTears  a  collar,  bracelets,  and 
anklets. 

In  the  popular  mythology,  Maut  was  the  companion  and 
wife  of  Amen-Ea,  with  whom  she  is  constantly  associated  in 
the  inscriptions  and  sculptures.114     The  shrew-mouse  was  dedi- 


SATI — KEITH.  161 

Gated  to  her,115  probably  as  a  type  of  fecundity,  or  perhaps  be- 
cause it  was  thought  to  be  blind,  and  was  thus  a  good  rep- 
resentative of  "darkness." m  Besides  being  worshipped  at 
Thebes,  Maut  was  honored  throughout  Nubia,  and  even  in 
Ethiopia,  where  her  name  is  often  found  in  the  inscriptions.117 
If  we  may  identify  her  with  the  Buto  of  Herodotus,  we  must 
add  that  she  was  likewise  among  the  principal  objects  of 
worship  in  Lower  Egypt,  where  she  had  a  famous  temple  and 
oracle  at  a  city  which  bore  her  name,  on  the  western  side  of 
the  Sebennytic  branch  of  the  Nile  about  twenty  miles  from 
the  sea.118 

SATI.     (Egypt.  Sat,  or  Sati.) 

Sati  (Fig.  102)  stood  in  the  same  relation  to  Kneph  as  Maut 
to  Ammon-Ra.  She  was  his  wife  and  perpetual  companion.119 
She  had  not,  however,  like  Maut,  the  clear  and  unmistakable 
character  of  a  goddess  of  Nature.  Rather  she  appears  as  a 
sort  of  Queen  of  Heaven,120  and  was  therefore  compared  by  the 
Greeks  to  their  Hera,  and  by  the  Romans  to  their  Juno.121 
The  special  seat  of  her  worship  was  Elephantine  ;  and  she  was 
also  acknowledged  throughout  Nubia  and  in  Ethiopia  ; 122  but 
in  Lower  Egypt  she  seems  to  have  been  scarcely  ever  either 
represented  or  mentioned.     Her  name  is  thought  to  signify  "a 


sunbeam,"  123  and  is  expressed  commonly  by  "nf*^  or   *>  ^' 

followed  by  the  form  of  a  goddess. 

The  ordinary  representation  of  Sati  is  a  standing  female  fig- 
ure, clothed  in  a  long  tight  gown,  v/ith  collar,  belt  or  band, 
armlets,  bracelets,  and  anklets,  as  usual,  holding  in  her  hands 
the  ankli  and  lotus  sceptre,  and  wearing  on  her  head  the  crown 
of  Upper  Egypt,  with  cow's  horns  projecting  from  it  on  either 
side.124  Sometimes,  however,  she  is  found  seated  on  a  throne 
or  chair  behind  her  husband,  clad  as  above  described,  but  with 
bare  breasts  and  with  a  snake  projecting  in  front  of  her  horned 
crown.  When  colored,  her  tint  is  of  a  warm  red  representing 
human  flesh  ;  her  head-dress  is  white  ;  her  sceptre,  anklets, 
bracelets,  and  armlets  are  green  ;  and  her  robe  is  delicately 
patterned  in  narrow  stripes  of  blue,  green,  and  white.  The 
throne  on  which  she  sits,  and  its  pedestal,  are  also  patterned, 
or  rather  diapered,  in  the  same  colors.125 

NEITH.     (Egypt.  Net,  or  Nat.) 

Neith  (Fig.  100),  according  to  the  Greeks,  corresponded  to 
their  Athene,126  and  was  thus  a  personification  of  the  wisdom 


i62  HISTORY    OF    AXC1KNT    k(i\  l'j'. 

or  intellect  of  God.  She  was  the  especial  goddess  of  Sais,  the1 
chief  city  of  the  Delta,  where  she  seems  to  have  been  wor- 
shipped alone,  not  as  the  member  of  any  triad.     Her  name  is 

written  with  the  two  letters  NT  (^p),  after  which  follows  an 

emblem,  apparently  non-phonetic,  ?~i9  in  which  most  Egyp- 
tologists recognize  a  shuttle.127  Her  most  usual  title  was 
"Lady  of  Sais."  She  is  also  called  "the  mother,"  "the  mis- 
tress of  heaven,"  "the  elder  goddess,"  and  "the  cow  that  pro- 
duced the  sun."  m  She  is  figured,  ordinarily,  as  a  female, 
dressed  like  Maut  and  Sati,  but  wearing  the  teslir,  or  crown  of 
Lower  Egypt,  only,  on  her  head.129  In  her  right  hand  she 
bears  the  symbol  of  life,  in  her  left  either  the  uas  or  the  lotus 
sceptre,  to  which  are  added  in  some  instances  a  bow  and  two 
arrows.130  Occasionally,  instead  of  the  crown  she  wears  the 
common  female  head-dress,  surmounted  by  the  so-called  shut- 
tle.131 It  is  thought  that  she  presided  specially  over  war  and 
weaving.132 

It  is  difficult  to  reconcile  with  this  somewhat  prosaic  view 
of  Neith  the  recondite  and  mystical  ideas  entertained  by  the 
Greeks  and  Eomans  with  respect  to  the  Saitic  goddess.  Plu- 
tarch says  133  that  her  name  meant  "I  came  from  myself" — 
a  meaning  which  would  imply  self-origination,  and  so  the 
highest  and  most  supreme  divinity.  Macrobius  considers  her 
"that  virtue  of  the  sun  which  administers  prudence  to  the 
human  mind."  134  Clemens  of  Alexandria  declares  that  the  in- 
scription on  her  shrine  at  Sais  ran  as  follows: 135  "I  am  all  that 
was,  and  is,  and  is  to  be  ;  and  no  mortal  hath  lifted  my  veil." 
It  is  impossible  to  suppose  that  there  was  no  foundation  for 
these  higher  views ;  and  a  certain  support  is  lent  to  them  by 
her  title  of  "Mother"  or  "Great  Mother,"  which  would  seem 
to  imply  that  she  was  essentially  a  Nature  goddess,  not  very 
different  from  Maut. 


THE  SUN-GODS,  RA,  KIIEPRA,  TUM,  SHU,  MENTU, 
OSIRIS,  HORUS,  HARMACHIS,  ATEN. 

That  a  large  part  of  the  Egyptian  religion  was  connected 
with  the  worship  of  the  sun  cannot  be  denied,  though  it  seems 
scarcely  correct  to  say  that  their  worship  was  "chiefly  solar,"  136 
or  that  "most  of  their  gods"  represented  some  aspect  of  the 
sun,  or  some  portion  of  his  passage  through  the  upper  or  the 
lower  hemisphere.137  Still,  the  nine  deities  above  enumerated 
had  certainly,  all  of  them,  more  or  lass  of  a  solar  character, 


Plate  XL. 


Vol.  T. 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XLI. 


Fig.  101.— Ammon-Khem.  Ammon-Kneph.— 

See  Page  154. 


Fig.  102.-SATi.-Page  101. 


THE    SUN-GODS— RA.  163 

though  no  two  in  the  list  can  be  considered  as  mere  synonyms, 
or  as  duplicates,  the  one  of  the  other. 

Ra  (Fig.  110)  was  the  snn  in  the  widest  and  most  general 
sense.  To  the  initiated  he  was  the  power  of  God  as  shown 
forth  in  the  material  sun,  which  is  the  source  of  light  and  life 
to  the  Avorld  wherein  we  live,  to  the  planets,  and,  as  the  Egyp- 
tians thought,  to  the  universe.  To  the  vulgar  he  was  a 
created  god,  the  son  of  Phthah  and  Neith  ; 138  though  he  was 
often,  indeed  generally,  worshipped  with  all  the  highest 
epithets  of  honor,  as  if  he  were  the  supreme  God  Himself. 
In  the  "Litany  of  Ra"  139he  is  called  "the  Supreme  Power," 
"the  only  one,"  "the  supremely  great  one,"  "the  great  eldest 
one,"  "  the  great  sire  that  creates  the  gods,"  "the  master  of  the 
hidden  spheres  who  causes  the  principles  to  arise,"  "the  dwel- 
ler in  darkness,"  "the  master  of  light,"  "the  revealer  of  hidden 
things,"  "the  spirit  who  speaks  to  the  gods  in  their  spheres," 

etc.  His  name  is  sometimes  expressed  phonetically  2""^i  Ra  ; 
sometimes  symbolically  by  a  circle,  with  or  without  the  addi- 
tion of  the  asp  or  utcbus  (o  or  \Ch- )  5  sometimes  by  a  union 

of  the  two  methods  'f^^,  or  with  the  addition  of  the  figure 

of  a  god  !fzsj  f  /§.     It  was  proposed  originally  to  pronounce 

the  name  as  Re  ; i4u  but  the  modern  Egyptologists  seem  to  be 
agreed  that  the  true  sound  was  Ra,141  which  was  also  the  name 
of  the  Supreme  God  in  Babylon,14'2  and  which  probably  meant 
"swift."143 

Ra  is  figured  as  a  man,  walking,  but  commonly  has  the 
head  of  a  hawk,  surmounted  by  the  disk  of  the  sun,  with 
the  urceus  or  asp  encircling  it.144  He  bears  in  his  right  hand 
the  ankh  or  sign  of  life,  and  in  his  left  the  uas  or  sceptre. 
Erom  his  head  depends  a  long  cord,  as  f/om  the  heads  of 
Kneph  and  Ammon.  He  wears  the  usual  slienti  or  tunic, 
with  armlets,  bracelets,  and  anklets.  Occasionally  he  is  found 
human-headed,  and  in  that  case  has  the  long  wig  with  lap- 
pets." 145  In  the  paintings  his  flesh  is  always  of  a  red  or  red- 
brown  color,  as  is  also  the  disk  of  the  sun  superimposed  upon 
him. 

Among  the  emblems  appropriate  to  Ra  are,  besides  the  solar 
disk,  the  hawk,  the  urceus  or  asp,  and  the  scarabmis  or  beetle. 
The  hawk  is  said  to  have  been  "dedicated  to  him  as  the  sym- 
bol of  light  and  spirit,  because  of  the  quickness  of  its  motion, 
and  its  ascent  to  the  higher  regions  of  the  air."  146  Another 
ground   assigned  is,  that  "the  hawk  is  able  to  look  more  in- 


104  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

tently  towards  the  solar  rays  than  any  other  bird,  wherefore 
they  depicted  the  sun  under  the  form  of  a  hawk,  as  the  Lord 
of  Vision. "  147  The  uraeus  probably  accompanied  him  as  "the 
emblem  of  royalty  and  dominion."  148  Why  the  beetle  was 
assigned  to  him  is  a  subject  on  which  much  has  been  written,149 
but  one  which  cannot  be  said  even  now  to  have  received  any 
satisfactory  elucidation.  Apion  said  it  was  because  the  Egyp- 
tians traced  in  the  insect  some  resemblance  to  the  operations 
<of  the  sun  ;150  but  the  grounds  for  their  opinion,  and  even  the 
(exact  meaning  of  it,  are  obscure.  The  beetle  ordinarily  repre- 
sented in  the  sculptures  and  paintings  is  thought  to  be  the 
scarabceus  sacer  of  Linnaeus,  or  common  black  beetle  of 
Egypt ;  151  but  nothing  strange  or  peculiar  has  been  pointed  out 
in  the  habits  of  that  creature. 

Ea  was  worshipped  more  especially  at  On,  near  the  old  apex 
of  the  Delta,  which  city  the  Greeks  therefore  called  Heliopolis, 
or  "the  City  of  the  Sun  ; "  but  very  great  respect  was  paid  to 
him  also  in  various  other  places.  At  Thebes  he  was  identified 
with  Amnion,  and  worshipped  as  Amun-Ra,  at  the  head  of  the 
local  triad."  152  At  Memphis  he  was  united  with  Phthah  and 
Pasht ; 153  at  Silsilis  with  Phthah  and  the  Nile-God,  or  some- 
times with  Ammon  and  Savak.154  His  worship  was  more 
nearly  universal  than  that  of  any  other  Egyptian  deity,  unless 
it  were  Osiris,  who  was  also  a  Sun-God,  and  so  a  form  of  Ra. 
As  distinguished  from  Osiris,  Ra  was  the  sun  of  the  upper 
world  ;  as  distinguished  from  liar  or  Harmachis,  and  from 
Turn  or  Atum  (Atmu),  he  was  the  meridian  or  midday  sun.155 
In  litanies  addressed  to  him,  he  ceases,  however,  to  have  any 
partial  character,  and  is  the  light  at  once  of  the  realms  above 
and  of  the  world  below,  of  the  heights  of  the  empyrean  and  of 
the  "two  horizons,"  both  that  where  he  rises  and  that  where  he 
sets.156  He  is  also,  as  already  observed,157  identified  in  these 
compositions  with  the  Supreme  God,  being  styled  in  them  "the 
Lord  of  truth,  the  maker  of  men,  the  creator  of  beasts, 
the  Lord  of  existence,  the  maker  of  fruitful  trees  and  herbs, 
the  maker  everlasting,  the  Lord  of  eternity,  the  Lord  of  wis- 
dom, the  Lord  of  mercy,  the  one  maker  of  existences,  the  one 
alone  with  many  hands,  the  sovereign  of  life  and  health  and 
.  strength."  158 

KHEPRA. 

Khepra  seems  to  represent  the  creative  energy  of  the  sun,159 

■  which  is  the  source  of  all  the  life  that  we  see  upon  the  earth. 

He  is  not,  so  far  as  appears,  depicted  separately,  but  there  is 


THE    SUN-GODS — KHEPRA    AND    TUM.  lG5 

frequent  mention  of  him  both  in  the  historical  und  the  devo- 
tional compositions.160     The  scarabaeus  (Klieprr)  forms   the 

chief  element  in  his  name,  which  is  written   ^    I  ^,   o 
Khepra,  followed  by  the  figure  of  a  sitting  god. 

TUMorATUM. 

Turn  (Fig.  Ill)  is  the  sun,  as  he  approaches  or  rests  upon 
the  western  horizon,  just  before  and  when  he  sets.161  His 
common  epithet  is  ?iefer,  "good,"  and  this  is  regarded  by  some 

as  a  part  of  his  name,162  which  is  expressed  by  mfc  %^  \> 
Temu,    l^fr  J    Atum,   or    larsfr    Nefer-Tum.     Among  his 


1»  163 


other  titles  the  commonest  is  "the  Lord  of  the  two  lands, 
or  "countries,"  by  which  has  sometimes  been  understood  "the 
two  regions  of  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt,"  164  but  which  appears 
from  the  inscriptions  to  have  pointed  rather  to  some  division 
of  the  nome  of  Heliopolis.165  He  is  also  styled  "the  maker  of 
men,"166  "the  Universal  Lord,"  167  "the  Creator  God,"  168  and 
"the  great  Lord  of  created  beings."  169  His  worship  was  wide- 
spread. It  was  really  Turn,  rather  than  Ra,  i.e.,  it  was  Ra 
under  the  form  of  Turn,  who  was  worshipped  at  Heliopolis  ;  17° 
and  it  was  Turn  who  was  the  third  god  in  the  triad  of  Mem- 
phis. At  Thebes  he  received  frequent  acknowledgment,171  and 
throughout  Egypt  he  was  universally  recognized,  at  any  rate 
as  a  god  of  the  lower  world,  where  he  is  scarcely  distinguish- 
able from  Osiris.  In  the  "Ritual  of  the  Dead"  the  souls  in 
Hades  call  to  him  and  style  him  "father,"  while  he  in  his 
turn  addresses  them  as  his  "sons."  m 

Turn's  most  common  form  is  that  of  a  man  walking,  dressed 
in  the  ordinary  way,173  but  bearing  on  his  head  either  the  two' 
crowns  of  Egypt,  placed  side  by  side,  as  on  Maut,174  or  else  the 
wig  with  lappets,  which  is  worn  also  by  Ra. 175  Like  Ra,  Kneph,. 
Ammon,  and  many  other  gods,  he  carries  the  ankli  and 
sceptre.  He  has  also,  like  Ra,  Kneph,  and  Ammon,  the  long 
pendent  cord,  ending  in  a  tassel.  As  Nefer-Tum,  he  carries 
on  his  head  a  short  shaft  or  stick,  crowned  by  a  lotus-flower, 
or  else  by  two  feathers,  and  two  pendent  tasseis,  one  on  either 
side  of  the  shaft.  Sometimes  his  sceptre  terminates  similarly. 
\\\  the  British  Museum  there  is  a  silver  figure  of  Nefer-Tum 
(Fig.  112),  wearing  the  lily  and  also  the  two  feathers.176    The: 


166  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYFr. 

ordinary  color  of  Turn  is,  like  that  of  Ra,  red  ;  but  he  is  said 
to  be  sometimes  represented  of  a  green  hue.177 

The  "house  of  Turn"  at  Heliopolis  was  one  of  the  grandest 
of  the  Egyptian  temples.  In  front  of  it  stood  a  number  of 
granite  obelisks,  among  them  that  which  has  been  recently 
erected  on  the  Thames  Embankment,  and  which  is  the  second 
Egyptian  obelisk  that  has  been  brought  to  England.178  The 
temple  itself  was  resplendent  with  gold,  and  so  celebrated  for 
its  magnificence,  that  to  say  a  building  was  "like  the  house  of 
Turn  "  came  to  be  regarded  as  the  highest  conceivable  eulogy.179 
Large  tracts  of  land  were  assigned  to  it  by  the  munificence  of 
the  Egyptian  monarchs ;  180  its  sacred  slaves  (liieroduli)  were 
reckoned  by  thousands  ; 181  and  its  furniture  was  of  the  richest 
and  most  costly  character,  comprising  vessels  and  ornaments 
of  gold,  silver,  lapis  lazuli,  turquoise,  crystal,  jasper,  alabaster, 
green  felspar,  and  haematite.182 

The  following  "Hymn  to  Turn"  will  show  the  feelings 
wherewith  he  was  worshipped  : — 

Come  to  me,  O  thou  Sun  ; 

Horns  of  the  horizon,  give  me  help. 

Thou  art  lie  that  giveth  help  ; 

There  is  no  help  without  thee. 
Come  to  me,  Turn  ;  hear  me,  thou  great  God ; 

My  heart  goeth  forth  towards  On ; 

Let  my  desires  he  fulfilled  ; 
Let  my  heart  rejoice,  my  inmost  heart  rejoice  in  gladness. 
Hear  my  vows,  my  humble  supplications  every  day, 

Hear  my  adorations  every  night — 
My  cries  of  terror,  cries  that  issue  from  my  mouth, 

That  come  forth  from  it  one  by  one. 
O  Horns  of  the  horizons-there  is  none  other  beside  thee, 
Protector  of  millions,  deliverer  of  tens  of  thousands, 

Defender  of  him  that  calls  upon  thee, 
Lord  of  On  ! 

Reproach  me  not  for  my  many  sins — 

I  am  young,  and  weak  of  body  ; 

I  am  a  man  without  a  heart. 
Anxiety  preys  upon  me,  as  an  ox  [feeds]  upon  grass: 
If  I  pass  the  night  in  [sleep],  and  therein  find  refreshment, 
Anxiety  nevertheless  returns  to  me  ere  the  day  is  done.183 

SHU. 

The  word  sliu  signifies  "light,"  184  and  it  is  probable  that 
Shu  (Fig.  114)  was  originally  the  light  of  the  sun,  as  distin- 
guished from  the  solar  orb  itself  ;  bnt  this  distinction  was 
known  only  to  the  initiated.  The  name  185  is  expressed  by  an 
ostrich  feather,  followed  by  the  ordinary  sign  for  u,  and  then 

by  a  figure  of  a  sitting  god  IW,     Shu  is  commonly  spoken 


THE    SUN-GODS — SHU  AND    MENTU.  167 

of  as  a  son  of  Ra,186  and  frequently  connected  with  Tafne,187  a 
daughter  of  Ra,  and  (according  to  some)  Shu's  twin  sister.188 
Turn,  Shu,  and  Tafne  are  in  one  place  called  "the  great  chiefs 
of  On."  189 

When  figured,  Shu  is  either  walking  or  kneeling.  In  the 
former  case  he  lias  the  ordinary  form  of  a  male  deity,  but  bears 
on  his  head  either  a  single  ostrich  feather,  or  else  a  fourfold 
plume.190  In  the  latter,  he  kneels  upon  his  left  knee,  and 
elevates  above  his  head  the  sun's  disk,  which  he  holds  in  his 
two  hands.191 

Shu,  like  Turn,  was  a  deity  of  the  lower  world,  worshipped 
by  the  spirits  in  Hades,  and  invoked  by  them.192  It  was  his 
special  office  to  stop  the  wicked  on  the  steps  of  heaven,  to  pre- 
vent their  entering,  and  effect  their  final  destruction.193  It  is 
curious  that  the  word  sliu  meant  in  the  Egyptian  both  "light" 
and  "shade  ;" 194  and  thus  the  god  of  light  might  be  repre- 
sented as  plunging  the  hopelessly  wicked  into  the  darkness  of 
annihilation.195 

We  do  not  hear  of  any  temples  expressly  dedicated  to  Shu ; 
but  he  was  probably  worshipped  at  Heliopolis  (On)  in  conjunc- 
tion with  Turn  and  Tefnut.  Small  procelain  figures  of  him, 
kneeling  and'  supporting  the  sun's  disk,  are  common. 

MENTU. 

Mentu  (Fig.  113)  is  thought  to  have  been  originally  a  pro- 
vincial form  of  the  deity  who  presided  over  the  sun.196  He  is 
often  identified  with  the  solar  orb,  and   bears  the  name  of 

Mentu-Ra     USSH  8=>  ^  o—i.e.,  "Mentu    the    Sun-God."197 

When,  however,  he  was  accepted  into  the  general  Pantheon, 
he  came  to  have  some  peculiar  attributes,  and  a  peculiar  form, 
assigned  to  him.  He  was  viewed  as  the  special  protector  of 
Egypt  and  of  the  monarchs,  a  sort  of  "Mars  Ultor,"  but  not 
the  god  of  war  in  a  vulgar  sense. I98  The  kings  are  fond  of 
comparing  themselves  to  Mentu,  especially  when  they  are  fight- 
ing. 19!  They  celebrate  his  "force"  and  his  "victorious  arm," 
and  speak  of  him  as  "very  glorious."200  The  peculiarity  of 
his  form  is,  that  to  the  hawk's  head,  the  disk,  and  uraiis  of 
Ra,  he  joins  the  tall  plumes  of  Amnion.201  His  hue,  when  he 
is  painted,  like  that  of  Ra,  is  red.202 

The  chief  seat  of  the  worship  of  Mentu  was  Hermonthis,  a 
city  which  appears  to  have  derived  its  name  from  this  god.903 
There  he  was  the  first  deity  of  a  local  triad.  In  the  rest  of 
Egypt  he  would  seem  to  have  been  but  little  known,  unless  it 


168  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

were  in  the  Thebaid,  of  which  he  is  sometimes  said  to  be  "the 
lord."204  It  is  very  rarely  that  the  Egyptian  monarchs  make 
offerings  to  him.  Still  he  occasionally  attracted  their  regards, 
and  is  found  associated  in  their  memorials  with  Amnion,  Ra, 
Phthah,  Horus,  and  Sati,  and  again  with  Amnion- Ka,  and 
Athor.205 

OSIRIS. 

Osiris  (Fig.  115)  was,  practically,  the  god  chiefly  worshipped 
in  Egypt,  since,  while  all  other  worships  were  local,  his  was 
universal.206  Originally,  perhaps,  a  personification  of  the  divine 
goodness,207  Osiris  came  to  be  regarded  as  a  form  of  the  sun, 
and  especially  as  the  sun  of  the  lower  world,  the  great  deity  of 
Amenti  or  Hades.208  His  office  as  judge  of  the  souls  of  men 
upon  their  entrance  into  Hades  has  been  already  mentioned.209 
This  office  was  peculiar  to  him  and  never  assigned  to  any  other 
(deity  ;  but,  except  in  this  relation,  Osiris  seems  to  have  been 
little  more  than  a  name  for  the  Supreme  God.  He  is  called 
"the  eldest,"  "the  chief  of  his  brothers,"  "the  chief  of  the 
gods,"  "the  master  of  the  gods,"  "the  king  of  the  gods,"  21° 
and  again  "the  lord  of  life,"  "the  lord  of  eternity,"  "the  eter- 
nal ruler,"  "the  lord  of  the  world,"  and  "the  creator  of  the 
world."211  A  peculiar  character  of  mildness,  goodness,  and 
beneficence  attaches  to  him.  He  is  "the  manif ester  of  good," 
"full  of  goodness  and  truth,"  212  "the  beneficent  spirit," "be- 
neficent in  will  and  words,"  "mild  of  heart,"  "fair  and  beloved 
of  all  who  see  him."  213  He  "affords  plentifulness  and  gives  it 
to  all  the  earth  ;  all  men  are  in  ecstasy  on  account  of  him, 
hearts  are  in  sweetness,  bosoms  in  joy ;  everybody  is  in  ado- 
ration ;  every  one  glorifies  his  goodness  .  .  .  sanctifying, 
beneficent  is  his  name."214 

The  name  of  Osiris  is  expressed,  most  simply,  by  two  hiero- 


glyphs, thus: — 1^>-;  or  more  commonly  *&-J,  followed  in 
most  cases  by  the  determinative  for  "a  god,"  "I  or  ^1.     Some- 


times, however,  the  human  eye  ^-  is  replaced  by  a  simple  cir- 
cle O,  and  the  other  nondescript  sign  by  an  animal  form,  ^- . 
The  native  pronunciation  of  the  name  would  seem  to  have  been 
Hes-ar  or  Has-ar,m  which  the  Greeks,  adding  a  nominatival 
ending,  converted  into  Osiris.  There  is  some  doubt  as  to  the 
true  meaning  of  the  word,  but  perhaps  " the  many-eyed," 
which  can  plead  for  itself  the  authority  of  Plutarch,216  may 
deserve  acceptance  as  the  most  probable  rendering. 


THE    STO-GODS — OSIRIS,  169 

Osiris  was  represented,  most  commonly,  in  a  mummied 
form,  to  mark  his  presidency  over  the  dead  ;  but  occasionally 
he  appears  as  a  man,  walking  or  standing.  Usually  he  beara 
in  his  two  hands  the  crook  and  the  flagellum,  to  which  are 
sometimes  added  the  sceptre  (uas)  and  the  ankh  or  symbol  of 
life.  On  his  head  he  carries  the  crown  of  Upper  Egypt  only, 
sometimes  unadorned,  sometimes  ornamented  on  either  side 
with  a  barred  feather,  and  occasionally  surmounted  with  a 
disk.  When  represented  as  a  man  walking,  he  has  the  lap- 
peted  wig,  crowned  with  two  wavy  horns,  above  which  are  the 
two  feathers.  The  wavy  horns  are  also  found  with  the  plumed 
crown  above  them,  and  serpents  (uraei)  on  either  side,  sur- 
mounted by  disks.  In  some  rare  instances  Osiris  has  the  head 
of  an  ibis,  but  with  two  bills,  one  pointing  either  way.217  His 
hue,  when  he  is  painted,  is  sometimes  black,  but  more  usually 
green. 218 

Another  rare  form  of  Osiris  is  that  which  has  been  already 
given219 — a  form  rightly  termed  "barbaric,"220  with  eyebrows 
meeting,  fat  cheeks,  and  a  coarse  mouth,  clad  in  a  spotted 
robe,  and  wearing  "the  Kilometer"  221  underneath  the  horns 
and  plumed  disk.  Osiris  likewise  appears,  but  very  rarely 
indeed,222  seated  on  a  throne,  mummied,  and  wearing  the  disk 
of  the  moon,  with  which  he  appears  then  to  be  identified. 
Such  figures  have  been  called  "figures  of  Osiris- Aah."  223 

The  myths  connected  with  Osiris  were  numerous  and  curi 
ous,  but,  like  the  Greek  myths,  frequently  contradictory. 
He  is  ordinarily  represented  as  the  son  of  Seb  and  Nutpe  ; 
but  sometimes  his  father  is  Ra,226  at  other  times  Shu,227  and 
his  mother  is  Isis228  as  well  as  Nutpe.  Isis,  at  one  time  his 
mother,  at  another  his  sister,  at  another  his  daughter,  is  al- 
ways his  wife,  and  their  child  is  Har  or  Horus.  Osiris,  ac- 
cording to  the  common  legend,229  was  once  upon  a  time  incar- 
nate, and  reigned  as  king  of  Egypt.  Having  ruled  for  a  while 
beneficently,  he  went  upon  his  travels,  leaving  Isis  to  conduct 
the  government,  which  she  did  with  vigor  and  prudence.  Set, 
however,  the  principle  of  evil,  conspired  against  Osiris,  mur- 
dered him,  and,  having  cut  his  body  into  fourteen  pieces,  dis- 
posed of  them  in  various  parts  of  the  country.  Isis  collected 
the  remains  and  revivified  them,  while  Horus,  to  avenge  his 
father,  sought  out  Set,  and,  engaging  him,  brought  him 
under.  Various  offshoots  of  this  stock  tale  were  current. 
Isis,  it  was  said,  released  Set  after  Horus  had  made  him  pris- 
oner, and  Horus  thereupon  tore  off  her  crown,  or  (according 
to  some)  struck  off  her  head.  Set  accused  Horus  of  illegiti- 
macy, and  tne  other  gods  were  called  in  to  judge  the  cause. 


224 
225 


170  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

which  they  decided  in  favor  of  ITorus.  The  war  between  the 
two  continued,  and  Horus  ultimately  slew  his  enemy,  who  is 
then  represented  either  under  a  human  form,230  or  under  that 
of  the  great  serpent  Apepi  or  Apap  (Fig.  116). 

Various  explanations  have  been  given  of  these  legends. 
Osiris  lias  been  regarded  by  some  as  the  sun,  and  Set  as  night 
or  darkness,  which  destroys  the  sun  and  buries  him,  but  is  in 
its  turn  slain  by  the  reappearing,  rejuvenated  sun  of  the  next 
day,  "Horus  of  the  horizon,"  who  thus  avenges  his  father.231 
Others  have  seen  in  Osiris  the  Nile  inundation,  in  Typho 
drought,  in  Isis  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  in  Horus  vapors  and 
exhalations.232  But  the  truth  seems  to  be  that  little  more  was 
aimed  at  in  the  Osirid  legends  than  to  teach  and  illustrate  the 
perpetual  opposition  and  conflict  between  good  and  evil,  light 
and  darkness,  order  and  disorder,  virtue  and  vice.  Starting 
from  this  basis,  the  religious  imagination  allowed  itself  pretty 
free  play  among  the  minor  personages  of  the  Pantheon,  the 
details  of  the  stories  being  of  little  account  so  long  as  the  rel- 
ative positions  of  Set  and  Osiris  were  maintained,  so  long  as 
the  struggle  was  shown  forth,  and  the  final  triumph  of  good 
asserted.  Interwoven  into  the  various  narratives  are  found 
religious  ideas,  which  may  be  echoes  from  the  far  past  of  that 
primeval  revelation  which  God  vouchsafed  to  the  human  race, 
or  may  be  merely  thoughts  natural  to  man,  arising  out  of  the 
constitution  of  his  mind  and  its  broodings  upon  God  and  na- 
ture. Such  are  the  ideas  of  an  incarnate  god,  a  suffering  god, 
a  god  who  dies  and  is  restored  to  life  again  ;  such,  too,  is  the 
connection  of  evil  with  the  form  of  the  serpent,  and  the  ulti- 
mate bruising  of  the  serpent's  head  by  the  Divine  benefactor. 

It  has  been  observed  above,233  that  Osiris  was  a  deity  wor- 
shipped throughout  the  whole  of  Egypt.  And  this  is  un- 
doubtedly true.  Indeed,  it  could  scarcely  be  otherwise,  since 
all  recognized  hirn  as  the  god  before  whom  they  were  to  appear 
on  their  descent  into  the  Lower  World,  and  who  was  then  and 
there  to  determine  their  final  happiness  or  misery.  Still, 
though  an  object  of  worship  throughout  Egypt,  he  had  some 
special  cities  which  were  peculiarly  devoted  to  him.  The 
chief  of  these  was  Abtu,  or,  as  the  Greeks  called  it,  Abydos, 
of  which  he  is  commonly  called  "the  lord,"234  and  where  there 
was  a  great  temple  specially  dedicated  to  him.235  Another 
Osirid  city  was  Philae,  situated  on  an  island  in  the  Nile  a  little 
below  Elephantine,  where  again  he  had  a  magnificent  temple, 
adorned  with  sculptures  illustrative  of  his  life  on  earth  and 
mysterious  sufferings.236  A  third  such  city  was  Tattn,  or 
This,,  whieh,  like  Abydos,  claimed  him  as  its  "lord/'  *37  and 


HORUS.  171 

worshipped  him  in  the  form  which  is  distinguished  by  the  tat 
or  "emblem  of  stability." 

HORUS,   HARMACHIS. 

It  has  been  usual  to  distinguish  two  Horuses,238  called  re- 
spectively "the  elder"  and  "the  younger;"  but  the  more 
Egyptian  mythology  is  studied,  the  more  doubtful  does  it 
appear  to  be  whether  any  such  distinction  was  really  in- 
tended.239 No  stress  can  be  laid  upon  contradictory  state- 
ments of  the  relationship  borne  by  Horus  to  other  gods,  for 
such  contradictions  are  quite  common,  and  include  cases  where 
no  one  has  ever  suggested  that  different  gods  are  meant,  as 
those  of  Isis  and  Osiris.240  All  the  representations  of  Horus 
(Fig.  117)  have  a  near  resemblance  ;  and  the  epithets  attached 
to  the  name  seem  to  mark,  not  different  personages,  but  dif- 
ferent aspects  in  which  one  and  the  same  deity  might  be 
viewed.  Primarily  Horus  is  the  youthful  or  rising  sun,  and 
is  spoken  of  as  Harmachis  (Har-em-akliu),  "Horus  in  the 
horizon."  In  this  capacity  he  is  one  of  the  gods  of  Heliopo- 
lis,241  and  bears  the  title  of  Ra-Harmachis,  to  make  his  solar 
character  unmistakable.  In  connection  with  the  myth  of 
Osiris  he  is  Harpocrates  (ITar-pa-krat),  "Har  the  child,"  and 
is  dandled  on  the  knee  of  Isis,  or  exhibited  with  the  single 
lock  of  hair,  which  in  Egypt  was  the  mark  of  childhood,  and 
often  conjoined  with  Nephthys  and  Isis,  his  aunt  and  mother.242 
Occasionally  his  peculiar  characteristics  are  forgotten,  and  he 
is  the  sun  generally,  "the  sun  of  the  two  worlds,"  243  identified 
with  Ra  and  Turn,  or  with  Amen-Ra,  the  sun  considered  as 
informed  by  the  Supreme  Being.  He  then  has  commonly 
the  hawk's  head,  which  characterizes  Ra,  surmounted  by  the 
double  crown  of  the  Two  Egypts,  with  or  without  the  urgeus 
in  front,  while  in  his  hands  he  bears,  like  Ra,  the  ankh  and 
sceptre,  and  is  represented  walking,  with  the  left  foot  ad- 
vanced. 

Horus  is  entitled  "Lord  of  Truth,"  "Lord  of  Heaven," 
"Lord  of  the  Crown,"  "helper  of  his  father,"  "Lord  of  the 
sacred  bark,"  "king  of  the  worlds,"  and  "supreme  ruler  of 
gods  and  men."244  He  is  "beauteous,"  "blessed,"  "self- 
sprung,"  "self-existing."245  A  hymn  addressed  to  him  as 
Ra-Harmachis,  celebrates  his  countless  excellences.  He  was 
worshipped  almost  as  universally  as  Osiris,  and  was  in  special 
favor  at  Heliopolis  and  Abydos.246  The  Egyptian  kings  held 
him  in  peculiar  honor,  and  delighted  in  identifying  them- 
selves with  him  and  assuming  his  name  and  his  titles.247     This 


172  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

practice,  begun  (it  would  seem)  by  the  monarchs  of  the  fourtli 
dynasty/248  continued  down  at  least  to  the  time  of  the  twenty- 
second  dynasty,  when  we  find  Pianchi  addressed  as  "the  inde- 
structible Horus,"  "Horus,  lord  of  the  palace,"  and  "Horus, 
royal  bull."249 

The  name  Horus  is  ordinarily  represented  by  the  figure  of 

a  hawk,  %l  .  which  is  sometimes  followed  by  a  vertical 
stroke  i  the  sign  of  the  masculine  gender.250  Harmachis  is  ex- 
pressed by  \.  fes|&d  ;  Harpocrates  by  ^k  'fl/r/.     The 

hawk  occurs  also,  as  the  emblem  of  Horus,  on  mummy-cases,  * 
on  wooden  tablets,  in  the  tombs,  and  in  bronze  and  porcelain 
figures,  where  the  bird  commonly  wears  the psche7it.i51 

ATEN. 

Aten,  written    I/J^0,  wTas,   properly   speaking,    the   disk 

of  the  sun,  and  was  worshipped  under  the  representation 
of  a  large  circle,  from  the  lower  hemisphere  of  which  pro- 
jected numerous  arms  and  hands  which  presented  to  the 
worshipper  the  ankh  or  symbol  of  life.252  It  might  have  been 
supposed  that  there  could  be  nothing  very  peculiar  in  this 
worship,  or  at  any  rate  nothing  to  make  it  antagonistic 
to  the  rest  of  the  Egyptian  religion.  Yet  there  wTas  certainly 
a  time  w7hen  such  an  antagonism  developed  itself,  and  Aten, 
who  had  previously  been  only  one  of  the  many  sun-gods,  wras 
elevated  above  every  other  deity,  and  even  worshipped  almost 
exclusively,253  while  the  adherents  of  the  rest  of  the  gods  w7ere 
persecuted.  This  time  of  undue  favor  was  followed  by  a 
reaction  ;  the  name  and  form  of  the  king  who  had  carried 
the  worship  to  its  highest  pitch  were  mutilated  and  de- 
faced ; 254  disk-worship,  as  a  special  religion,  disappeared ; 
and  Aten  sank  back  into  his  old  position  of  inferiority  and 
subordination. 

ATHOR. 

With  the  sun-gods  are  closely  connected  two  goddesses, 
Athor  (Fig.  118)  and  Isis.  Athor  signifies  "the  abode  of 
Hor,"  255  and  is  generally  expressed  by  a  hieroglyph  in  which 
the  hawk  (Horus)  is  enclosed  within  the  character  represent- 


%0-      A  variant  mode  of  writing  the  word  is 


ing  a  house 

(]£<£>,  "Eit-har"  or  "Athar."     She  represented  most  prop- 


ATHOR — ISIS.  173 

erly  the  lower  hemisphere,  from  which  the  sun  rose  in  the 
morning,  and  into  which  he  sank  at  night ;  but  in  course  of 
time  came  to  be  regarded  as  only  one  out  of  the  many  divini- 
ties of  the  lower  world,  to  be  adored  together  with  Osiris,  Isis, 
Horus,  Nephthvs,  Annbis,  Turn,  Thoth,  etc.,  as  a  goddess 
inhabiting  the  lower  region  together  with  them.256  She  is  de- 
picted under  many  forms.  Sometimes  she  appears  almost  as 
Isis,  in  the  ordinary  form  of  a  female,  but  with  horns,  a  disk, 
and  a  urseus  on  her  head,  and  in  her  two  hands  the  sceptre, 
uas,  and  the  ankli  or  "symbol  of  life."  Or  she  has  the  vul- 
ture headdress  of  Sati  and  Maut,  surmounted  by  the  disk  and 
horns,  with  or  without  two  tall  plumes,  and  bears  in  her  left ' 
hand  the  sceptre  which  only  females  bear,  or  holds  in  her  two 
hands  a  round  object  which  is  thought  to  be  a  tambourine. 257 
Occasionally  she  has  a  cow's  head  with  a  disk  between  the 
horns,  or  is  worshipped  under  the  figure  of  a  spotted  cow, 
crowned  with  a  disk  and  two  plumes.  She  appears  likewise 
as  a  hawk  with  a  female  head  and  the  usual  horns  and  disk. 

Among  the  titles  of  Athor  were  those  of  "mother  of  Ra," 
"eye  of  Ra,"  "mistress  of  Amenti,"  "celestial  mother,"  "lady 
of  the  dance  and  mirth,"  'm  and  "mistress  of  turquoises."259 
Like  Osiris,  she  was  worshipped  in  most  parts  of  Egypt,  but 
especially  at  Tentyra,  Thebes,  and  Atarbechis.  Cows,  espe- 
cially white  and  spotted  cows,  were  sacred  to  her,  as  also  was  a 
certain  kind  of  fish,260  but  the  exact  species  cannot  be  deter- 
mined. The  Greeks  identified  her  with  their  Aphrodite,  and 
the  Romans  with  their  Venus  ;  there  does  not,  however,  appear 
to  be  much  reason  for  either  identification.261 


ISIS. 

Isis  (Fig.  119)  in  original  conception  did  not  differ  much 
from  Athor,  with  whom  she  was  sometimes  identified  by  the 
Greeks, 'm  and  from  whom  even  in  the  monuments  it  is  often 
difficult  to  distinguish  her.263  She  was  called  the  mother,  as 
well  as  the  wife  and  sister,  of  Osiris.  It  is,  however,  as  his 
wife  and  sister  that  she  is  chiefly  presented  to  us.  The  part 
assigned  to  her  in  the  "myth  of  Osiris"  has  been  already 
spoken  of  ;264  and  this  constitutes  the  main  feature  in  all  the 
longer  notices  of  her  which  occur  in  the  inscriptions.  Thus, 
in  the  "Tears  of  Isis,"  we  have  her  lamentations  over  her 
brother  when  slain,  and  her  joyful  address  to  him  upon  his  re- 
appearance.265 In  the  "Book  of  Respirations"  we  hear  of  the 
"sighs  of  Isis  for  her  brother  Osiris,  to  give  life  to  his  soul,  to 
give  life  to  his  body,  to  rejuvenate  all  his  members,  that  lie 


174  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

may  reach  the  horizon  with  his  father,  the  sun  ;  that  his  soul 
may  rise  to  heaven  in  the  disk  of  the  moon  ;  that  his  body 
may  shine  in  the  stars  of  Orion  on  the  bosom  of  Nut."  266  A 
hymn  to  Osiris  tells  us  how  "his  sister  took  care  of  him  by  dis- 
persing his  enemies,"  how  she  "  unrepiningly  sought  him, 
went  the  round  of  the  world  lamenting  him,  shadowed  him 
with  her  wings,  made  the  invocation  of  his  burial,  raised  his 
remains,  and  extracted  his  essence."  267  Thenceforth,  as  a  re- 
ward for  her  fidelity  and  love,  Isis  ruled  with  Osiris  in  the 
Amenti,  assisted  him  in  judging  the  dead,  and  received  in 
common  with  him  the  principal  worship  of  the  departed.268 

The  name  of  Isis  is  expressed  by  the  hieroglyph  supposed  to 
represent  a  throne,  followed  by  the  two  feminine  signs  269  of 

the  half-circle  and  the  egg  1%,  to  which  is  added  sometimes 

the  hatchet  J ,  neter,  or  the  form  of  a  sitting  goddess  Jb.     She 

is  figured  commonly  as  a  female  with  a  so-called  throne  upon 
her  head,  either  simply,  or  above  the  horns  and  disk  which  are 
also  characteristic  of  Athor.  Sometimes  she  wears  the  vulture 
headdress  ;  at  other  times  she  has  the  head  of  a  cow  ;  and  she 
is  even  found  with  the  head  of  a  cat.270  She  has  commonly  in 
her  hands  the  ankh  and  the  female  sceptre.  Occasionally  she 
is  sitting  on  the  ground  and  nursing  Horus. 

Her  most  frequent  title  is  "defender"  or  "avenger  of  her 
brother;"271  but  she  is  also  called  "the  goddess  mother,"27* 
"the  mistress  of  the  two  worlds,"  and  "the  mistress  of 
Heaven." 273  She  was  worshipped  more  or  less  in  every  part  of 
Egypt ;  but  her  most  remarkable  temples  were  those  at  Philse 
and  Coptos.  The  Egyptians  connected  her  in  some  peculiar 
way  with  Sothis,  the  Dog-Star,274  and  also  with  a  goddess 
called  Selk 275  or  Serk,  whose  special  emblem  was  the  scorpion. 

THE  MOON-GODS,  KHONS  and  THOTH. 

The  Egyptians  had  two  moon-gods,  Khons  (Fig.  120)  or 
Khonsu,  and  Tet  or  Thoth.  Of  these  the  former  seems  to 
have  borne  that  character  only,  while  the  latter  had,  curiously 
enough,  the  further  aspect  of  a  god  of  letters.  Khons  was 
represented  as  the  son  of  Ammon  and  Maut,276  and  formed 
together  with  those  deities  the  third  god  of  the  Theban  triad. 
He  is  frequently  called  "the  god  of  two  names  ;"  277  and  these 
names  seem  to  be  Khons  or  Khonsu  and  Nefer-hetp,  both 
words  being  of  uncertain  meaning.278  Khons's  ordinary  titles 
are,  "the  great  god,"  "the  giver  of  life,"  and  "the  giver  of 


KHONS — THOTH.  175 

oracles."  m  He  is  also  called  "the  expeller  of  spirits  from  the 
possessed,"280  and  "the  clerk  of  the  divine  cycle."281  He  was 
generally  worshipped  in  combination  with  Ammon  and 
Maut ; 282  but  Rameses  III.  built  him  a  special  temple  in 
Thebes  "of  good  hewn  sandstone  and  black  basalt,  having 
gates  whose  folding  doors  were  plated  with  gold,  and  itself 
overlaid  with  electrum  like  the  horizon  of  heaven."  283  It  was 
probably  from  this  temple  that,  in  the  time  of  Rameses  XII., 
an  image  of  the  god  was  sent  enclosed  in  a  sacred  ark  from 
Thebes  to  Mesopotamia,  for  the  purpose  of  curing  a  "possessed 
princess,"  the  daughter  of  a  "king  of  Bakhten."  284  The  cure 
was  happily  effected,  and  the  monarch  so  delighted  with  the 
result,  that  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  part  with  the  image, 
until  in  the  fourth  year  he  was  warned  by  a  dream  to  restore 
it  to  its  proper  place  in  Egypt. 

The  name  Khons  or  Khonsu  is  always  written  phonetically 

*2*K  i  "V  or     ©   1@,  with  or  without  the  figure  of  a  bearded 

god.  The  form  most  commonly  assigned  to  the  deity  is  that 
of  a  mummied  figure,  like  the  figure  of  Phthah,285  but  with 
the  lock  of  hair  that  characterizes  Harpakrat  and  other  young 
gods,  and  with  the  disk  and  crescent  that  mark  him  as  a  moon 
deity.  In  his  hands  he  bears  either  "the  Kilometer,"  with  the 
crook  and  whip,  like  Phthah,  or  a  palm-branch  and  pen,  like 
Thoth.  Occasionally  he  is  represented  as  hawk-headed,  and 
is  distinguishable  from  Horus  and  Ra  only  by  the  crescent 
and  disk  which  always  accompany  him. 

Thoth  (Fig.  121)  who  adds  to  his  lunar  character  the 
features  and  titles  of  a  god  of  letters,  is  ordinarily  represented 
with  the  head  of  an  ibis  and  a  wig  with  lappets,  the  head  be- 
ing surmounted  by  the  crescent  and  disk.  To  these  an  ostrich 
feather  is  sometimes  added,  while  occasionally  in  lieu  of  the  cres- 
cent and  disk  we  see  the  complicated  headdress  which  is  worn 
more  commonly  by  Kneph,  Ra,  and  Osiris.286  In  some  few 
cases  the  entire  figure  is  that  of  a  man,287  attired  as  usual, 
while,  still  more  rarely,  the  form  selected  is  that  of  a  cyno- 
cephalous  ape.  Thoth  commonly  bears  in  his  hands  a  tablet 
and  reed  pen  ;  but  sometimes  he  has  the  palm-branch  and 
pen,  like  Khons,  sometimes  the  uas  or  crook-headed  sceptre.288 

The  titles  most  frequently  given  to  him  are  "lord  of  Sesen- 
nu  "  m  and  "lord  of  truth."  29°  He  is  called  also  "one  of  the  chief 
gods,"  "the  great  god"  or  "the  god  twice  great,"  "the  great 
chief  in  the  paths  of  the  dead,"  "the  self-created,  never  born," 
"the  lord  of  the  divine  words,"  and  "the  scribe  of  Truth."  291 
It  is  his  special  office  to  be  present  in  Amenti  when  souls  are 


176  HISTORY    OF    AKCIENT    EGYPT. 

judged,  to  see  their  deeds  weighed  in  the  balance,  and  to  re- 
cord the  result.  He  is  also  in  this  world  the  revealer  to  men 
of  God's  will.  It  is  he  who  composes  the  "Kitual  of  the 
Dead,"  or  at  any  rate  its  more  important  portions.292  It  is  also 
he  who  in  the  realms  below  writes  for  the  good  souls  with  his 
own  fingers  "the  Book  of  Respirations,"  which  protects  them, 
sustains  them,  enlightens  them,  gives  them  life,  causes  them 
to  " breathe  with  the  souls  of  the  gods  for  ever  and  ever."293 
According  to  one  legend,  Thoth  once  wrote  a  wonderful  book, 
full  of  wisdom  and  science,  containing  in  it  everything  relating 
to  the  fowls  of  the  air,  the  fishes  of  the  sea,  and  the  four-footed 
beasts  of  the  mountains.  The  man  who  knew  a  single  page 
of  the  work  could  charm  the  heaven,  the  earth,  the  great 
abyss,  the  mountains,  and  the  seas.  This  marvellous  compo- 
sition he  enclosed  in  a  box  of  gold,  which  he  placed  within  a 
box  of  silver  ;  the  box  of  silver  within  a  box  of  ivory  and 
ebony,  and  that  again  within  a  box  of  bronze  ;  the  box  of 
bronze  within  a  box  of  brass,  and  the  box  of  brass  within  a 
box  of  iron  ;  and  the  book,  thus  guarded,  he  threw  into  the 
Nile  at  Coptos.  The  fact  became  known,  and  the  book  was 
searched  for  and  found.  It  gave  its  possessor  vast  knowledge 
and  magical  power,  but  it  always  brought  on  him  misfortune. 
What  became  of  it  ultimately  does  not  appear  in  the  manu- 
script from  which  this  account  is  taken  ; 294  but  the  moral  of 
the  story  seems  to  be  the  common  one,  that  unlawful  knowl- 
edge is  punished  by  all  kinds  of  calamity. 

The  name  of  Thoth  is  written  with  the  ibis  standing  upon 
a  perch,  followed  by  a  half-circle  and  the  two  oblique  lines, 
which  are  used  commonlyto  express  L     Birch  reads  the  >g» 
name  as  "Teti,"  regarding    the  sign   //  as  having    its  _3T" 
usual  force  ;  295  but   Wilkinson    supposes   that  the  two  *^$ 
lines  in  this  case  "double  the   T,"  and  reads  the  name  *    ^ 
asTetor  Tot.296 

As  a  god  who  took  part  in  the  judgment  of  the  dead,  Thoth 
was  an  object  of  universal  reverence  throughout  Egypt.297 
Mis  main  worship,  however,  was  at  Sesennu,  or  Hermopolis, 
where  he  had  a  temple,298  and  was  adored  together  with  Turn, 
8a,  and  Nehemao.299  Oxen,  cows,  and  geese  were  sacrificed 
in  his  honor,300  and  the  ibis  and  cynocephalous  ape  were  sa- 
cred to  him.301  He  is  often  represented  in  attendance  on  the 
kings  of  Egypt,  either  purifying  them,  or  inscribing  their 
names  on  the  sacred  tree,  or  in  some  other  wTay  doing  them 
honor.302 

Among  the  minor  divinities  of  the  Egyptians  may  be  men- 
tioned  the  gods  Seb,  Savak,  Hanher,  Merula  or  Malouli,  and 


SEB    AKD    SAVAK.  177 

Aemhept,  together  with  the  goddesses  Bast  or  Pasht,  Nu  or 
Nutpe  (Netpe),  Nebta  or  Nephthys,  Anuka,  Ma,  Tafne,  Mer- 
seker,  Heka,  Menh,  and  Nehemao ;  to  whom  must  be  added 
the  malignant  deities  Set  or  Sutech,  Nubi,  Bes,  Taourt,  and 
Apepi  (Apap)  or  Apophis.  A  few  words  only  can  be  given  to 
each  of  these. 

SEB. 

Seb  (Fig.  122),  the  father  of  Osiris,  is  thought  to  have  been 
the  embodiment  of  "the  stellar  universe,"  and  is  spoken  of  as 
"the  father  of  the  gods"  (atef  neteru)  or  "the  leader  of  the 
gods."  His  name  is  expressed  by  a  goose  or  an  egg,  followed 
by  the  ordinary  phonetic  sign  for  b,  and  the  image  of  a  sitting 

god  (   79^  13  or  *1J)«     He   is   figured   in   the   form  of  a 

man,  walking,  dressed  in  the  short  tunic  or  shenti,  with  col- 
lar, girdle,  armlets,  bracelets,  and  anklets.  In  his  two  hands 
he  holds  the  aiikh  and  aas,  and  sometimes  he  carries  on  his 
head  the  figure  of -a  goose.  There  is  not  much  mention  of 
him  in  the  inscriptions. r 


303 


SAVAK. 

Sabak  or  Savak,  the  crocodile-headed  god,  has  all  the  ap- 
pearance of  having  been  originally  a  local  deity,  worshipped 
in  the  Arsinoite  nome,  and  perhaps  there  representing  the 
Supreme  Being.  Bunsen  supposes  that  the  "  tractability  "  of 
the  crocodile  was  the  quality  which  drew  attention,  and  caused 
it  to  be  invested  with  a  sacred  character  ; 304  but  it  is  perhaps 
more  reasonable  to  consider  that  its  strength  and  destructive- 
ness  made  it  fi*st  feared  and  then  worshipped.  The  crocodile 
is  the  only  animal  that  attacks  man  in  Egypt ;  and  many  deaths 
are  caused  by  crocodiles  every  year.305  If  we  take  this  view, 
we  can  understand  why  crocodiles,  and  the  crocodile-headed 
god,  were  either  hated,  as  at  Tentyra,  Apollinopolis,  Herac- 
leopolis,  Elephantine,  and  elsewhere,  or  else  honored  and  rev- 
erenced. Savak  obtained  at  a  somewhat  late  date 306  recognition 
and  worship  in  Thebes  and  the  adjacent  parts  of  Egypt,  just 
as  Set  obtained  recognition  ;  but  he  was  never  honored  gener- 
ally.307 The  Thebans  connected  him  with  Kneph  and  Ea, 
representing  him  with  a  ram's  head,  or  with  a  human  head 
and  the  headdress  appropriate  to  sun-gods,  and  sometimes 
changing  his  name  from  Sabak  into  Sabak-Ra.  The  people 
of  Ombos  gladly  adopted  him,  and  identified  him  with  their 
favorite  deit}T,  Ombo  or  Nubi,  who  was  himself  a  form  of  Set, 


Vol.  I. 


Plato  XLIII.—  a. 


Fig.  105.— Ammon  (ordinary 
form).— See  Page  153. 


Fig.  106.— Khem—  See 
Page  157. 


Fig.  107.-MAUT.-See 
Page  160. 


AEMHETP — PASHT    Oil    BAST.  179 

of  the  final  triad  of  all,  the  "last  of  the  incarnations  of  Am- 
nion."320 It  may  be  suspected  that  he  was  a  local  (Nubian?) 
deity. 

AEMHETP. 

Aemhetp  (Fig.  125),  whom  the  Greeks  compared  to  their 
Asclepius  or  iEsculapius,  was  a  god  but  little  acknowledged 
and  but  little  worshipped.  He  seems  never  to  have  had  a 
temple  expressly  built  in  his  honor.321  The  form  assigned  to 
him  is  the  simplest  that  we  find  given  to  any  god,  consisting, 
as  it  does,  merely  of  a  bearded  man,  wearing  a  plain  tunic, 
with  a  collar  and  a  close-fitting  skull  cap.  The  ankli  and 
sceptre  which  he  carries,  alone  show  him   to  be  a  god.     His 

name  is  expressed  by  1 J  *£?  or  "Vsjv  — *—  • 

The  monuments  state  that  he  was  the  "son  of  Phthah," 
but  give  no  account  of  his  attributes.  We  ma}'  conclude, 
however,  from  the  notices  of  the  classical  writers,322  that  he  was 
in  some  sort  a  "god  of  medicine,"  and  was  worshipped  in  the 
belief  that  his  favor  would  avert  disease  from  his  votaries,  or 
cure  them  when  afflicted  with  any  malady.  Images  of  him 
which  appear  to  have  been  votive  offerings,  and  represent 
him  seated  on  a  stool,  unfolding  a  papyrus  roll  which  lies 
upon  his  knees,  are  not  uncommon. ' 


323 


PASHT  or  BAST. 

Of  the  goddesses  not  hitherto  described,  the  most  important 
seems  to  have  been  Pasht  or  Bast  (Fig.  126).  Some  writers 
have  even  placed  her  among  the  eight  deities  of  the  first 
order  ; 324  but  this  view  is  scarcely  tenable.  She  was  the  wife 
of  Phthah,325  and  was  worshipped  together  with  him  and  their 
son,  Turn,  in  the  great  triad  of  Memphis.     Her  common  title 

is  Merienptah  ,v2^ij  "  beloved  of  Phthah  ;"  she  is  also  called 

Mut,  "the   mother,"   and   ur-heku,   which   is   of    uncertain 
meaning.326 

Bast  is  represented  in  the  ordinary  form  of  a  goddess,  but 
as  lion-headed  in  the  earlier,  and  as  cat-headed  in  the  more 
recent  times.  In  most  instances  she  bears  upon  her  head  the 
sun's  disk,  with  the  uraeus,  but  sometimes  she  has  the  disk 
only,  sometimes  the  uraeus  only,  and  occasionally  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other.327  Excepting  by  her  hieroglyphic  name,  she 
is  (indistinguishable  from  Menh  and  Tafne.     This  name  is  ex- 


180  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

pressed  by  three  signs,  thus:    A®  >  an(l  is  rea(l  doubtfully  as 

Pasht  or  Bast. 

The  worship  of  Bast  was  widely  spread.  At  Thebes  she 
held  a  high  place  among  the  contemplar  deities  there  rever- 
enced.328 At  Memphis,  she  was  not  only  united  with  Phthah, 
but  had  a  special  temple  of  her  own.3'29  Her  great  city  was, 
however,  Bubastis  (now  Tel-Basta)  in  the  Delta,  which  was 
wholly  dedicated  to  her,330  and  contained  her  principal  shrine, 
an  edifice  pronounced  by  Herodotus  to  be  "the  most  pleasing  of 
all  the  temples  of  Egypt." 331  Once  a  year  a  great  festival  was 
held  at  this  place,  accompanied  by  indecent  ceremonies,  which 
was  frequented  by  vast  numbers  of  the  Egyptians.332  It  does 
not  appear  that  her  worship  was  very  ancient  ;  but  from  the 
time  of  Barneses  III.,  at  any  rate,  she  was  held  in  high  repute, 
and  received  the  frequent  homage  of  the  kings,  who  even 
sometimes  called  her  their  "mother."333 

NUT   or  NETPE. 

Nu,  Nut,  Nuhar,  or  Netpe  (Fig.  124)  is  the  rendering  of  a 
name  expressed  in  hieroglyphics  by  the  three  characters  ,£2,, 
which  are  sometimes  followed  by  the  feminine  signs  of  the 
half-circle  and  egg  J.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  third  hie- 
roglyph r-^,  which  is  the  ideograph  for  "heaven,"  was 
sounded,  and,  if  it  was,  whether  the  sound  was  liar  or  pe. 
The  goddess  was  the  divinity  of  the  firmament,  and  is  generally 
called  the  wife  of  Seb  and  mother  of  Osiris.  Her  titles  are,  "  the 
elder,"  "the  mother  of  the  gods,"  "the  mistress  of  Heaven," 
and  "the  nurse."  She  is  at  once  the  mother  and  the  daughter 
of  Ka.334  She  was  represented  in  the  common  form  of  a  god- 
dess, with  the  ankh  and  female  sceptre,  sometimes  bearing  a 
vase  upon  her  head.  Occasionally  she  appears  in  a  fig  or 
sycamore  tree,  pouring  liquid  from  a  similar  vase  into  the 
hands  of  a  deceased  soul.335  As  the  mother  of  Osiris,  she  is 
held  in  honor  in  the  lower  world,  and  thus  her  figure  often 
appears  in  the  tombs.  It  does  not  seem,  however,  as  if  she 
was  a  special  object  of  worship  in  any  city,  or  had  anywhere 
a  temple  specially  built  in  her  honor. 

NEPHTHYS.     (Egypt.  Nebta.) 

Nephthys  (Fig.  127),  according  to  the  myth,  was  the  sister 
of  Isis,  and  assisted  her  in  her  painful  efforts  to  collect  her 
husband's  scattered  members  and  effect  his   resuscitation.3"6 


AKUKA.  181 

Her  common  titles  are  "the  sister,"  "the  benevolent  saving 
sister,"  "the  sister  goddess,"  and  "the  great  benevolent  god- 
dess." 336  She  held  an  important  office  in  the  under  world, 
where  she  is  the  constant  associate  of  Osiris  and  Isis,337  and  is 
said  to  "cut  away  the  failings"  of  deceased  persons.338  Her 
name  is  written  with  a  sign  which  seems  to  be  a  combination 


of  a  house  with  a  basket,    |j  ^ ,  followed  by  the  half  circle 

and  egg  so  frequently  attached  to  the  name  of  a  goddess.  It 
has  been  read  Neb-tei,  and  translated  "lady  of  the  abode,"  339 
but  Birch  reads  it  simply  Neb-ta.340 

Neb-ta  was  figured  like  other  goddesses,  but  with  the  house 
and  basket  upon  her  head,  or  else  in  a  form  in  which  she  is 
undistinguishable  from  Isis,  crowned,  that  is,  with  the  sun's 
disk  between  two  long  cow's  horns.  She  often  appears  in  the 
tombs,  but  does  not  seem  to  have  had  any  temple  dedicated 
to  her. 

ANUKA.     (Egypt.  Anh.) 

Anuka  (Fig.  128)  has  been  regarded  by  some  as  a  form  of 
Nephthys,341  by  others  as  a  form  of  Sati.342  But  she  seems  to 
be  really  a  distinct  and  substantive  goddess.  There  is  nothing 
that  properly  connects  her  in  any  way  with  Nephthys  ;  and 
though  she  stands  connected  with  Kneph,  very  much  as  Sati 
does,  being,  like  Sati,  his  wife  and  companion,  yet  they  can 
scarcely  be  identical,  since  the  two  are  invoked  together,343  and 
represented  together,344  and  called,  in  the  plural  number,  "the 
ladies  of  Elephantine." 345  Anuka  was  acknowledged  as  a  god- 
dess only  at  the  extreme  south  of  Egypt  and  in  Nubia.  There 
she  was  the  third  deity  in  a  triad  composed  of  herself,  Kneph, 
and  Sati,  or  sometimes  a  third  deity  in  a  "tetrad"  composed 
of  Kneph,  Sati,  herself,  and  Hak,  who  is  her  son  by  Kneph.34' 

Her  name  is  written  phonetically  ** — '*  ,J,  or  anh,  followed 

by  the  feminine  sign  ,  and  that  by  the  form  of  a  goddess. 
She  is  represented,  like  other  goddesses,  in  the  ordinary  fe- 
male attire,  and  with  the  anhli  and  lotus  sceptre,  but  is  clearly 
distinguished  from  all  her  rivals  by  a  headdress  of  a  very 
peculiar  kind.  This  is  a  high  cap,  ornamented  at  the  top 
with  a  number  of  feathers  which  spread  outwardly,  and  form 
a  striking  and  graceful  plume.347  The  Greek  conquerors  of 
Egypt  identified  her  with  Hestia  or  Vesta,348  but  on  what 
grounds  is  uncertain.  She  seems  to  have  been  really  rather  a 
war-goddess  than  a  protectress  of  the  hearth. 


182  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

MA. 

Ma  (Fig.  129)  was  the  Egyptian  goddess  of  truth.  To  the 
initiated  she  was,  no  doubt,  the  truth  and  justice  of  the  Su- 
preme God  personified  ;  but  to  the  vulgar  she  was  a  distinct 
personage,  a  goddess  who  presided  over  all  transactions  in 
which  truth  and  justice  came  into  play.  The  kings,  as  su- 
preme judges,  are  frequently  said  to  be  "beloved  of  Ma,"  i.  e., 
friends  of  truth.349  The  chief  judge  in  each  subordinate  court 
is  said  to  have  worn  an  image  of  Ma,  and  when  he  decided  a 
cause  to  have  touched  with  the  image  the  litigant  in  whose 
favor  his  decision  was  made.350  In  the  final  judgment  of  Osiris 
Ma's  image  was  also  introduced,  being  set  in  the  scale  and 
weighed  against  the  good  actions  of  the  deceased.351  Ma  was 
reckoned  a  daughter  of  Ea,  and  was  worshipped  together  with 
him,352  She  is  sometimes  called  "chief"  or  "directress  of  the 
gods." 353  No  special  temples  were  dedicated  to  her,  nor  was 
she  comprised,  so  far  as  is  known,  in  auy  triad.     Her  peculiar 

emblem  was  a  single  ostrich  feather  I  ;  and  her  name  is  some- 
times written  with  such  a  feather,  followed  by  the  half-circle 
and  egg,  which  are  usual  signs  of  femininity,  thus,  1*.  But 
the  more  common   mode  of  expressing   it   is  as  follows  : — 


Ma  is  most  frequently  figured  in  the  ordinary  form  of  a 
standing  goddess,  but  with  an  ostrich  feather  erect  above  her 
head.  Sometimes,  however,  she  sits,  and  bears  the  anl'li 
without  the  sceptre.  She  is  also  found  occasionally  with  huge 
wings,  which  project  in  front  of  her  body  to  a  considerable 
distance.  In  this  guise,  she  is  often  double,  since  the  Egyp- 
tians were  in  the  habit,  for  some  recondite  reason,  of  repre- 
senting truth  as  twofold.354 

TAFNE. 

Tafne  (Fig.  134),  another  daughter  of  Ra,  has  a  faint  and 
shadowy  character,  which  does  not  admit  of  much  description. 
She  ordinarily  accompanies  Shu,355  whose  twin  sister  and  wife 
she  is,  and  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  goddess  of  light.356  Both 
Osiris  and  Ilorus  are  called  in  places  "sons  of  Shu  and 
Tafne  ;  "  357  but  this  mythology  is  of  course  exceptional.  Her 
name  is  written  phonetically  ^J^J*  with  or  without  the 
figure  of  a  sitting  goddess.     She  is  portrayed  in  the  usual 


MERSEKER,    HEKA,    AND    MENH.  183 

female  form,  but  with  the  head  of  a  lioness,  like  Sekhet,  and 
bearing  on  her  head  the  solar  orb,  surmounted  by  the  uraeus.358 
Within  the  limits  of  Egypt,  she  was  worshipped  chiefly  at 
Thebes  ; 359  but  her  effigy  is  found  also  in  Nubia,360  where  she 
was  held  in  honor  by  the  Ethiopians. 

MERSEKER. 
Merseker  (Fig.  135) — whose  name  is  written  in  two  ways 
^^  fl  s  A,  or  J^.D^>  % — *s  a  goddess  n^t  very  often  men- 
tioned. We  may  gather  from  her  name,  which  means  "loving 
silence,"  361  that  she  was  the  "goddess  of  silence,"  362  a  conclu- 
sion which  is  confirmed  by  our  finding  her  called,  in  one  of 
the  royal  tombs  at  Thebes,  "the  ruler  of  Amenti "  or  "the 
regions  below."  363  The  form  assigned  to  her  is  very  like  that 
usually  given  to  Isis  and  Nephthys,  differing  only  in  the  head- 
dress, which  is  without  lappets.  She  carries  the  ankh,  like 
other  goddesses,  but  bears  the  uas  or  male  sceptre. 

HEKA. 

The  goddess  Hak  (Fig.  136)  or  Heka,  as  commonly  repre- 
sented, is  undistinguishable  from  Tafne,  having  the  lion's 
head  surmounted  by  the  solar  orb  and  asp.  She  seems,  how- 
ever, unlike  Tafne,  to  have  been  a  goddess  of  the  tombs,  in 
which  her  effigy  often  occurs.  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  sup- 
posed her  to  correspond  to  the  Greek  Hecate,364  whose  name 
he  identified  with  hers;  but  the  resemblance  of  the  two  in 
character  is  very  slight.  Hak  appears  on  some  of  the  older 
monuments  as  the  wife  of  Kneph.365  She  is  there  frog-headed 
instead  of  lion-headed,  and  bears  neither  the  disk  nor  the 

uraeus.  Her  name  is  written  either  gi  or  jjLJ ,  and  has 
sometimes  the  figure  of  a  sitting  frog  ^  placed  after  it. 

MENH  or  MENHI. 

In  form  this  goddess  is,  like  Heka,  an  exact  reproduction  of 
Tafne,  lion-headed,  with  the  solar  orb  and  uraeus,  and  bearing 
the  ankh  and  lotus  sceptre  in  her  two  hands.366     Her  name  is 

written  iJ^jU,  or  :S£$il^«  No  special  office  can  be  as- 
signed to  her. 


184  HISTOKY    OF    AKCIEKT    EGYPT. 

NEHEMAO. 

Nehemao  is  another  colorless  and  shadowy  goddess,  not 
often  mentioned,  and,  when  mentioned,  given  no  epithets  that 
assign  her  any  definite  character.  She  is  a  "daughter  of  the 
sun,"  "the  lady  of  Tentyris,"  and  "the  mistress  of  the  eight 
regions  of  Egypt." 367  Her  headdress  consists  of  a  shrine,  from 
which  in  some  cases  water  plants  are  seen  to  issue  on  all  sides. 
At  the  quarries  near  Memphis  she  was  worshipped  as  the 
second  member  of  a  triad,  in  which  she  was  conjoined  with 
Thoth  and  Horus.      Her  name  is  expressed  in  Egyptian  by 

the  following  group 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  to  a  certain  number  of  the 
Egyptian  deities  an  evil  and  malignant  character  very  unmis- 
takably attaches,368  if  not  in  the  more  ancient  form  of  the 
religion,  at  any  rate  in  that  form  which  ultimately  prevailed 
and  established  itself  universally.  This  character  belongs  in 
some  degree  even  to  Savak,  the  crocodile-headed  god,  who  was 
a  main  object  of  worship  at  the  best  period  ;  but  it  is  intensified 
in  such  deities  as  Set  or  Sutech,  Kubi  or  Ombo  (if  he  is  really 
distinct  from  Set),  Bes,  and  Taouris,  who  are  represented  in 
grotesque  or  hideous  forms,  and  whose  attributes  and  actions 
are  wholly  or  predominantly  evil. 

SET  or  SUTECH. 

Set  (Fig.  137)  was  a  son  of  Nut  or  Xetpe,  and  so  a  brother 
of  Osiris.  According  to  the  myth,  he  rebelled  against  his 
brother,  murdered  him,  cut  his  body  into  pieces,  and  reigned 
in  his  stead.  Osiris  was  afterwards  avenged  by  his  son,  Horus, 
who  vanquished  Set,  and,  according  to  some  accounts,  slew 
him.369  Set,  however,  though  slain,  continued  to  be  feared 
and  worshipped,  being  recognized  as  the  indestructible  power 
of  evil,  and  so  requiring  to  be  constantly  propitiated.  In  the 
time  of  the  Old  Monarchy  he  seems  to  have  held  a  place  among 
the  "great  gods," 370  but  was  not  the  object  either  of  any  special 
adoration  or  of  any  marked  aversion.  During  the  rule  of  the 
Hyksos,  or  shepherd  kings,  those  invaders  selected  him  as 
their  sole  deity,  refusing  to  worship  any  of  the  other  Egyptian 
gods.371  On  their  expulsion,  he  resumed  his  former  place  till 
the  time  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  when  increased  prominence 
was  given  to  him  by  Seti  I.,  in  whose  name  Set  was  the  chief 
element.378    Subsequently,  but  at  what  exact  time  is  unknown, 


NUBI    AND    TAOUKIS.  185 

Set  passed  wholly  out  of  favor.  His  worship  ceased,  and  his 
very  name  was  obliterated  from  the  monuments.373 

The  name  Set  is  expressed  commonly  by  |i  pi  or     •   ;  but 

in  the  latter  case  the  Typhonian  animal  j^jf ,  which  some- 
times stands  by  itself  for  Set,  is  usually  added.     When  Sutech 

is  the  name  used,  it  is  commonly  written  XV&J^J*     The 

worshippers  of  Set  call  him  "the  lord  of  the  world,"  "the  most 
glorious  son  of  Nut,"  and  "the  great  ruler  of  heaven."  374  His 
detractors  view  him  as  "wicked,"  "vile,"  and  "the  enemy  of 
Osiris."375  The  form  generally  assigned  him  is  curious.  It 
is  a  human  figure  of  the  ordinary  type,  but  with  a  strange  and 
monstrous  head,  halfway  between  that  of  a  bird  and  that  of  a 
quadruped.  A  pair  of  long,  erect,  and  square-topped  ears,  a 
bill  like  that  of  a  stork,  a  small  eye,  and  a  large  wig,  form  an 
ensemble  which  is  grotesque  in  the  extreme,376  and  which  natur- 
ally provokes  a  laugh.  Sometimes,  besides  this  head  there  is 
a  second,  which  is  clearly  that  of  a  hawk.377 

NUBI  or  NUBTI. 

It  is  probable  that  in  Nubi  or  Nubti  we  have  not  so  much  a 
distinct  god  as  another  name  of  the  deity  above  described,378 


Sutech  or  Set.     The  name  Nubti,  written  ,  is  followed 

by  the  same  grotesque  animal  form  as  the  name  Sutech  ;  and 
it  not  unfrequently  accompanies  one  or  other  of  the  figures 
which  were  assigned  to  Set  in  the  last  paragraph.  Nor  is 
there  any  other  form  than  this  which  can  be  ascribed  to 
Nubti.  Nubti  is  called  "the  occupant  of  the  south,"  379  and 
is  said  to  "shoot  his  arrows  against  the  enemies  of  the  sun," 
and  to  "shake  the  earth  and  the  sky  with  his  storm." 380 

TAOUKIS.     (Egypt.   Taour  or  Taourt.) 

Taour  or  Taourt  (Fig.  130),  the  feminine  counterpart  of 
Set,  appears  commonly  in  the  form  of  a  hippopotamus  walk- 
ing, with  the  back  covered  by  the  skin  and  tail  of  a  crocodile.38' 
In  one  hand  she  generally  bears  an  implement  like  a  knife, 
while  in  the  other  she  sometimes  holds  a  young  crocodile.382 
ifer  mouth  is  commonly  furnished  with  huge  teeth,  and  has 


186  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

the  tongue  protruding  from  it  more  or  less.  Sometimes,  in- 
stead of  a  knife,  the  implement  which  she  bears  in  her  hand 
resembles  a  pair  of  shears.  She  was  worshipped  at  Silsilis 
in  combination  with  Thoth  and  Nut  or  Nutpe,383  standing 
there,  as  it  seems,  at  the  head  of  a  local  triad.     Her  name  is 

commonly  written  phonetically  ATL  "%^.  <^>  and  is  some- 
times followed  by  a  uraeus  g>  ,  ouro,  which  is  redundant. 

BES. 

Bes  (Fig.  131),  represented  as  a  hideous  dwarf,  generally 
with  a  plume  of  feathers  on  his  head  and  a  lion-skin  down  his 
back,384  is  thought  by  some  to  be  a  form  of  Set,  by  others  to 
be  the  Egyptian  "god  of  death."385  He  is  sometimes  seen 
armed  with  a  sword  or  swords,  and  is  even  found  in  the  act 

of  slaying  persons.386  His  name,  which  is  written  j  |J,  is  fol- 
lowed, curiously  enough,  by  the  hieroglyph  representing  a  skin 
W,  which  occurs  commonly  as  the  determinative  of  animals. 

He  was  worshipped  at  Thebes,  at  Tentj^ris,  and  in  Ethiopia. 
Bronze  images  of  Bes  are  common,  and  appear  sometimes  to 
connect  him  with  the  moon.387 

APOPHIS.     (Egypt.  Apep.) 

c 
Apophis  (Fig.  132)  is  portrayed  either  as  a  huge  serpent  dis- 
posed in  many  folds,  or  as  a  water-snake  with  a  human  head.388 
He  was  supposed  to  have  sided  with  Set  against  Osiris,  and  to 
have  thereby  provoked  the  anger  of  Horus,  who  is  frequently 
represented  as  piercing  his  head  with  a  spear.389  The  place  of 
his  ordinary  abode  is  the  lower  world,  where  he  seems  to  act 
as  the  accuser  of  souls,  and  to  impede  their  progress  towards 
the  inner  gates  of  Hades  and  the  Hall  of  the  Two  Truths.390 
He  is  thought  to  have  been  the  original  principle  of  evil  in  the 
Egyptian  system,  and  to  have  subsequently  given  way  to  Set, 
when  their  hatred  of  the  Asiatics,  whose  great  god  Set  was, 
caused  the  Egyptians  to  invest  that  deity  with  a  malignant  and 
hateful  character.391  The  word  "Apep"  seems  to  be  derived 
from  ap,  "to  mount"  or  "rise."     It  is  expressed  in  Egyptian 

«*ither  by  +~~i>  °r  i    i. 


Vol.  I. 


Plato  XLIIL— b. 


Fig.  108.^-Egyptian  representations  of  Taouris,  Savak,  and  Osiris.— Page  131. 


Plate  XLIV. 


Vol.  L 


Fig.  109.-  Egyptian  drawing  Wateb  from  a  Reservoir.— See  Page  131. 


Fig.  110.— 1. 


Ra. 


y.—  See  Page  16.1 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XLV, 


Fig.  111.— Tum.— See  Page  165. 


Fig.  11*  — Nefer-Tum.— See  Page  lt>5. 


Plate  XLVI. 


Fig.  115.—  Three  Forms  of  Osirts.— See  Page  168. 


THE    FOUK    GEXII  OF    AMENTI.  187 

Besides  gods,  the  Egyptians  recognized  a  certain  number  of 
daemones  or  genii,  who  were  not  the  objects  of  any  worship,  but 
figured  in  their  religious  scenes,  and  had  certain  definite 
offices  assigned  them,  if  not  in  this  world,  at  any  rate  in  the 
next.  Such  was  Anubis,  the  conductor  of  the  dead,  who  is 
sometimes  represented  as  watching  the  departure  of  the  spirit 
from  the  body  of  one  recently  deceased,392  but  more  often  ap- 
pears in  the  judgment  scenes,  where  he  weighs  the  souls  in  the 
balance,393  or  superintends  the  execution  of  the  sentence  which 
has  been  passed  upon  them  by  their  judge.394  Anubis  is  repre- 
sented with  the  head  of  an  animal  which  the  Greeks  and 
Romans  considered  to  be  a  dog,395  but  which  is  now  generally 
regarded  as  a  jackal.  In  other  respects  he  has  the  ordinary 
form  of  a  god,  and  even,  when  unemployed,  carries  the  ankh 
and  sceptre.  Occasionally  he  bears  on  his  head  the  crown  of 
the  two  Egypts.396  He  is  called  "  lord  of  the  burying-ground," 397 
and  regarded  as  presiding  over  coffins,398  tombs,  and  cemeteries. 
In  the  mythology  he  was  said  to  be  a  son  of  Ra  and  Nephthys,""' 


399 


I 


or  of  Osiris  and  JSTephthys.400    His  name  is  written  either  I J 

jV   "Anepu." 
With  Anubis  may  be  joined  the  "four  genii  of  Amenti," 
Amset,  ^J^S=>  Hapi'   PlV  Tuamutef>  '    J^«— *->  and 
Kebhsnauf,    a  |?/wf         >    who    are   represented   either  as 


mummied  figures,  or  in  the  ordinary  human  form,401  and  bear 
respectively  the  heads  of  a  man,  a  cynocephalous  ape,  a  jackal, 
and  a  hawk.  These  beings  presided,  with  Anubis,  over  the 
grave.  At  the  embalment  of  a  corpse  the  intestines  were 
taken  out,  treated  with  medicaments,  and  then  either  deposited 
in  jars  (Fig.  133)  bearing  the  respective  heads  of  the  four 
genii,  and  placed  with  the  coffin  in  the  tomb,  or  else  returned 
into  the  body  accompanied  by  their  complete  figures.  Each 
genius  had  certain  special  intestines  committed  to  his  care : 
Amset,  the  stomach  and  large  intestines  ;  Hapi,  the  smaller 
intestines ;  Tuamutef,  the  lungs  and  heart ;  Kebhsnauf,  the 
liver  and  gall-bladder.402  Speeches,  supposed  to  be  made  by 
the  genii,  were  frequently  inscribed  on  the  exterior  of  coffins, 
and  on  the  boxes  which  held  sepulchral  vases  and  sepulchral 
figures.403  In  the  infernal  regions  the  four  genii  were  closely 
associated  with  Osiris,  and  are  spoken   of  as  "lords  of  truth, 


188  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

chiefs  behind  Osiris."404  Their  duties  are  not  very  clear,  but 
seem  rather  connected  with  the  perservation  of  the  body  than 
the  safe  passage  of  the  soul  through  its  ordeals.405  Still,  the 
genii  are  sometimes  invoked  to  sustain  the  soul  upon  its  way 
with  food  and  light,  to  help  it  to  "pass  through  the  secrect 
places  of  the  horizon,"  and  to  cross  "the  lintels  of  the 
gate."406 

It  is  usual  to  attach  to  the  "four  genii  of  Amenti"  the 
"forty-two"  who  are  known  as  "the  assessors."  In  represen- 
tations of  Osiris  upon  the  judgment-seat,  the  assessors  usually 
appear,  standing  or  sitting  in  two  or  more  rows  above  him  or 
behind  him,  each  crowned  with  an  ostrich  feather,  the  emblem 
of  truth,  and  carrying  in  his  two  hands  an  implement  re- 
sembling a  sword  or  knife.407  All  have  mummied  forms,  and, 
while  some  have  human,  the  majority  have  animal  heads, 
chiefly  those  proper  to  certain  of  the  gods,  as  hawks',  lions', 
jackals',  rams',  crocodiles',  and  hippopotamuses'.  Each  asses- 
sor has  his  own  proper  name  ;  and  these  names  it  was  necessary 
for  all  persons  to  know,  and  to  repeat  when  standing  in  the 
"Hall  of  the  Two  Truths,"  and  disclaiming  the  forty-two  sins 
of  the  Egyptian  moral  code.  All  the  names  appear  to  have 
been  significant,  and  most  of  them  were  well  calculated  to 
cause  the  guilty  to  tremble.408  "Eyes  of  flame,"  "breath  of 
flame,"  "cracker  of  bones,"  "devourer  of  shades,"  "eater  of 
hearts,"  "swallower,"  "lion-god,"  "white  tooth,"  "smoking 
face,"  and  the  like,  sufficently  indicated  what  fate  would  be- 
fall those  who  made  a  false  protest  of  innocence  to  the  spirit 
whose  province  it  was  to  punish  some  one  particular  crime. 
The  assessors  "lived  by: catching  the  wicked,"  "fed  off  their 
blood,"  409  and  "devoured  their  hearts  before  Horus." 410  They 
were  thus  not  merely  judges,  but  accusers  and  punishers  of 
crime.  Guilty  souls  were  handed  over  to  them  by  Osiris,  but 
to  be  "tortured"  only,  not  destroyed.411 

Long  as  is  the  above  list  of  Egyptian  gods  and  genii,  let  it 
not  be  supposed  that  the  catalogue  is  as  yet  complete.  A  full 
account  of  the  Egyptian  Pantheon  would  have  to  comprise, 
besides  the  deities  which  have  been  enumerated,  at  least  twenty 
or  thirty  others  ;  as  for  instance,  Nun,  the  god  of  the  primeval 
waters  ; 412  Hapi,  the  Nile  god  ; 413  Balm,  the  lord  of  the  in- 
undation ; 414  Repa,  the  wife  of  Hapi ; 415  Uati,  the  goddess  of 
Lower  Egypt ; 416  Khaft,  perhaps  the  goddess  of  the  upper 
country  ; 417  Sem,  the  goddess  of  the  West ; 418  Sefkh,  goddess 
of  writing;419  Seneb,  goddess  presiding  over  childbirth;420 
Rannu,  goddess  of  the  harvest ; 421  Nepra,  god  of  corn  ; 4'22  Hu, 
touch  ; 423  Sa,  taste  ; 424  and  the  foreign  importations,  Anta  or 


0RDE11S    OF    GODS.  189 

Anaitis  ; 425  Astaret,  Ashtoreth  or  Astarte  ; 426  Bar,  or  Baal ; 427 
Reshpu,  or  Reseph;428  Ken,  or  Kiun  ; 429  and  Sapt.430  Rito, 
Sekar,  and  Serk  would  also  claim  a  place  in  any  full  descrip- 
tion, though  it  would  probably  appear  on  examination  that 
they  were  mere  forms  of  the  better  known  Athor,  Phthah,  and 
Isis.  Inquiry  would  als©  have  to  be  made  into  the  true  char- 
acter and  attributes  of  Am,  Amente,  Astes,  Hak,  Makai, 
Nausaas,  Nebhept,  Nishem  or  Nuneb,  Nuhar,  Urhek,431  etc. 
But  to  exhaust  the  subject  would  clearly  require  the  devotion 
to  it  of  at  least  one  whole  volume.  In  a  work  of  moderate 
dimensions,  such  as  the  present,  where  even  the  more  impor- 
tant deities  have  to  be  sketched  rather  than  described  at 
length,  it  is  impossible  to  do  more  than  glance  at  the  minor 
and,  comparatively  speaking,  insignificant  personages  of  the 
Pantheon. 

The  arrangement  of  the  gods  into  classes,  and  the  organiza- 
tion, so  to  speak,  of  the  Pantheon,  belong  to  a  comparatively 
late  date,  and  are  too  artificial  to  be  of  much  interest.  Ac- 
cording to  Herodotus,432  the  Egyptians  recognized  three  orders 
of  deities,  and  assigned  to  the  first  order  eight,  to  the  second 
twelve,  and  to  the  third  an  indefinite  number.  There  is  some 
reason  to  question  the  accuracy  of  this  statement.  In  the 
extant  native  monuments  and  papyruses,  neither  "the  eight  " 
nor  "  the  twelve  "  are  to  be  recognized.  We  hear  sometimes 
of  a  "holy  nine,"433  of  "nine  gods  of  the  Ta-Mera,"434  and 
of  "nine  gods,  the  masters  of  things,"  435  but  never  of  eight  or 
twelve.  Still,  as  Manetho  to  some  extent  confirms  Herodo- 
tus,436 it  has  been  generally  thought  that  there  must  have  been, 
at  any  rate  under  the  late  Pharaohs,  some  arrangement  of  the 
gods  into  groups  and  some  recognition  of  a  presiding  "eight ;" 
but  great  difficulty  has  been  found  in  determining  both  the 
principle  or  principles  of  the  division,  and  (still  more)  the 
deities  which  belong  to  each  group.  Following  a  hint  dropped 
by  Herodotus,437  one  writer  takes,  as  the  general  principle  of  the 
grouping,  genealogical  succession,438  placing  in  the  first  order 
original  or  uncreated  gods,  in  the  second  gods  derived  or 
descended  from  them,  and  in  the  third  gods  derived  or  de- 
scended from  deities  of  the  second  rank.  He  is  unable, 
however,  to  obtain  more  than  seven  gods  of  the  first  order 
by  this  method,  and,  to  complete  the  eight,  has  to  associate 
with  them  a  produced  god,  Ra,  the  son  of  Phthah  and  Neith.439 
Recently  it  has  been  thought  best  to  lay  aside  this  principle  of 
division  altogether,  and  merely  to  ask  the  question,  What 
eight  gods  practically  received  the  chief  worship  of  the  Egyp- 
tians?   To  this  question  it  has  been  found  impossible  to  give 


190  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

a  simple  answer,  since  different  usages  prevailed  in  different 
parts  of  the  country.  The  subjoined,  for  instance,  is  given  as 
the  probable  list  at  Memphis:— 1.  Phthah  ;  2.  Shu  ;  3.  Tafne  ; 
4.  Seb  ;  5.  Nut  or  Netpe  ;  6.  Osiris ;  7.  Isis  (with  Horus) ; 
and  8.  Athor ;  while  at  Thebes  "the  eight"  is  supposed  to 
have  been  constituted  as  follows: — 1,  Ammon-Ra ;  2.  Mentu  ; 
3.  Turn  ;  4.  Shu  (with  Tafne)  ;  5.  Seb  ;  6.  Osiris  ;  7.  Set  (with 
Nephthys)  ;  and  8.  Horus  (with  Athor).440  It  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  a  similar  divergence  would  show  itself,  were  the 
inquiry  extended  to  other  religious  centres.441 

The  recognition  of  a  first  order  of  gods,  if  we  regard  it  as 
established,  necessitates  the  recognition  of  a  second  order  ;  but 
it  seems  very  improbable  that  the  number  of  the  second  order 
was  limited  to  twelve.  Whatever  eight  we  separate  off  from 
the  rest  to  form  the  first  order,  we  shall  find  at  least  twenty 
with  about  equal  claims  to  a  place  in  the  second.442  It  would 
seem  most  probable  that  in  the  second  order  were  included  all 
the  proper  deities  below  the  first  eight ;  and  that  the  third 
order  contained  only  the  deities  more  correctly  called  "dae- 
mones"  or  "genii,"  such  as  Anubis,  Amset,  Hapi,  Tuamutef, 
Kebhsnauf,  Am,  Astes,  Maentfef,  Karbukef/43  and  "the 
Assessors." 

Of  far  more  practical  importance  than  this  division  into 
orders  was  the  curious  preference,  shown  by  the  Egyptians 
generally,  for  worshipping  their  gods  in  triads,  or  sets  of 
three.4411  In  almost  every  town  of  any  consequence  throughout 
Egypt,  a  local  triad  received  the  chief  worship  of  the  inhabi- 
tants. At  Memphis  the  established  triad  consisted  of  Phthah, 
Sekhet,  and  Turn ;  at  rThebes,  of  Ammon-Ea,  Maut,  and 
Chonsu  ;  at  Heliopolis  of  Ka  (or  Turn),  Nebhept,  and  Horus ; 
at  Elephantine,  of  Kneph,  Sati,  and  Anuka  ;  at  Abydos,  of 
Osiris,  Isis,  and  Horus ;  at  Ombos,  of  Savak,  Athor,  and 
Khonsu ;  at  Silsilis,  of  Ra,  Phthah,  and  Hapi,  the  Nile-god. 
Occasionally,  but  not  very  often,  a  fourth  divinity  was  asso- 
ciated with  the  principal  three,  as  Bast  or  Pasht  (if  she  be  dif- 
ferent from  Sekhet)  at  Memphis,  Keith  at  Thebes,  Nephthys 
at  Abydos,  and  Hak  at  Elephantine  j445  but  the  fourth  always 
occupied  a  wholly  subordinate  position.  The  three  gods  of  a 
triad  were  not  themselves  upon  a  par.  On  the  contrary,  the 
4 first  god  of  the  three  had  a  decided  pre-eminence,  while  the 
last  was  generally  on  a  lower  footing.  The  middle  deity  of  a 
.triad  was  ordinarily,  but  not  always,  a  goddess. 

Temples  were  generally  dedicated  to  a  single  god  ;  but  the 

god  thus  honored  was  worshipped  in  them  together  with  his 

tcontemplar  deities.     Worship  comprised  three  things,  prayer, 


HYMKS    OP    PRAISE  I9fl 

praise,  and  sacrifices.  Specimens  of  the  first  and  second  have- 
been  already  given.446  But  we  subjoin  one  or  two  more.  The 
following  is  an  address  to  Ammon-Ra,  considered  as  the 
Supreme  God :  — 

Hail  to  Thee  for  all  these  things, 

The  One  alone  with  many  hands  ; 

Lying  awake  while  all  men  sleep, 

To  seek  the  good  of  Thy  creatures  ! 

O  Ammon,  sustainer  of  all  things, 

Atum-Horus  of  the  horizon  ! 

Homage  to  Thee  from  all  voices  ! 

Salvation  to  Thee  for  Thy  mercy  towards  us; 

Acknowledgment  to  Thee,  who  hast  created  us. 

Hail  to  Thee,  say  all  creatures, 

Salutation  from  every  land — 

To  the  height  of  heaven  ;  to  the  breadth  of  the  earth  ; 

To  the  depths  of  the  sea. 

The  gods  adore  Thy  majesty  ; 

The  spirits  Thou  hast  created  exalt  Thee, 

Rejoicing  before  the  feet  of  their  Begetter. 

They  cry  out  welcome  to  Thee, 

Father  of  the  father  of  all  the  gods  ; 

Who  raises  up  the  heavens,  who  fixes  the  earth. 

Maker  of  beings,  Creator  of  existences, 

Sovereign  of  life  and  health  and  strength,  Chief  of  the  Gods : 

We  worship  Thy  spirit,  which  alone  has  made  us : 

We,  whom  Thou  hast  made,  thank  Thee  that  Thou  hast 

given  us  birth : 
We  give  praises  to  Thee  for  Thy  mercy  towards  us !  UT 

The  subjoined  is  part  of  a  "Hymn  to  the  Nile  ;"  w  but  the 
local  coloring  gradually  fades,  and,  forgetting  his  special 
theme,  the  sacred  bard  passes  to  a  general  expression  of  thank- 
fulness to  the  Almighty: — 

Bringer  of  food  !  Great  Lord  of  provisions  ! 

Creator  of  all  good  things  ! 

Lord  of  terrors,  and  of  all  choicest  joys  ! 

All  are  combined  in  Him, 

He  produceth  grass  for  the  oxen, 

And  provides  victims  for  every  god  ; 

The  choicest  incense  he  too  supplies. 

Lord  of  both  regions, 

He  filleth  the  granaries  ;  he  enricheth  the  storehouses;, 

He  careth  for  the  estate  of  the  poor. 

He  causeth  growth,  to  fulfil  all  desires  ; 

He  wearies  not  ever  of  it. 

He  maketh  His  might  a  buckler. 

He  is  not  graven  in  marble  ; 

No  image  of  Him  bears  the  double  crown ; 

He  is  not  beheld  ; 

He  hath  neither  ministrants  nor  offerings  ; 

He  is  not  adored  in  sanctuaries  ; 

His  abode  is  not  known  ; 

No  shrine  of  His  is  found  with  painted  figures. 


192  HISTORY    OF    AKCIENT    EGYFR 

There  is  no  building  that  can  contain  Him. 

There  is  none  that  can  give  Him  counsel. 

The  young  men,  His  children,  delight  in  Him  ; 

He  directeth  them,  as  their  King. 

His  law  is  established  in  all  the  land  ; 

It  is  with  His  servants,  both  in  the  north  [and  in  the  south]. 

He  wipeth  away  tears  from  all  eyes  ; 

He  careth  for  the  abundance  of  His  blessings.**8 

The  great  deficiency  which  we  note  in  the  prayers  of  the 
Egyptians  is  the  want  of  any  earnest  appeals  for  pardon,  of  any 
heartfelt  repentance,  or  deep  conviction  of  sin.  Only  once  or 
twice  do  we  find  an  Egyptian  making  any  confession  of  sin  at 
all.449  On  the  other  hand  we  find  abundant  boasting  and  self- 
assertion.  As  before  the  assessors  in  the  Amenti  each  de- 
parted soul  had  to  protest  its  absolute  innocence,  so  every 
Egyptian  takes  every  opportunity  of  setting  forth  his  manifold 
good  deeds  and  excellences  in  this  life.  "I  was  not  an  idler," 
says  one,  "  I  was  no  listener  to  the  counsels  of  sloth  :  my  name 
was  not  heard  in  the  place  of  reproof.  .  .  .  All  men  respected 
me.  I  gave  water  to  the  thirsty  ;  I  set  the  wanderer  in  his 
path  ;  I  took  away  the  oppressor,  and  put  a  stop  to  violence." 460 
I  myself  was  just  and  true,"  writes  another  on  his  tombstone, 
"without  malice,  having  put  God  in  my  heart,  and  being  quick 
to  discern  His  will.  I  have  done  good  upon  earth  ;  I  have 
harbored  no  prejudice ;  I  have  not  been  wicked  ;  I  have  not 
approved  of  any  offence  or  iniquity  ;  I  have  taken  pleasure  in 
speaking  the  truth.  .  .  .  Pure  is  my  soul ;  while  living,  I 
bore  no  malice.  There  are  no  errors  attributable  to  me  ;  no 
sins  of  mine  are  befor(e  the  judges.  .  .  .  The  men  of  the 
future,  while  they  live,  will  be  charmed  by  my  remarkable 
merits."451  It  is,  of  course,  possible  that  we  have  here  merely 
the  indiscriminate  and  overstrained  eulogium  of  an  affection- 
ate widow  or  orphan,  bent  on  glorifying  a  deceased  husband  or 
parent,  and  thus  that  the  effusion  is  simply  parallel  to  those 
epitaphs  of  the  Georgian  era,  assigning  every  virtue  under  the 
sun  to  the  departed,  which  disgrace  so  many  of  our  own 
churches ;  but  it  was  certainly  the  general  practice  in  Egypt 
for  persons  to  prepare  their  own  tombs,452  and  the  use  of  the 
first  person  singular  is  therefore,  probably,  not  a  figure  of 
rhetoric.  Beka,  most  likely,  saw  nothing  unseemly  or  indeli- 
cate in  putting  on  record  his  own  wonderful  merits,  and  inviting 
posterity  to  imitate  them.  Similarly,  Uja-hor-resenet,  a  govern- 
ment official  under  Amasis,  Psamatik  III.,  and  Cambyses, 
asserts  his  own  excellence  upon  a  statue,  which  he  certainly 
dedicated  during  his  lifetime,  in  terms  such  as  the  follow- 
ing :453 — "I  was  a  good  man  before  the  king ;  I  saved  the  popu- 


SACRIFICIAL    ANIMALS.  193 

lation  in  the  dire  calamity  which  took  place  throughout  all 
the  land ;  I  shielded  the  weak  against  the  strong ;  I  did  all 
good  things  when  the  time  came  to  do  them  ;  I  was  pious 
towards  my  father,  and  did  the  will  of  my  mother  ;  I  was  kind- 
hearted  towards  my  brethren.  ...  I  made  a  good  sarcophagus 
for  him  who  had  no  coffin.  When  the  dire  calamity  befell 
the  land,  I  made  the  children  to  live,  I  established  the  houses, 
I  did  for  them  all  such  good  things  as  a  father  doth  for  his 
sons."454 

Sacrifice  with  the  Egyptians,  as  with  the  Jews  and  with  the 
classical  nations,  was  of  two  kinds,  bloody  and  unbloody. 
Unbloody  sacrifice  was  the  more  usual.  The  Egyptians  offered 
to  their  gods  bread,455  flour,456  cakes  of  various  kinds,457  oil, 
honey,  fruit,  incense,  wine,  beer,458  perhaps  spirits,  and  also 
flowers.459  Libations  to  the  gods  were  of  daily  occurrence,460 
and  were  certainly  both  of  beer  and  wine,  possibly  also  of  the 
spirit  which  is  easily  obtained  from  dates.461  Incense  was  con- 
tinually offered,462  and  consisted,  in  part,  of  frankincense,  in 
part  of  various  aromatic  gums,  and  sweet  scented  woods.468 
The  best  produce  of  Arabia  was  desired  for  this  pious  practice, 
and  expeditions  were  sometimes  undertaken,  mainly  for  the 
purpose  of  procuring  incense  of  the  best  quality.464  The  fruits 
presented  were  such  as  dates,  grapes,  figs,  the  produce  of  the 
doum  palm,  olives,  mulberries,  etc.465  Flowers  were  offered  in 
bouquets,  in  basketfuls,  and  in  garlands  ;  the  lotus  and  papyrus 
being  among  the  plants  in  highest  favor.466 

The  sacrificial  animals  included  certainly  bulls,  oxen,  male 
calves,  sheep,  goats,  pigs,  geese,  ducks,  pigeons,  and  certain  un- 
domesticated  creatures,  such  as  antelopes  and  various  kinds  of 
water-fowl.  Of  these,  oxen,  male  calves,  and  geese  were  most 
in  request,  and  served  as  victims  universally  ; 46T  goats  were 
offered  at  Thebes  and  in  most  other  parts  of  Egypt,  but  not 
at  Mendes,  where  sheep  took  their  place  ; 4u3  pigs,  generally 
regarded  as  unclean,  formed  the  necessary  sacrifice  on  certain 
special  and  rare  occasions  ;469  ducks  and  pigeons  served  as  con- 
venient offerings  for  the  poor  ; 470  parts  of  antelopes  seem  to 
have  been  occasionally  offered  by  the  rich.471  It  has  been 
generally  maintained  that  cows  and  heifers,  being  sacred  to 
Athor,  could  under  no  circumstances  be  employed  as  victims 
in  Egypt,472  and  this  was  certainly  the  belief  of  Herodotus  ;473 
but  the  Egyptian  remains  throw  great  doubt  upon  the  truth 
of  the  Herodotean  statement.  Not  only  do  cows  and  heifers 
appear  among  the  sacrificial  animals  presented  to  the  temples 
by  the  Egyptian  monarchs,  as  regularly  and  in  as  large  num- 
bers as  bulls,  oxen,  and  steers,474  but  it  is  distinctly  stated  in 


194  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

numerous  passages  that  cows  were  actually  offered  in  sacrifice.478 
Whatever  objection,  therefore,  the  Egyptians  may  have  felt 
to  eating  the  flesh  of  cows  and  female  calves,476  it  would  seem 
to  be  certain  that  they  had  no  scruple  about  sacrificing  them. 
Probably  such  victims  were  made  in  every  case  "whole  burnt- 
offerings" — consumed,  that  is,  entirely  upon  the  altar,  and 
not  partaken  of,  either  by  the  priests  or  by  the  worshippers. 

When  a  sacrifice  was  intended,  the  victim  was  usually  decked 
with  flowers,477  and  brought  to  the  temple  by  the  offerer,  who 
submitted  him  first  of  all  to  the  inspection  of  the  priests,  and 
then,  if  he  was  pronounced  pure,  and  sealed  in  the  appointed 
way,478  conducted  him  to  the  altar,  where,  after  a  libation  had 
been  poured,  he  was  slaugthered  by  the  officiating  minister, 
who  cut  his  throat  from  ear  to  ear,479  and  let  the  blood  flow 
freely  over  the  altar,  or  over  the  ground  at  its  base.  Generally, 
only  certain  parts  of  the  animal  were  burnt,  the  remainder  be- 
ing shared  between  the  priests  and  the  person,  or  persons,  who 
brought  the  victim  ;  but  sometimes  the  whole  animal  was 
placed  on  the  altar  and  consumed  with  fire.  Cakes  of  the 
best  flour,  honey,  raisins,  figs,  incense,  myrrh,  and  other  odor- 
iferous substances  were  often  added,  together  with  a  quantity 
of  oil,  which  helped  the  fire  to  consume  the  whole.480  Such 
sacrifices  were,  no  doubt,  in  many  cases,  thank-offerings,  mere 
indications  of  the  devotion  and  gratitude  of  the  worshipper ; 
hut  occasionally  they  were  of  the  nature  of  expiatory  rites, 
and  gave  some  indication  of  that  sense  of  sin  and  desire  of 
pardon  which  were,  as  already  observed,481  generally  lacking  in 
the  devotional  utterances  of  the  Egyptians.  Herodotus  tells 
us482  that  it  was  usualf  when  a  victim  was  offered,  to  cut  off 
the  head,  and  after  heaping  imprecations  upon  it,  and  pray- 
ing that  whatever  evils  were  impending  either  over  Egypt  or 
over  the  worshippers  might  fall  upon  that  head,  to  sell  it  to 
Greeks  or  cast  it  into  the  Nile — a  practice  which  recalls  the 
Jewish  ceremony  of  the  scape-goat,  and  likewise  that  com- 
manded in  Deuteronomy  for  the  expiation  of  an  uncertain 
murder.483  Again,  the  same  writer  informs  us  that,  in  sacri- 
fices to  Isis,  it  was  the  custom  for  the  sacrificers  both  to  offer 
the  victim  fasting,  and  to  beat  themselves  during  the  burn- 
ing 484 — both  which  practices  point  to  the  expiatory  idea  as 
involved,  to  some  extent  at  any  rate,  in  the  Egyptian  notion 
of  sacrifice. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the  Egyptian  relig- 
ion— and  one  in  which  it  differed  from  almost  all  others — was 
the  sacred  character  with  which  it  invested  various  animals. 
A  certain  number  of  animals  were  held  sacred  universally,  and 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XLVII. 


Fig.  117,— 1.  Horus.    2.  Isis  nursing  Horus.    3.  Horus  the  Child  (Har-pa-krat). 

See  Page  171. 


Plate  XLVIII. 


Vol.1 


Fig.  118.— Forms  of  Athor.— See  Page  173. 


ANIMAL    WORSHIP.  195 

might  nowhere  under  any  circumstances  be  killed  or  injured. 
Others  received  a  veneration  less  than  universal,  but  not  far 
short  of  it ;  while  a  third  set  enjoyed  a  mere  local  and  excep- 
tional privilege.  To  the  first  class  belonged  the  cat,485  which 
was  sacred  to  Bast  or  Sekhet ;  the  ibis486  and  cynocephalous 
ape,487  which  were  sacred  to  Thoth  ;  the  hawk  m  and  beetle,489 
which  were  sacred  to  Ka ;  the  asp,  probably ; 490  and  either 
cows  as  a  class,  or  at  any  rate  white  cows,  which  were  sacred 
to  Athor.  Generally  but  not  universally  reverenced  were 
sheep,491  which  were  sacred  to  Kneph,  and  dogs,492  which  do 
not  seem  to  have  been  assigned  to  any  special  deity.  Local 
honors  attached  to  lions,  crocodiles,  hippopotamuses,  wolves 
or  jackals,  ibexes,  antelopes,  goats,  ichneumons,  shrew-mice, 
vultures,  frogs,  certain  snakes,  and  certain  kinds  of  fish. 
Lions,  emblems  of  Horus  and  Turn,  were  sacred  at  Heliopolis 
and  Leontopolis  ;  crocodiles,  emblems  of  Set,  at  Ombos,  Coptos, 
and  in  the  Arsinoite  nome  (or  Fayoum)  generally  ;  hippopota- 
muses, emblems  of  Taouris,  at  Papremis  in  the  Delta  ;  wolves  or 
jackals,  emblems  of  Anubis,  at  Lycopolis  ;  ibexes  and  frogs  at 
Thebes ;  antelopes  at  Coptos  ;  goats  at  Mendes  ;  ichneumons 
at  Heracleopolis  ;  shrew-mice  at  Athribis  ;  vultures,  emblems  of 
Maut,  at  Eileithyia ;  snakes  at  Thebes  ;  and  fish  of  different 
kinds  at  Latopolis,  Lepidotopolis,  Elephantine,  and  else- 
where.493 In  each  locality  where  any  kind  of  animal  was 
sacred,  some  individuals  of  the  species  were  attached  to  the 
principal  temples,  where  they  had  their  special  shrines  or 
chambers,  and  their  train  of  priestly  attendants,  who  carefully 
fed  them,  cleaned  them,  and  saw  generally  to  their  health  and 
comfort.494  When  any  of  them  died,  they  were  embalmed 
according  to  the  most  approved  method,  and  deposited  in 
mummy-pits,  or  in  tombs  specially  appropriated  to  them,  with 
much  pomp  and  ceremony.495  All  the  other  individuals  of 
the  species  were  sacred  within  the  locality,  and  had  to  be  pro- 
tected from  injury.  It  was  a  capital  offence  to  kill  one  of 
them  intentionally  ;  and  to  do  so  even  accidently  entailed 
some  punishment  or  other,496  and  necessitated  priestly  absolu- 
tion. The  different  towns  and  districts  were  jealous  for  the 
honor  of  their  favorites ;  and  quarrels  occasionally  broke  out 
between  city  and  city,  or  between  province  and  province,  in 
connection  with  their  sacred  animals,  which  led  in  some  cases 
to  violent  and  prolonged  conflicts,  in  others  to  a  smouldering 
but  permanent  hostility.497  An  appreciable  portion  of  the  re- 
ligious sentiment  of  the  nation  wasabsorded  by  these  unworthy 
objects ;  but  so  strong  and  lively  was  that  sentiment  among 
the  Egyptians,  that  the  animal  worship,  widely  spread  as  it 


196  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

was,  does  not  appear  to  have  interfered  seriously  with  the  re- 
spect and  reverence  which  were  paid  to  the  proper  deities. 

In  the  animal  worship  hitherto  described,  it  was  the  species 
and  not  the  individual  that  was  held  in  honor.  But  in  certain 
cases  the  religious  regard  attached  to  the  indvidual  either  solely 
or  specially.  The  Egyptians  believed  that  occasionally  a  deity 
became  incarnate  in  a  particular  animal,  and  so  remained  un- 
til the  creature's  death.  The  occurrence  was  made  known  to 
the  priests  by  certain  signs;498  and  the  god,  greeted,  as  soon 
as  recognized,  with  every  token  of  respect  and  joy,  was  con- 
ducted in  solemn  procession  to  his  proper  temple,  and  installed 
there  as  the  actual  deity.  This  form  of  superstition  prevailed 
at  Memphis,  Heliopolis,  Hermonthis,  and  Momemphis.  At 
Memphis,  a  magnificient  abode,  in  the  shape  of  a  court  sur- 
rounded by  Osirid  pillars,499  was  prepared  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  a  sacred  bull,  believed  to  be  an  incarnation  of  the  god 
Phthah,500  who  was  thought  from  time  to  time  to  visit  Egypt 
in  person.  When  a  male  calf,  having  been  examined  by  the 
priests,  was  pronounced  to  have  the  required  marks,  he  re- 
ceived the  name501  of  Apis,  5  i3^Kj  and  became  the  occupant 

of  this  building,  which  thenceforth  he  never  quitted,  except 
on  certain  fixed  days  when  he  was  led  in  procession  through 
the  streets  of  the  city  and  welcomed  by  all  the  inhabitants, 
who  came  forth  from  their  houses  to  greet  him.502  Otherwise 
he  remained  continuously  in  his  grand  residence,  waited  upon 
by  numerous  priests,  fed  on  choice  food,  and  from  time  to 
time  shown  for  a  short  space  to  those  who  came  to  worship 
him  and  solicit  his  favor  and  protection.  The  cow  which  had 
been  so  favored  as  to  be  the  earthly  mother  of  the  deity  was 
also  made  an  inmate  of  the  sacred  edifice,  being  lodged  in  the 
vestibule  which  gave  access  to  the  building.503  It  is  remark- 
able that  the  Apis  bulls  were  not  in  every  case  allowed  to  reach 
the  natural  term  of  their  lives.  If  a  natural  death  did  not 
remove  them  earlier,  the  priests  drowned  them  when  they 
reached  the  age  of  twenty-five,504  after  which  they  were  buried 
with  the  usual  honors,  their  bodies  being  carefully  embalmed 
and  deposited  with  much  ceremony  in  the  sepulchral  chambers 
of  the  Serapeum,505  a  temple  at  Memphis  expressly  devoted  to 
the  burial  of  these  animals.  Each  Apis,  when  dead,  became 
an  Osiri-Apis,506  or  Serapis,  and  the  object  of  a  special  cult,507 
which  in  Ptolemaic  and  Roman  tinies  received  an  extraordinary 
development.  All  Egypt  went  into  mourning  at  the  death, 
however  produced,  and  remained  inconsolable  until  it  pleased 


ORIGIN    OF    ANIMAL    WORSHIP.  197 

the  priests  to  declare  a  new  avatar,  when  mourning  was  at 
once  cast  aside,  a  time  of  festival  was  proclaimed,  and,  amid 
the  acclamations  of  the  whole  people,  the  new-found  Apis 
was  led  in  solemn  pomp  to  occupy  the  chambers  of  his  pre- 
decessor.508 

At  Heliopolis,  another  sacred  bull  was  maintained  in  the  great 
temple  of  the  sun,509  which  was  viewed  as  an  incarnation  of  Ra 
or  Turn,510  and  received  the  same  sort  of  honor  as  the  Apis 
bulls  of  Memphis.  The  name  assigned  to  this  animal  was 
Mnevis.  It  is  said  by  Plutarch  and  Porphyry  to  have  been  a 
black  bull ;  but  the  monuments  are  thought  to  represent  it  as 
white.511  Though  highly  reverenced  by  the  Heliopolites,  it 
did  not  enjoy  much  regard  beyond  the  precincts  of  its  own 

A  third  sacred  bull,  called  Bacis  or  Pacis,  was  maintained 
at  Hermonthis,512  not  far  from  Thebes,  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
river.  Like  the  Heliopolite  bull,  this  was  regarded  as  an  in- 
carnation of  Ra ;  and  was  kept  in  the  temple  of  Ra  at  Her- 
monthis, which  was  a  magnificent  building.  Its  natural  color 
was  black  ;  but  it  is  said  to  have  changed  color  frequently,515 
which  would  seem  to  have  been  through  some  priestly  artifice  ; 
and  we  are  told  also  that  its  hairs,  or  some  of  them,  grew  the 
wrong  way.514     It  was  an  animal  of  unusual  size.515 

White  cows,  sacred  to  Athor,  were  maintained  in  temples  at 
Hermonthis,  Athribis,  Momemphis,  and  elsewhere ;  but  whether 
they  were  regarded  as  incarnations  of  Athor,  or  simply  as  em- 
blematic of  her,  is  uncertain.  The  fact  that  Athor  is  some- 
times represented  under  the  form  of  a  cow516  tells  in  favor  of 
the  view  that  they  were  considered  to  be  incarnations  ;  but  the 
distinction  which  Strabo  draws 517  between  Apis  and  Mnevis  on 
the  one  hand,  and  most  of  the  sacred  cows  on  the  other, 
points  in  the  opposite  direction.  Perhaps  the  Momemphite 
cow  was  alone  regarded  as  an  actual  incarnation.518 

On  the  origin  of  the  animal  worship  of  the  Egyptians  much 
speculation  has  been  expended,  both  in  ancient  and  modern 
times.  By  some  it  is  maintained  that  the  entire  system  is  to 
be  referred  to  the  prudence  and  foresight  of  the  priests,  who 
invested  with  a  sacred  character  such  animals  as  were  of  first- 
rate  utility,  in  order  to  secure  their  continuance  and  increase.519 
This  theory  sufficiently  accounts  for  the  veneration  paid  to  the 
cow,  the  sheep,  the  goat,  the  dog,  the  cat,  the  ichneumon,  the 
hawk,  the  vulture,  and  the  ibis  ;  but  it  fails  completely  if  ap- 
plied to  the  great  majority  of  the  sacred  animals.  The  lion, 
the  crocodile,  the  hippopotamus,  the  cynocephalous  ape,  the 
cobra  de  capello,  the  wolf,  the  jackal,  the  shrew-mouse,  did 


198  HISTORY    OP    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

not  benefit  the  Egyptians  appreciably,  if  at  all  ;  and  indeed 
must  have  presented  themselves  to  the  general  intelligence 
rather  as  harmful  than  as  useful  creatures.  The  sacred  fish, 
which  might  not  be  eaten,  cannot  be  shown  to  have  been  in 
any  other  way  beneficial  to  man  ;  nor  is  the  practical  utility 
of  beetles  very  apparent.  These  objections  to  the  utilitarian 
theory  52°  have  prevented  its  general  acceptance,  and  led  to 
various  other  suggestions,  both  anciently  and  recently.  Some 
of  the  ancients  said,  the  animals  worshipped  were  those  whose 
forms  the  gods  had  occasionally  taken  when  they  came  down 
from  heaven  to  visit  the  earth  ; 521  others  that  they  were  those 
which  Osiris  had  selected  and  placed  on  the  standards  of  his 
army.622  A  third  theory  was  that  the  whole  of  the  animal 
worship  had  been  introduced  by  a  politic  king,  with  the  ex- 
press object  of  causing  division  and  discord  among  the  natives 
of  the  different  nomes,  and  so  making  it  easier  to  govern  them.523 
In  modern  times  the  Pantheistic  nature  of  the  Egyptian  relig- 
ion has  been  alleged  as  the  "true  reason"  of  the  worship  by 
one  writer,524  while  another 525  has  seen  in  it  an  original  African 
fetishism,  on  which  was  afterwards  engrafted  a  more  elevated 
form  of  belief  by  an  immigrant  Asiatic  people.  To  us  it  seems 
a  sufficient  and  probably  a  true  account  of  the  worship,  to 
say  that  it  grew  out  of  that  exaggerated  symbolism 526  which 
was  so  characteristic  of  the  Egyptian  religion,  which,  begin- 
ning by  tracing  resemblances  in  certain  animals  to  certain  at- 
tributes of  the  Divine  Nature,  proceeded  to  assign  to  particular 
deities  the  heads  of  these  creatures,  or  even  their  entire  forms  : 
after  which  it  was  but  a  short  step  to  see  in  the  animals  them- 
selves a  quasi-divinity^  which  elevated  them  above  their  fellows 
and  rendered  them  venerable  and  sacred.  If  this  explanation 
does  not  cover  the  whole  of  the  worship,  as  (it  must  be  admit- 
ted) it  does  not,  still  the  exceptions  are  so  few,  and  compara- 
tively speaking,  so  unimportant,5'27  that  their  existence  is  per- 
haps not  incompatible  with  the  truth  of  the  origin  suggested. 
The  outward  aspect  of  the  Egyptian  religion  was,  as  already 
noticed,528  magnificent  and  striking.  The  size  and  number  of 
the  temples,  the  massiveness  and  solidity  of  their  construction, 
the  immense  height  of  the  columns,  the  multiplicity  of  the 
courts  and  halls,  the  frequent  obelisks  and  colossi,  the  groves 
and  lakes,529  the  long  avenues  of  sphinxes,  the  lavish  abundance 
of  painted  and  sculptured  decoration,  formed  a  combination 
which  was  at  once  astonishing  and  delightful,  and  which 
travellers  were  never  wTeary  of  describing.530  But  all  this  was 
the  mere  exterior  framework  or  setting  within  which  the  re- 
ligion displayed  itself.     Life  aud  meaning  were  imparted  to 


GREAT    RELIGIOUS    FESTIVALS.  199 

the  material  apparatus  of  worship  by  the  long  trains  of  priests 
and  the  vast  throng  of  worshippers  constantly  to  be  seen  in 
and  about  the  temples,  by  the  processions  which  paced  their 
courts  in  solemn  pomp,  the  mournful  or  jubilant  strains  which 
resounded  down  their  corridors,  the  clouds  of  incense  which 
rose  into  the  air,  the  perpetual  succession  of  victims  which 
smoked  upon  the  altars.  The  Egyptians,  as  Herodotus  notes,531 
"were  religious  to  excess."  There  was  certainly  not  a  day, 
perhaps  scarcely  an  hour,  without  its  own  religious  ceremony, 
in  any  of  the  greater  temples,  whose  "colleges  of  priests""2 
could  readily  furnish  a  succession  of  officiating  ministers,  al- 
ways ready  to  offer  on  behalf  of  those  who  brought  victims  or 
other  oblations.  Thus  a  constant  round  of  religious  offices 
was  maintained  ;  the  voice  of  prayer,  however  imperfect  or  mis- 
directed, went  up  from  the  temples  continually  ;  and  Egypt, 
in  whatever  darkness  she  lay,  at  least  testified  to  the  need  and 
value  of  a  perpetual  intercession,  a  constant  pleading  with 
God,  a  worship  without  patfse  or  weariness. 

The  worship  culminated  in  certain  festivals,  or  great  gather- 
ings of  the  people  for  special  religious  services,633  which  were 
mostly  either  annual  or  monthly.  A  monthly  festival,  on  the 
day  of  the  new  moon,  celebrated  the  reappearancce  of  that 
luminary  after  its  temporary  obscuration.534  On  the  fourth 
day  of  each  month,  a  festival  was  held  in  honor  of  the  sun.535 
Once  a  year,  on  the  day  of  a  particular  full  moon,  there  was  a 
festival  in  which  the  moon  and  Osiris  would  seem  to  have  been 
honored  conjointly.536  On  this  occasion,  according  to  Herod- 
otus, the  rites  included  a  procession  to  the  sound  of  the  pipe, 
wherein  both  men  and  women  participated,  though  the  cere- 
mony was  of  an  indecent  character.637  Other  feasts  were  held 
in  honor  of  Osiris  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  Athyr  and  the 
nineteenth  of  Pashons  ;  in  the  former  of  which  the  "loss  of 
Osiris,"  and  in  the  latter  his  recovery,  were  commemorated. 
A  cow,  emblematic  of  Isis,  was  veiled  in  black  and  led  about 
for  four  successive  days,  accompanied  by  a  crowd  of  men  and 
women  who  beat  their  breasts,  in  .memory  of  the  supposed  dis- 
appearance of  Osiris  from  earth  and  his  sister's  search  for  him  ; 
while,  in  memory  of  his  recovery,  a  procession  was  made  to 
the  seaside,  the  priests  carrying  a  sacred  chest,  and,  an  image 
or  emblem  of  Osiris  fashioned  out  of  earth  and  water  having 
been  placed  in  it,  the  declaration  was  made,  "Osiris  is  found  ! 
Osiris  is  found  !"  amid  general  festivity  and  rejoicing.538 

Among  the  most  remarkable  of  the  annual  festivals  were 
those  of  Bast  or  Pasht  at  Hubastis,  of  Neith  at  Sai's,  and  of 
Mentu  or  Onuris  at  Papremis.     It  would  be  uncritical  to  at- 


200  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

tacli  any  great  value  to  the  details  winch  Herodotus,  in  his 
lively  manner,  gives  us  of  the  ceremonies  on  these  occasions/39 
or  of  the  numbers  by  which  the  festivals  were  attended.540  Still 
we  may  safely  conclude  from  his  account  that  the  concourse 
was  often  very  great,  that  the  Nile  was  used  for  religious  pro- 
cessions, and  that  open  and  flagrant  indecencies  disgraced  some 
of  the  gatherings.  AVre  may  perhaps  be  also  justified  in  con- 
cluding that  some  of  the  ceremonies  led  actually  to  fighting 
and  bloodshed,  the  god  being  regarded  as  honored  by  the 
wounds  of  his  votaries,  and  still  more  by  their  deaths,  if  the 
wounds  received  proved  fatal.541 

Processions  were  a  conspicuous,  if  not  a  very  important,  part 
of  the  Egyptian  ritual.  On  special  occasions  the  sacred  ani- 
mals, and  on  others  the  images  of  the  gods,  were  taken  from 
the  adyta  of  temples,  in  which  they  were  commonly  kept,  to 
be  paraded  openly  through  the  towns,  down  their  streets  and 
along  their  watercourses,  in  the  sight  of  admiring  multitudes. 
The  animals  were  led  along  by  their  respective  attendants,  and 
received  the  homage  of  their  adorers  as  they  passed.542  The 
images  were  sometimes  placed  upright  upon  platforms,543  and 
borne  along  the  line  of  route  upon  the  shoulders  of  a  number 
of  priests,  while  others,  marshalled  according  to  their  various 
ranks  and  orders,  preceded  or  followed  the  sacred  figures,  clad 
in  a  variety  of  vestments,  and  with  symbolic  headdresses, 
chanting  hymns  or  litanies  in  praise  of  the  gods  whom  they 
accompanied.  At  other  times,  and  more  commonly,  the  images 
were  deposited  in  boats  of  a  light  construction,544  richly  carved 
and  adorned  at  either  end  with  a  symbol  of  the  god,  which 
could  either  be  drawif  along  the  streets  upon  a  low  sledge,  or 
carried  (like  the  platforms)  upon  men's  shoulders,  or  launched 
upon  the  Nile  and  propelled  by  oars  along  its  waters.  These 
boats  are  favorite  objects  of  representation  upon  the  monu- 
ments.545 Generally  a  number  of  priests  carry  them,  under  the 
superintendence  of  a  chief  priest,  clad  in  the  usual  leopard's 
skin  ;  then  follows  a  crowd  of  subordinate  ministers  and  nobles, 
with  sometimes  even  the  Pharaoh  of  the  time,  who,  when  repre- 
sented, always  takes  an  important  part  in  the  ceremony.  A 
portion  of  the  priests  bear  flowers,  another  portion  banners, 
while  some  have  long  staves  surmounted  by  a  religious  emblem  ; 
occasionally  there  is  one  who  offers  incense,  while  another  beats 
a  tambourine.546 

Besides  their  worship  of  gods,  the  Egyptians  also  practised 
to  some  extent  a  worship  of  ancestors.  A  sepulchral  chamber, 
cut  in  the  rock,  or  built  over  the  mummy-pit,  was  an  ordinary 
appendage  of  tombs;547  and  in  this  apartment,  which  was  or- 


549 


WORSHIP    OF    ANCESTORS — MYSTERIES.  201 

namented  with  suitable  paintings,  the  friends  of  the  deceased 
met  from  time  to  time  to  offer  sacrifices  to  the  dead  and  per- 
form various  acts  of  homage.548  The  mummies,  which  were 
kept  in  a  closet  within  the  sepulchral  chamber,  having  been 
brought  forth  by  a  functionary,  were  placed  upright  near  a 
small  portable  altar,  on  which  the  relations  then  laid  their  offer- 
ings, which  consisted  ordinarily  of  cakes,  wine,  fruit  and  vege- 
tables, bat  sometimes  comprised  also  joints  of  meat,  geese, 
ducks,  loaves,  vases  of  oil,  and  other  similar  delicacies.  Some- 
times a  libation  of  oil  or  wine  was  poured  by  an  attendant  priest 
over  the  mummy-case.  The  relations  made  obeisance,  some- 
times embraced  the  mummy,  sometimes  tore  their  hair,  or 
otherwise  indicated  the  sorrow  caused  by  their  bereavement. 
Prayers  were  probably  offered  either  to  or  for  the  deceased  ; 
his  mummied  form  was  adorned  with  flowers,  and  after  an  in- 
terval was  replaced  in  the  closet  from  which  it  had  been  taken. 
Representations  of  these  scenes  are  frequent  in  the  tombs, 
where,  however,  the  deceased  are  generally  depicted,  not  in 
their  mummied  forms,  but  dressed  as  they  used  to  be  in  life, 
and  seated  before  the  table  or  altar,  whereon  are  deposited  the 
good  things  which  their  relations  have  brought  to  them. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  what  exactly  was  the  feeling  or  belief 
which  lay  at  the  root  of  these  ceremonies.550  They  resemble 
the  Roman  "parentalia,"  and  necessarily  implied,  first,  the 
continued  existence  of  the  dead  ;  secondly,  their  exaltation  to 
a  sort  of  quasi-divinity ;  and,  thirdly,  their  continued  need  of 
those  supports  of  life  which  had  been  necessary  to  them  in 
this  world.  There  is  something  contradictory  in  these  last  two 
notions ;  but  the  Egyptians  were  not  a  logical  people,  and, 
accustomed  to  a  mythology  full  of  contradictions  ; 551  did  not 
regard  them  with  absolute  disfavor.  Moreover,  their  entire 
conception  of  the  condition  of  the  dead  was  strange,  abnormal, 
and  irrational,552  so  that  the  different  portions  of  the  system 
could  not  be  expected  to  be  in  all  cases  in  harmony. 

It  is  possible  that  the  confusion  which  to  the  ordinary 
observer  seems  to  prevail,  alike  in  the  details  of  the  Egyptian 
mythology  and  in  their  opinions  concerning  the  dead,  may 
have  been  superficial  only,  and  that  to  those  who  saw  below 
the  surface  into  the  deeper  meaning  of  what  was  taught  and 
believed,  all  appeared  consistent,  harmonious,  and  readily  in- 
telligible. The  Egyptians,  we  are  assured,553  had  "  mysteries ; " 
and  it  was  of  the  essence  of  mysteries,  in  the  Greek  and 
Roman  sense  of  the  word,  to  distinguish  between  the  outer 
husk  of  a  religion  and  its  inner  kernel,  the  shell  of  myth  and 
legend  and  allegorical  fable  with  which  it  was  surrounded,  and 


202  HISTCRY    OF    ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

the  real  essential  doctrine  or  teaching  which  that  shell  con- 
tained and  concealed.  Initiation  into  the  mysteries  conveyed 
to  those  who  received  it  an  explanation  of  rites,  an  interpreta- 
tion of  myths  and  legends,  which  gave  them  quite  a  different 
character  from  that  which  they  bore  to  the  uninitiated.  If 
wre  possessed  any  full  account  of  the  Egyptian  mysteries  drawn 
up  by  themselves,  or  even  any  authentic  description  of  them 
by  a  classical  writer,  we  should  probably  be  able  to  explain  the 
contradictions,  clear  up  the  confusion,  and  elucidate  the  ob- 
scurity which  still  hangs  about  the  subject  of  the  Egyptian  re- 
ligion after  all  the  investigation  that  it  has  undergone.  But  we 
are  not  so  fortunately  circumstanced.  Though  the  veil  of  Isis 
has  been  partially  lifted  through  the  decipherment  and  inter- 
pretation of  the  hieroglyphics,  though  some  points  of  the 
esoteric  doctrine  have  been  made  sufficiently  clear,  and  can  no 
longer  be  questioned,554  yet  we  are  far  from  possessing  anything 
like  a  complete  account  of  the  inner  religion,  or  indeed  any 
authentic  account  at  all  of  the  true  interpretation  of  that  great 
mass  of  legend  which  clustered  about  the  Osirid  deities,  and 
formed  practically  the  chief  religious  pabulum  of  the  bulk  of 
the  people.  The  existing  remains  are  in  no  case  formally 
exegetical  ;  and  any  light  which  they  throw  upon  the  myths 
is  indirect  and  uncertain.  Nor  do  the  classical  writers  afford 
us  much  assistance.  Some  claim  to  have  been  initiated,  but 
decline  to  tell  us  what  they  had  learned  thereby,555  withheld 
by  motives  of  religious  reverence.  Others 556  appear  to  have 
simply  indulged  their  fancy,  and  to  have  given  us  conjectural 
explanations  of  myths  with  which  they  show  no  very  full  or 
exact  aquaintance.  The,  result  is,  that  their  comments  are 
without  any  value,  and  leave  us  where  they  find  us,  uninformed 
and  unable  to  do  more  than  guess  at  the  truth.  Where  ex- 
amination and  inquiry  lead  to  such  a  result,  it  seems  best  to 
quit  the  subject  with  a  confession  of  ignorance. 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS.  203 


CHAPTER  XL 

MANNERS  AND   CUSTOMS. 

question  of  the  Peculiarity  of  Egyptian  Customs— Proposed  Mode  of  treating 
the  Subject.  Division  of  the  People  into  classes— Number  of  the  Classes. 
Account  of  the  Priests— the  Sacred  Women.  The  Soldiers— Number  of 
these  last — Training — Chief  Divisions— The  Infantry — the  Cavalry — the 
Chariot  Service— Weapons — Tactics — Mode  of  conducting  Sieges.  Treat- 
ment of  Prisoners  and  of  the  Slain.  Camps— Marches — Signals — Triumphs, 
Naval  Warfare.  Condition  of  the  Agricultural  Laborers — of  the  Trades- 
men and  Artisans.  Principal  Trades — Building—  Weaving— Furniture- 
making — Glass-blowing— Pottery — Metallurgy,  etc.  Artistic  Occupations 
— Sculpture,  Painting,  Music  and  Dancing.  Musical  Instruments  and 
Bands.  Professions— the  Scribe's,  the  Physician's,  the  Architect's.  Lower 
Grades  of  the  Population— Boatmen— Fowlers— Fishermen— Swineherds. 
Life  of  the  Upper  Classes.    Sports— Entertainments — Games.    Conclusion. 

The  statement  of  Herodotus/  that  "the  ancient  Egyptians  in 
■>nost  of  their  manners  and  customs  exactly  reversed  the  com- 
mon practice  of  mankind,"  is  one  of  those  paradoxical  remarks 
m  which  that  lively  writer  indulged  with  the  view  of  surpris- 
ing his  readers  and  arresting  their  attention.  In  observations 
of  this  kind,  the  "Father  of  History"  is  never  without  some 
foundation  for  what  he  says,  though,  if  we  were  to  accept  such 
statements  literally,  they  would  very  seriously  mislead  us. 
There  was  certainly  in  Egyptian  customs  much  that,  to  a  Greek 
— even  to  a  travelled  Greek — must  have  seemed  strange  and 
peculiar,  much  that  he  was  not  likely  to  have  seen  elsewhere. 
We  may  even  go  further  and  say,  that  there  was  a  considerable 
body  of  customs  which  (so  far  as  is  known)  were  unique,  abso- 
lutely unshared  by  any  other  ancient  people  ;  but  these  pecul- 
iar usages  were  not  really  so  very  numerous — certainly  they  did 
not  outnumber  those  which  belonged  to  the  nation  in  common 
either  with  most  civilized  peoples,  or  at  any  rate  with  some. 
There  were  analogies  between  Egyptian  customs  and  those  of 
India,2  of  China  and  Japan,3  of  Assyria,4  nay,  of  Greece  itself ; 
and  if  Herodotus  had  been  as  observant  of  resemblances  as  of 
differences,  he  might  have  found  ample  materials  for  a  good 
many  chapters  in  the  usages  which  the  nation  possessed  in 
common  with  others.  Few  things  strike  the  modern  inquirer 
so  strongly,  or  with  so  much  surprise,  as  the  numerous  points 
in  which  the  Egyptian  coincided  with  modern  civilization,  the 
little  difference  that  there  seems  to  have  been  between  the  life 
of  the  opulent  classes  under  the  Pharaohs  three  thousand  year« 
ago  and  that  of  persons  of  the  same  rank  and  position  in 
Europe  at  the  present  day. 


204  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

In  the  present  survey  of  Egyptian  manners  and  customs,  it 
will  be  impossible  to  treat  the  subject  with  the  minuteness  and 
thoroughness  with  which  it  has  been  already  handled  by  a 
learned  and  popular  English  writer.  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson 
devoted  to  the  theme  more  than  four  out  of  the  five  volumes  of 
his  magnum  opus,5  and  illustrated  it  with  above  five  hundred 
engravings.  His  elaborate  treatment  left  little  to  be  desired 
even  when  his  work  first  appeared  in  1837-1841  ;  and  the  little 
that  might  have  been  then  wanting  has  now  been  fully  sup- 
plied by  the  "annotations  and  additions"  appended  to  the 
edition  of  1878  by  Dr.  Birch.  The  present  author  cannot, 
within  the  space  of  fifty  or  a  hundred  pages,  attempt  to  com- 
pete with  this  most  excellent  and  exhaustive  treatise.  He 
"would  gladly  have  avoided  a  comparison  which  must  neces- 
sarily be  unfavorable  to  himself,  and  have  omitted  the  matter 
altogether,  could  he  have  persuaded  himself  that  to  all  readers 
of  his  work  that  of  his  valued  friend  and  collator ateur*  would 
be  accessible.  But,  as  this  is  not  likely  to  be  the  case,7  his  duty 
to  his  readers  compels  him  not  wholly  to  pass  over  an  important 
branch  of  the  subject  on  which  he  has  undertaken  to  write. 
He  proposes,  however,  to  limit  himself  to  a  certain  number  of 
the  more  essential,  more  salient,  or  more  curious  points,  thus 
embracing  what  will  be  sufficient  to  complete  in  outline  the 
picture  of  the  people  which  the  present  volume  contains,  but 
not  attempting  to  fill  up  the  details,  or  to  do  more  than  fur- 
nish his  readers  with  a  careful  sketch.  Those  who  have  the 
desire  and  the  leisure  to  convert  the  sketch  into  a  finished  por- 
trait, must  obtain  the  "Manners  and  Customs"  of  Sir  Gr. 
Wilkinson,  and  give  that  wrork  their  best  attention. 

The  separation  of  classes  in  Egypt  was  very  marked  and 
distinct;  and  though  these  classes  were  not  castes,  in  the  strict 
sense  of  that  word,  yet  they  approached  to  them.  In  other 
words,  although  the  son  did  not  necessarily  or  always  follow 
his  father's  calling,  yet  the  practice  was  so  general,  so  nearly 
universal,  there  was  such  a  prejudice,  such  a  consensus  in  favor 
of  it,  that  foreigners  commonly  left  the  country  impressed 
with  the  belief  that  it  was  obligatory  on  all,  and  that  the 
classes  were  really  castes  in  the  strictest  sense.  Such  was  the 
conviction  of  Herodotus,8  of  Plato,9  of  Diodorus  Siculus,10  of 
Strabo,11  and  of  others  ;  and  though  modern  research  shows 
that  there  were  exceptions  to  the  general  practice,  yet  it  shows 
also  that  the  transmission  of  employments  was  usual,  and  was 
extraordinarily  regular  and  prolonged.  It  is  enough  to  refer, 
in  proof  of  this,  to  the  "family  of  architects  "  tabulated  by  Dr. 
Brugsch  in  his  "History  of  Egypt,"  12  where  the  occupation  of 


EGYPTIAH    CLASSES — SUBDIVISION".  205 

rtrchitect  is  found  to  have  descended  from  father  to  son  fob 
twenty-two  generations,  from  the  time  of  SetiL,  the  first  king 
of  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  to  that  of  Darius,  the  son  of 
Hystaspes,  the  second  Persian  monarch.  That  the  succession 
was  equally,  if  not  even  more,  persistent  in  the  priestly  order, 
is  indicated  by  the  story  which  Herodotus  tells  concerning  the 
high  priests  of  Thebes,  who  were  said  to  have  descended  in  a 
direct  line  from  father  to  son  for  345  generations,13  from  the 
foundation  of  the  monarchy  by  Menes  to  the  time  of  Arta- 
xerxes  Longimanus. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  proved  by  the  monuments  (1)  that 
a  man  might  change  his  occupation  ;  (2)  that  a  father  need 
not  bring  up  all  his  sons,  or  even  an  only  son,  to  his  own  trade 
or  profession;  and  (3)  that  one  and  the  same  man  might  pur- 
sue two  or  more  callings.'4  Priests  might  serve  in  the  army, 
and  often  did  so  ;  and  members  of  any  class  might  hold  civil 
office,  if  the  monarch  chose  to  give  them  an  appointment.  It 
is  not  improbable  that  Herodotus  is  right  in  saying  that  the 
soldiers,  while  they  continued  soldiers,  liable  to  be  called  out 
on  active  service,  could  not  engage  in  a  trade  ;  but  when  they 
were  past  the  military  age,  it  is  probable  that  they  might  do  as 
they  pleased.  No  religious  notions  seem  to  have  attached  to 
the  class  distinctions  ;  and  it  is  certain  that,  unless  the  swine- 
herds formed  an  exception,16  the  classes  were  free  to  inter- 
marry one  with  another.  Thus  it  must  be  fully  allowed  that 
the  essential  ideas  of  caste  were  absent  from  the  Egyptian  sys- 
tem, which  was  merely  one  in  which  classes  were  sharply  de- 
fined, and  in  which  sons,  as  a  rule,  followed  their  father's 
calling. 

The  number  of  the  classes  is  differently  stated  by  ancient 
authors.  Herodotus  makes  them  to  be  seven,  Plato  six,  Dio- 
dorus  five,17  Strabo  three  only.  In  a  general  way  it  would  seem 
to  be  right  to  adopt  the  classification  of  Strabo,  and  to  say 
that  the  entire  free  population  of  Egypt,  which  did  not  be- 
long to  the  sacerdotal  or  the  military  order,  formed  a  sort  of 
"third  estate  "  which  admitted  of  subdivisions,  but  is  properly 
regarded  as  politically  a  single  body.18  The  soldiers  and  the 
priests  were  privileged  ;  the  rest  of  the  community  was  without 
privilege  of  any  kind.  The  chief  subdivisions  of  the  unprivi- 
leged class  were  as  follows  :  1.  The  laborers  or  fellahin  in  the 
country,  who  cultivated  the  estates  of  the  rich  proprietors,19 
men  chiefly  of  the  military  class.  2.  The  tradesmen  and 
artisans  in  the  towns,  including  merchants,  shopkeepers,  phy- 
sicians, notaries,  builders  and  architects,  brickmakers,  weavers, 
upholsterers,   glassblowers,   potters,    workers  in   metal,    shoe- 


200  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

makers,  tailors,  armorers,  painters,  sculptors,   and  musicians. 

3.  The  herdsmen,  chiefly  in  the  Delta,  who  were  either  ox- 
herds, shepherds,  goatherds,  or  swineherds,  the  last-named 
class  forming  a  completely  distinct  and  much-despised  body.20 

4.  The  boatmen  on  the  Nile  and  its  branches,  who  conveyed 
produce  up  and  down  the  stream,  and  ferried  passengers  across 
it,  employments  which,  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  of 
the  country,  gave  occupation  to  vast  numbers.  5.  The  hunt- 
ing class,  comprising  those  who  pursued  the  gazelle  and  other 
wild  animals  in  the  deserts  which  bordered  the  Nile  valley;  the 
fishermen  who  obtained  a  living  from  the  produce  of  the  Nile 
itself,  of  the  canals,  and  of  the  great  lake,  the  Birket-el- 
Keroun  ; 21  and  the  fowlers,  who  supplied  the  market  with 
edible  birds  of  various  kinds,  as  especially  wild  ducks,  wild 
geese,  and  quails.22  6.  The  dragomans  or  interpreters,  a  small 
class  and  one  belonging  only  to  later  times,23  but  kept  very  dis- 
tinct from  the  rest  by  the  prejudice  against  any  intercourse 
with  foreigners. 

It  does  not  appear  to  be  necessary  to  regard  the  officials 
of  the  kingdom  as  a  distinct  class.  "Eg3Tpt,"  no  doubt, 
"  swarmed  with  a  bureaucracy/' 24  a  bureaucracy  wdiich  was 
"powerful,  numerous,  and  cleverly  arranged"  in  such  a  grad- 
uated series  that  the  most  bureaucratic  countries  of  the  modern 
world  may  with  reason  be  said  to  "  have  nothing  superior  to 
it ;"  *  but  the  official  class  was  composed  in  the  main  of  persons 
who  belonged  previously  either  to  the  priestly  or  to  the  military 
order.26  Some  official  posts  appear  to  have  been  hereditary  ;  w 
but  this  is  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule,  and  the  Egyptian, 
like  other  Oriental,  monarchs  seems  to  have  been  free  to  be- 
stow all  but  a  few  official  posts  on  any  subject  whom  they  chose 
to  favor. 

Of  all  the  classes,  that  of  the  priests  was  the  most  powerful 
and  the  most  carefully  organized.  At  the  head  of  the  order 
stood  a  certain  number  of  high  priests,28  among  whom  the  high 
priest  of  the  great  temple  of  Ammon  at  Thebes  had  a  species 
of  primacy.  This  individual  held  a  rank  second  only  to  that 
of  the  king ; 29  and  the  time  came  when,  taking  advantage  of 
his  position,  the  Theban  high  priest  actually  usurped  the 
throne.  Next  in  rank  to  the  high  priests  were  the  prophets,80 
who  were  generally  presidents  of  the  temples,  had  the  manage- 
ment of  the  sacred  revenues,  were  bound  to  commit  to  memory 
the  contents  of  the  ten  sacerdotal  books,31  and  directed  the 
details  of  ritual  and  ceremonial  according  to  the  prescribed 
formulae.  Below  the  prophets  was  an  order  of  "  divine 
fathers," 32  or  ordinary  priests,  of  whom  several  were  attached 


THE     PKIESTS — THEIR    WEALTH.  2C7 

to  each  temple.  After  these  came  first  the  JrierostolistcB,  who 
had  the  charge  of  the  sacred  vestments  and  the  office  of  attir- 
ing in  appropriate  garments  the  statues  of  the  gods;33  next 
the  liierogrammateis,  or  sacred  scribes,34  who  kept  the  accounts 
and  registers,  made  catalogues  of  the  sacred  utensils  and  other 
possessions  of  the  temples,  and  performed  generally  all  literary 
functions  devolving  upon  the  sacerdotal  order ;  and,  finally,  a 
crowd  of  servants  or  attendants  invested  with  a  semi-sacerdotal 
character  :  the  pastophori,  or  bearers  of  the  sacred  shrines  ;35 
the  Merophori,  or  bearers  of  sacred  emblems  ;36  the pterophori, 
or  bearers  of  the  fans  and  fly-flappers  ;37  the  neocori,  who  were 
charged  with  the  sweeping  and  cleansing  of  the  sacred  edi- 
fices ; 3rf  the  liierolaotomi,  or  sacred  masons  ; 39  the  theriotrophi, 
or  guardians  of  the  sacred  animals,40  and  others. 

The  exact  arrangements  by  which  this  entire  priestly  body 
was  bound  together  and  enabled  to  act  in  concert  without  un- 
seemly contest,  or  even  perceptible  friction,  have  not  come 
down  to  us  ;41  but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  organiza- 
tion was  almost  as  perfect  as  that  attained  by  the  Church  of 
Rome  at  the  present  day.  When  a  decree  went  forth  from 
the  chief  authority,  the  entire  priesthood  accepted  it ;  and  the 
religious  movement,  whatever  it  was,  swept  at  once  over  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  Though  there  were  in  Egypt 
distinct  centres  of  priestly  learning,  yet,  at  any  rate  from  the 
time  of  the  nineteenth  dynasty,  no  religious  difference  is  per- 
ceptible ;  one  and  the  same  spirit  animates  the  whole  of  the 
sacerdotal  order  ;  no  contest  occurs  ;  no  "heresy"  shows  itself  ; 
a  uniform  system  prevails  from  Elephantine"  to  Oanopus  and 
Pelusium,  and  the  priestly  body,  having  no  internal  divisions 
to  waste  its  strength,  is  able  to  exercise  an  almost  unlimited 
dominion  over  the  rest  of  the  community. 

The  independence  and  freedom  of  the  hierarchy  was  secured 
by  a  system  of  endowments.  From  a  remote  antiquity 42  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  perhaps  as  much 
as  one  third,43  was  made  over  to  the  priestly  class,  large  estates 
being  attached  to  each  temple,  and  held  as  common  property 
by  the  "colleges,"  which,  like  the  chapters  of  our  cathedrals, 
directed  the  worship  of  each  sacred  edifice.  These  lands  were 
probably,  in  part,  let  to  tenants  ;  but  they  seem  to  have  been, 
in  the  main,  cultivated  or  grazed  by  hieroduli,  or  "sacred 
slaves,"  under  the  direction  of  the  priests  themselves,44  to 
whose  granaries  and  cattle-stalls,  attached  to  the  temples,  the 
produce  was  from  time  to  time  brought  in.  The  priestly 
estates  were,  we  are  told,  exempt  from  taxation  of  any  kind,45 
and  they  appear  to   have   received  continual  augmentation 


208  HISTORY     OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

from  tlie  piety  or  superstition  of  the  kings,  who  constantly 
made  over  to  their  favorite  deities  fresh  "gardens,  orchards, 
vineyards,  fields,"  and  even  "cities."46 

Besides  their  regular  revenues,  the  proceeds  of  their  own 
lands,  the  priests  received,  at  the  hands  of  the  faithful,  a  large 
amount  of  valuable  offerings,  whereby  they  were  enabled  at 
once  to  live  themselves  and  bring  up  their  families  in  luxury, 
and  also  to  add  year  by  year  to  the  wealth  stored  in  the  temple 
treasuries.  The  gold,  the  silver,  the  fine  linen,  the  precious 
stones,  the  seals,  the  rings,  the  "pectoral  plates,"  the  necklaces, 
the  bowls  and  vases,  the  censers,  the  statues  and  statuettes  in 
precious  materials,47  which  the  kings  and  other  donors  con- 
tinually offered  to  the  various  deities,  and  which  became  really 
the  property  of  the  priests,  were  of  a  value  that  cannot  be 
computed,  but  that  must  have  been  enormous,48  and  must 
have  ultimately  made  the  priestly  class  by  far  the  richest  por- 
tion of  the  community.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  plunder  of 
the  temples  from  time  to  time  by  foreign  invaders,  which  dis- 
persed the  accumulated  hoards,  the  precious  metals  must  have 
tended  to  become  gradually  locked  up  in  the  sacred  treasuries  ; 
and  Egypt,  drained  of  these  important  elements  of  national 
wealth  and  prosperity,  would  have  fallen  into  a  condition  of 
exhaustion  and  premature  decay. 

The  advantages  enjoyed  by  the  priests  were  accompanied  by 
correspondent  obligations.  As  mediators  between  men  and 
the  gods,  they  were  bound  to  maintain  a  high  standard  both 
of  internal  and  of  external  purity.  No  doubt  there  were 
evasions  of  the  former  ;  but  from  the  latter  it  was  impossible  to 
escape.  For  the  perservation  of  perfect  purity  of  body,  each 
priest  had  to  wash  himself  from  head  to  foot  in  cold  water 
twice  every  day  and  twice  every  night.49  Not  only  were  their 
heads  constantly  shaved,  but  they  were  bound  to  shave  the 
entire  body  every  other  day,  to  make  it  impossible  that  any 
vermin  should  harbor  upon  their  persons.50  Their  garments, 
at  any  rate  when  they  were  inside  the  temples,  had  to  be  of 
linen  only  ; 51  and  their  shoes,  or  rather  sandals,  were  neces- 
sarily of  the  papyrus  plant,52  that  so  no  animal  substance 
might  be  in  contact  with  them.  The  "Sem,"  however,  or 
officiating  high-priest,  wore,  as  his  costume  of  office,  a  com- 
plete leopard-skin,  with  head,  claws,  and  tail  ;53  but  this  sacred 
vestment  was  placed  over  the  linen  clothes,  and  may  have  been 
lined  with  linen  where  it  was  liable  to  touch  the  priest's  arms 
or  body.  Their  food  was  limited  to  the  flesh  of  oxen  and 
geese,  with  wine,  bread,  and  certain  kinds  of  vegetables.54 
Mutton,  pork,  and  fish,  were  expressly  forbidden  them;  and 


THEIR    OBLIGATIONS    AND    ATTIRE.  209 

they  were  bound  to  abstain  from  beans,  peas,  lentils,  onions, 
garlic,  and  leeks.55  It  has  been  conjectured  that  these  regula- 
tions originated  in  "dietetic  motives,"  and  that  "the  sanitary- 
rule  grew  into  a  religious  prohibition ; " 56  but,  as  this  theory 
fails  to  account  for  the  larger  number  of  the  prohibitions,  it  is 
perhaps  better  to  suppose  that  what  were  regarded  as  the 
coarser  and  grosser  kinds  of  food  were  considered  to  be  un- 
suited  to  the  priestly  dignity,  and  were  therefore  forbidden. 
It  may  be  objected  that  mutton  is  not  coarser  than  beef  ;  but 
the  Egyptians  may  have  been  of  a  different  opinion  ;  and  cer- 
tainly mutton  was  held  generally  in  disesteem  among  them, 
and  was  avoided  even  when  it  was  not  prohibited.57 

At  certain  times  of  the  year,  even  greater  abstemiousness 
T"is  necessary.  The  religious  calendar  contained  a  number  of 
fasts,  some  of  which  lasted  from  seven  to  forty-two  days. 
Throughout  the  whole  duration  of  every  such  period,  the 
priests  were  required  to  abstain  entirely  from  animal  food, 
from  herbs  and  vegetables,  and  from  wine.58  Their  diet 
on  these  occasions  can  have  been  little  more  than  bread  and 
water. 

The  rite  of  circumcision,  which  was  practised  by  the  Egyp- 
tians generally,59  though  not  universally,  must  have  been  obli- 
gatory upon  the  priests,  if  it  was  a  necessary  preliminary  to 
initiation  into  the  mysteries.60  Marriage  was  not  forbidden 
them,  but  on  the  contrary  was  encouraged,  since  it  was  in  this 
way  especially  that  the  priestly  order  was  maintained  and  con- 
tinued. Polygamy,  however,  was  strictly  prohibited  ;61  and  a 
general  simplicity  of  living  was  enjoined,  which  it  was  not 
found  possible  to  secure  in  all  instances.  Priests  often  held 
important  political  offices  ;  they  served  in  the  army,  and  re- 
ceived rich  gifts  for  good  conduct ;  many  of  them  accumulated 
considerable  wealth  through  these  secular  employments,  and 
their  villas  were  on  a  scale  which  is  scarcely  compatible  with 
ascetic,  or  even  with  simple,  habits.62 

The  attire  of  the  priests  (Fig.  138)  varied  considerably. 
Some  wore,  even  when  officiating,  no  other  garment  than  the 
short  tunic  or  shenti,  which  was  common  to  all  adult  males  in 
Egypt ;  some  added  to  this  a  mat  or  napkin  upon  the  left  arm. 
Others  wore  over  the  tunic  a  long  smock  reaching  from  below 
the  arms  to  the  feet,  and  supported  over  the  two  shoulders  by 
straps.  But  the  most  part  had  a  long  full  robe,  with  large 
sleeves,  which  covered  the  arm  to  the  elbow,  and  descended 
to  the  ankles.  This  outer  robe  was  frequently  of  so  fine  a 
material  as  to  be  transparent,  and  to  show  through  it  the  shape 
of  the  limbs  and  of  the  under  tunic.     A  dress  intermediate 


210  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

between  this  and  the  light  apparel  just  mentioned  consisted  of 
a  loose  tunic,  falling  in  folds  about  the  loins  and  legs,  with,  a 
heart-shaped  apron  in  front.  Another  differed  chiefly  from 
the  long  full  robe  by  commencing  at  the  waist,  and  being  sup- 
ported by  a  broad  strap  passing  over  the  left  shoulder.63  Most 
commonly  the  priests  officiate  with  bare  heads  ;  but  some- 
times they  wear  wigs,  carefully  curled,  and  descending  low  f 
in  the  earlier  times  their  feet  are  bare,  but  from  about  the 
fifth  or  sixth  dynasty  they  wear  sandals.  The  priests  are  gen- 
erally represented  either  in  procession,  when  they  usually  bear 
an  emblem,  or  in  the  act  of  pouring  a  libation,  or  as  worship- 
ping a  god,  or  the  king,  when  they  have  their  two  hands 
raised  with  the  palms  turned  outwards. 

The  emblems  borne  in  the  processions  are  of  various  kinds, 
but  seem  to  mark  not  so  much  the  rank  or  dignity  of  the  priest 
who  carries  them,  as  the  worship  to  which  they  are  attached. 
In  one  procession 64  we  see  borne  the  cow  of  Athor,  the  hawk 
of  Horns,  the  ape  of  Thoth,  the  jackal  of  Ann  bis,  the  vase  of 
Netpe,  the  shrine  of  Nehemao,  and  other  emblems  of  a  similar 
character,  the  priests  themselves  having  nothing  to  distinguish 
them  but  such  varieties  of  apparel  as  were  mentioned  above. 
It  is  quite  possible  that  these  varieties  themselves  may  be  con- 
nected with  differences  of  rank  ;  but  at  present  we  have  no 
means  of  determining  which  of  them  belonged  to  the  higher, 
and  which  to  the  lower  orders.  We  can  only  say  that  the 
leopard-skin  marked  the  very  highest  grade  of  the  priestly 
office,  and  was  peculiarly  appropriate  to  that  rank  when  en- 
gaged in  the  very  highest  functions.65 

It  has  been  a  matter  of  dispute  among  Egyptologists 66 
whether  or  no  the  Egyptians  allowed  the  sacerdotal  office  to 
be  held  by  women.  Herodotus  distinctly  states  that  they  did 
not ; 67  and  the  monuments  so  far  bear  out  his  assertion  that 
"nowhere  does  a  female  appear  discharging  a  properly  sacer- 
dotal office,  nor  does  the  hieroglyphic  for  priest  occur  with 
the  feminine  termination."68  On  the  other  hand,  Herodotus 
himself  speaks  of  "sacred  women"  as  attached  to  the  temple 
of  Amnion  at  Thebes  ;69  and  the  Eosetta  stone  contains  dis- 
tinct mention  of  "priestesses."70  We  shall  best  reconcile  the 
various  statements  by  supposing  that,  strictly  speaking,  women 
could  not  hold  the  priestly  office,  at  any  rate  until  Ptolemaic 
times  ;  but  that  certain  functions  about  the  temples  were  from 
the  first  open  to  them,  and  that  among  the  other  customs  in- 
troduced by  the  Macedonian  kings  were  a  relaxation  of  the  old 
law,  and  an  admission  of  females  to  certain  really  sacrodotal 
offices.      Women   could,    however,    from   the    first    offer   for 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  XI  JUL 


Fig.  119.— Forms  of  Isis.— See  Page  173. 


Fig.  120.— Three  Forms  of  Khons.-  See  Page  174. 


Plate  L. 


VoLI 


Fig.  121.— Three  Forms  of  THOTH.—See  Page  175. 


Fig.  122.— Seb.— See  Page  177. 


CLASS    OF    THE    SOLDIERS.  211 

themselves  in  the  temples/1  and  they  played  an  important 
part  in  the  sacred  rites  accompanying  funerals.72 

In  immediate  succession  to  the  priestly  order,  and  ranking  only 
a  little  below  it,  must  be  placed  the  class  of  the  soldiers.  This 
class,  which,  according  to  the  numbers  that  have  come  down 
to  us,73  must  have  amounted  to  from  two  to  three  and  a  half 
millions  of  persons,  and  so  have  formed,  at  the  least,  above 
one-fourth  of  the  population,74  was  settled  on  rich  lands  in 
various  parts  of  Egypt,75  but  chiefly  in  the  Delta,  and,  except 
when  upon  active  service,  employed  itself  mainly  in  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  soil.  It  comprised  persons  of  very  different  so- 
cial rank  and  of  manifold  degrees  of  opulence.  The  statement 
of  Herodotus  that  each  of  the  410,000  soldiers,  which  formed 
the  native  armed  force  of  Egypt  in  his  day,  possessed  exactly 
twelve  arurce,  or  nine  English  acres  of  land,76  is  highly  im- 
probable, and  can  only  point  to  a  supposed  original  allotment, 
such  as  Diodorus  says  was  made  by  Sesostris.77  Original  equal- 
ity, though  scarcely  likely,  is  possible  ;  but  the  extinction  of 
some  families  and  the  expansion  of  others  would  soon  lead  to 
the  same  sort  of  inequality  which  we  find  at  Sparta ;  the  op- 
posite results  of  industry  and  idleness,  thrift  and  extravagance, 
would  make  themselves  felt ;  lots  would  be  divided  and  sub- 
divided, sometimes  alienated ;  the  thrifty  would  add  field  to 
field,  and  in  course  of  time  become  possessed  of  considerable 
estates  ;  favorite  officers  would  obtain  grants  of  land  from  the 
monarch  out  of  the  royal  domains  ;78  and  thus  there  would 
ultimately  come  to  be  contained  within  the  military  class  a 
certain  number  of  large  landed  proprietors,  a  considerable 
body  of  moderately  wealthy  yeomen,  and  a  more  or  less  numer- 
ous "proletariat."  These  last,  it  is  probable,  worked  as  day 
laborers  on  the  estates  of  their  wealthy  brethren,  or  else  rented 
portions  of  them,  agriculture  being  the  only  employment  open 
to  them  besides  the  profession  of  arms,  since  they  were  posi- 
tively forbidden  to  engage  in  any  handicraft  or  trade.79 

The  military  class  was  divided  into  two  distinct  bodies,  called 
respectively   Hermotybies    and    Calasiries.       The    Calasiries, 

_J3k    ni1  ,  are  supposed  to  have  been  chiefly,  or  universally, 

archers.80  According  to  Herodotus,81  they  inhabited  the 
nomes,  or  cantons,  of  Thebes,  Bubastis,  Aphthis,  Tanis, 
Mendes,  Sebennytus,  Athribis,  Pharbaethis,  Thmuis,  Onuphis, 
Anysis,  and  Myecphoris — districts  which,  with  the  single  ex- 
ception of  Thebes,  lay  within  the  Delta.  They  could  bring 
into  the  field,  when  their  strength  was  at  its  greatest,  250,000 
men.      The   Hermotybies   were   very   much   less   numerous. 


212  HISTOKY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

They  inhabited  six  cantons  only  82 — Basins,  Sal's,  Papremis, 
Prosopitis,  and  Natho,  regions  of  the  Delta,  together  with 
Chemmis,  which  was  in  Upper  Egypt.  When  at  their  fullest 
strength,  they  furnished  to  the  army  no  more  than  160,000 
soldiers. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  Egypt,  writh  its  population  of 
seven  or  seven  and  a  half  millions,  kept  this  enormous  military 
force  continually  under  arms.  The  great  states  of  Europe, 
with  populations  from  three  to  five  times  as  large,  find  the 
maintenance  of  armies  numbering  400,000  or  500,000  men 
burdensome  in  the  extreme.  In  Egypt,  armies  were  levied 
and  disbanded,  as  occasion  required  ;  the  number  of  the 
militia  called  out  varied  according  to  the  supposed  strength 
of  the  enemy  about  to  be  attacked  or  resisted  ;  campaigns  were 
usually  short ;  and,  except  the  troops  kept  in  garrison  83  and 
the  two  thousand  who  formed  the  body-guard  of  the  king,84 
the  men  of  the  military  class  had  the  greater  part  of  the  year 
to  themselves.  No  doubt,  some  considerable  portion  of  this 
leisure  time  was  spent  in  gymnastic  training  and  various  kinds 
of  military  exercise  ;  but  it  can  scarcely  be  questioned  thafc  at 
least  as  much  of  it  was  given  to  agricultural  employments. 
The  wealthier  members  of  the  bodv  indulged  also  in  the  sports 
of  the  field.85 

The  exact  mode  of  training  and  educating  persons  for  the 
military  profession  is  not  known.  It  is  likely  enough  that,  as 
Diodorus  states  of  the  companions  of  Sesostris,86  they  under- 
went a  special  education  from  boyhood,  and  were  practiced  in 
running  and  other  athletic  exercises,  though  the  necessity  of 
accomplishing  a  distance  of  twenty  miles  before  breakfast87 
can  scarcely  have  been  a  regular  requirement.  It  is  also  prob- 
able that  hunting  expeditions  formed  a  portion  of  the  ordinary 
course,  and  hardened  the  frame  by  exposure  to  sun  and  cold, 
and  the  constitution  by  the  necessity  of  light  meals  and  infre- 
quent indulgence  in  drink.88  When  the  age  for  active  service 
approached,  the  young  soldiers  were  formally  enrolled,  and 
taken  from  their  homes  to  some  military  station,  where  they 
were  carefully  drilled  by  a  sergeant  (Fig.  143).  When  pro- 
nounced fit,  they  were  attached  to  existing  corps  or  regiments, 
and  entered  upon  garrison  duty,  or  took  the  field  and  were 
employed  against  the  enemy. 

The  bulk  of  an  Egyptian  army  was  always  composed  of  in- 
fantry.89 These  were  divided  into  heavy-arrned  and  light-armed. 
The  heavy-armed  troops  wore  helmets  (Fig.  139),  which  were 
either  of  metal90  or  of  quilted  linen,  descending  in  the  latter 
case  over  the  back  of  the  neck  and  the  shoulders.91    Their  hodies 


COMPOSITION    OV    THE    ARMY.  213 

were  protected  by  cuirasses  or  coats  of  mail  (Fig.  141),  which 
were  sometimes  quilted  like  the  linen  helmets,92  but  often  had 
overlapping  plates  of  metal  sewed  on  outside  the  linen  and 
which  reached  from  the  neck  nearly  to  the  knee.  Short 
sleeves,  in  no  cases  falling  below  the  elbow,  guarded  the  upper 
part  of  the  arm.  The  legs  and  feet  were,  for  the  most  part, 
bare  ;  but  sometimes  a  tunic  or  kilt  descending  below  the  coat 
of  mail,  gave  a  slight  protection  to  the  thighs  and  knees.93 
Large  shields  (Fig.  142)  were  carried,  which  were  generally 
circular  at  the  top  and  of  oblong  shape,  the  sides  being  either 
parallel,  or  contracting  as  they  descended.94  Usually  the  shield 
was  of  wood  or  wickerwork,  and  was  covered  with  an  untanned 
bull's  hide,  having  the  hair  outwards  ;95  it  was  further  gener- 
ally strengthened  by  a  metal  rim  of  considerable  breadth  and 
by  a  boss  of  metal  in  the  centre  of  the  circular  portion  (Fig. 
140).  Occasionally  a  very  much  larger  and  more  cumbrous 
defence  was  employed,  the  shield  being  nearly  the  height  of 
the  warrior,  who  was  sometimes  forced  to  rest  one  corner  of  it 
upon  the  ground.96  In  this  case,  instead  of  a  circular  top,  the 
form  affected  was  that  of  the  pointed  arch.  The  offensive 
weapons  of  the  heavy-armed  troops  were  the  spear,  the  mace, 
the  battle-axe,  the  sword,  straight  or  curved,  and  the  hatchet. 
Most  corps  had  two  at  least  of  these  arms  ;  some  seem  to  have 
had  three,  one  carried  in  either  hand,  and  the  third  worn  as 
a  side-arm.97 

The  light-armed  troops  (Fig.  144)  were  in  some  cases  bare- 
headed, but  more  commonly  wore  the  quilted  cap,  sometimes 
surmounted  with  a  crescent  and  ball.98  The  upper  part  of 
their  person  was  naked  ;  and  sometimes  they  wore  nothing  on 
their  body  but  the  ordinary  slienti  or  plain  tunic,99  which  be- 
gan at  the  waist  and  ended  a  little  above  the  knees.  Instances 
occur  of  an  even  lighter  equipment,  the  tunic  being  occasion- 
ally dispensed  with,  and  a  mere  cloth  worn,  which,  after  encir- 
cling the  waist,  wTas  passed  from  front  to  back  between  the 
legs.  Sometimes,  however,  their  dress  was  a  robe  which 
reached  from  the  waist  to  the  ankles,  and  more  frequently  a 
full  tunic  with  many  folds,  which  descended  somewhat  below 
the  knee.100  A  shield  of  moderate  size  and  of  the  ordinary 
shape  was  borne  by  most  of  these  troops,  who  carried,  as  their 
main  weapons,  either  bows  and  arrows,  or  spears  (Fig.  146),  or 
else  javelins,  and  for  a  side-arm  had  a  curved  sword,  a  club, 
or  a  hatchet.  A  portion  of  them,  forming  probably  a  separ- 
ate corps,  were  slingers  (Fig.  145),  and  carried  nothing  but 
their  sling  and  a  bag  of  stones  hung  round  their  neck.101 

It  is  exceedingly  remarkable  that  on  the  monuments  there 


214  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

is  no  representation  of  Egyptian  cavalry.  The  few  mounted 
warriors  who  occur  are  foreigners ; 102  and,  to  judge  from  the 
monuments  alone,  we  should  say  that  this  arm  of  the  military 
service,  important  as  most  nations  have  considered  it,  was  un- 
known to  the  Pharaohs.  But  the  evidence  of  historical  writers 
is  directly  opposed  to  this  conclusion.  Diodorus  Siculus  assigns 
to  Sesostris  a  cavalry  force  of  24,000. 103  Herodotus  represents 
Amasis  as  leading  his  army  on  horseback.104  In  the  historical 
books  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  Egyptian  horsemen  obtain 
frequent  mention  ;  105  and  as  many  as  60,000  are  said  to  have 
accompanied  Sheshonk  (Shishak)  when  he  invaded  Pal- 
estine.106 The  hieroglyphic  texts,  moreover,  if  translated 
aright,  make  frequent  mention  of  Egyptian  cavalry  ; 107  and 
the  "command  of  the  cavalry  was  a  very  honorable  and  impor- 
tant post,  generally  held  by  one  of  the  king's  sons."  108 

Still,  it  would  seem  to  be  certain  that  cavalry  was  not  an 
arm  by  which  the  Egyptians  set  much  store.  Perhaps  they 
were  bad  riders,  and  found  it  difficult  to  manage  a  charger.109 
At  any  rate,  it  is  clear  that  they  preferred  to  use  the  horses,  of 
which  they  had  abundance,  in  the  chariot  service,  rather  than 
to  mount  riders  upon  them. 

The  chariot  (Fig.  148)  service  was,  beyond  a  doubt,  consid- 
ered to  be  the  most  important  of  all.  The  king  invariably 
went  to  war  mounted  upon  a  car,  and  seldom  descended  from 
it  excepting  to  give  the  coup  de  grace  to  a  wounded  enemy.110 
The  chiefs  of  the  army,  all  the  best  and  bravest,  followed  their 
monarch's  example,  and  as  many  as  27,000  chariots  are  assigned 
to  Sesostris.111  This  is,  no  doubt,  an  over-statement ;  but  the 
twelve  hundred  who  accompanied  Shishak  112  will  not  appear, 
to  any  one  who  is  acquainted  with  the  Egyptian  monuments, 
to  be  an  exaggeration.  Chariots  were  drawn  up  in  line,  great 
care  being  taken  to  "dress  the  ranks,"  113  and  were  supported 
by  columns  of  infantry  drawn  up  behind  them,114  a  second  line 
of  each  being  sometimes  kept  in  reserve.  In  fighting,  this 
exactness  of  arrangement  could  not,  of  course,  be  maintained, 
though  we  sometimes  see  an  Egyptian  chariot  force  preserving 
its  ranks  unbroken,  while  it  throws  a  similar  force  opposed  to 
it  into  disorder.115  More  often,  when  a  battle  is  depicted, 
chariots,  loose  horses,  and  footmen  are  mingled  together  in 
inextricable  confusion.  The  Egyptian  cars  were  small,  and 
but  slightly  raised  above  the  ground.  Ordinarily  they  carried 
two  persons  only,  the  warrior  and  the  charioteer.  It  was  the 
business  of  the  latter  not  only  to  manage  the  two  steeds  by 
which  the  car  was  drawn,  but  also  to  hold  a  shield  in  front  of 
himself  and  his  companion.     As  chis  double  occupation  was  a 


CONSTRUCTION    OF    CHARIOTS.  215 

difficult  thing  to  achieve  successfully,  it  would  seem  that  he 
sometimes  fastened  the  reins  around  his  own  or  the  warrior's 
waist,116  so  as  to  be  enabled  to  give  his  whole  attention  to  the 
management  of  the  shield.  Occasionally,  but  very  rarely,  a 
chariot  has  three  occupants,  the  charioteer,  and  two  warriors, 
who  stand  behind  him,  side  by  side.117 

The  Egyptian  war-chariot  (Fig.  149)  had  a  semicircular 
standing  board,  which  was  either  wholly  of  wood,  or  composed 
of  a  wooden  frame  filled  up  with  a  network  of  thong  or  rope, 
which  by  its  elasticity  rendered  the  motion  of  the  vehicle  more 
easy.118  From  this  rose  in  a  graceful  curve  the  antyx  or  rim, 
which  first  sloped  a  little  backwards,  and  was  then  carried 
round  in  front  of  the  driver  at  the  height  of  about  two  feet 
and  a  half  from  the  standing  board.  The  space  between  the 
standing-board  and  the  rim  was  generally  left  open  at  the  sides, 
connection  between  the  two  being  in  this  part  maintained 
merely  by  three  leathern  straps  ;  but  in  front  there  was  always 
a  broad  upright  of  wood,  extending  from  the  board  to  the  rim, 
and  interposed  between  the  driver  and  the  horses.  Sometimes 
the  sides  themselves  were  filled  up,  either  with  wood  or  with 
cloth  of  some  kind,  which  was  ordinarily  of  a  bright  color.119 
The  whole  body  of  the  car  was  painted  in  gay  patterns,  and 
perhaps  sometimes  ornamented  with  the  precious  metals.120 

The  body,  thus  constructed,  was  placed  upon  the  axle-tree 
and  the  lower  part  of  the  pole,  and  firmly  attached  to  them. 
It  was  not,  however,  balanced  evenly  upon  the  axle-tree,  but 
shifted  towards  the  front,  so  that  but  little  of  the  standing- 
board  extended  behind  the  wheels. 121  The  ends  of  the  axle- 
tree  were  inserted  into  the  axles  of  the  wheels,  which  worked 
round  them,  being  prevented  from  falling  off  by  a  peg  or  linch- 
pin. The  pole,  after  passing  along  the  bottom  of  the  car,  rose 
in  a  gentle  sweep,  meeting  a  bar  or  strap,  which  united  it  to  the 
rim  in  front.  It  terminated  in  a  yoke,  to  which  were  attached 
small  saddles,  these  latter  resting  on  the  withers  of  the  horses. 
Chariot  wheels  had  in  some  cases  four  spokes  only  ;  but  the 
regular  number  was  six,  an  amount  which  is  not  exceeded. 

Each  war-chariot  was  furnished  with  at  least  one  quiver  and 
one  bow-case  (Fig.  150),  which  were  placed  on  the  side  on 
which  the  warrior  took  up  his  position  in  the  car.  They  hung 
obliquely  between  the  body  of  the  car  and  the  wheel,  crossing 
each  other  at  right  angles,  and  forming  the  most  conspicuous 
objects  in  the  representations  which  we  have  of  chariots.  Both 
are  covered  with  brilliant  and  elaborate  patterns  ;  and  the 
bow-case  is  frequently  further  ornamented  with  the  figure  of  a 
lion  rushing  at  full  speed,  which  is  carefully  and  delicately  ex- 


216  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

ecuted.  Sometimes  a  second  quiver  is  provided,  and  placed 
close  to  the  bow-case,  but  apparently  inside  the  body  of  the 
car.  Both  the  quiver  and  the  bow-case  occasionally  contain  a 
javelin  or  javelins. 

The  Egyptian  chariots  were  drawn  uniformly  by  two  horses, 
harnessed  one  on  either  side  of  the  pole.  The  harness  com- 
prised, besides  the  saddles  above  mentioned  as  attached  to  the 
yoke,  only  a  girth,  a  breast-band,  a  head-stall,  and  reins.  The 
girth  and  breast-band  were  fastened  to  the  saddle.  The  head- 
stall much  resembled  a  modern  one,  excepting  that  the  top  of 
the  head  was  covered  by  a  close-fitting  cap,  through  which 
the  ears  passed,  and  which  was  frequently  crowned  by  a  plume 
of  feathers.  The  reins  consisted  of  a  bearing  rein,  drawn 
rather  tight  and  secured  to  a  hook  at  the  top  of  the  saddle, 
and  a  driving  rein,122  which,  after  passing  through  a  ring  or 
leathern  loop  on  either  side  of  the  saddle,  was  held  above  the 
back  of  the  horse  by  the  charioteer.  Chariot  horses  were 
usually  caparisoned  with  elegant  housings.123 

The  offensive  arms  of  the  Egyptians  were  somewhat  pecul- 
iar. Their  spears  (Fig.  147)  were  excessively  short,  not  much 
exceeding  the  length  of  five  feet.  (  Their  straight  swords  (Fig. 
147)  were  formidable  weapons,  apparently  not  less  than  from 
two  to  three  feet  long,  and  very  broad  at  the  base,  tapering 
thence  to  a  point.124  But  the  arm  more  commonly  used  was 
the  curved  sword  or  falchion,125  which  was  a  shorter,  and,  to  all 
appearance,  a  less  effective  weapon.  The  shapes  of  the  bat- 
tle-axe and  pole-axe  were  unusual  (Fig.  151),  the  former  hav- 
ing a  long  blade,  with  a  curved  edge,  sometimes  semicircular, 
sometimes  a  mere  segment  of  a  circle,  with  two  segments  taken 
out  of  it  at  the  back,126  and  the  latter  having  its  blade  weighted 
by  a  massive  ball  at  the  base,  which  is  thought  to  have  been 
about  four  inches  in  diameter.127  Maces  (Fig.  152)  generally 
terminated  in  a  ball,  which  was  no  doubt  of  metal,  but  some- 
times they  were  mere  rods,  which  can  have  been  of  little  ser- 
vice, unless  they  were  of  bronze  or  iron.  They  had  a  curious 
curved  projection  at  the  lower  end,  whereto  a  strap  was  prob- 
ably attached,128  which  was  then  twisted  round  the  wrist  or 
hand,  to  render  the  hold  on  the  weapon  more  sure.  Clubs 
(Fig.  152)  were  also  employed,  sometimes  of  the  ordinary 
character,129  sometimes  resembling  the  modern  African  lissan, 
which  is  a  curved  stick  of  hard  wood,  about  two  feet  and  a  half 
in  length,  with  a  slight  enlargement  at  the  lower  end.130  Dag- 
gers (Fig.  153)  were  very  commonly  worn  ;  their  place  was  in 
the  belt,  into  the  right  side  of  which  they  were  thrust  oblique- 
ly.    The  blade  was  short,  not  exceeding  eight  or  ten  inches  in 


EGYPTIAN    OFFENSIVE    AEMS.  217 

length,131  and  tapering  gradually  from  end  to  end,  terminating 
in  an  exceedingly  sharp  point.  It  was  of  bronze,132  but  so 
skilfully  tempered,  that  the  elasticity  and  spring  remain  after 
three  thousand  years,  and  almost  equal  that  of  the  best  steel.133 
The  handles  were  of  wood,  bone,  ivory,  silver,  or  gold,  and 
were  often  delicately  inlaid :  that  of  the  king  often  ended  in 
the  head  of  a  hawk. 134  Each  dagger  had  its  sheath,  which 
was  of  leather,  sometimes  plain,  sometimes  patterned. 

Egyptian  bows  (Fig.  154),  though  not  perhaps  so  powerful  as 
Ethiopian,135  were  formidable  weapons,  and  must  have  driven  the 
arrow  with  great  force.  In  length  they  were  commonly  from 
five  feet  to  live  feet  and  a  half,136  and  were  formed  of  a  rounded 
piece  of  tough  wood,  which  when  unstrung  became  nearly 
straight,  or  else  curved  itself  into  a  sort  of  double  crescent.137 
Sometimes  the  wood  was  further  strengthened  by  pieces  of 
leather,  which  were  inserted  at  intervals  into  the  underpart  of 
the  bow.  Bowstrings  were  made  of  hide,  catgut,  or  string,138 
and  appear  to  have  been  sufficiently  strong.139  The  material 
used  for  arrows  was  either  a  light  wood,  or  more  commonly 
reed  ;  the  heads  was  either  of  metal  or  stone,  and  were  occa- 
sionally barbed  ; 140  the  shafts  were  carefully  notched  at  the 
lower  extremity,  and  winged  with  three  feathers  in  the  most 
approved  modern  fashion.141  The  ordinary  length  of  an  arrow 
was  from  twenty-two  to  thirty-two  inches.  Archers  (Fig.  155) 
shot  either  standing  or  kneeling  ;  they  drew  the  arrow  either 
with  the  first  two  fingers  or  with  the  thumb  and  forefinger,  and 
in  war  commonly  brought  the  hand  to  the  ear.  We  sometimes, 
but  not  very  often,  see  the  left  forearm  protected  from  the  blow 
of  the  string  by  a  guard.142  Two  modes  of  stringing  the  bow 
are  here  shown  (Fig.  156). 

Each  bowman,  unless  when  riding  in  a  chariot,  carried  a 
quiver  slnng  at  his  back  ;  and  the  king  generally  carries  one 
even  under  such  circumstances,143  though  he  has  always  one 
or  two  others  attached  to  his  car.  Quivers  (Fig.  157)  were 
commonly  square  topped  and  rounded  at  the  bottom  ;  but 
sometimes  the  cover  was  modelled  into  the  form  of  a  lion's 
bead.144  The  whole  of  the  exterior  was  painted  in  gay  pat- 
terns. 

Another  offensive  arm  frequently  employed  by  the  Egyptians 
was  the  javelin  (Fig.  166),  which  was  of  a  lighter  kind  than 
that  used  by  most  nations.  It  consisted  of  a  long  thin  shaft, 
sometimes  merely  pointed,  but  generally  armed  with  a  head, 
which  was  either  leaf-shaped,  or  like  the  head  of  a  spear,  or 
else  four-sided,  and  attached  to  the  shaft  by  projections  at  the 
angles.145     At  the  lower  extremity  was  either  a  tasselled  head, 


218  HISTORY     OF    AXCIEKT    EGYPT. 

or  a  strap,  which  enabled  the  javelin-man,  after  throwing  his 
weapon,  to  recover  it. 

Not  very  much  is  known  concerning  Egyptian  tactics.  The 
infantry  was  certainly  divided  into  distinct  corps,  each  of 
which  had  its  own  special  arms  and  accoutrements ;  some 
being  spearmen,  some  bowmen,  come  clubmen,  some  armed 
only  with  swords.146  They  were  drilled  to  march  in  step,  and 
are  always  represented  as  keeping  step  when  in  movement. 
They  fought  commonly  in  dense  columns,  which  were  some- 
times drawn  up  ten  men  deep.147  The  chariots  seem  ordinarily 
to  have  covered  the  front  of  the  battle,  and  consequently  to 
have  commenced  the  fight.  Sometimes  they  had  to  meet  a 
chariot  force,  when  the  charioteers  charged  at  speed,  shooting 
their  arrows  as  they  advanced,  and  seeking  to  throw  the  enemy 
into  confusion  before  the  two  lines  came  into  actual  contact. 
This  plan  was  occasionally  effectual,  and  the  enemy  might 
break  and  fly  before  reaching  the  Egyptian  line  ; 148  but  it  was 
not  often  that  such  a  result  was  achieved.  Generally  the  two 
chariot  forces  became  intermixed,  and  the  battle  was  a  mere 
melee,  depending  on  the  individual  prowess  and  strength  of 
the  combatants.  The  Egyptians  are  ordinarily  represented  as 
greatly  outnumbered  by  their  adversaries,  with  whom,  how- 
ever, they  never  fear  to  engage,  and  whom,  in  the  sculptures, 
they  always  discomfit.  An  important  part  in  the  battles  is 
often  assigned  to  the  javelin-men,149  whose  weapons  seem  to 
inflict  death  at  every  blow. 

To  counteract  the  confusion  which  appears  to  have  been  the 
normal  condition  of  things  in  every  fight,  it  was  important 
that  the  members  of  ea^h  corps  should  have  a  visible  rally ing- 
point.  For  this  purpose  standards  (Fig.  159)  were  employed, 
and  every  battalion,  indeed  every  company,  possessed  its  own 
ensign,  which  was  conspicuously  different  from  all  the  rest. 
Most  of  them  were  of  a  religious  character,150  representing  either 
the  head  or  ank  of  a  god,  or  a  sacred  animal,  or  some  emblem 
employed  in  the  religion,  or  the  cartouche  of  a  king's  name, 
which  was  viewed  as  sacred,  since  the  kings  were  recognized  as 
divinities.  The  ensigns  were  not  embroidered  on  flags,  but, 
like  the  Eoman  eagles,  consisted  of  solid  objects ;  they  were 
borne  aloft  at  the  top  of  a  tall  pole,  standing  usually  upon  a 
crossbar.  Below  the  crossbar  we  not  infrequently  see  two 
streamers  floating  in  air.  It  was  probably  from  their  standards 
that  the  different  corps  took  the  names  by  which  they  were 
distinguished.151 

Each  company  of  soldiers  was  commanded  by  an  officer 
called  menh,  whose  rank  was  nearly  that  of  lieutenant  in  our 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  LI 


Fig.  123.— Merula.— See  Page  178. 


Fig.  124. — Netpe. — See 
Page  180. 


Fig.  125.— Aemhetp.— See 
Page  179. 


Fig.  126.— Bast  or  Pasht.— See  Page  179. 


Plate  UI. 


Vol  I. 


Fig.  127. — Ordinary  Forms  op  Nephthys.— See 
Page  180. 


Fig.  128.— Anuea.— See 
Page  181. 


Fig.  129.— Forms  of  Ma.- -See  Page  188. 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  LIU. 


Fig.  131.— Form  op  Bes.— See  Page  186. 


Fig.  133.— Sepulchral  jars,  with  heads  of  the  four  Genii.— See  Page  187. 


Plate  L1V. 


Vol.  1 


Fig.  134.— Tafne— See   Fig.  135.— Merseker.—   Fig.  136.— Form  of  Hak. 
Page  182.  See  Page  183 .  See  Page  183 . 


Fig.  137.— Forms  of  Set.— See  Page  184. 


Fig.  138.— An  Egyptian 
Priest.— See  Page  209 


CONDUCT    OF    SIEGES.  219 

service.  Above  him  was  the  aten,  or  captain  ;  then  the  mer, 
or  major  ;  and  finally  the  %aut,  the  colonel  or  general. 152  The 
conscripts,  or  young  soldiers,  neferu,  were  distinguished  from 
the  rest  of  the  army,153  and  probably  filled  the  posts  of  least 
danger.  The  archers,  masa,  were  regarded  as  the  best  troops. 
In  the  field,  an  army  was  divided  into  brigades,  each  brigade 
consisting  of  a  number  of  regiments.  We  find  as  many  as 
four  brigades  in  one  army.154  The  monarch  usually  led  the 
expeditions,  and  acted  as  commander-in-chief,  while  important 
posts  were  frequently  filled  by  his  sons.155 

In  the  wars  between  civilized  nations,  sieges  have  always 
been  among  the  most  important  of  military  operations.  Even 
savages  construct  stockades  or  "  kraals  ;"  and  it  requires  no 
very  high  degree  of  intelligence  to  go  beyond  this,  and  enclose 
spaces  with  high  walls  protected  by  towers,  which,  according 
to  their  size,  are  denominated  castles,  fortresses,  or  fortified 
cities.  The  nations  with  whom  the  Egyptians  contended, 
especially  those  of  Syria  (Fig.  161)  and  Mesopotamia,  had  for- 
tified posts  of  all  three  kinds ;  and  it  was  necessary,  if  any 
permanent  impression  was  to  be  made  upon  them,  that  the 
Egyptians  should  possess  some  means  of  capturing  these  strong- 
holds. Accordingly  the  art  of  conducting  sieges  was  early 
studied  ;  and  a  certain  amount  of  efficiency  was  attained  in  it 
by  the  time  of  the  Eamesides.  The  simplest  mode  which  the 
Egyptians  employed  was  the  bold  advance  of  a  large  body  of 
troops  to  the  walls,  a  constant  discharge  of  flights  of  arrows 
against  the  defenders,  and  the  application  of  a  number  of  lad- 
ders to  the  ramparts,  which  were  then  scaled  by  the  besiegers.156 
If  the  escalade  (Fig.  163)  failed,  a  regular  siege  had  to  be 
formed ;  the  troops  surrounded  the  place ;  covered  sheds, 
arched  at  the  top,  and  supported  by  wooden  sides  or  forked 
poles,  were  advanced  to  the  walls  by  a  body  of  men  posted 
within  them,  and  a  long  pole,  pointed  probably  with  iron  or 
bronze,  was  employed  to  dislodge  the  stones  one  by  one,  and 
so  gradually  effect  a  breach.  Meanwhile,  the  attention  of  the 
defenders  was  distracted  by  archers,  who  shot  at  every  one 
who  showed  himself  above  the  battlements.  After  a  breach 
had  been  effected,  no  doubt  an  assault  was  made,  when  the  at- 
tack commonly  prevailed  over  the  defence,  and  the  place,  after 
a  longer  or  shorter  resistance,  fell. 

Sometimes,  instead  of  the  means  above  described,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  break  open  the  gates  of  a  fort  (Fig.  164)  or  city 
by  means  of  hatchets,  which  could  be  employed  with  good 
effect  upon  the  wooden  doors  that  blocked  the  entrance.157 
Fire  does  not  appear  to  have  been  applied,  as  by  the  Assyr 


220  HISTORY    OF  AXCIEXT    EGYPT. 

ians  ; 158  but  there  is  a  paucity  in  the  representations  of  sieges, 
which  leaves  many  points  connected  with  them  doubtful,  and 
which  is  much  to  be  regretted. 

On  the  whole,  it  must  be  said  that  the  Egyptians  did  not 
show  much  military  genius,  or  much  fertility  of  resource  in 
their  conduct  of  sieges  (Fig.  160).  The  monuments  give  no 
indication  of  their  having  in  any  case  made  use  of  the  mine, 
notwithstanding  their  familiar  aquaintance  with  the  art  of 
driving  undergound  galleries,  as  evidenced  in  their  tombs. 
Nor  is  there  any  indication  of  their  having  employed  movable 
towers  like  the  Assyrians,159  or  catapults  and  balistce,m  like  the 
same  people,  and  also  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  Even  their 
battering  ram,  if  it  may  be  given  the  name,  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  a  poor  implement,  being  little  more  than  a  spear  of  un- 
usual size.161  The  natural  result  seems  to  have  followed — the 
Egyptians  were  not  very  successful  in  their  sieges.  They  took 
small  places  easily  enough,  but  could  seldom  capture  large 
towns.  Ashdod  resisted  Psammetichus  for  twenty-nine  years. 162 
Jerusalem  was  only  once  taken  after  David  had  fortified  it,  and 
then  seems  to  have  submitted,  and  not  fallen  by  assault.163  It 
may  be  suspected  that  many  Syrian  and  Mesopotamian  strong- 
holds successfully  resisted  the  Egyptian  armies  under  the 
Thothmeses  and  the  Ramesides,  and  that  this  is  the  secret  of 
that  inability  to  retain  their  Asiatic  conquests,  which  is  so 
marked  a  feature  in  the  history  of  the  nation. 

The  Egyptian  troops  had  to  contend  with  their  enemies,  not 
by  land  only,  but  also  by  sea.  A  certain  number  of  the  mili- 
tary class  were,  perhaps,  specially  trained  for  the  sea  service  ;  m 
but  all  soldiers  were  supposed  capable  of  being  sailors,  and  the 
same  persons  were  often  employed  alternately  in  the  sea  and 
in  the  land  services.166  The  galleys  (Fig.  162)  used  were  of  no 
great  size,  being  impelled  by  not  more  than  from  sixteen  to 
twenty  rowers,166  and  apparently  not  exceeding  a  length  of 
thirty  or  forty  feet.  The  hull  was  rounded,  and  rose  at  either 
extremity,  the  prow  terminating  usually  in  the  head  of  an 
animal,  while  the  stern,  which  was  higher,  tapered  gradually 
to  a  point.  Above  the  hull  was  a  bulwark,  carried  from  end 
to  end  of  the  boat,  for  the  protection  of  the  oarsmen.  The 
middle  portion  of  the  boat  must  have  been  occupied  by  a  raised 
deck,  since  the  soldiers  fight  from  it  at  a  higher  level  than 
that  occupied  by  the  rowers.  They  are  armed  chiefly  with 
bows  and  arrows,  but  sometimes  have  maces  or  spears  in  their 
right  hands,  while  in  their  left  they  carry  shields.  The  boat 
is  guided  by  a  man  who  sits  at  the  stem  on  a  raised  seat,  and 
manages  a  large  paddle  or  steering  o?r,  which  is  attached  to 


NAVAL    TACTICS.  221 

the  side  of  the  vessel.  The  vessel  has  a  single  mast,  a  long 
carved  yard,  and  a  large  square  sail,  which  in  time  of  action 
is  reefed  by  means  of  four  ropes  working  through  pulleys  fixed 
in  the  yard.  At  the  top  of  the  mast  is  a  bell-shaped  recep- 
tacle, sufficiently  large  to  contain  a  man  ;  and  here  an  expert 
archer  or  slinger  seems  to  have  been  generally  stationed,  who 
played  a  similar  part  to  that  of  our  sharpshooters  in  the  main- 
tops. 

Naval  tactics  can  scarcely  be  said  to  have  existed.  Attempts 
were,  perhaps,  sometimes  made  to  run  down  an  enemy's 
vessel  by  striking  it  with  the  bow,  armed  as  that  was  with  a 
metal  figurehead  ;  and  we  may  presume  that  the  special  aim 
would  be  to  deliver  the  blow  upon  the  side  rather  than  the 
stem  of  the  adverse  galley.167  But  the  evidence  that  we  possess 
is  insufficient  to  enable  us  to  come  to  any  positive  conclusions 
on  these  points.  A  single  representation  of  a  sea-fight  is  all 
that  has  come  down  to  us,  and  it  gives  us  little  information. 
The  vessels  represented  in  it  seem  to  be  stationary ;  and  the 
engagement  is  between  the  soldiers  who  man  the  galley  on 
either  side,  rather  than  between  the  navies.  One  enemy's  boat 
is,  however,  being  sunk  ;  and  this,  we  may  presume,  has  been 
disabled  by  its  antagonist.  The  engagement  is  fought  at  one  of 
the  mouths  of  the  Nile,  and  takes  place  so  near  the  land,  that 
the  reigning  Pharaoh,  who  is  present  with  four  of  his  sons, 
can  take  part  in  the  fight  by  shooting  down  the  enemy  from 
the  shore. 

In  the  interior  waters  of  the  Nile,  a  different  and  much, 
larger  kind  of  craft  was  employed  ; 168  and  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  on  some  occasions  these  vessels  were  turned  to  ac- 
count in  the  wars.  We  find  an  Ethiopian  invader  attacking 
Memphis  with  a  fleet  of  "boats,  yachts,  and  barges,"  block- 
ading its  port,  and  seeking  to  enter  the  town  by  means  of  the 
river.169  What  a  foreign  assailant  could  utilize  in  a  sudden  in- 
road, the  Egyptians  themselves  are  tolerably  sure  to  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  employing,  either  for  attack  or  defence.170  The 
Nile  boats  must  have  been  especially  serviceable  as  transports, 
since  they  were  at  least  120  feet  long,171  and  could  carry  from 
fifty  to  a  hundred  men. 

When  the  enemy  ceased  to  resist,  the  Egyptians  readily  gave 
quarter ;  and  the  prisoners  taken  in  an  expedition  are  often 
counted  by  thousands.172  If  they  ran  down  an  enemy's  ship, 
they  exerted  themselves  to  rescue  the  men  on  board  from  the 
waves,  and  drew  them  into  their  own  vessels  at  some  peril  to 
themselves.173  On  land,  those  who  laid  down  their  weapons 
and  sued  for  mercy  were  ordinarily  spared;  their  arms  were 


222  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

bound  together  "by  a  cord  passed  round  them  a  little  above  the 
elbows,  and  they  were  led  from  the  field  to  the  camp,  generally 
in  long  strings  (Fig.  170),  each  conducted  by  a  single  Egyp- 
tian.174    Laggards  were  induced  to  hasten  their  movements  by 
fear  of  the  stick,  which  was  no  doubt  freely  applied  by  those 
who  had  the  prisoners  in  charge.     All  captives  were  regarded 
as  belonging  to  the  king,  and  naturally  became  his  slaves,  and 
were  employed  by  him  in  forced  labors  during  the  remainder 
of  their  lives  ; 175  but  sometimes  the  monarch  was  pleased  to 
reward  individual  captors  by  making  over  to  them  their  own 
prisoners,176  who  in  that  case  passed  into   private   servitude. 
The  ransom  of  prisoners  seems  not  to  be  mentioned,  much 
less  any  exchange,  as  is  customary  in  modern  warfare.     Wheth- 
er important  prisoners,  especially  when  regarded  as  guilty  of 
rebellion,  were  or  were  not  sometimes  put  to   death  by  the 
monarch  in  cold  blood,  is  a  moot  question,  upon  which  different 
opinions  will  probably  be  always  held.     On  the  one  side  there 
are  the  frequent  representations  of  kings  holding  their  captive 
enemies  by  the   hair  with  one  hand,  while  in  the  other  they 
brandish  aloft  a  sword  or  a  mace,  seeming  to  be  in  the  act  of 
striking  a  deadly  blow  ; m  on  the  other  side  there  is  the  belief 
of  many  that  these  representations  are  allegorical,  and  that  the 
Egyptians  were  far  too  civilized  to  be  guilty  of  wanton  cruel- 
ties.178    If  it  be  urged  against  this  that  the  Assyrians,  who 
were  not  much  less  civilized  than  the  Eg}^ptians,  beyond  all 
doubt,  frequently  put  prisoners  to  death  in  cold  blood,179  the 
reply  may  be  made   that   the   Assyrian   monarchs   distinctly 
acknowledge,  and  indeed  glory  in,  the  practice,  whereas  no 
mention  of  it  appeals  in  the  Egyptian  records.     Nor  do  the 
Greek  writers  ever  tax  the  Egyptian  monarchs  with  such  bar- 
barities.180    It  is  the  Ethiopian^  Sabaco  (Shabak),  who  puts  to 
death  the  captive  Bocchoris.181 

The  treatment  of  the  slain  was  less  in  accordance  with 
modern  notions.  Mere  wanton  ill-usage  was  not  indeed  en- 
couraged ;  but  no  reverence  for  the  dead  restrained  the  kings 
from  commanding,  or  the  soldiers  from  practising,  a  system  of 
mutilation,  which,  though  prompted  by  an  unobjectionable 
motive,  is  shocking  to  modern  sentiment.  It  was  considered 
important  that  the  numbers  of  the  enemy  who  fell  in  a  battle 
should  be  accurately  known ;  and,  with  this  object  in  view, 
the  Egyptian  soldiers  regarded  it  as  their  duty  to  cut  off  and 
carry  to  the  camp  some  easily  recognizable  portion  of  each 
fallen  enemy's  person.  The  right  hand  was  the  part  ordinarily 
selected  ;182  but  sometimes  the  tongue  was  preferred,  and  occa- 
sionally the  organ  of  reproduction. 183     Heaps  of  each  are  seen 


CAMPS — ORDER    OF    MARCH.  223 

in  tlie  sculptures,  which  the  royal  scribes  are  represented  as 
counting  in  the  king's  presence,  previously  to  entering  them 
upon  the  register.  A  reward  appears  to  have  been  obtained  by 
sach  soldier  on  his  presentation  of  these  proofs  of  his  prowess/84 
4  reward  no  doubt  proportioned  to  their  number.  Under  the 
Persians  the  bodies  of  slain  Egyptians  seem  to  have  been  left 
to  rot  upon  the  field  of  battle ; 185  but,  while  their  dominion 
lasted,  the  Egyptians,  we  may  be  sure,  embalmed  and  buried 
their  own  dead,  whatever  became  of  the  corpses  of  their  ad- 
versaries. 

The  camps  (Fig.  165)  of  the  Egyptians  were  quadrangular, 
sometimes  square,  sometimes  oblong. 186  They  were  not,  so  far 
as  appears,  entrenched,  but  simply  defended  by  a  palisade. 
The  royal  quarters  occupied  a  central  position,  and  were  sur- 
rounded by  a  double  rampart  or  fosse,  with  a  considerable 
space  between  the  two  enclosures. 187  The  king's  tent  was 
within  the  inner  circuit,  the  outer  one  being  allotted  to  his 
chief  officers.  A  special  portion  of  the  camp  was  assigned  to 
the  horses  and  the  baggage  animals,  another  to  the  chariots 
and  the  baggage,  the  chariots  being  arranged  in  rows,  not  far 
from  the  horses.  There  was  a  certain  place  in  the  camp  which 
served  the  purposes  of  a  hospital,  the  sick,  whether  men  or 
animals,  being  there  collected  together  and  carefully  tended.18' 
There  was  also  within  the  camp  a  shrine,  or  centre  for  relig- 
ious worship  ls9 — a  spot  where  sacrifice  could  be  offered,  and 
the  gods  consulted  when  any  doubt  arose  as  to  the  proper 
course  of  action. 

Within  the  limits  of  Egypt,  troops  were  chiefly  moved  by 
water,  along  the  Nile,  its  various  branches,  and  the  numerous 
canals  ;  19°  but  when  foreign  countries — Arabia,  Syria,  Mesopo- 
tamia— had  to  be  attacked,  the  Egyptian  armies  were  forced, 
like  most  others,  to  accomplish  marches.  In  these  the  char- 
iot division  commonly  led  the  way,  and  was  followed  by  a 
portion  of  the  infantry  ;  after  which  came  the  monarch  him- 
self, mounted  in  his  royal  car,  and  accompanied  by  his  chief 
officers  and  attendants,  who,  with  their  large  fans  or  flabella,m 
sought  at  once  to  create  a  current  of  air,  and  to  keep  off  the 
flies  from  the  royal  person.  Behind  the  royal  cortege  followed 
the  rest  of  the  troops,  arranged  in  the  various  corps  of  archers, 
spearmen,  clubmen,  etc.  The  cavalry  probably  covered  the 
flanks  of  the  army,  acting  upon  the  wings,  and  throwing  out 
scouts  in  advance  to  give  notice  of  the  approach  of  an  enemy. 

The  signal  for  an  attack  was  given,  when  the  enemy's  pres- 
ence was  reached,  by  the  sound  of  the  trumpet ;  and  the  same 
instrument  was  employed,  on  the  march  of  an  army,  both  for 


224  HISTOKY    OF    AKCIEXT    EGYPT. 

starting  and  halting  the  columns.192  The  Egyptian  trumpet 
(Fig.  158)  was  a  long  tube,  apparently  of  brass,  expanded  at 
the  end  into  a  large  bell-shaped  mouth.  It  was  commonly 
held  in  a  horizontal  position  with  both  hands,  the  upper  end 
being  pressed  against  the  lips.193  The  drum  and  trumpet  seem 
to  have  been  used  together  upon  a  march  for  the  enlivenment 
of  the  soldiers,  and  in  order  to  regulate  their  movements. 
The  drum  (Fig.  168)  employed  was  one  of  small  diameter,  but 
of  considerable  length,  and  was  played  by  the  hands  without 
the  intervention  of  a  drumstick. 194 

On  his  return  from  an  expedition,  the  monarch  always 
claimed  to  have  been  successful,  and  made  a  grand  display  of 
the  fruits  of  his  victories.  The  troops  marched  in  jubilant 
procession  before  him  and  behind  him,  carrying  often,  besides 
their  arms,  branches  of  trees,195  and  sometimes  bearing,  in 
their  hands  or  on  their  shoulders,  the  most  important  products 
of  the  countries  visited.  The  chariot  of  the  monarch  was  accom- 
panied by  some  of  his  great  officers,  and  preceded  or  followed 
closely  by  a  train  of  captives  (Fig.  169),  with  their  arms  bound 
or  hands  manacled,  and  generally  united  together  by  a  long 
rope,  the  end  of  which  was  held  by  the  Pharaoh  himself,  or  else 
fastened  to  his  car.196  As  he  approached  the  various  towns 
which  lay  upon  his  route,  the  Egyptians  came  out  to  meet  him 
with  acclamations,  raising  their  hands  aloft,  and  bringing  him 
bouquets  of  flowers,  green  bows,  and  branches  of  palm.197 
Arrived  in  his  capital,  the  monarch  proceeded  to  the  principal 
temple  for  the  purpose  of  making  acknowledgments  to  the 
deity  to  whom  he  attributed  his  victories.  There,  before  the 
image  of  the  god,  fie  offered  the  choisest  parts  of  the  spoil, 
vases,  incense,  bags  of  money  (?),  rhytons,  jars  of  ointment, 
and  the  like,  and  at  the  same  time  made  presentation  of  a  large 
number  of  his  captives,198  who  were  added  to  the  sacred  slaves 
previously  possessed  by  the  temple.  The  troops  seem  to  have 
attended  the  ceremony,  though  they  are  not  often  represented, 
and  to  have  returned  thanks  for  their  own  preservation,  a 
priest  in  this  case  interposing  between  the  god  and  the  wor- 
shippers, and  offering  on  their  behalf  incense,  meat-offerings, 
and  libations.199 

The  condition  of  the  fellahin,  or  agricultural  laborers,  has 
been  already  indicated  to  some  extent  in  what  has  been  said, 
in  the  chapter  on  Egyptian  Agriculture,  concerning  the  tenure 
of  the  land  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  cultivated.500  It 
is  possible,  however,  that  somewhat  too  favorable  a  view  has 
been  there  taken.  The  number  of  peasants  rich  enough  to 
rent  farms  and  oultivate  on  their  own  account  was  probably 


UNPRIVILEGED    CLASSES — LABORERS.  225 

small  ;  and  the  great  majority  of  the  class  had  to  content 
themselves  with  the  position  of  hired  laborers,  and  to  work  on 
the  estates  of  others.  These  persons  labored  under  overseers, 
who  were  generally  severe  taskmasters,  and  who,  at  their  dis- 
cretion, might  punish  the  idle  or  refractory  by  blows.201  The 
peasant  farmer  was  somewhat  better  off  ;  but  even  his  position 
was  scarcely  enviable,  and  Egyptian  authors  not  unfrequently 
hold  him  up  to  their  readers  as  an  object  of  pity.  "  Have  you 
ever  represented  to  yourself,"  writes  Amenemun  to  Pentaour,202 
"the  estate  of  the  rustic  who  tills  the  ground?  Before  he  has 
put  the  sickle  to  the  crop,  the  locusts  have  blasted  a  part  of  it ; 
then  come  the  rats  and  the  birds.  If  he  is  slack  in  housing 
his  grain,  the  thieves  are  upon  him.  His  horse  dies  of  weari- 
ness as  it  drags  the  wain.  Anon,  the  tax-gatherer  arrives  ;  his 
agents  are  armed  with  clubs  ;  he  has  negroes  with  him,  who 
carry  whips  of  palm  branches.  They  all  cry,  i  Give  us  your 
grain  ! '  and  he  has  no  easy  way  of  avoiding  their  extortionate 
demands.  Next,  the  wretch  is  caught,  bound,  and  sent  off  to 
work  without  wage  at  the  canals  ;  his  wife  is  taken  and 
chained  ;  his  children  are  stripped  and  plundered."  In  the 
"Praise  of  Learning"  by  Tuaufsakhrat,  a  very  similar  de- 
scription is  given.203  "The  little  laborer  having  a  field,  he 
passes  his  life  among  rustics  ;  he  is  worn  down  for  vines  and 
pigs,  to  make  his  kitchen  of  what  his  fields  have  ;  his  clothes 
are  heavy  with  their  weight ;  he  is  bound  as  a  forced  laborer ; 
if  he  goes  forth  into  the  air,  he  suffers,  having  to  quit  his 
warm  fireplace  ;  he  is  bastinadoed  (Fig.  171)Vith  a  stick  on  his 
legs,  and  seeks  to  save  himself  ;  shut  against  him  is  the  hall  of 
every  house,  locked  are  all  the  chambers."  It  appears  from  these 
passages  that  not  only  was  the  weight  of  taxation  felt  by  the 
small  cultivator  to  be  oppressive,  and  the  conduct  of  the  tax- 
gatherer  to  be  brutal,  but  that  forced  labors  were  from  time 
to  time  imposed  on  him,  and  the  stick  and  cord  employed  if 
he  resisted.  Torn  from  his  family  and  homestead,  and  com- 
pelled to  work  under  the  hot  Egyptian  sun  at  cleaning  out  or 
banking  up  the  canals,  no  wages  paid  him,  and  insufficient 
food  supplied,  he  doubtless  shared  too  frequently  the  lot  of 
modern  forced  excavators,  and  perished  under  the  hardships 
which  a  cruel  government  imposed  on  him.  If  a  tough  con- 
stitution enabled  him  to  escape  this  fate  and  return  home, 
he  might  find  his  family  dispersed,  his  wife  carried  off,  and 
his  mud  cabin  a  heap  of  ruins  ! 

Add  to  all  this,  that  at  the  best  of  times  he  was  looked  upon 
with  contempt,204  not  only  by  the  privileged  classes,  but  by 
their  servants — perhaps  even  by  their  slaves — and  it  will  be 


22 G  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

evident  that  to  the  cultivators  of  the  soil,  Egypt  under  the 
Pharaohs  was  far  from  being  an  Arcadia.  On  the  whole 
the  difference  would  seem  not  to  have  been  so  very  great  be- 
tween the  condition  of  the  children  of  the  soil  in  the  most 
flourishing  period  of  the  independent  monarchy  and  in  the 
Egypt  of  to-day. 

A  more  independent  and  enviable  position  was  enjoyed  by 
the  tradesmen  and  artisans,  who  dwelt  chiefly  in  the  towns. 
Trade  flourished  under  the  Pharaohs,  and  was  encouraged  not 
only  by  the  lavish  expenditure  of  the  Court,  of  the  high  eccle- 
siastics, and  of  the  great  nobles,  but  also  by  the  vast  demand 
which  there  was  for  Egyptian  productions  in  foreign  countries. 
Though  the  Egyptians  themselves  rarely  engaged  in  foreign 
trade  either  by  land  or  sea,205  yet  their  country  was  sought  from 
very  ancient  times  by  a  host  of  foreign  traders,  Phoenicians, 
Greeks,  Syrians,  Arabs,  who  brought  with  them  the  commodities 
of  their  own  lands  or  of  other  more  distant  ones,  and  exchanged 
them  for  the  finished  productions  of  the  Egyptian  manufactur- 
ers.'206 Syria  took  Egyptian  chariots  by  hundreds ; 207  Tyre  im- 
ported "fine  linen  with  broidered  work  ;"  208  Greece,  large  quan- 
tities of  paper  ; 209  India  and  Arabia,  linen  fabrics ; 210  Etruria, 
glass,  porcelain,  and  alabaster  ; 2n  Assyria,  perhaps,  ivories.212 
hi  the  earlier  times  Egyptian  manufactures  must  have  been 
altogether  unrivalled  ;  and  their  glass,  their  pottery,  their 
textile  fabrics,  their  metal-work,  must  have  circulated  freely 
through  the  various  countries  bordering  the  Mediterranean 
and  the  Eed  Sea.  All  this  gave  a  vast  stimulus  to  trade,  and 
encouraged  the  artisans  to  fresh  efforts  after  improvement, 
which  resulted  in  works  of  continually  increasing  excellence. 
Though  in  taste  and  elegance  the  Greeks  ultimately  far  sur- 
passed the  dwellers  on  the  Nile,  yet  in  perfection  of  mechan- 
ical construction  and  finish  the  latter  have  scarcely  been  out- 
done by  any  nation  ;  and  their  fine  linen,  their  glass-work, 
their  porcelain,  their  veneering  and  inlaying  of  wood,  together 
with  various  other  products  and  processes,  excite  admiration  at 
the  present  day.213 

The  most  important  trades  appear  to  have  been  those  of 
building,  stone-cutting,  weaving,  furniture-making,  chariot- 
making,  glass-blowing,  pottery,  metallurgy,  boat-building, 
and  embalming.  The  builders  worked  in  three  materials, 
wood,  stone,  and  brick,  preferring  stone  on  the  whole,  and 
using  several  of  the  choisest  and  hardest  kinds.  The  skill 
exhibited  in  many  of  their  contrivances  is  great ;  and  the 
mechanical  excellence  of  their  works  is  sufficiently  evinced  by 
the  continuance  of  so  many  of  them  to  the  present  day.     Still, 


VoLL 


Plate  LV. 


Fig.  139.— Egyptian  Helmets.— See 


212. 


Fig.  141.— Coat  of  Mail.-  See  Page  213. 


Fig.  142. — Warrior  with  Shield  of 
unusual  size.— See  Page  213. 


Fig.  143.— Infantry  drilled  by  a  Sergeant.— See  Page  212. 


Plate  LVI. 


Vol.  I. 


Fig.  144.— Light- armed  Troops  marching.— bee 
Page  213. 


Fig.  1-45.— Egyptian  Slinger. 
—See  Page  213. 


Fig.  146.— Spearmen  and  Archers.— See  Page  213. 


Fig.  147.— Egyptian  Spear,  Straight  Sword,  and  Falchion.— See  Page  216. 


CHIEF    TRADES — STONE-CUTTING.  227 

a  certain  timidity  is  observable  in  the  employment  of  over-mas- 
sive and  over-numerous  supports,  and  a  certain  rudeness  and 
want  of  enterprise  in  the  constant  adherence  to  the  simplest 
possible  mode  of  roofing  an  edifice — viz.,  by  laying  wooden 
beams  or  long  blocks  of  stone  across  the  entire  space  to  be 
covered  in.  What  results  they  were  able  to  achieve  with  brick 
and  wood,  we  have  no  sufficient  means  of  judging,  since  no 
works  in  these  materials  remain  except  some  brick  pyramids 
of  the  rudest  kind  ;  but  they  had  certainly  reason  to  be  proud 
of  their  stone  edifices,  which  are  in  many  respects  unsurpassed 
by  later  ages.  But  so  much  has  been  said  on  this  subject  in 
the  chapter  on  Egyptian  architecture  that  it  seems  unnecessary 
to  dwell  upon  it  any  further  here.814 

Stone-cutting  included  the  two  very  different  occupations  of 
quarrying  and  shaping  blocks  for  the  builder,  and  of  cutting, 
polishing,  and  engraving  gems.  In  the  former  branch  the 
Egyptians  remain  still  unrivalled.  The  size  of  their  blocks, 
the  exactness  and  accuracy  with  which  the  angle  required  was 
produced,  the  apparent  ease  with  which  they  worked  the  stub- 
bornest  material,  the  perfect  smoothness  (Fig.  174)  of  the 
surface,  and  excellence  of  the  polish  put  on  it,  have  often  been 
remarked  upon,  and  are  said  to  leave  nothing  to  be  desired.215 
It  is  doubtful  whether  the  steam-sawing  of  the  present  day 
could  be  trusted  to  produce  in  ten  years  from  the  quarries  of 
Aberdeen  a  single  obelisk,  such  as  those  which  the  Pharaohs 
set  up  by  dozens.  In  the  other  branch  of  the  business  the 
Egyptians  have  no  doubt  been  surpassed  by  many  nations: 
their  engravings  have  little  beauty,  and  they  do  not  seem  to 
have  triumphed  over  the  difficulty  of  cutting  really  "hard 
stones."  Such  gems  as  the  diamond,  the  ruby,  the  emerald, 
the  sapphire,  the  topaz,  and  the  chrysoberyl,  defied  their  skill ; 
but  they  could  deal  with  the  amethyst,  the  carnelian,  the  gar- 
net, and  the  jasper,  with  haematite,  porphyry,  lapis  lazuli, 
green  felspar,  obsidian,  serpentine,  and  steatite.216  It  was  not 
commonly  their  practice  to  engrave  gems  in  the  ordinary  way  ; 
ihe  Egyptians  preferred  to  shape  them  into  certain  forms,  as 
;ings,  beads,  eyes,  hearts,  sphinxes,  and  scarabaei,217  and  then 
^sometimes)  to  inscribe  them  further  with  figures  of  deities  or 
nieroglyphics.  There  is  little  delicacy  and  little  grace  in  these 
engravings,  which  are  rough,  shallow,  and  unfinished. 

The  cutting  of  blocks  was  ordinarily  effected  by  the  saw,218 
which  was  single-handed  (Fig.  172),  and  worked  by  a  single 
sawyer.219  But  sometimes  the  pick  and  chisel  were  employed 
to  a  certain  extent,  and  then  wedges  of  dry  wood  were  inserted, 
which  vQ  being  wetted  expanded,  and  split  off  the  required 


228  HISTORY    OF  AXCIEKT    EGYPT. 

block  from  the  mass  of  stone  in  the  quarry.220  It  is  supposed  221 
that  the  tools  used,  being  mostly  of  bronze,  must,  when  em- 
ployed to  cut  granite,  basalt,  or  stone  of  similar  quality,  have 
been  moistened  and  dipped  in  emery  powder,  and  that  the 
same  substance  must  have  lent  its  force  to  the  implements 
whereby  the  engraving  and  shaping  of  gems  was  effected. 
Emery  powder  was  not  difficult  to  obtain,  since  it  is  produced 
by  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago.  Whether  or  no  the  Egyp- 
tians employed  the  lapidary's  wheel  appears  to  be  doubtful. 
Blocks  of  stone,  however  obtaiued  from  the  quarries,  were 
finally  smoothed  and  prepared  for  use  by  means  of  the  chisel 
and  mallet.232 

Herodotus  states  that  weaving  in  Egypt  was  the  occupation 
of  men  only,  not  of  women,  and  declares  that  the  woof  was 
always  worked  upwards  by  the  Egyptians,  and  not  downwards, 
as  by  other  nations  ;  *223  but  the  native  monuments  show  that 
men  and  women  were  alike  employed  both  in  spinning  and 
weaving  (Fig.  175),  and  that  the  woof  was  worked  indifferently 
either  up  or  down.224  The  Egyptian  loom  was  of  the  most 
primitive  description,225  the  shuttle  being  passed  across  by  the 
hand  and  not  thrown,  and  all  the  needful  movements  being 
effected  entirely  by  the  weaver  himself,  who,  if  a  man,  ordi- 
narily sat  in  front  of  his  frame. 

It  is  wonderful  what  exquisite  fabrics  were  produced  by 
these  simple  means.  The  Egyptians  worked  in  linen,  in  cot- 
ton, and  in  wool,  producing  good  results  in  every  case;  but 
their  favorite  textile  manufacture  was  that  of  linen,  and  it  is 
in  this  branch  that  their  fabrics  are  most  remarkable.226  The 
fineness  of  some  equals  that  of  the  best  Indian  muslin,227  while 
of  others  it  is  said  that  "in  touch  they  are  comparable  to  silk, 
and  in  texture  to  our  finest  cambric."  22S  Originally  the  linen 
was  extremely  white  ; 229  but  sometimes  it  was  dyed  red,230  and 
at  other  times  the  edges  were  colored  with  indigo,  either  in  a 
single  line  or  in  several  stripes.231  Patterns  were  occasionally 
inwrought  during  the  weaving,232  while  sometimes  they  were 
superadded  by  a  process  analogous  to  that  which  in  modern 
times  is  called  printing.233  Gold  threads-  wTere  also  in  some 
cases  introduced  to  give  additional  richness  to  the  fabric,234 
which  was  often  as  transparent  as  lawn  235  and  of  silky  soft- 
ness. 

The  poet  who  bewails  the  misery  of  the  "little  laborer  "  has 
a  word  of  lamentation  for  the  weaver  likewise.  "The  weaver," 
he  says,236  "inside  the  houses  is  more  wTretched  than  a  woman  ; 
his  knees  are  at  the  place  of  his  heart ;  he  has  not  tasted  the 
air.     Should  he  have  done  but  a  little  in  a  day,  of  his  weaving, 


WEAVING — UPHOLSTEKY  229 

he  is  dragged  as  a  lily  in  a  pool.  He  gives  bread  to  the  porter 
at  the  door,  that  he  may  be  allowed  to  see  the  light."  Confine- 
ment, close  rooms,  a  cramped  position,  are  no  doubt  evils  ;  but 
they  are  common  to  many  handicrafts  and  scarcely  separable 
from  that  of  the  hand-loom  weaver.  So  far,  then,  the  Egyp- 
tian workman  had  no  special  cause  of  complaint.  If  he  was 
literally  "dragged  in  a  pool"  by  an  angry  employer  when  he 
had  been  idle,237  he  may  to  some  extent  claim  our  pity,  though 
an  idle  man  is  perhaps  the  better  for  a  little  punishment ;  but 
if  the  poet  merely  meant  that  he  looked  like  a  draggled  lily 
after  a  few  hours'  hard  work  in  so  hot  a  climate,  we  need  not 
shed  many  tears  over  his  hard  lot.  If  the  work-room  was  in- 
sufficiently lighted,  and  he  had  to  bribe  the  porter  to  keep  the 
door  open,  we  may  admit  that  he  had  a  grievance,  but  one  not 
altogether  intolerable. 

Upholstery  must  in  Egypt  have  employed  a  large  number  of 
persons,  since  the  opulent  class  was  numerous,  and  took  a 
pride  in  having  its  houses  handsomely  furnished.238  The  empty 
and  bare  interiors  affected  by  modern  Orientals  were  not  at  all 
to  the  Egyptian  taste.  Elegant  chairs,23'  with  or  without  arms, 
fauteuils,  sofas,  ottomans,  and  low  stools  of  various  kinds 
garnished  the  Egyptian  reception  rooms,  where  every  guest 
expected  to  find  a  seat  awaiting  him,  since  only  the  attendants 
and  the  professionals  stood,  and  sitting  on  the  ground,  though 
sometimes  practised,  does  not  seem  to  have  been  fashionable.240 
Tables,  moreover,  round,  square,  or  oblong,  sometimes  delicate- 
ly inlaid  with  ivory  or  with  rare  woods,241  sometimes  supported 
on  a  carved  human  figure,242  were  essential  to  the  completeness 
of  an  apartment.  Footstools  also  constituted  a  necessary  part 
of  the  furniture  (Fig.  176)  of  a  sitting-room  ;  while  stands  for 
jars  or  flowers,  folding-stools,  and  boxes  or  cabinets  for  holding 
various  objects  were  also  common.343  For  the  sleeping  apart- 
ments, rich  beds  or  couches,  with  mattrasse&,  pillows,  and 
cushions,  were  required,  together  with  toilet- tables,  chairs, 
wardrobes,  and  wooden  head-rests  (Fig.  167)  of  a  peculiar 
fashion.244  These  consisted  commonly  of  a  pillar  or  pedestal 
supporting  a  curved,  semi-elliptical  piece  of  wood,  acacia, 
sycamore,  or  tamarisk,  adapted  to  receive  the  back  of  the 
head,  which  fitted  into  it.  Though  it  is  said  that  Egyptian 
houses  were  uon  the  whole,  lightly  furnished,  and  not  encum- 
bered with  so  many  articles  as  are  in  use  at  the  present  day,"  245 
yet  it  is  clear  that  to  provide  the  objects  enumerated  for  the 
very  large  number  of  wealthy  persons  who  dwelt  in  the  great 
cities,  often  possessing  country  villas  besides  their  town  resi- 
dences, a  numerous  class  of  skilled  artificers  must  have  been 


230  HISTOKY    OF    AKCIENT    EGYPT. 

required,  who,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose,  were  well  paid  for 
their  labors. 

Chariot-making  (Fig.  177),  or  coach-building,  as  it  would 
be  called  in  modern  times,  was  also  an  important  trade,  and 
must  have  occupied  no  small  number.  The  kings  maintained 
a  chariot-force  of  at  least  several  hundreds  ; 246  and  every  well- 
to-do  Egyptian  gentleman  had  his  own  private  vehicle,  which 
constituted  his  ordinary  means  of  locomotion.247  Four-wheeled 
cars  were  required  for  certain  sacred  ceremonies.248  The  export 
of  chariots  was  also  probably  considerable,249  and  perhaps  ex- 
tended to  other  countries  besides  Syria.250  Coach-makers  are 
seen  at  work  in  the  Egyptian  sculptures,  engaged  in  fashioning 
all  the  various  constituent  parts  of  the  usual  vehicle,  the  seat, 
the  rim,  the  pole,  the  yoke,  the  wheels,  the  fittings. 251  These 
were  chiefly  made  either  of  wood  or  leather,  very  little  metal 
being  employed  in  the  construction.  The  felloes  of  the  wheels, 
however,  were  for  the  most  part  strengthened  with  bronze  or 
brass  bands,  and  the  tire  consisted  always  of  a  hoop  of  metal.252 
If  the  price  which  foreigners  paid  for  a  chariot  was  three 
hundred  Jewish  shekels,253  or  about  forty-five  pounds  of  our 
money,  the  trade  must  have  been  sufficiently  remunerative. 

The  invention  of  glass  (Fig.  178),  which  the  later  Romans 
attributed  to  the  Phoenicians  of  Tyre,254  is  with  reason  claimed 
for  Egypt,255  where  glass-blowing  appears  to  have  been  prac- 
tised, at  least  from  the  time  of  the  twelfth  dynasty.256  Really 
colorless  transparent  glass  was  not  produced,  the  nearest 
approach  to  it  being  found  in  vases  of  a  bottle-green  color,  with 
conical  or  globular  bodies  and  long  necks,  which  are  thought 
to  belong  to  about  the  sixth  century  B.  c.257  The  earlier  bot- 
tles and  vases  (Fig.  181)  are  of  an  opaque  or  semi-opaque 
material,  with  backgrounds  of  light  or  dark  blue,  and  wavy 
lines  of  yellow,  light  blue,  and  white  running  in  horizontal 
bands  on  the  surface  round  the  body  of  the  vessel.  Xo  objects 
of  any  large  size  were  produced ;  nor  does  glass  appear  to 
have  been  in  common  use  at  entertainments.  In  the  main,  it 
was  reserved  for  the  toilet  and  the  toilet-table,  being  employed 
to  contain  the  unguents,  perfumes,  stibium,  and  other  dyes  for 
the  eyebrows  and  eyelids,  which  were  in  constant  use  among 
the  Egyptians  of  both  sexes  ; 258  and  also  for  ornaments  of  the 
person,  such  as  necklaces,  bracelets,  earrings,  and  the  like.259 
Glass  was  also  largely  employed  for  the  decoration  of  mum- 
mies by  means  of  a  net-work  of  beads  and  bugles,260  which  was 
placed  outside  the  linen  wrappings,  covering  the  entire  figure, 
and  often  terminating  in  a  fringe  below.  It  was  likewise  used 
for  inlaying  and  mosiac  work,261  together  with  artificial  pastes, 


POTTERY.  231 

and  such  substances  as  lapis  lazuli,  agate,  etc.  Sometimes, 
jut  rarely,  small  figures  of  gods  and  animals  were  produced  in 
the  material.262 

Egyptian  pottery  (Fig.  179)  embraced  the  varieties  of  a  coarse 
red,  black,  or  yellow  earthenware,  suitable  for  the  wants  of 
the  common  people,  a  finer  terra-cotta,  adapted  not  only  for 
vases,  diotae,  amphorae,  etc.,  but  also  for  human  and  animal 
figures,  and  a  beautiful  porcelain  or  faience,  which  was  of 
many  different  colors,  and  was  applied,  like  the  terra-cotta,  to 
a  great  variety  of  purposes.  The  ordinary  earthenware  was 
used  for  vases,  bowls,  plates,  pans,  bottles,  amphorae,  cups, 
jugs,  and  the  like  ; 263  it  was  not  of  a  very  good  material,  and 
was  consequently  made  of  more  than  the  usual  thickness. 
Three  kinds  are  distinguished,  the  unglazed,  the  glazed,  and 
the  painted.264  The  glaze  employed  is  of  a  vitreous  character, 
and  seems  to  have  been  added  after  the  vessels  had  been 
baked.  In  the  painted  specimens,  the  colors  have  been  laid 
on  in  tempera.  Almost  all  the  various  utensils  found  appear 
to  have  been  shaped  by  the  wheel,265  which  must  thus  have 
been  of  an  extreme  antiquity  in  Egypt,  while  in  other  coun- 
tries it  was  a  comparativly  recent  introduction.266  The  shapes 
of  the  common  kind  of  vessels,  though  not.  so  elegant  and  re- 
fined as  those  which  prevailed  in  Greece  and  in  Etruria,  are 
comparable  with  any  that  were  in  use  elsewhere  at  the  time, 
and  in  many  instances  must  be  pronounced  decidedly  graceful 
and  pleasing.267  The  glazed  vessels  were  of  superior  quality 
to  the  unglazed,  and  sometimes  affected  human  or  animal 
shapes.268  They  were  often  ornamented  with  bands,  and  oc- 
casionally inscribed  witli  a  few  hieroglyphics.269  The  painted 
vases  and  amphorae  (Fig.  180)  were  either  simply  decorated 
with  "annular  bands  of  a  black  or  purple  color,  running  round 
the  body  or  neck,"  or  had  a  hatching  of  thin  lines  uniting  the 
bands,  or  "  the  representation  of  a  collar  pendent  from  the 
shoulder  of  the  vase,  painted  in  blue,  black,  and  red."270  But 
the  most  recherche  and  elaborate  ornamentation  consisted  in 
coloring  the  entire  vase  with  a  ground  in  distemper,  and  then 
painting  it  with  straight  or  festooned  lines,  or  leaves  of  plants, 
or  even  animals  disporting  themselves  among  shrubs  and  lotus- 
flewers.71 

In  terra-cotta  the  Egyptians  produced  chiefly  vases,  espe- 
cially those  intended  to  receive  the  intestines  of  the  dead,272 
sepulchral  cones,273  mummied  figures,274  and  statuettes  of  dei- 
ties.275 The  material  used  is  only  of  middling  quality,  and 
was  frequently  concealed  by  paint.276  It  was  not  much  affected, 
excepting  for  sepulchral  cones,  in  the  time  of  the  independent 


232  HISTORY    OV    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

monarchy,  but  came  into  m^re  general  use  during  the  Ptole- 
maic and  Roman  periods. 

The  Egyptian  porcelain  (Fig.  173),  or  faience,  as  it  is  said 
to  be  more  properly  termed,277  was  composed  of  white  sand, 
slightly  fused,278  and  covered  with  a  colored  glaze  or  enamel, 
the  constituents  of  which  are  somewhat  doubtful.279  Porcelain 
was  employed  for  vases  of  various  kinds,  for  glazed  tiles,  sepul- 
chral figures,  pectoral  plates,  symbolic  eyes,  beads  and  bugles, 
scarabaei,  rings,  and  statuettes.  The  vases  are  usually  of  a 
blue  or  apple-green  color,  and  have  for  the  most  part  a  form  re- 
sembling somewhat  that  of  a  lotus  flower,  consisting  of  round 
basins,  or  bowls,  or  tall  cups,  superimposed  upon  a  low  stand 
or  stem.280  Some  of  them  are  ornamented  with  figures  of  men 
and  animals,  with  water-plants,  or  with  other  objects.  A  few 
are  glazed  in  various  colors,  as  yellow,  violet,  and  white.  Some 
bear  the  name  and  titles  of  the  reigning  Pharaoh.281 

The  glazed  tiles  seem  to  have  been  used  for  mural  decora- 
tion only.  They  have  been  found  almost  exclusively  at  one 
place,282  where  they  belonged  to  a  palace  of  Rameses  III., 
which  was  composed  of  unbaked  bricks  and  ornamented  with 
the  tiles  in  question.  Like  those  which  decorated  the  walls  of 
some  Babylonian  palaces,283  they  presented  in  their  combination 
a  series  of  pictures,  representing  the  king  returning  victorious 
from  his  military  expeditions,  with  prisoners  and  trophies,  and 
other  similar  subjects.  In  most  instances  the  figures  were  first 
marked  out  by  depressions  in  the  tiles,  which  depressions 
were  afterwards  filled  in  with  colored  glass  or  pastes,  with 
alabaster,  terra-cotta,  or  glazed  sandstone  ; 284  but  in  some  cases 
the  figures  are  in  relief  upon  a  flat  ground,  and  the  work  re- 
sembles modern  Palissy  ware.  "  Portions  of  the  garments  and 
the  backgrounds  are  inlaid  with  colored  pastes  of  various  col- 
ors ;  the  features  and  flesh  of  the  limbs  are  appropriately 
glazed,  and  the  hair,  or  headdress,  especially  of  the  negroes, 
of  colored  pastes.  They  are  well  made,  and  fine  specimens  of 
toreutic  work  in  relief."  285 

Pectoral  plates  were  borne  by  almost  all  mummies,  being 
suspended  on  the  neck  or  throat.  They  are  usually  shaped 
like  an  Egyptian  doorway,  with  its  recurved  cornice,286  and 
represent,  in  outline  or  in  relief,  some  sacred  scene  connected 
with  the  lower  world,  as  the  adoration  of  Anubis,  the  boat  of 
the  sun  bearing  the  scarabaeus  and  saluted  by  Isis  and  Neph- 
thys,  the  worship  of  Osiris  by  the  deceased,  the  human-headed 
hawk  (Horns),  or  a  train  of  goddesses.  Occasionally,  portions 
of  the  design  are  colored  by  inlaying  with  pastes.287 

The  porcelain  statuettes  are  representations  of  gods  or  genii. 


METALLURGY.  233 

They  are  usually  not  more  than  from  one  to  two  inches  in 
height  ;  but  some  have  been  found  which  a  little  exceed  a  foot. 
Ordinarily  they  are  of  no  great  merit,  the  forms  being  conven- 
tional and  stiff,  the  spaces  between  the  limbs  "reserved,"  m  and 
the  workmanship  indifferent ;  but  a  few  exceptions  occur. 
"Some  of  these  figures  are  of  exquisite  style,  and  rather  re- 
semble gems  than  porcelain  in  the  fineness  of  their  details  " 
Others  "have  the  limbs  detached,"  and  show  some  "freedom 
of  position."289  But  the  forms  of  the  Egyptian  gods  are  for 
the  most  part  so  disagreeable,  and  the  headdresses  so  disfigur- 
ing, that  even  in  the  best  specimens  of  porcelain  or  other 
statuettes  there  is  little  beauty. 

It  will  be  evident  to  the  reader  that  the  various  branches  of 
the  potter's  (Fig.  182)  art  which  have  been  here  described 
must  have  given  employment  to  a  very  large  number  of  per- 
sons, some  of  whom  must  have  possessed  considerable  artistic 
talents  and  advanced  technical  knowledge.  The  Egyptian 
glazing  is  often  of  the  very  finest  character  ;  the  colors  used 
are  sometimes  exquisite  ;  and  the  skill  displayed  in  suiting  the 
glaze  to  the  material  great.  A  high  class  of  artists  was  no 
doubt  employed  for  much  of  the  work,  and  these  persons,  we 
may  presume,  were  well  remunerated  and  lived  comfortable 
lives.  But  in  the  lower  walks  of  the  trade  no  great  skill  was 
needed  ;  and  the  class  which  produced  the  ordinary  coarse 
ware,  and  which  is  seen  at  work  in  the  sepulchral  chambers  of 
Beni  Hassan,290  was  probably  composed  of  persons  who  were 
not  held  in  much  account,  and  may  have  consisted  in  part  of 
slaves. 291 

Metallurgy  in  Egypt  comprised  the  working  in  gold,  in  sil- 
ver and  lead  to  a  small  extent,  in  copper,  in  iron,  and  in 
bronze.  Tin  appears  to  have  been  scarcely  used  except  as  an 
alloy,292  while  zinc  was  wholly  unknown.  The  Egyptians  found 
gold  in  considerable  quantities  within  the  limits  of  their  own 
land,  chiefly  in  veins  of  quartz  towards  the  southeastern  parts  of 
the  country.293  After  digging  out  the  quartz  they  broke  it  up 
by  hand  into  small  pieces,294  which  were  then  passed  on  to  the 
mill,  and  ground  to  powder  between  two  flat  granite  millstones 
of  no  great  size,  this  work  again  being  performed  by  manual 
labor.  The  quartz  thus  reduced  to  powder  was  washed  on  in- 
clined tables,  furnished  with  one  or  two  cisterns,  until  all  the 
earthy  matter  was  separated  and  washed  away,  flowing  down 
the  incline  with  the  water.  The  gold  particles  which  re- 
mained were  carefully  coHected  and  formed  into  ingots  by  ex- 
posure to  the  heat  of  a  furnace  for  five  days  and  nights  in 
earthen  crucibles,  which  were  allowed  to  cool  and  then  broken. 


234  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

The  ingots  haying  been  extracted  were  weighed,  and  laid  by 
for  use. 

The  manufacture  of  objects  out  of  gold  was  effected  by 
goldsmiths  (Fig.  183),  who,  after  melting  down  an  ingot,  or  a 
portion  of  one,  in  a  crucible,  with  the  help  of  a  blow-pipe/'95 
proceeded  to  work  the  material  into  shape  with  the  forceps  and 
tongs,296  and  finally  to  fashion  it  with  graving  tools.297  Among 
the  objects  produced,  the  commonest  were  solid  rings  of  a 
certain  size  and  weight,  which  seem  to  have  passed  current  as 
money,298  vases,  bowls,  baskets,  armlets,  bracelets,  anklets,  neck- 
laces, earrings,  and  other  ornaments  of  the  person,  cups,  gob- 
lets, rhytons,  and  other  drinking  vessels.  Statuettes  also  were 
sometimes  made  of  gold,299  and  figures  of  the  sacred  animals 
were  inlaid  with  it.300  The  gold  vases  (Fig.  184)  appear  to 
have  been  most  elaborately  chased,  and  constructed  in  most 
elegant  forms.  Very  few  of  them  have  escaped  the  ravages 
of  time  and  the  cupidity  of  man  ;  but,  if  we  accept  the  repre- 
sentations in  tombs  as  probably  not  exceeding  the  reality,  we 
must  ascribe  to  the  Egyptian  goldsmiths  a  very  refined  and 
excellent  taste.  Rosellini  has  six  pages  of  vases-,301  above  a 
hundred  specimens  in  all,  taken  from  the  sculptures  and  paint- 
ings, almost  all  graceful,  some  quite  exquisite,  which  show  the 
Egyptians  to  have  possessed  a  feeling  for  the  beautiful  in 
toreutic  art,  that,  without  this  proof  of  it,  we  should  scarcely 
have  expected.  The  few  specimens  which  can  be  here  repro- 
duced will  give  a  most  inadequate  idea  of  their  power  in  this 
respect ;  and  those  who  wish  to  appreciate  it  as  it  deserves 
should   consult  the  "Monumenti  Civili." 

A  good  deal  of  tasjbe  was  also  shown  by  the  Egyptian  gold- 
smiths in  their  armlets,  bracelets,  eai rings,  and  finger  rings. 
Armlets  were  of  elastic  metal,  the  two  ends,  which  did  not  quite 
meet,  being  sometimes  fashioned  into  the  heads  of  snakes  or 
other  animals/'02  Bracelets  were  generally  solid  bands  of  metal, 
plain,  or  else  ornamented  with  cloisonne'  work,  and  sometimes 
enamelled  and  inlaid  with  lapis  lazuli  and  glass  pastes.303 
Occasionally  the  form  of  a  snake  was  preferred,  and  a  bracelet 
composed  of  three  or  four  coils,  carefully  chased  so  as  to 
imitate  the  skin  of  the  reptile.804  Earrings  were  mostly  "pen- 
annular,"  one  end  being  pointed,  and  the  other  shaped  into 
the  form  of  some  animal's  head.  They  had  sometimes  pen- 
dants,™5 and  occasionally  were  set  with  pearls  or  other  jewels.306 
Finger  rings  were  most  commonly  intended  to  be  used  as 
signets,  and  consisted  of  a  plain  gold  circle  with  a  fixed,  or 
else  a  revolving,  bezel,  bearing  usually  the  name  of  the  owner, 
-ind,  if  it  revolved,  some  other  engraved  figures. 


USE  OF  IRON  AND  BRONZE.  235 

In  silver  the  objects  produced  were,  principally,  rings  used 
for  money,307  vases,  bracelets,  plates  to  be  employed  as  orna- 
ments of  mummies,308  figures  of  gods  and  sacred  animals,309 
and  finger  rings.  The  forms  affected  resembled  for  the  most 
part  those  of  the  same  objects  in  gold,  but  were  on  the  whole 
less  elaborate.  It  is  worthy  of  observation  that  the  silver  is 
sometimes  gilt.310 

Leaden  objects  seem  scarcely  to  be  found  ;  and  the  only 
proof  which  exists  of  the  metal  being  known  and  worked  by 
the  Egyptians  is  its  employment  as  a  solder  in  combination 
with  tin,311  without  which  it  will  not  serve  the  purpose.  Egypt 
did  not  produce  it,  so  far  as  appears  ;  but  it  was  sometimes 
taken  as  tribute  from  foreign  nations  in  considerable  quan- 
tities.312 

It  has  been  much  questioned  whether  iron  was  employed  at 
all  by  the  Egyptians  until  the  time  of  the  Greek  conquest. 
The  weapons,  implements,  and  ornaments  of  iron  which  have 
been  found  on  the  ancient  sites  are  so  few,313  while  those  of 
bronze  are  so  numerous,  and  the  date  of  the  few  iron  objects 
discovered  is  so  uncertain,  that  there  is  a  strong  temptation  to 
embrace  the  simple  theory  that  iron  was  first  introduced  into 
Egypt  by  the  Ptolemies.  Difficulties,  however,  stand  in  the 
way  of  the  complete  adoption  of  this  view.  A  fragment  of  a 
thin  plate  of  iron  was  found  by  Colonel  Vyse  imbedded  in  the 
masonry  of  the  Great  Pyramid.314  Some  iron  implements  and 
ornaments  have  been  found  in  the  tombs,  with  nothing  about 
them  indicative  of  their  belonging  to  a  late  period.  The 
paucity  of  such  instances  is  partially,  if  not  wholly,  accounted 
for,  by  the  rapid  decay  of  iron  in  the  nitrous  earth  of  Egypt,315 
or  when  oxidized  by  exposure  to  the  air.  It  seems  moreover 
very  improbable  that  the  Hebrews  and  Canaanites  should  for 
centuries  have  been  well  aquainted  with  the  use  of  iron,316  and 
their  neighbors  of  Egypt,  whose  civilization  wus  far  more 
advanced,  have  been  ignorant  of  it.  On  these  grounds  the 
most  judicious  of  modern  Egyptologists  seem  to  hold,  that  while 
the  use  of  iron  by  the  Egyptians  in  Pharaonic  times  was,  at  the 
best,  rare  and  occasional,  it  was  still  not  wholly  unknown,317 
though  less  appreciated  than  we  should  have  expected.  Iron 
spearheads,  iron  sickles,  iron  gimlets,  iron  bracelets,  iron  keys, 
iron  wire,  were  occasionally  made  use  of ;  but  the  Egyptians, 
on  the  whole,  were  contented  with  their  bronze  implements 
and  weapons,  which  were  more  easily  produced,  and  which 
they  found  to  answer  every  purpose. 

The  manufacture  of  bronze  was  by  far  the  most  extensive 
branch  of  Egyptian  metallurgy.     Arms,  implements ;  house- 


236  HISTORY    OP    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

hold  vessels  such  as  cauldrons,  bowls,  ewers,  jugs,  buckets, 
basins,  vases,  ladles,  etc.;  articles  of  the  toilet,  mirrors, 
tweezers,  razors,  pins,  earrings,  armlets,  bracelets,  finger  rings  ; 
artistic  objects,  figures  of  gods,  of  sacred  animals,  and  of  men  ; 
tools,  snch  as  saws,  chisels,  hatchets,  adzes,  drills,  and  brad- 
awls ;  are  usually,  or  at  any  rate  frequently,  of  this  material,318 
which  must  have  been  employed  by  the  Egyptian  metallurgists 
to  as  large  an  extent  as  all  the  other  metals  put  together. 
The  bronze  was  very  variously  composed ;  sometimes  it  con- 
tained as  much  as  fourteen  parts  of  tin,  and  one  of  iron,  to 
eighty-five  parts  of  copper,319  a  very  unusual  proportion  ;  more 
often  the  copper  stood  to  the  tin  as  eighty-eight  to  twelve  ;320 
while  sometimes  the  proportion  was  as  high  as  ninety-four  to 
six.  In  bronze  of  this  last  mentioned  quality,  a  tinge  of  iron, 
amounting  to  about  one  part  in  a  thousand,  is  usual.321  The 
bronze  arms  included  swords,  daggers,  battle-axes,  maces, 
spearheads,  arrowheads,  and  coats  of  mail ;  the  implements, 
ploughshares,  sickles,  knives,  forceps,  nails,  needles,  harpoons 
(Fig.  185),  and  fishhooks.322  Bronze  was  also  used,  as  already 
observed,323  in  the  construction  of  chariots,  and  perhaps  to 
some  extent  in  furniture  and  housebuilding. 

The  process  of  melting  bronze  is  not  shown  upon  the  monu- 
ments. It  must  have  required  furnaces,  melting-pots,  and 
moulds  of  considerable  dimensions,  and  must  have  given  oc- 
cupation to  a  very  large  class  of  artisans.  Among  these,  per- 
haps the  most  important  was  the  armorer,  avIio  provided  the 
offensive  and  defensive  arms  on  which  the  safety  of  the  coun- 
try depended.  It  would  seem  that  there  was  nothing  particu- 
larly unpleasant  in  his  occupation,  since  the  poet,  who  seeks 
to  disparage  all  other  callings  except  that  of  the  scribe,  is  un- 
able to  point  out  anything  whereof  the  "maker  of  weapons" 
has  to  complain,  except  the  fatigue  and  expense  of  his  jour- 
neys,324 which  can  only  have  been  accidental  and  occasional. 

Boat-building  (Fig.  186)  must  also  have  been  a  flourishing 
trade,  and  have  employed  the  energies  of  a  large  number  of 
persons.  Besides  their  war  vessels  or  galleys,  which  were 
rather  large  boats  than  ships,  the  Egyptians  made  use  of  a 
great  variety  of  craft,  adapted  for  peaceful  purposes,  and  dif- 
fering according  to  the  exact  service  for  which  they  were 
wanted.  A  sort  of  light  canoe,  formed  (we  are  told)  of  the 
papyrus  plant,  and  propelled  either  by  a  single  paddle  or  by  a 
punting-pole,  furnished  the  ordinary  means  of  transport  from 
one  side  of  the  Nile  to  the  other,  and  was  also  used  by  fisher- 
men in  their  occupation,  and  by  herdsmen,  when  it  was  neces- 
sary to  save  cattle  from  an  excessive  inundation,325    The  stem 


BOAT-BUILDIN"G — EMBALMING.  237 

and  stern  of  these  vessels  rose  considerably  above  the  water  ; 
they  must  have  been  flat-bottomed  and  broad,  like  punts,  or 
v,hey  could  have  possessed  no  stability.  They  are  probably 
the  "vessels  of  bulrushes/'  spoken  of  by  Isaiah,326  which  were 
common  to  the  Egyptians  with  the  Ethiopians. 

But  the  ordinary  Nile  boat  (Eig.  189)  of  Pharaonic  times 
was  built  of  wood.  Planks  of  the  acantha  or  Mimosa  nilotica 
were  cut  with  the  hatchet,  a  yard  or  two  in  length,  and  ar- 
ranged in  rows  one  above  another,  very  much  as  builders 
arrange  their  bricks.327  These  planks  were  probably  united  to- 
gether by  glue  and  by  wooden  bolts  and  nails,  in  the  same 
way  as  articles  of  furniture  ;  but  they  were  sometimes  further 
secured  by  means  of  a  number  of  short  poles  or  stakes,  placed 
internally  at  right  angles  to  the  planks,  and  lashed  to  them  by 
means  of  cord  or  string.328  On  a  boat  of  this  kind  (Fig.  187) 
a  sort  of  house  of  lattice-work  was  sometimes  raised,  and  cattle 
were  embarked  upon  it  and  conveyed  from  place  to  place.329 
Occasionally  the  house  was  of  a  more  solid  character,  being 
formed  of  boards  which  wrere  continuous  and  only  pierced  by 
a  few  windows.330  Some  boats  of  this  construction  had  a  mast 
and  sail  ;  others  were  without  these  conveniences,  and  depend- 
ed entirely  upon  the  rowers.  These  varied  in  number  from 
twelve  to  forty-four  ;  their  oars  were  of  rude  construction,  and 
they  appear  sometimes  to  have  rowed  standing.  Steering  was 
managed  either  by  a  rudder,  worked  through  a  notch  in  the 
centre  of  the  stern,  or  by  two  or  more  steering-oars  on  either 
side,  each  entrusted  to  a  separate  steersman.  The  only  sail 
used  was  a  square  sail  (Fig.  188),  and  the  rigging  was  of  the 
most  simple  character.  Sails  were  often  colored,  and  some- 
times patterned,  or  embroidered  with  quaint  devices.331 

The  embalmersof  dead  bodies  must  also,  like  the  boat-build- 
ert,  have  been  a  numerous  class,  and  must  have  driven  a  profi- 
table trade,  if  the  prices  mentioned  by  Diodorus  332  were  really 
those  commonly  exacted.  According  to  the  Sicilian  historian, 
the  expense  of  preparing  a  corpse  for  interment  in  the  most 
approved  method  was  a  talent  of  silver,  or  something  more 
than  240/.  of  our  money  ;  and  even  for  a  secondary  and  far 
inferior  method,  a  payment  had  to  be  made  exceeding  80/. 
For  the  lowest  and  poorest  class  of  persons  a  third  method  had 
necessarily  to  be  employed,  the  cost  of  which  was,  comparative- 
ly speaking,  moderate  ;  but  even  here,  taking  the  numbers 
into  account,  the  profit  made  must  have  been  considerable. 
It  has  been  calculated  that  between  B.C.  2000  and  a.d.  700, 
when  embalming  ceased,  there  may  have  been  interred  in. 
Egypt  420,000,000  mummied  corpses.333    This  would  give  an 


238  HISTORY   OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 

average  of  155,000  yearly.  If  we  calculate  that,  of  these,  five- 
sixths,  or  130,000,  would  belong  to  the  lower  orders,  while 
two-fifteenths,  or  20,000,  may  have  been  furnished  by  the 
class  which  was  fairly  well  off,  and  one-thirtieth,  or  5,000,  by 
the  really  opulent ;  and  if  we  suppose  the  poor  man  to  have 
paid,  on  an  average,  no  more  than  one- twentieth  of  the  price 
paid  by  those  of  the  upper  middle  class,  the  annual  sum  re- 
ceived by  the  embalmers  would  have  exceeded  three  millions 
sterling.334 

The  embalmers'  trade  was  certainly  ancient  in  Egypt,335  and 
by  the  time  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty  the  art  had  attained  an 
extraordinary  pitch  of  perfection.336  In  the  most  expensive 
system,  the  brain  was  skilfully  extracted  by  a  curved  bronze 
implement  through  the  nostrils,  and  the  skull  was  then  washed 
out  with  certain  medicaments  ;  the  nostrils  were  plugged  up; 
the  eyes  removed  and  replaced  by  artificial  ones  in  ivory  or 
obsidian,  and  the  hair  sometimes  also  removed  and  placed  in 
a  separate  packet,  covered  with  linen  and  bitumen.337  The 
right  side  was  opened  by  a  cut  with  a  flint  knife,338  and  the 
whole  of  the  intestines  were  removed  by  the  hand339  and  placed 
in  sepulchral  urns;340  the  cavity  was  then  cleansed  by  an  in- 
jection of  palm-wine,  and  sometimes  by  a  subsequent  infusion 
of  pounded  aromatics  ; 341  after  which  it  was  filled  with  bruised 
myrrh,  cassia,  cinnamon,  and  other  spices.  Next,  the  entire 
body  was  plunged  in  natron  and  kept  covered  with  it  for  sev- 
enty days.  Silver  gloves  or  stalls  were  put  on  the  fingers,  to 
keep  the  nails  in  place,  or  else  they  were  secured  with  thread  ;  M2 
a  plate  of  tin,  inscribed  with  the  symbolic  eye,  was  laid  over 
the  incision  in  the  right  side  ;  the  arms  wrere  arranged  sym- 
metrically, either  along  the  sides,  or  on  the  breast  or  groins  ; 
and  the  process  of  bandaging  commenced.  The  bandages  used 
were  always  of  linen  ; 343  they  were  usually  three  or  four  inches 
wide  and  several  yards  in  length  ;  coarser  kinds  of  linen  were 
employed  near  the  body,  and  finer  towards  the  exterior.  In 
some  cases  the  entire  length  of  the  bandages  wherein  a  single 
corpse  was  swathed  exceeded  700,  or,  according  to  one  writer, 
1,000  yards.344  To  unite  the  bandages  together,  and  keep 
them  in  place,  gum  was  employed.  When  the  swathing  was 
completed,  either  an  outer  linen  shroud,  dyed  red  with  the 
carthamus  tinctorius,  and  ornamented  with  a  network  of  por- 
celain beads,  was  placed  over  the  whole  ;  or  the  swathed  body 
was  covered  by  a  "cartonnage,"  consisting  of  twenty  or  forty 
layers  of  linen  tightly  pressed  and  glued  together,  so  as  to 
form  a  sort  of  pasteboard  envelope,  which  then  received  a  thin 
coating  of  stucco,  and  was  painted  in  bright  colors  with  hiero- 


EMBALMING.  239 

glyphics  and  figures  of  deities.345  This  was  placed  within  a 
wooden  coffin  shaped  similarly,  and  in  most  cases  similarly  or- 
namented, which  was  often  enclosed  within  another,  or  within 
several,  each  just  capable  of  holding  the  preceding  one.  Fi- 
nally, in  the  funerals  of  the  rich,  the  coffined  body  was  depos- 
ited within  a  stone  sarcophagus,  which  might  be  of  granite, 
alabaster,  basalt,  breccia,  or  other  good  material,  and  was 
either  rectangular,  like  that  of  Mycerinus,346  or  in  the  shape  of 
the  mummied  body.  Some  sarcophagi  were  plain  ;  but  many 
were  covered  with  sculptures  in  relief  or  intaglio,  consisting 
chiefly  of  scenes  and  passages  from  the  most  sacred  of  the 
Egyptian  books,  the  "Kitual  of  the  Dead." 

When  the  relatives  were  not  able,  or  not  disposed,  to  incur 
the  large  outlay  which  this  entire  process  required,  there  were 
various  ways  in  which  it  might  be  cheapened.347  The  viscera, 
instead  of  being  placed  together  with  spices  in  separate  urns, 
might  be  simply  returned  into  the  body,  accompanied  by  wax 
images  of  the  four  genii ;  the  abdominal  cavity  might  be 
merely  cleansed  with  cedar  oil,318  and  not  filled  with  spices ; 
the  silver  finger-stalls  and  artificial  eyes  might  be  omitted ; 
the  bandages  might  be  reduced  in  number  and  made  of  less 
fine  linen;  the  ornamentation  might  be  simpler;  a  single 
wooden  coffin  might  suffice ;  and  the  sarcophagus  might  be 
dispensed  with.  In  this  way  the  cost  could  be  reduced  within 
moderate  limits,  so  as  perhaps  not  greatly  to  exceed  that  of 
funerals  in  our  own  upper  middle  class. 

But  some  still  cheaper  process  was  necessar}^,  unless  the  poor 
were  to  debarred  from  the  privilege  of  embalming  their  dead 
altogether.  One  cheap  mode  employed  seems  to  have  been  the 
submersion  of  the  bodies  for  a  short  time  in  mineral  pitch  ; 349 
another,  the  merely  drying  and  salting  them.  Bodies  thus 
prepared  are  sometimes  found  swathed  in  bandages,  but  often 
merely  wrapped  in  coarse  cloths  or  rags ;  they  are  without 
coffins,  and  have  been  simply  buried  in  the  ground,  either 
singly  or  in  layers,  one  over  the  other.350  The  cost  of  prepar- 
ing the  body  for  burial  under  either  of  these  two  systems  must 
have  been  trifling. 

We  are  assured  that  the  class  of  embalmers  was  held  in  high 
consideration  among  the  Egyptians,  participating  to  some 
extent  in  the  respect  which  was  entertained  for  the  priestly 
order.351  Yet,  if  any  credence  is  to  be  given  to  a  tale  told  by 
Herodotus,352  it  must  have  comprised  individuals  capable  of 
almost  any  atrocity.  Probably  the  heads  of  embalming  estab- 
lishments were  alone  persons  of  high  respectability  ;  the  actual 
eviscerators  (parascliistce)  and  embalmers  (taricheittce)  being 


240  HISTOKY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

generally  of  a  low  grade,  and  more  or  less  untrustworthy.  It 
is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  the  degree  of  brutality  indicated 
by  Herodotus  was  of  rare  occurrence. 

Besides  the  trades  and  handicrafts  in  which  so  many  of  the 
Egyptians  found  occupation  for  their  time  and  talents,  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  population  pursued  employments  of  a 
more  elevated  and  intellectual  character.  Sculpture,353  paint- 
ing and  music  had  their  respective  votaries,  and  engaged  the 
services  of  a  large  number  of  persons  who  may  be  regarded  as 
artists.  If  dancing  is  to  be  viewed  as  a  "fine  art,"  we  may 
add  to  these  the  paid  dancers,  who  were  numerous,  but  were 
not  held  in  very  high  estimation.  There  were  also  employ- 
ments analogous  to  our  "professions,"  as  those  of  the  architect, 
the  physician,  and  the  scribe. 

The  merits  of  Egyptian  painting  and  sculpture  have  been 
considered  in  an  earlier  chapter,  and  no  more  need  be  now  said 
on  that  subject ;  but  a  few  words  on  the  mechanical  processes 
employed,  and  the  social  status  of  artists  and  sculptors,  are 
requisite  in  such  a  review  of  Egyptian  manners  and  customs  as 
we  are  at  present  engaged  in.  The  sculptors  may  be  divided 
into  those  who  produced  complete  figures" in  the  round,"  and 
those  who  carved  reliefs  or  intaglios  on  plain  surfaces.  The 
complete  figures  were  either  ideal,  of  gods  and  demi-gods,  or 
portrait-statues  representing  individuals.  Those  of  the  former 
kind,  being  systematic  and  conventional,  required  but  little 
artistic  ability,  and  could  be  produced  mechanically  by  a  num- 
ber of  workmen,  who  at  one  and  the  same  time  employed 
themselves  on  different  parts  of  the  figure.354  Portrait-statues 
required  a  different  treatment,  and  must  have  been  the  creation 
of  individual  artists,  who  often  showed  themselves  possessed 
of  considerable  talent.  The  implements  employed  by  the 
Egyptian,  as  by  all  other  sculptors,  were  two  only,  the  chisel 
(Fig.  190)  and  the  mallet,  the  sole  peculiarity  being  that  in 
Egypt  the  chisel  was  probaoly  of  bronze  and  not  of  iron.35' 
After  the  form  had  been  in  this  way  completely  rendered,356 
according  to  the  notions  of  the  artists,  a  final  polish  was  pro- 
duced by  rubbing  the  statue  with  a  round  ball  of  some  hard 
material. 

Statues,  even  colossal  ones,  were  completed  some  way  from 
the  place  where  they  were  to  be  set  up,  and  had  to  be  trans- 
ported considerable  distances  by  muscular  force.  Human 
agency  seems  to  have  been  alone  employed  to  effect  the  trans- 
port, gangs  of  laborers  being  engaged  to  drag  the  mass,  after 
it  had  been  attached  by  ropes  to  a  sledge.357  To  prevent  injury 
to  the  statue  by  friction,  pads  of  leather,  or  some  other  similar 


SCULPTORS — PAINTING.  241 

substance,  were  introduced  between  the  ropes  and  the  stone  at 
all  the  points  of  contact ;  and  to  facilitate  the  movement  of 
the  mass,  the  ground  in  front  of  the  sledge  was  lubricated 
with  a  copious  stream  of  oil  or  melted  grease. 

As  reliefs  and  intaglios  were  far  more  common  than  statues, 
the  sculptors  engaged  in  executing  them  must  have  constituted 
a  much  more  numerous  class.  In  general,  owing  to  the  exist- 
ence and  enforcement  of  conventional  rules,  they  had  little 
opportunity  of  showing  originality  or  genius.  Sacred  subjects 
were  repeated  a  thousand  times  with  scarcely  any  variety ; 
domestic  subjects  were  treated  with  almost  equal  monotony ; 
even  in  historical  subjects  there  was  much  that  was  fixed  and 
invariable,  as  the  representations  of  marches  and  processions,  of 
the  reception  of  prisoners  and  of  tribute,  the  counting  of  hands 
and  tongues,  the  emblematic  execution  of  conquered  enemies  ; 368 
and  the  like :  but  the  various  incidents  of  a  campaign,  or  a 
royal  progress,  afforded  occasional  scope  to  the  sculptors  for 
novel  compositions,  and  enabled  them  to  vindicate  their  claims 
to  a  really  artistic  character.  Compositions  occur  in  which 
the  monarch  singly  puts  to  flight  the  host  of  the  enemy,369  or 
in  which  the  Egyptians  are  engaged  in  a  hand-to-hand  conflict 
with  their  foes  by  land360  or  sea,361  or  where  the  flying  foe  is 
driven  from  the  field  in  utter  rout ; 362  or,  lastly,  where  the 
monarch  is  employed  in  the  chase  of  the  king  of  beasts,363  in 
all  of  which  the  conventional  is  discarded,  the  artist  is  thrown 
entirely  upon  himself,  and  qualities  are  called  forth  by  the 
opportunity  for  their  employment,  with  which,  but  for  these 
specimens,  we  should  scarcely  have  credited  the  Egyptian 
artists.  The  drawing  is  no  doubt  far  from  faultless ;  in  some 
of  the  scenes  mere  confusion  prevails;  in  others  there  is  an 
unartistic  exaggeration  of  the  size  of  the  royal  person ;  in  most 
there  is  a  want  of  unity,  of  grouping,  and  of  picturesque  ef- 
fect ;  but  still  ability  is  shown  ;  talent,  skill,  even  genius,  make 
themselves  apparent ;  and  we  see  that,  as  in  other  countries, 
so  even  in  Egypt  there  was  a  reserve  of  artistic  power  which 
favorable  circumstances  might  at  any  time  call  forth,  and 
which  was  capable  of  producing  very  remarkable  and  in  some 
respects  very  admirable  results. 

Egyptian  painting  was  far  inferior  to  Egyptian  sculpture  ; 
and  it  may  be  questioned  whether  the  Egyptian  painter  ought 
to  be  regarded  as  an  artist  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word.  It 
was  his  principal  business  to  add  brilliancy  to  walls  and  ceilings, 
either  by  coloring  them  in  patterns,  or  by  painting  in  a  con- 
ventional way  the  reliefs  and  hieroglyphics  with  which  they 
:had   been  adorned  by  the  sculptor.      Still,  occasionally,  he 


242  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

seems  to  have  been  called  upon  to  produce  pictures  in  the 
modern  sense,  as,  for  instance,  portraits,364  and  figures  of  men 
or  animals.  Of  the  portraits  we  have  no  specimens  ; 365  but  it  is 
not  likely  that  they  had  much  merit.  Outlines  of  men  and 
animals  occur  in  unfinished  tombs,  boldly  and  clearly  drawn, 
as  a  guide  to  the  chisel  of  the  sculptor.366  We  have  also  some 
representations  of  painters  at  work  upon  animal  forms,367  from 
which  it  would  appear  that  they  must  have  possessed  great 
steadiness  of  hand  and  power  over  the  pencil.  The  painter 
seems  to  have  held  his  pot  of  color  in  his  left  hand,  while  with 
his  right,  which  he  did  not  support  in  any  way,  he  painted  the 
animal.  A  similar  absence  of  support  is  observable  when 
painters  are  employed  in  coloring  statues.368  When  the  artist 
was  engaged  in  any  complicated  work,  instead  of  a  single  paint- 
pot,  he  made  use  of  a  palette.  This  wras  ordinarily  a  rectang- 
ular piece  of  wood,  porcelain,  or  alabaster,  containing  a  num- 
ber of  round  depressions  or  "wells,"  for  holding  the  various 
colors.  Palettes  are  found  with  as  many  as  eleven  or  twelve 
of  these  cavities,369  which  indicate  the  employment  of  at  least 
eleven  or  twelve  different  tints.370  The  cakes  of  paint,  which 
filled  the  cavities,  were  moistened  at  the  time  of  use,  with  a 
mixture  of  water  and  gum  arabic.371  The  painter  used  slabs 
and  mullers  for  grinding  his  colors.372 

The  materials  that  exist  for  determining  the  social  status  of 
artists  are  but  scanty  ;  and  different  opinions  may  no  doubt  be 
formed  with  respect  to  it.  But  there  is  some  reason  for  be- 
lieving that  the  status  was  higher  than  that  of  the  same  class 
of  persons  in  most  ancient  countries.  Iritisen,  a  statuary  in 
the  time  of  the  eleventh  dynasty,  had  a  funeral  monument 
prepared  for  himself,  which  is  pronounced  to  be  "one  of  the 
masterpieces  of  Egyptian  sculpture."373  He  is  represented 
upon  it  "holding  in  the  left  hand  the  long  baton  used  by  elders 
and  noblemen,  and  in  his  right  the  pat  or  sceptre."  374  In  the 
inscription  he  calls  himself  the  "true  servant  "of  the  king 
Mentu-hotep,  "he  who  is  in  the  inmost  recess  of  his  (i.e.,  the 
king's)  heart,  and  makes  his  pleasure  all  the  day  long."  375  He 
also  declares  that  he  is  "an  artist,  w7ise  in  his  art — a  man 
standing  above  all  men  by  his  learning."376  Altogether,  the 
monument  is  one  from  which  we  may  reasonably  conclude  that 
Iritisen  occupied  a  position  not  much  below  that  of  a  noble, 
and  enjoyed  the  personal  acquaintance  of  the  monarch  in 
whose  reign  he  flourished. 

Musicians  seem  scarcely  to  have  attained  to  the  same  level. 
Music  was  used,  in  the  main,  as  a  light  entertainment,  en- 
hancing the  pleasures  of  the  banquet,  and  was  in  the  hands  ot 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  LVII. 


Plate  LVIII. 


Vol.  I. 


MUSICIANS    AND    MUSICAL    INSTRUMENTS.  243 

a  professional  class  which  did  not  bear  the  best  of  characters. 
The  religious  ceremonies  into  which  music  entered  were  mostly 
of  an  equivocal  character.377  There  may  perhaps  have  been 
some  higher  and  more  serious  employment  of  it,  as  in  funeral 
lamentations,378  in  religious  processions,379  and  in  state  cere- 
monies ;  but  on  the  whole  it  seems  to  have  borne  the  character 
which  it  bears  in  most  parts  of  the  East  at  the  present  day — the 
character  of  an  art  ministering  to  the  lower  elements  of  human 
nature,  and  tending  to  corrupt  men  rather  than  to  elevate 
them.380  Still,  as  an  amucsment  or  entertainment,  music  was 
much  cultivated  in  Egypt,  even  from  the  earliest  times  ;  a 
great  variety  of  instruments  was  invented  ;  several  forms 
of  most  instruments  were  tried  ;  and  both  playing  and  sing- 
ing in  concert  were  studied  and  practised.  Of  instruments, 
we  find  employed,  besides  cymbals  and  castanets,  the  flute, 
the  single  and  double  pipe,  the  lyre,  the  harp,  the  tambourine, 
the  sistrum,  the  drum,  the  guitar,  and  the  cylindrical  maces. 
Flutes  were  long,  and  had  a  small  number  of  holes,381  placed 
very  near  the  lower  extremity.  Pipes,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  short,  not  exceeding  a  length  of  fifteen  inches ;  'm  they 
had  ordinarily  either  three  or  four  holes,  and  were  furnished 
with  a  narrow  mouthpiece  of  reed  or  straw.  Lyres  and  harps 
varied  greatly,  both  in  the  number  of  their  strings  and  in  their 
shapes.  Lyres  had  from  five  to  eighteen  strings,  and  were 
played  either  by  the  hand  or  with  the  plectrum  ; 383  the  two 
arms  of  the  frame  were  sometimes  of  equal,  but  more  usually 
of  unequal  lengths,  to  allow  of  a  variety  in  the  length  of  the 
strings.  The  sounding-board  at  the  base  was  ordinarily  square, 
but  sometimes  its  sides  were  curved,  and  occasionally  there 
was  a  second  smaller  sounding-board  projecting  from  the  main 
one,  whereto  the  strings  were  attached.  Harps  had  any  num- 
ber of  strings  from  four  to  twenty-two,384  which  were  made  of 
catgut, 3*5  and  were  always  of  different  lengths.  Some  harps 
were  above  six  feet  high,386  and  when  played  stood  upon  the 
ground,  having  an  even  broad  base  :  others  had  to  be  held 
against  the  body,  or  rested  upon  a  stool  or  other  support,387  and 
had  a  height  of  from  two  to  four  feet.  The  frame  of  most 
was  curved  like  a  bow,  but  with  an  enlargement  towards  the 
lower  extremity,  which  served  as  a  sounding-board.  Some 
harps,  however,  were  triangular,  and  consisted  of  a  single 
straight  piece  of  wood  and  a  crossbar,  placed  at  a  right  or  an 
acute  angle.388  The  subject  has  been  so  abundantly  illustrated 
by  Sir  G.  Wilkinson,  that  it  seems  unnecessary  to  give  repre- 
sentations here. 
Tambourines  were  of  two  kinds,  round  and  oblong  square. 


244  HISTORY     OF  ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

They  seem  to  have  been  composed  merely  of  a  membrane 
stretched  upon  a  framework  of  wood,  and  not  to  have  been 
accompanied  by  metal  rings  or  balls  in  the  frame.389  Drums 
were  also  of  two  kinds  :  one,  like  the  drum  of  the  soldiers,390 
was  a  long  barrel-shaped  instrument  of  small  diameter,  not 
unlike  the  "tomtom"  of  the  Indians.  The  other  resembled 
the  darabooka  drum  of  modern  Egypt,  which  consists  of  a 
-sheet  of  parchment  strained  over  a  piece  of  pottery  shaped 
like  the  rose  of  a  watering-pot.391  Both  kinds  of  drums  were 
played  by  the  hand,  and  not  beaten  with  drumsticks. 

Egyptian  guitars  had  several  peculiarities.  The  body  of  the 
instrument  was  unusually  small,392  though  not  perhaps  so  small 
as  that  which  characterized  the  guitar  of  the  Assyrians.393  The 
neck  or  handle  was  at  once  long  and  narrow ;  the  strings  were 
three  only,394  and  were  disengaged  from  the  instrument  by 
means  of  a  bridge  at  the  upper  end  and  by  attachment  at  the 
lower  end  to  a  projection  from  the  body.  They  seem  not  to 
have  been  tightened  by  pegs,  but  to  have  been  passed  through 
holes  in  the  neck  and  then  tied  as  tightly  as  was  necessary.395 
The  mode  of  playing  was  nearly  the  same  as  in  modern  times, 
the  left  hand  being  employed  in  shortening  or  lengthening  the 
strings,  and  the  right  in  striking  the  notes.  These,  however, 
were  produced,  not  by  the  actual  fingers,  but  b}r  the  plectrum 
or  short  pointed  rod.  The  performer  on  the  guitar  usually 
played  it  standing,  and  sometimes  danced  to  his  own  melody.396 

The  sistrum  (Fig.  191),  or  rattle,  seems  to  have  been  a 
sacred  instrument,  used  only  in  religious  ceremonies.  It  was 
generally  of  bronze,  and  consisted  of  an  open  loop  of  that 
metal,  crossed  by  three  or  four  moveable  bars,397  which  some- 
times carried  two  or  three  rings  apiece ; 398  the  whole  when 
shaken  producing  a  loud  jingling  sound,  which,  according  to 
Plutarch,  was  supposed,  to  frighten  away  Set  or  Typhon. 
The  religious  purpose  of  the  instrument  is  often  indicated  by 
its  being  surmounted  with  the  figure  of  a  cat  or  lion — the 
sacred  animals  of  Pasht  or  Sekhet — or  else  supported  on  the 
head  of  Athor.  It  was  played  only  by  females,  and  was  often 
highly  ornamented. 

Cylindrical  maces  were  also  no  doubt  of  bronze.  They  con- 
sisted of  a  straight  or  slightly  curved  handle,399  surmounted  by 
a  ball,  which  was  often  shaped  into  the  resemblance  of  a  human 
or  animal  head.  The  performer  held  one  in  each  hand,  and 
played  them  by  bringing  the  two  heads  into  collision  with 
greater  or  less  force,  producing  thus  a  loud  clash  or  clang. 
Such  music  was  sufficient  to  mark  time,  and  was  sometimes 
employed  without  other  accompaniment  to  guide  the  dance. 


THE    TRIPLE    SYMPHONY — SCRIBES.  245 

The  "triple  symphony,"  as  musicians  call  it,  was  well 
known  in  Egypt ;  and  mixed  bands  of  vocal  and  instrumental 
performers  appear  in  the  sculptures  almost  as  frequently  as 
bands  of  either  kind  separately.400  In  one  ancient  tomb  near 
the  Pyramids,  belonging  probably  to  the  times  of  the  first  six 
dynasties,  we  see  a  band  composed  of  two  harpers,  four  sing- 
ers, a  piper,  and  a  flute-player.401  In  another  sculpture,  two 
singers  are  accompanied  by  a  flute-player  and  two  harpers.402 
In  a  third,  three  sing,  while  one  plays  the  harp,  one  the  lyre, 
and  one  the  double  pipe.403  Instrumental  bands  (Fig.  192) 
consist  of  any  number  of  performers  from  two  to  six  ;  but  the 
number  of  different  instruments  played  together  does  not  ex- 
ceed five.404  Where  the  performers  are  more  numerous,  the 
same  instrument  is  played  by  two  or  more  of  them.405  Most 
commonly  all  the  members  of  a  single  band  are  of  one  sex; 
but  occasionally  the  two  sexes  are  intermixed.406 

Dancing  and  music  are  constantly  united  together  in  the 
sculptures;  and  the  musicians  and  dancers  must,  it  would 
seem,  have  been  very  closely  connected  indeed,  and  socially 
have  ranked  almost,  if  not  quite,  upon  a  par.  Musicians, 
sometimes,  as  already  observed,407  danced  as  they  played  ;  and 
where  this  was  not  the  case,  dancers  generally  formed  a  part 
of  the  troupe,  and  intermixed  themselves  with  the  instrumen- 
tal performers.  Dancing  was  professed  both  by  men  and 
women  ;  but  women  were  preferred ;  and  in  the  entertain- 
ments of  the  rich  the  guests  were  generally  amused  by  the 
graceful  movements  of  trained  females,408  who  went  through 
the  steps  and  figures,  which  they  had  been  taught,  for  a  cer- 
tain sum  of  money.  If  we  may  trust  the. paintings,  many  of 
these  professionals  were  absolutely  without  clothes,409  or  wore 
only  a  narrow  girdle,  embroidered  with  beads,  about  their 
hips.  At  the  best,  their  dresses  were  of  so  light  and  thin  a 
texture  as  to  be  perfectly  transparent,  and  to  reveal  rather 
than  veil  the  form  about  which  they  floated.  It  is  scarcely 
probable  that  the  class  which  was  content  thus  to  outrage  de- 
cency could  have  borne  a  better  character,  or  enjoyed  a  higher 
social  status  than  the  almehs  of  modern  Egypt  or  the  nautcli 
girls  of  India. 

Of  learned  professions  in  Egypt,  the  most  important  was 
that  of  the  scribe.  Though  writing  was  an  ordinary  accom- 
plishment of  the  educated  classes,410  and  scribes  were  not  there- 
fore so  absolutely  necessary  as  they  are  in  most  Eastern  coun- 
tries, yet  still  there  were  a  large  number  of  occupations  for 
which  professional  penmanship  was  a  pre-requisite,  and  others 
which  demanded  the  learning  that  a  scribe  naturally  acquired 


246  HISTORY   OF   ANCIENT  EGYPT. 

in  the  exercise  of  his  trade.  The  Egyptian  religion  necessita- 
ted the  multiplication  of  copies  of  the  "  Ritual  of  the  Dead/' 
and  the  employment  of  numerous  clerks  in  the  registration  of 
the  sacred  treasures,  and  the  management  of  the  sacred  estates. 
The  civil  administration  depended  largely  upon  a  system  of 
registration  and  of  official  reports,  which  were  perpetually 
being  made  to  the  court  by  the  superintendents  in  all  depart- 
ments of  the  public  service.411  Most  private  persons  of  large 
means  kept  bailiffs  or  secretaries,  who  made  up  their  accounts, 
paid  their  laborers,  and  otherwise  acted  as  managers  of  their 
property.  There  was  thus  a  large  number  of  lucrative  posts 
which  could  only  be  properly  filled  by  persons  such  as  the 
scribes  were,  ready  with  the  pen,  familiar  with  the  different 
kinds  of  writing,  good  at  figures,  and  at  the  same  time  not  of 
so  high  a  class  as  to  be  discontented  with  a  life  of  dull  routine, 
if  not  of  drudgery.  The  occupation  of  scribe  was  regarded  as 
one  befitting  men  from  the  middle  ranks  of  society,  who  might 
otherwise  have  been  blacksmiths,  carpenters,  small  farmers, 
or  the  like.412  It  would  seem  that  there  were  schools413  in  the 
larger  towns  open  to  all  who  desired  education.  In  these 
reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  wrere  taught,  together  with 
"letters"  in  a  more  extended  sense;  and  industry  at  such 
places  of  instruction  was  certain  to  be  rewarded  by  opening  to 
the  more  advanced  students  a  variety  of  situations  and  em- 
ployments. Some  of  these  may  have  been  of  a  humble  char- 
acter, and  not  over  well  paid  ;414  but  among  them  were  many 
which  to  an  Egyptian  of  the  middle  class  seemed  very  desira- 
ble. The  posts  under  government  occupied  by  scribes  included 
some  of  great  importance,  as  those  of  ambassador,415  superin- 
tendent of  store-houses,416  registrar  of  the  docks,417  clerk  of  the 
closet,418  keeper  of  the  royal  library,419  "scribe  of  the  double 
house  of  life." 420  It  is  indicative  of  the  high  rank  and  position 
of  government  scribes,  that  in  the  court  conspiracy  which 
threatened  the  life  of  the  third  Rameses  as  many  as  six  of  them 
wrere  implicated,  while  two  served  upon  the  tribunal  before 
which  the  criminals  were  arraigned.421  If  persons  failed  to  ob- 
tain government  appointments,  they  might  still  hope  to  have 
their  services  engaged  by  the  rich  corporations  which  had  the 
management  of  the  temples,  or  by  private  individuals  of  good 
means.  Hence  the  scribe  readily  persuaded  himself  that  his 
occupation  was  above  all  others — the  only  one  which  had 
nothing  superior  to  it,  but  was  the  first  and  best  of  all  human 
employments.422 

The  great  number  of  persons  who   practised  medicine   in 
Egypt  is  mentioned  by  Herodotus,423  who  further  notices  the 


PHYSICIANS    AND    ARCHITECTS.  247 

remarkable  fact  that,  besides  general  practitioners,  there  were 
many  who  devoted  themselves  to  special  branches  of  medical 
science,  some  being  oculists,  some  dentists,  some  skilled  in 
treating  diseases  of  the  brain,  some  those  of  the  intestines,  and 
so  on.  Accoucheurs  also  we  know  to  have  formed  a  separate 
class,  and  to  have  been  chiefly,  if  not  exclusively,  women.424 
The  consideration  in  which  physicians  were  held  is  indicated 
by  the  tradition  which  ascribed  the  composition  of  the  earliest 
medical  works  to  one  of  the  kings,425  as  well  as  by  the  reputa- 
tion for  advanced  knowledge  which  the  Egyptian  practitioners 
early  obtained  in  foreign  countries.426  According  to  a  modern 
authority,427  they  constituted  a  special  subdivision  of  the  sacer- 
dotal order  ;  but  this  statement  is  open  to  question,  though 
no  doubt  some  of  the  priests  were  required  to  study  medicine.428 
A  third  learned  profession  was  that  of  the  architect,  which 
in  some  respects  took  precedence  over  any  other.  The  chief 
court  architect  was  a  functionary  of  the  highest  importance, 
ranking  among  the  very  most  exalted  officials.  Considering 
the  character  of  the  duties  intrusted  to  him,  this  was  only 
natural,  since  the  kings  generally  set  more  store  upon  their 
buildings  than  upon  any  other  matter.  "At  the  time  when 
the  construction  of  the  Pyramids  and  other  tombs,"  says 
Brugsch,429  "demanded  artists  of  the  first  order,  we  find  the 
place  of  architect  intrusted  to  the  highest  dignitaries  of  the 
court  of  the  Pharaohs.  The  royal  architects,  the  Murket,  as 
they  were  called,  recruited  their  ranks  not  unfrequently  from 
the  class  of  princes  ;  and  the  inscriptions  engraved  upon  the 
walls  of  their  tombs  inform  us  that,  almost  without  exception, 
they  married  either  the  daughters  or  the  granddaughters  of 
the  reigning  sovereigns,  who  did  not  refuse  the  Murket  this 
honor.1"  Semnofer,  for  instance,  an  architect  under  the  third 
or  fourth  dynasty,  was  married  to  a  lady  named  Amon-Zephes, 
the  granddaughter  of  a  Pharaoh  ;  Khufuhotep,  belonging  to 
about  the  same  period,  had  for  wife  a  person  of  the  same  ex- 
alted position  ;  Mer-ab,  architect  under  Khufu,  or  Cheops, 
was  an  actual  son  of  that  monarch  ;  Pirson,  who  lived  a  little 
later,  married  Khenshut,  of  the  blood  royal  ;  and  Ti,  though 
of  low  birth  himself,  married  Nofer-hotep,  a  princess.  This 
last-named  architect  united  in  his  own  person  a  host  of  offices 
and  dignities  :  he  was  the  king's  secretary  in  all  his  palaces,  the 
secretary  who  published  the  king's  decrees,  the  president  of 
the  royal  Board  of  Works,  and  a  priest  of  several  divinities. 
His  magnificent  tomb  is  still  to  be  seen  at  Saccarah  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  Pyramids,  a  little  to  the  north  of  the 
Serapeum,  and  attracts  the  general  attention  of  travellers.4* 


248  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

Though  a  position  of  such  eminence  as  this  could  belong 
only  to  one  man  at  a  time,  it  is  evident  that  the  lustre  attach- 
ing to  the  head  of  their  profossion  would  be  more  or  less  re- 
flected upon  its  members.  Schools  of  architects  had  to  be 
formed  in  order  to  secure  a  succession  of  competent  persons, 
and  the  chief  architect  of  the  king  was  only  the  most  success- 
ful out  of  many  aspirants,  who  were  educationally  and  socially 
upon  a  par.  Actual  builders,  of  course,  constituted  a  lower- 
class,  and  are  compassionated  in  the  poem  above  quoted,  as  ex- 
posed by  their  trade  both  to  disease  and  accident.431  But 
architects  ran  no  such  risks  ;  and  the  profession  must  be  re- 
garded as  having  enjoyed  in  Egypt  a  rank  and  a  consideration 
rarely  accorded  to  it  elsewhere.  According  to  Diodorus,  the 
Egyptians  themselves  said  that  their  architects  were  more 
worthy  of  admiration  than  their  kings.432  Such  a  speech  could 
hardly  have  been  made  while  the  independent  monarchy  lasted 
and  kings  were  viewed  as  actual  gods  ;  but  it  was  a  natural  re- 
flection on  the  part  of  those  who,  living  under  foreign  domina- 
tion, looked  back  to  the  time  when  Egypt  had  made  herself  a 
name  among  the  nations  by  her  conquests,  and  still  more  by 
her  great  works. 

At  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  social  scale  were  a  number 
of  contemned  and  ill-paid  employments,  which  required  the 
services  of  considerable  numbers,  whose  lives  must  have  been 
sufficiently  hard  ones.  Dyers,  washermen,  barbers,  gardeners, 
sandal-makers,  blacksmiths,  carpenters,  couriers,  boatmen, 
fowlers,  fishermen,  are  commiserated  b}r  the  scribe,  Tuauf- 
sakhrat/33  as  well  as  farmers,  laborers,  stonecutters,  builders, 
armorers,  and  weavers";  and  though  he  does  not  often  point 
out  any  sufferings  peculiar  to  those  of  his  own  countrymen 
who  wrere  engaged  in  these  occupations,  we  may  accept  his 
evidence  as  showing  that,  in  Egypt,  while  they  involved  hard 
work,  they  obtained  but  small  remuneration.  The  very  exist- 
ence, however,  of  so  many  employments  is  an  indication  that 
labor  was  in  request ;  and  we  cannot  doubt  that  industrious 
persons  could  support  themselves  and  their  families  without 
much  difficulty,  even  by  these  inferior  trades.  The  Egyptians, 
even  of  the  lowest  class,  were  certainly  not  crushed  down  by 
penury  or  want  ;  they  maintained  a  light  heart  under  the 
hardships,  whatever  they  may  have  been,  of  their  lot,  and  con- 
trived to  amuse  themselves  and  to  find  a  good  deal  of  pleasure 
in  existence.434 

If  the  boatman,  for  instance,  led  a  laborious  life,  "doing 
beyond  the  power  of  his  hands  to  do,"435  he  had  yet  spirit 
enough  to  enter  into  rivalry  wTith  his  brother  boatmen,  and  to 


LIFE    OF    THE    UPPER    CLASSES.  249 

engage  in  rude  contests  (Fig.  193),  which  must  have  often 
caused  him  a  broken  head  or  a  ducking.436  If  the  fowler  and 
the  fisherman  had  sometimes  hard  work  to  make  a  living,  yet 
they  had  the  excitement  which  attaches  to  every  kind  of  sport, 
and  from  time  to  time  were  rewarded  for  their  patient  toil  by 
"takes "  of  extraordinary  magnitude.  The  drag-nets  and  clap- 
nets (Fig.  194)  which  they  used  to  entrap  their  prey  are  fre- 
quently represented  as  crowded  with  fish437  or  birds,  as  many 
as  twenty-five  of  the  latter  being  enclosed  on  some  occasions.438 
The  fish  were  often  of  large  size,  so  that  a  man  could  only 
just  carry  one  ; 439  and  though  these  monsters  were  perhaps  not 
in  very  great  request,  they  would  have  sufficed  to  furnish  three 
or  four  meals  to  a  large  family.  Fish  were  constantly  dried 
and  salted,440  so  that  the  superabundance  of  one  season  sup- 
plied the  deficiency  of  another  ;  and  even  birds  appear  to  have 
been  subjected  to  a  similar  process,  and  preserved  in  jars,441 
when  there  was  no  immediate  sale  for  them. 

An  occupation  held  in  especial  disrepute  was  that  of  the 
swineherd.  According  to  Herodotus,442  persons  of  this  clas* 
were  absolutely  prohibited  from  entering  an  Egyptian  temple, 
and  under  no  circumstances  would  a  man  of  any  other  class 
either  give  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  a  swineherd,  or  take  a 
wife  from  among  them.  This  prejudice  was  connected  with 
the  notion  of  the  pig  being  an  unclean  animal,443  which  was 
common  to  the  Egyptians  with  the  Jews,  the  Mohammedans, 
and  the  Indians.  If  it  existed  to  the  extent  asserted,  the 
swineherds,  the  Pariahs  of  Egypt,  must  have  approached 
nearly  to  the  character  of  a  caste,  as  intermarrying  wholly 
among  themselves,  and  despised  by  every  other  section  of  the 
population. 

But  if  Egyptian  civilization  had  thus  its  victims,  it  had  also 
its  favorites.  There  stood  in  Egypt,  outside  the  entire  num- 
ber of  those  who  either  belonged  to  a  profession  or  exercised  a 
trade  or  calling,  that  upper  class  of  which  we  have  more  than 
once  spoken,444  owners  of  a  large  portion  of  the  soil,  and  so 
possessed  of  hereditary  wealth,  not  very  anxious  for  official 
employment,  though  filling  commonly  most  of  the  highest 
posts  in  the  adminstration,445  connected  in  many  instances 
more  or  less  closely  with  the  royal  family,446  and  bearing  the 
rank  of  suten-rech  or  "princes" — a  class  small,  compared  with 
most  others,  but  still  tolerably  numerous — one  which  seemed 
born  to  enjoy  existence  and  "consume  the  fruits"  of  other 
men's  toil  and  industry.447  Such  persons,  as  has  been  said,448 
"led  a  charmed  life."  Possessed  of  a  villa  in  the  country,  and 
also  commonly  of  a  town  house  in  the  capital,  the  Egyptian 


250  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

lord  divided  his  time  between  the  two,  now  attracted  by  the 
splendors  of  the  court,  now  by  the  simple  charms  of  rural 
freedom  and  retirement.  In  either  case  he  dwelt  in  a  large 
house,  amply  and  elegantly  furnished — the  floor  strewn  with 
bright-colored  carpets  **9 — the  rooms  generally  provided  with 
abundant  sofas  and  chairs,  couches,  tables,  faldstools,  ottomans, 
stands  for  flowers,,  footstools,  vases,  etc.450 — household  numer- 
ous and  well  trained,  presided  over  by  a  major-domo  or  steward, 
who  relieved  the  great  man  of  the  trouble  of  domestic  manage- 
ment.451 Attached  to  his  household  in  some  way,  if  not  actual 
members  of  it,  were  "adepts  in  the  various  trades  conducive 
to  his  ease  and  comfort"452 — the  glass-blower,  the  worker  in 
gold,  the  potter,  the  tailor,  the  baker,  the  sandal-maker. 
With  a  prudent  self-restraint  not  often  seen  among  orientals, 
he  limited  himself  to  a  single  wife,  whom  he  made  the  partner 
of  his  cares  and  joys,  and  treated  with  respect  and  affection. 
~No  eunuchs  troubled  the  repose  of  his  establishment  with  their 
plots  and  quarrels.  His  household  was  composed  in  about 
equal  proportions  of  male  and  female  servants  ;  his  wife  had 
her  waiting-maid  or  tire-woman,  his  children  their  nurse  or 
nurses  ;  he  himself  had  his  valet,  who  was  also  his  barber. 
The  kitchen  department  was  intrusted  to  three  or  four  cooks 
and  scullions,453  who  were  invariably  men,  no  women  (it  would 
seem)  being  thought  competent  for  such  important  duties.  One, 
two,  or  more  grooms  had  the  charge  of  his  stable,  which  in  the 
early  times  sheltered  no  nobler  animal  than  the  ass,454  but 
under  the  New  Empire  was  provided  with  a  number  of  horses. 
A  chariot,  in  which  he  might  take  an  airing,  pay  visits,  or 
drive  a  friend,  was  also  indispensable455  in  and  after  the  time 
of  the  eighteenth  dynasty  ;  and  the  greater  lords  had  no  doubt 
several  of  such  vehicles,  with  coach  houses  for  their  accom- 
modation. Litters  (Fig.  195)  were  perhaps  used  only  for  the 
aged  and  infirm,  who  were  conveyed  in  them  on  the  shoulders 
of  attendants.456 

Egyptian  men  of  all  ranks  shaved  their  heads  and  their  entire 
faces,  except  sometimes  a  portion  of  the  chin,  from  which  a 
short  square  beard  was  allowed  to  depend.457  The  barber  was 
in  attendance  on  the  great  lord  every  morning,  to  remove  any 
hair  that  had  grown,  and  trim  his  beard,  if  he  wore  one. 
The  lord's  wig  was  also  under  his  superintendence.  This  con- 
sisted of  numerous  small  curls,  together  sometimes  with  locks 
and  plaits,  fastened  carefully  to  a  reticulated  groundwork, 
which  allowed  the  heat  of  the  head  free  escape,45*  The  dress, 
even  of  the  highest  class,  was  simple.  It  consisted,  primarily, 
of  the  shenti,  or  kilt,  a  short  garment,  folded  or  fluted,  which 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  LIX. 


Fig.  150.— War-chariot,  with  Bow-case,  Quivers,  and  Javelins.— See  Page  215. 


r^  r\ 


n — n — cr 


Fig.  151.— Egyptian  Battle-axes  and  Pole-axe.— See  Page  216. 


Plate  LX. 


Vol.  I. 


MM1M1MI 


\5X 


Fig.  152.— Egyptian  Clubs  and  Maces. — See  Page  216. 


Fig.  153. — Egyptian  Daggers.— See  Page  216 


Fig  155. — Archer  taking  am. 

Si  e  Page  2:7. 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  LXL 


Fig.  156. — Archers  stringing  their  Bows. — bee  Page  217. 


p 

m    ® 

> 

i 

L/^^M/^^srl 

Pig.  157.— Egyptian  Quivers. — See 
Page  217. 


Fig.  158. — Egyptian  Trumpeters.— See 
Page  224. 


Plate  LXII. 


Vol.  I. 


Fig.  159.— Egyptian  Standards.— See  Page  218. 


Fig.  i(50.— Siege  of  a  Fort.— See  Page  220 


ladies'  toilets.  251 

was  worn  round  the  loins,  and  fastened  in  front  with  a  girdle. 
The  material  might  be  linen  or  woolen,  according  to  the  state 
of  the  weather,  or  the  wearer's  inclination.  Over  this  the 
great  lord  invariably  wore  an  ample  robe  of  fine  linen,  reach- 
ing from  the  shoulders  to  the  ankles,  and  provided  with  full 
sleeves,  which  descended  nearly,  if  not  quite,  to  the  elbows. 
A  second  girdle,  which  may  have  been  of  leather,  confined  the 
outer  dress  about  the  waist.  The  arms  and  lower  parts  of  the 
legs  were  left  bare  ;  and  in  the  earliest  times  the  feet  were 
also  bare,  sandals  (Fig.  196)  being  unknown  ;  but  they  came 
into  fashion  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  dynasty,459  and  thence- 
forward were  ordinarily  worn  by  the  rich,  whether  men  or 
women.  They  were  either  of  leather  lined  with  cloth,  or  of  a 
sort  of  basket-work  composed  of  palm-leaves  or  the  storks  of 
the  papyrus.460  The  shape  varied  at  different  periods.  Hav- 
ing dressed  himself  with  the  assistance  of  his  valet,  the  Egyp- 
tian lord  put  on  his  ornaments,  which  consisted  commonly  of 
a  collar  of  beads  or  a  chain  of  gold  round  the  neck,  armlets 
and  bracelets  of  gold,  inlaid  with  lapis  lazuli  and  turquoise, 
round  the  arms,  anklets  of  the  same  character  round  the  ankles, 
and  rings  upon  the  fingers  of  both  hands.461  Thus  attired, 
the  lord  took  his  baton  or  stick,462  and,  quitting  his  dressing- 
room,  made  his  appearance  in  the  sahn  or  eating  apartment. 
Meanwhile  his  spouse  had  performed  her  own  toilet,  which 
was  naturally  somewhat  more  elaborate  than  her  husband's. 
Egyptian  ladies  wore  their  own  hair,  which  grew  in  great  abun- 
dance,463 and  must  have  occupied  the  tirewoman  for  a  con- 
siderable period.  A  double-toothed  comb  was  used  for  comb- 
ing it,464  and  it  may  also  have  been  brushed,  though  hairbrushes 
have  not  been  discovered.  Ultimately,  it  was  separated  into 
numerous  distinct  tresses,  and  plaited  by  threes  into  thirty  or 
forty  fine  plaits,  whicti  were  then  gathered  into  three  masses, 
one  behind  the  head  and  the  others  at  either  side  of  the  face, 
or  else  were  allowed  to  fall  in  a  single  continuous  ring  round 
the  head  and  shoulders.  After  it  had  been  thus  arranged,  the 
hair  was  confined  by  a  fillet,  or  by  a  headdress  made  to  imitate 
the  wings,  back,  and  tail,  and  even  sometimes  the  head,  of  a 
vulture.465  On  their  bodies  some  females  wore  only  a  single 
garment,466  which  was  a  petticoat,  either  tied  at  the  neck  or 
supported  by  straps  over  the  shoulders,  and  reaching  from  the 
neck  or  breast  to  the  ankles  ;  but  those  of  the  upper  class  had, 
first,  over  this,  a  colored  sash  passed  twice  round  the  waist 
and  tied  in  front,  and,  secondly,  a  large  loose  robe,  made  of 
the  finest  linen,  with  full  open  sleeves,  reaching  to  the  elbow.467 
They  wore  sandals  from  the  same  date  as  the  men,  and  had 


252  HISTORY    OF    AXCIENT    EGYPT. 

similar  ornaments,  with  the  addition  of  earrings.  These  often, 
manifested  an  elegant  taste,  being  in  the  form  of  serpents  or 
terminating  in  the  heads  of  animals  or  of  goddesses.468  The 
application  of  kohl  or  stibium  to  the  eyes  seems  to  have  formed 
an  ordinary  part  the  toilet.469 

It  is  nnfortnnely  impossible  to  follow  throughout  the  day 
the  husband  and  wife,  with  whose  portraits  we  are  attempting 
to  present  our  readers.  We  do  not  know  the  hours  kept  by 
the  upper  classes  in  Egypt,  nor  the  arrangements  which  pre- 
vailed respecting  their  meals,470  nor  the  mode  in  which  a  lady 
of  rank  employed  herself  from  the  time  when  her  morning 
toilet  was  completed  until  the  hour  of  dinner.  We  may  con- 
jecture that  she  looked  after  her  servants,  superintended  the 
teaching  of  her  children,  amused  herself  in  her  garden,471  or 
visited  and  received  visits  from  her  acquaintance  ;  but  the 
evidence  on  these  various  points  is  scanty,  and  scarcely  suffi- 
cient to  justify  general  conclusions.  It  is  somewhat  different 
with  respect  to  the  men.  The  sculptures  show  us  that  much 
of  the  Egyptian  gentleman's  day  was  spent  in  sports  of  various 
kinds  ;  that  he  indulged  in  fishing  and  fowling,  as  well  as  in 
the  chase  of  various  wild  beasts,  some  of  which  were  sought  as 
delicacies  for  the  table,  while  others  seem  to  have  been  attacked 
merely  to  gratify  that  destructive  instinct  which  urges  men  to 
take  delight  in  field  sports. 

Ponds  commonly  existed  within  the  pleasure-grounds  at- 
tached to  an  Egyptian  country  house,472  and  were  often  of  con- 
siderable dimensions.  Formal  in  shape,  to  suit  the  general 
character  of  the  grounds,  they  were  well  stocked  with  a  variety 
of  fish,  and  often  furnished  the  Egyptian  noble  with  a  morn- 
ing's amusement.  The  sport  was  of  a  kind  which  in  these 
days  would  not  be  considered  exciting.  Reclined  upon  a  mat, 
or  sealed  on  a  chair,473  under  the  shade  of  a  tree,  and  with  a 
short  rod  in  his  hand,  apparently  of  one  joint  only,  the  lord 
threw  his  double  or  single  line  into  the  preserved  pool,  and  let 
his  bait  sink  to  the  bottom.  When  he  felt  the  bite  of  a  fish, 
he  jerked  his  line  out  of  the  water,474  and  by  this  movement, 
if  the  fish  was  securely  hooked,  he  probably  landed  it  ;  if  not, 
he  only  lost  his  labor.  Hooks  were  large  and  strong,  lines 
coarse,  fish  evidently  not  shy  ;  there  was  no  fear  of  the  tackle 
breaking  ;  and  if  a  few  fish  wrere  scared  by  the  clumsy  method, 
there  were  plenty  of  others  to  take  their  place  in  a  few  minutes. 

A  less  unskilful  mode  of  pursuing  the  sport  was  by  means 
of  the  fish-spear  (Fig.  197).  Embarking  upon  his  pond,  or 
the  stream  that  fed  it,  in  a  boat  of  bulrushes,  armed  with  the 
proper  weapon,  and  accompanied  by  a  young  son,  and  by  his 


CHASE  OF  WILD  BEASTS.  253 

wife  or  a  sister,475  the  lord  would  direct  his  gaze  into  the  water, 
and  when  he  saw  a  fish  passing,  strike  at  him  with  the  barbed 
implement.  If  the  fish  were  near  at  hand,  he  would  not  let 
go  of  the  weapon,  but  if  otherwise,  he  would  throw  it,  retain- 
ing in  his  grasp  a  string  attached  to  its  upper  extremity.476 
This  enabled  him  to  recover  the  spear,  even  if  it  sank,  or  was 
carried  clown  by  the  fish  ;  and,  when  his  aim  had  been  true,  it 
enabled  him  to  get  possession  of  his  prize.  Some  spears  had 
double  heads,  both  of  them  barbed  ;  and  good  fortune,  or 
superior  skill,  occasionally  secured  two  fish  at  once. 

The  fowling  practised  by  the  Egyptian  gentleman  was  very 
peculiar.  He  despised  nets,  made  no  use  of  hawks  or  falcons, 
and  did  not  even,  except  on  rare  occasions,  have  recourse  to 
the  bow.  He  placed  his  whole  dependence  on  a  missile,  which 
has  been  called  a  "throw-stick"477 — a  thin  curved  piece  of 
heavy  wood,  from  a  foot  and  a  quarter  to  two  feet  in  length, 
and  about  an  inch  and  a  half  broad.  Gliding  silently  in  a  light 
boat  along  some  piece  of  water,  with  a  decoy  bird  stationed  at 
the  head  of  his  vessel,  trained  perhaps  to  utter  its  note,  he 
approached  the  favorite  haunt  of  the  wild  fowl,  which  was 
generally  a  thicket  of  tall  reeds  and  lotuses.478  Having  come 
as  close  to  the  game  as  possible,  with  his  throw-stick  in  one 
hand  and  a  second  decoy  bird,  or  even  several,  in  the  other, 
he  watched  for  the  moment  when  the  wild  fowl  rose  in  a  cloud 
above  the  tops  of  the  water-plants  and  then  flung  his  weapon 
in  among  them.  Supplied  by  a  relative  or  an  attendant  with 
another,  and  again  another,  he  made  throw  after  throw,  not 
ceasing  till  the  last  bird  was  out  of  reach,  or  his  stock  of 
throw-sticks  exhausted.  We  sometimes  see  as  many  as  four 
sticks  in  the  air,  and  another  upon  the  point  of  being  de- 
livered.479 Skilled  sportsmen  seem  to  have  aimed  especially 
at  the  birds'  necks,  since,  if  the  neck  was  struck,  the  bird 
was  pretty  sure  to  fall.  This  sport  appears  to  have  been  an 
especial  favorite  with  Egyptians  of  the  upper  class. 

The  chase  of  wild  beasts  involved  more  exertion  than  either 
fishing  or  fowling,  and  required  the  sportsman  to  go  further 
afield.  The  only  tolerable  hunting-grounds  lay  in  the  desert 
regions  on  either  side  of  the  Nile  valley  ;  and  the  wealthy 
Egyptians  who  made  up  their  minds  to  indulge  in  this  pas- 
time1, had  to  penetrate  into  these  dreary  tracts,  and  probably 
to  quit  their  homes  for  a  time,  and  camp  out  in  the  desert. 
The  chief  objects  of  pursuit  upon  these  occasions  were  the 
gazelle,  the  ibex,  the  oryx,  and  perhaps  some  other  kinds  of 
antelopes.  The  sportsman  set  out  in  his  chariot,  well  provided 
with  arrows  and  javelins,  accompanied  by  a  number  of  dogs, 


254  HISTORY   OF   ANCIENT   EGYPT. 

and  attended  by  a  crowd  of  menials,  huntsmen,  beaters,  men 
to  set  the  nets,  provision  and  water  carriers,  and  the  like.  A 
large  space  was  commonly  enclosed  by  the  beaters,  and  all  the 
game  within  it  driven  in  a  certain  direction  by  them  and  the 
hounds,  while  the  sportsman  and  his  friends,  stationed  at  suit- 
able points,  shot  their  arrows  at  such  beasts  as  came  within 
the  range  of  the  weapon,  or  sought  to  capture  them  by  means 
of  a  long  thong  or  cord  ending  in  a  running  noose.  Nets  were 
also  set  at  certain  narrow  points  in  the  wadys  or  dry  water- 
courses, down  which  the  herd,  when  pressed,  was  almost  sure 
to  pass,  and  men  were  placed  to  watch  them,  and  slaughter 
each  animal  as  soon  as  he  was  entangled,  before  he  could  break 
his  way  through  the  obstacle  and  make  his  escape.  When  the 
district  in  which  the  hunt  took  place  was  well  supplied  with 
beasts,  and  the  space  enclosed  by  the  beaters  was  large,  a  cu- 
riously mixed  scene  presented  itself  towards  the  close  of  the 
day.480  All  the  wild  animals  of  the  region,  roused  from  their 
several  lairs,  were  brought  together  within  a  narrow  space, — 
hyasnas,  jackals,  foxes,  porcupines,  even  ostriches,  held  on 
their  way,  side  by  side  with  gazelles,  hares,  ibexes,  and  ante- 
lopes of  various  descriptions, — the  hounds  also  being  inter- 
mixed among  them,  and  the  hunter  in  his  car  driving  at  speed 
through  the  thickest  of  the  melee,  discharging  his  arrows  right 
and  left,  and  bringing  down  the  choicest  game.  Attendants 
continually  supplied  fresh  arrows  ;  and  the  work  of  slaughter 
probably  went  on  till  night  put  an  end  to  it,  or  till  the  whole 
of  the  game  was  killed  or  had  made  its  escape. 

Occasionally,  instead  of  antelopes,  wild  cattle  were  the  object 
of  pursuit.  In  thi^case,  too,  dogs  were  used,  though  scarcely 
with  much  effect.481  The  cattle  were,  most  likely,  either  stalked 
or  laid  in  wait  for,  and,  when  sufficiently  near,  were  either 
lassoed,482  or  else  shot  with  arrows,  the  place  aimed  at  being 
the  junction  between  the  neck  and  the  head.  When  the 
lasso  was  employed,  it  was  commonly  thrown  over  one  of  the 
horns. 

According  to  one  representation,483  the  lion  was  made  use  of 
in  the  chase  of  some  animals,  being  trained  to  the  work,  as 
the  cheeta  or  hunting-leopard  is  in  Persia  and  India.  That 
the  Egyptians  tamed  lions  appears  from  several  of  the  sculpt- 
ures,484 and  is  also  attested  by  at  least  one  ancient  writer  j485 
but  the  employment  of  them  in  the  chase  rests  upon  a  single 
painting  in  one  of  the  tombs  at  Beni  Hissar. 

Lions  themselves,  when  in  the  wTild  state,  were  sometimes 
hunted  by  the  monarchs  ;486  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  any 
Egyptian  subject,  however  exalted  his  rank,  ever  engaged  in 


CHASE    OF    WILD    BEASTS.  25* 

the  exciting  occupation.  The  lion  was  scarcely  to  be  found 
within  the  limits  of  Egypt  daring  any  period  of  the  monarchy  ; 
and  though  occasionally  to  be  seen  in  the  deserts  upon  the 
Egyptian  borders,487  yet  could  scarcely  be  reckoned  on  as  likely 
to  cross  his  path  by  a  private  sportsman.  The  kings  who  were 
ambitious  of  the  honor  of  having  contended  with  the  king  of 
beasts,  could  make  hunting  expeditions  beyond  their  borders,, 
and  have  a  whole  province  ransacked  for  the  game  of  which 
they  were  in  search.  Even  they,  however,  seem  very  rarely  to 
have  aspired  so  high ;  and  there  is  but  one  representation  of  a 
lion-hunt  in  the  Egyptian  sculptures. 

A  similarly  exceptional  character  attached  to  the  chase  of 
the  elephant  by  the  Egyptians.  One  monarch  on  one  occasion 
only,  when  engaged  in  an  expedition  which  took  him  deep  into 
Asia,  "hunted  a  hundred  and  twenty  elephants  on  account  of 
their  tusks."488  Here  a  subject  had  the  good  fortune  to  save 
his  royal  master  from  an  attack  made  upon  him  by  the  leading 
or  "rogue"  elephant  of  the  herd,  and  to  capture  the  brute 
after  inflicting  a  wound  upon  its  trunk. 

The  pursuit  of  the  hippopotamus  and  the  crocodile  was,  on 
the  contrary,  a  favorite  and  established  practice  with  Egyptian 
sportsmen.  The  hippopotamus  was  hunted  as  injurious  to  the 
crops,489  on  which  it  both  fed  and  trampled  by  nigh  tT"  while  at 
the  same  time  it  was  valued  for  its  hide,  which  was  regarded 
as  the  best  possible  material  for  shields,  helmets,  and  javelins.490 
It  appears  to  have  been  thought  better  to  attack  it  in  the 
water  than  upon  the  land,  perhaps  because  its  struggles  to  es- 
cape would  then  be,  comparatively  speaking,  harmless.  Spears, 
with  strings  attached  to  them,  were  thrown  at  it ;  and  when 
these  had  taken  effect,  it  was  drawn  to  the  surface  and  its 
head  entangled  in  a  strong  noose  by  which  it  could  be  dragged 
ashore  ;491  or,  if  this  attempt  failed,  it  was  allowed  to  exhaust 
itself  by  repeated  rushes  and  plunges  in  the  stream,  the  hun- 
ters "playing"  it  the  while  by  reels  attached  to  the  strings  that 
held  their  spears,  and  waiting  till  it  was  spent  by  fatigue  and; 
loss  of  blood,  when  they  wound  up  their  reels,  and  brought; 
their  booty  to  land.492 

There  were  two  modes  of  chasing  the  crocodile  (Fig.  198)\. 
Sometimes  it  was  speared,493  like  the  hippopotamus,  and  was; 
then  probably  killed  in  much  the  same  way ;  but  another 
method  was  also  adopted,  which  is  thus  described  by  Herodo- 
tus : 494 — "They  bait  a  hook  with  a  chine  of  pork,  and  let  the 
meat  be  carried  out  into  the  middle  of  the  stream,  while  the 
hunter  on  the  bank  holds  a  live  pig,  which  he  belabors.  The 
crocodile,  hearing  its  cries,  makes  for  the  sound,  and  encounters 


25  6  HISTOKY     OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

the  pork,  which  he  instantly  swallows  down.  The  men  on  the 
shore  haul,  and  when  they  have  got  him  to  land,  the  first 
thing  the  hunter  does  is  to  plaster  his  eyes  with  mud.  This 
once  accomplished,  the  animal  is  dispatched  with  ease  ;  other- 
wise, he  gives  much  trouble."  Very  similar  modes  to  both  of 
these  are  still  in  use  on  the  Nile.495 

It  is  of  course  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Egyptian  of  high 
rank  was  so  enamored  of  the  chase  as  to  devote  to  it  all  the 
time  that  he  spent  in  the  country.  There  would  be  days  on 
which  he  inspected  his  farm,496  his  cattle-stalls,  his  live  stock,  his 
granaries,  his  wine-presses,  his  olive-presses,  moving  from  place 
to  place,  probably,  on  his  favorite  ass,  and  putting  questions 
to  his  laborers.  There  would  be  others  on  which  he  received 
his  steward,  went  through  his  accounts,  and  gave  such  direc- 
tions as  he  thought  necessary  ;  others  again  on  which  his  re- 
ligious duties  occupied  him,  or  on  which  he  received  the  gen- 
eral homage  of  his  subordinates.497  His  life  would  be  in  many 
ways  varied.  As  a  local  magnate,  he  might  be  called  upon 
from  time  to  time  to  take  part  in  the  public  business  of  his 
nome.  He  might  have  civil  employment  thrust  upon  him, 
since  no  one  could  refuse  an  office  or  a  commission  assigned 
him  by  the  king.  He  might  even  find  himself  called  upon  to 
conduct  a  military  expedition.  But,  apart  from  these  ex- 
traordinary distractions,  he  would  have  occupations  enough  and 
to  spare.  Amid  alternations  of  business  and  pleasure,  of  do- 
mestic repose  and  violent  exercise,  of  town  and  country  life,  of 
state  and  simplicity,  he  would  scarcely  find  his  time  hang 
heavy  on  his  hands,  or  become  a  victim  to  ennui.  An  exten- 
sive literature  was  open  to  him,  if  he  cared  to  read  ; 498  a  solemn 
and  mysterious  religion,  full  of  awe-inspiring  thoughts  and 
stretching  on  to  things  beyond  the  grave,  claimed  his  atten- 
tion ;  he  had  abundant  duties,  abundant  enjoyments.  Though 
not  so  happy  as  to  be  politically  free,  there  was  small  danger 
of  his  suffering  oppression.  He  might  look  forward  to  a  tran- 
quil and  respected  old  age  ;  and  even  in  the  grave  he  would 
enjoy  the  attentions  and  religious  veneration  of  those  whom  he 
left  behind  him.499 

Among  the  duties  continually  devolving  on  him,  the  most 
important  were  those  of  charity  and  of  hospitality.  It  was 
absolutely  incumbent  upon  him,  if  he  would  pass  the  dread 
ordeal  in  the  nether  world,  that  during  this  life  he  should  be 
careful  uto  give  bread  to  the  hungry,  drink  to  the  thirsty, 
clothes  to  the  naked,  oil  to  the  wounded,  and  burial  to  the 
dead."  50°  It  was  also  incumbent  on  him,  in  the  general  opin- 
ion of  those  with  whom  he  lived,  that  he  should  show  towards 


MODE    OF    EXERCISING    HOSPITALITY.  257 

men  of  his  own  class  a  free  and  open-handed  hospitality.  For 
this  purpose  it  was  necessary  that,  both  in  the  town  and  in  the 
country,  he  should  provide  his  friends  with  frequent  grand  en- 
tertainments. With  a  description  of  one  of  these  we  may 
terminate  our  account  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
higher  classes  of  society  in  ancient  Egypt,  and  with  that  ac- 
count we  may  be  content  to  bring  to  an  end  the  present  too 
extended  chanter. 

The  preparations  for  an  entertainment  had  to  commence 
some  days  previously.  Game  had  to  be  procured,  professionals 
engaged,  extra  attendants  hired,  a  stock  of  fresh  flowers  and 
perhaps  of  unguents  laid  in.  Great  activity  prevailed  in  the 
kitchen  ;501  confectionery  was  prepared,  spices  pounded,  maca- 
roni made,502  cooking  utensils  scoured,  the  larder  stored  with 
provisions.  The  reception-rooms  were  then  arranged  for 
guests,  chairs  being  placed  in  rows  or  groups,  extra  carpets 
and  mats  strewn  about,  flowers  put  into  the  vases,  and  the 
house  generally  decorated.  When  the  guests  began  to  arrive, 
they  were  first  of  all  received  in  the  vestibule  by  attendants, 
who  presented  them  with  bouquets,503  placed  garlands  of  lotus 
upon  their  heads,  and  sometimes  collars  of  lotus  round  their 
necks,  anointed  their  hair  with  unguents,  and  offered  them 
wine  or  other  beverages.  At  this  time  the  visitors  commonly 
sat  on  the  floor,  probably  for  the  convenience  of  those  who 
had  to  anoint  and  adorn  them.  Having  received  these  atten- 
tions, the  guests,  ladies  and  gentlemen  intermixed,  passed  on 
to  the  main  apartment,  where  they  were  greeted  by  their  host 
and  hostess,  and  begged  to  take  their  seats  on  the  chairs  and 
fauteuils  which  had  been  arranged  for  them.  Here  more  re- 
freshments were  handed  round,  more  flowers  offered,  while  the 
gnests,  generally  in  pairs,  but  sometimes  in  groups,  conversed 
one  with  another.504  Music  was  now  commonly  introduced, 
sometimes  accompanied  by  dancing,  the  performers  in  both 
arts  being  professionals,  and  the  dancing-girls  being  nearly,  if 
not  quite,  naked.505  Sometimes,  at  the  same  party,  there  would 
be  two  bands,506  who,  we  may  suppose,  played  alternately.  Pet 
animals,  dogs,  gazelles,  or  monkeys,507  might  be  present,  and 
the  young  children  of  the  house  in  some  instances  gave  anima- 
tion to  the  scene,  and  enlivened  the  entertainment  with  their 
prattle.  As  it  was  not  customary  for  children  under  ten  or 
twelve  years  of  age  to  wear  any  clothes,508  the  nudity  of  the 
dancing-girls  might  seem  less  strange  and  less  indelicate. 

It  is  possible  that  on  some  occasions  the  music,  dancing,  and 
light  refreshments  constituted  the  whole  of  the  entertain- 
ment, and  that  the  guests  after  a  while  took  their  departure 


258  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

without  any  formal  meal  being  served ;  but  more  often  the 
proceedings  above  described  were  the  mere  prelude  to  the  real 
piece,  and  the  more  important  part  followed.  Round  tables, 
loaded  with  a  great  variety  of  delicacies,  as  joints  of  meat, 
geese,  ducks,  and  waterfowl  of  different  kinds,  cakes,  pastry, 
fruit,  and  the  like,  are  seen  interspersed  among  the  guests,509  to 
whom  no  doubt  the  dishes  were  handed  in  succession,  and  who 
must  have  helped  themselves,  as  Orientals  commonly  do,  with 
their  hands.  Knives  and  forks,  spoons  for  eating  Avith,510  even 
plates,  were  an  unknown  luxury  ;  the  guest  took  what  his 
hands  could  manage,  and  after  eating  either  dipped  them  in 
water,  or  wiped  them  with  a  napkin  brought  him  by  an  at- 
tendant.511 The  dishes  offered  him  would  include  probably 
two  or  three  kinds  of  fish  ;  meat,  generally  beef,  boiled,  roasted, 
and  dressed  in  various  ways  ;  venison  and  other  game  ;  geese, 
ducks,  or  wTater~fowl ;  vegetables  in  profusion,  as  especially 
lentils,  endives,  and  cucumbers ;  pastry,  cakes,  and  fruits  of 
twenty  kinds,  particularly  grapes  and  figs.512  To  quench  his 
thirst,  he  would  be  supplied  with  frequent  draughts  of  wine  or 
beer,513  the  wine  probably  diluted  with  water. 

Herodotus  tell  us514  that  it  was  customary,  when  the  feast 
wfas  over,  for  an  attendant  to  bring  in  a  wooden  mummied 
form,  from  a  foot  and  a  half  to  three  feet  long,  painted  to 
resemble  a  corpse,  and  to  show  it  to  each  guest  in  turn,  with 
the  words  : — "Gaze  here,  and  drink  and  be  merry  ;  for  when 
you  die,  such  will  you  be."  If  the  expressions  used  are  rightly 
reported,  we  must  suppose  the  figure  brought  in  when  the 
eating  was  ended  and  the  drinking  began,  with  the  object  of 
stimulating  the  guests  to  greater  conviviality  ;  but  if  this  were 
so,  the  custom  had  probably  lost  its  original  significance  when 
Herodotus  visited  Egypt,  since  it  must  (one  would  think)  have 
been  intended  at  the  first  to  encourage  seriousness,  and  check 
undue  indulgence,  by  sobering  thoughts  concerning  death  and 
judgment  to  come.515  The  Egyptians  were  too  much  inclined 
to  the  pleaures  of  the  table,  and  certainly  required  no  stimulus 
to  drinking.  Both  gentlemen  and  ladies  not  unfrequently 
indulged  to  excess.516  The  custom  mentioned  by  Herodotus 
and  alluded  to  also  by  Plutarch,617  can  only  have  proceeded 
from  the  priests,  who  doubtless  wished,  as  guardians  of  the 
public  morality,  to  check  the  intemperance  which  they  were 
unable  to  prevent  altogether. 

After  the  banquet  was  entirely  ended,  music  and  singing 
were  generally  resumed,618  and  sometimes  tumblers  or  jugglers, 
both  male  and  female,  were  introduced,  and  feats  of  agility 
were  gone  through  with  much  dexterity  and  grace.519     The 


GAMES — PROVISION"     FOR    GENERAL    EDUCATION".  259 

women  played  with  three  balls  at  a  time,  keeping  two  con- 
stantly in  the  air  ;  or  made  somersaults  backwards  ;  or  sprang 
off  the  ground  to  the  height  of  several  feet.  The  men  wres- 
tled, or  pirouetted,520  or  stood  on  their  heads,621  or  walked  up 
each  other's  backs,  or  performed  other  tricks,  and  feats  of 
strength.  Occasionally,  games  seem  to  have  been  played.  As 
the  kings  themselves  in  their  leisure  hours  did  not  disdain  to 
play  draughts  with  their  favorites,522  so  it  may  be  presumed 
that  the  Egyptian  lord  and  his  guests  would  sometimes  relieve 
the  tedium  of  a  long  evening  by  the  same  or  some  similar 
amusement.  Chess  does  not  appear  to  have  been  known  ; 
but  a  game  resembling  draughts,  one  like  the  modern  morra, 
and  several  which  cannot  be  identified,  certainly  were  ;  523  and, 
though  there  is  more  evidence  of  their  being  in  favor  with  the 
lower  than  with  the  higher  orders,  yet  it  can  scarcely  be  sup- 
posed that  the  royal  example  was  not  imitated  by  many  among 
the  nobles. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  observed  that  Egyptian  society  under 
the  Pharaohs,  if  in  many  respects  it  was  not  so  advanced  in 
cultivation  and  refinement  as  that  of  Athens  in  the  time  of 
Pericles,  was  in  some  points  both  more  moral  and  more  civil- 
ized. Neither  the  sculptures  nor  the  literary  remains  give 
any  indication  of  the  existence  in  Egypt  of  that  degrading 
vice  which  in  Greece  tainted  all  male  society  from  the  highest 
grade  to  the  lowest,  and  constituted  "a  great  national  disease," 
or  "moral  pestilence."524  Nor  did  courtesans,  though  occa- 
sionally they  attained  to  a  certain  degree  of  celebrity  among 
the  Egyptians,525  ever  exercise  that  influence  which  they  did 
in  Greece  over  art,  literature,  and  even  politics.  The  relations 
of  the  sexes  were  dicidedly  on  a  better  footing  in  Egypt  than 
at  Athens,  or  most  other  Greek  towns.  Not  only  was  poly- 
gamy unknown  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Nile  valley,  and  even 
licensed  concubinage  confined  to  the  kings,526  but  woman  took 
her  proper  rank  as  the  friend  and  companion  of  man,  was 
never  secluded  in  a  harem,  but  constantly  made  her  appearance 
alike  in  private  company  and  in  the  ceremonies  of  religion, 
possessed  equal  rights  with  man  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  was  at- 
tached to  temples  in  a  quasi-sacerdotal  character,  and  might 
even  ascend  the  throne  and  administer  the  government  of  the 
country.527  Women  were  free  to  attend  the  markets  and 
shops  ; 528  to  visit  and  receive  company,  both  male  and  female  ; 
to  join  in  the  most  sacred  religious  services  ; 529  to  follow  the 
dead  to  the  grave  ;  and  to  perform  their  part  in  the  sepul- 
chral sacrifices.530 

Again  the  consideration  shown  to  age  in  Egypt  was  remarka- 


260  HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 

ble,  and,  though  perhaps  a  remnant  of  antique  manners,  must 
be  regarded  as  a  point  in  which  their  customs  were  more  ad- 
vanced than  those  of  most  ancient  peoples.  "Their  }Toung 
men,  when  they  met  their  elders  in  the  streets,"  we  are  told,532 
"made  way  for  them  and  stepped  aside;  and  if  an  old  man 
came  in  where  young  men  were  present,  the  latter  rose  from 
their  seats  out  of  respect  to  him." 

Jn  arrangements  with  respect  to  education  they  seem  also 
to  have  attained  a  point  not  often  readied  by  the  nations  of 
antiquity.  If  the  schools  wherein  scribes  obtained  their  in- 
struction were  really  open  to  all,53*  and  the  career  of  scribe 
might  be  pursued  b}~  any  one,  whatever  his  birth,  then  it 
must  be  said  that  Egypt,  notwithstanding  the  general  rigidity 
of  her  institutions,  provided  an  open  career  for  talent,  such  as 
scarcely  existed  elsewhere  in  the  old  world,  and  such  as  few 
modern  communities  can  be  said  even  yet  to  furnish.  It  was 
always  possible  under  despotic  governments  that  the  capric- 
ious favor  of  the  sovereign  should  raise  to  a  high,  or  even  to 
the  highest  position,  the  lowest  person  in  the  kingdom.  But, 
in  Egypt  alone  of  all  ancient  States,  does  a  system  seem  to 
have  been  established,  whereby  persons  of  all  ranks,  even  the 
lowest,  were  invited  to  compete  for  the  royal  favor,  and,  by 
distinguishing  themselves  in  the  public  schools,  to  establish  a 
claim  for  employment  in  the  public  service.  That  employ- 
ment once  obtained,  their  future  depended  on  themselves. 
Merit  secured  promotion  ;  and  it  Avould  seem  that  the  efficient 
scribe  had  only  to  show  himself  superior  to  his  fellows,  in  order 
to  rise  to  the  highest  position  but  one  in  the  empire. 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 


CHAPTER  I. 

i  Baker's  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  i,  p. 
xxvii. 

2  See  Herod,  ii,  18:  Strab.  xvii,  1,  § 
4.  Compare  the  Memoire  of  M.  Jo- 
mard  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte, 
"Antiquites,"  vol.  ii,  p.  89. 

3  The  terra  "  Egypt,"  which  was 
not  known  to  the  Egyptians  them- 
selves, appears  to  have  been  first  used 
by  the  Greeks  as  a  name  for  the  Nile 
(Horn.  01.  iv,  477,  xiv,  257;  Strab.  i,  2, 
§  22),  and  thence  to  have  extended  it- 
self to  the  country.  Its  derivation  is 
uncertain. 

4  See  Jomard  in  the  Description  de 
VEgypte,  1.  s.  c.  :  Kenrick,  Ancient 
Egypt,  vol.  i,  p.  61;  Russell,  Ancient 
an<l  Modern  Egypt,  p.  419;  Smith,  Diet, 
of  Greek  and  Roman  Geography,  vol.  i, 
p.  36,  etc. 

6  See  1  Kings  viii,  65 ;  2  Kings  xxiv, 
7;  Is.  xxvii,  12.  "The  torrent  of 
Egypt  -  would  be  a  better  translation 
than."  the  river;  "  since  in  the  Hebrew 

it  is  ^mn,  not  imn. 

6  The  ruins  of  Berenice  are  placed 
by  the  French  savants  in  lat.  23°  48', 
by  Mr.  Donne  ( Dictionary  of  Greek  and 
Roman  Geography,  sub  voc.  Berenice) 
in  lat.  23°  56'.  This  latter  view  is  now 
generally  taken. 

7  Very  exaggerated  estimates  of  the 
size  of  Egypt  have  been  formed  by 
some  writers.  Heeren  says  (Hand- 
buch,  p.  47)  that  it  equals  two-thirds 
of  Germany,  which  would  give  it  an 
area  of  above  160,000  square  miles.  A 
school  geography  which  has  come 
into  my  hands  (Anderson's)  goes  be- 
yond this,  making  the  area  177,800 
square  miles.  The  real  area  is  cer- 
tainly not  over,— it  is  perhaps  some- 
what under,— 100,000  square  miles. 

8  From  the  old  apex  of  the  Delta, 
nearly  opposite  Heliopolis,  to  the 
Sebennytic  mouth  is  110  miles  (Wil- 
kinson in  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol. 
ii,  p.  8) ;  from  Thebes  to  the  apex  is 
456  miles ;  from  Elephantine  to  Thebes 
124  miles  (ib.  p.  10; ;  total,  690  miles. 
The  distance  from  Elephantine  to  the 
Mediterranean  at  Rosetta  is  given  by 
Mr.  Kenrick  (Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p. 
34,  note)  as  739  miles;  but  this  is,  I 
think,  an  overestimate. 

9  By  measurement  of  the  large 
French  map  published  in  the  Descrip- 
tion de  VEgypte,  on  which  there  has 
been  scarcely  any  improvement  in 
more  recent  times,  I  find  the  distance 
from  the  present  apex  of  the  Delta  to 


Canopus,  to  Pelusium,  to  the  Dami- 
etta  and  Rosetta  mouths,  in  every 
case  a  mile  or  two  over,  or  the  same 
distance  under  100  miles.  The  plain 
is  narrowest  between  the  Lake  Men- 
zaleh  and  the  Libyan  hills,  abouc  lat. 
30°  35',  and  again  between  Lake  Bour- 
los  and  the  Arabian  hills  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Tel  Basta  (Bubastis).  The 
width  in  these  places  is  about  65 
miles. 

i°  Here,  again,  I  have  had  recourse 
to  measurement,  and  though  my  esti- 
mate exceeds  that  of  some  writers,  I 
believe  it  is  not  excessive.  A  writer 
in  the  Edinburgh  Review  (Jan.  1877) 
estimates  the  area  of  the  Delta  in  the 
time  of  Herodotus  at  8,000  sq.  miles 
(p.  120).  M.  Jomard  assigns  to  Lower 
Egypt  an  area  of  1,500  French  leagues 
(Description,  "Antiquites,"  vol.  ii, 
p.  92),  or  above  11,000  English  sq. 
miles.  He  appears,  however,  to  in- 
clude in  this  estimate  the  area  of  the 
four  great  lakes,  Mareotis,  Edkou, 
Bourlos,  and  Menzaleh,  which  must 
cover  a  space  of  from  2,000  to  3,000 
sq.  miles. 

"  So  Mr.  Donne,  in  Dr.  Smith's 
Diet,  of  Greek  and  Roman  Geogra- 
phy, vol.  i,  p.  36.  Dr.  Russell,  in  his 
Ancient  and  Modern  Egypt,  gave  the 
average  width  of  the  valley  as  nine 
miles  (p.  31).  But  this  is  certainly 
too  much.  See  M.  Girard's  "  Essaie" 
in  the  Description,  "  Histoire  Natu- 
relle,"  vol.  ii,  p.  344. 

12  Dr.  Russell  (1.  s.  c.)  estimated  the 
cultivable  area  at  ten  millions  of 
acres. 

13  Description,  "  Antiquites,"  vol. 
ii,  p.  90.  14  ibid. 

16  That  of  M.  Girard  (Description, 
"Hist.  Nat."  vol.  ii,  p.  351:  "  Ainsi 
VEgypte  entiere,  depuis  la  derniere 
cataracte  jusqu'a  la  pointe  de  Bour- 
los, comprend  en  latitude  une  inter- 
valle  de  sept  degres  et  demi,  et  une 
superficie  d'  environ  2,100,000  hectares 
de  terrains  cultivables.") 

16  Donne,  in  Smith's  Dictio7iary  of 
Greek  and  Roman  Geography,  l.s.c. 

17  Jomard,  Description,  "  Anti- 
quites," vol.  ii,  p.  92.  • 

18  See  the  essay  on  Lake  Moeris 
in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  ii,  p.  329,  e.t. 

19  Allowing  the  Nile  a  course  of  &M 
miles  through  Egyptian  territory, 
and  an  average  width  of  a  mile,  its 
waters  would  cover  690  square  miles. 
Add  to  this  150  square  miles  for  the 
superficies  of  Lake  Moeris,  and  the 
amount  is  840  square  miles. 


262 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 


[CH.  I. 


20  The  estimate  of  M.  Jomard  ex- 
ceeds this.  He  speaks  (l.s.c.)  of  the 
sands  covering  558  square  leagues,  or 
between  two  and  three  millions  of 
acres. 

21  See  the  passage  quoted  at  the  head 
of  this  chapter.  Herodotus  imagined 
that  the  Nile  Valley  as  far  as  Syene 
had  been  originally  a  narrow  inlet  of 
the  Mediterranean  Sea,  which  the 
alluvial  deposit  had  gradually  filled 
up.  An  examination  of  the  tract  in 
question  has  disproved  this  by  show- 
ing that  there  are  no  marine  remains 
between  the  sandstone  or  limestone 
-which  forms  the  original  bed  of  the 
valley  and  the  deposit  from  the  river 
(see  Wilkinson,  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  5,  and  compare  the  De- 
scription de  VEgypte,  "  Hist.  Nat." 
vol.  ii,  p.  361). 

22  Compare  Sir  S.  Baker's  remarks 
in  his  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  i.  Intro- 
duction, p.  XAVii:  "Egypt  has  been 
an  extraordinary  instance  of  the  act- 
ual formation  of  a  country  by  alluvial 
deposit:  it  has  been  created  by  a 
single  river." 

23  See  Hecataeus,  Frag-  278,  279,  295, 
296:  Herod,  ii,  5-34:  Diod.  Sic.  i,  10,  19, 
32-38:  Kenrick,  Ancient  E§ ypt,  vol.  i, 
pp.  5-60;  Russell,  Ancient  an  i  Modern 
Egypt,  pp.  32-53;  Sharpe,  Kistory  of 
Egypt,  vol.  i,  pp.  4-7,  etc. 

24  The  main  doubt  has  recently  been 
with  respect  to  the  basins  of  the  Nile 
and  Congo.  It  was  thought,  till  1875, 
that  Lake  Tanganyika  might  drain 
into  the  Albert  Nyanza  Lieut.  Cam- 
eron's travels  have  shown  that  this  is 
not  the  case,  and  that  the  Lualaba  and 
L.  Tanganyika  belong  to  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Congo. 

25  The  extent  of  the  Upper  Nile 
basin  towards  the  west  is  unknown. 
Schweinfurth  traced  it  as~far  as  long. 
26°,  but  it  is  conjecture  alone  that 
extends  it  to  long.  23°,  as  Sir  S.  Baker 
does  (see  his  map,  vol.  i,  opp.  p.  xxi). 
There  is  also  a  doubt  whether  the 
Victoria  Nyanza  does  not  communi- 
cate with  a  series  of  lakes  towards  the 
east. 

26  According  to  Sir  S.  Baker  the  Al- 
bert Nyanza  extends  westward  nearly 
to  long.  28°  (see  his  large  map).  He 
places  the  western  shore  of  the  Victo- 
ria in  long.  31°  35'  nearly,  and  the 
eastern  in  long.  36°. 

27  Speke  in  1858  made  the  elevation 
3.740  feet,  while  his  observations  in 

i  >2  gave  the  result  of  3,308  feet  (so 
j..\  ingstone  in  1873).  The  mean  of 
i  iwse  would  be  3,524  feet.  Lieut.  Cam- 
eron, however,  in  1875  argues  for  an 
t '»v.  vation  of  not  more  than  2,000  feet! 
(  Sec  Geographical  Journal,  vol.  xlvi, 
p.  222.) 

2t!  U.iker  {Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  ii,  p. 
J53 1  made  the  elevation  2,720  feet.  So 
Livingstone  (Last  Journals,  map). 
Luc  Sir  H.  llawlinson  on  the  whole  is 


inclined  to  regard  the  Albert  as  not 
more  than  500  feet  below  the  Victoria 
Nyanza  (MS.  note  communicated  to 
me  in  1876). 

29  It  has  been  already  noticed  that 
Sir  S.  Baker  extends  conjecturally  the 
basin  of  the  Albert  N.  to  long.  23°  (see 
above,  note25). 

so  See  Baker's  Albeit  Nyanza,  vol. 
ii,  pp.  94-103. 

si  The  issue  of  the  Nile  from  the 
Albert  Nyanza,  which  until  1876  had 
only  been  seen  from  a  distance  of 
about  100  miles,  not  actually  visited 
by  a  European  (Baker,  vol.  ii,  pp.  134- 
5),  was  experimentally  proved  by 
Col.  Gordon  in  that  year. 

32  See  Baker's  large  map.  Lieut. 
Julian  Baker  places  Afuddo,  which  is 
very  near  the  first  cataract,  in  lat.  3° 
34'  (Geograph.  Journal  for  1874,  p.  76). 

33  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  ii,  p.  283. 

34  Ibid.  p.  286. 

35  Ibid.  p.  287.  In  fifteen  miles,  be- 
tween Afuddo  and  the  Asua,  the  fall  is 
222  feet,  or  nearly  fifteen  feet  a  mile 
(Athenaeum,  No.  2551,  p.  372). 

36  Col.  Gordon's  steamers  have  as- 
cended all  the  rapids  but  one,  and 
have  shown  the  Nile  to  be  navigable 
from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Albert 
Nyanza,  except  for  the  space  of  about 
three  miles. 

37  Asua  is  the  form  used  by  Sir  S. 
B  iker  (Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  ii,  pp.  287, 
308,  etc.),  Ashua  that  preferred  by  his 
nephew,  Lieut.  Baker  (Geographical 
Journal  for  1874,  p.  46).  This  river 
below  its  junction  with  the  Atabbi, 
was  130  yards  broad,  and  knee-deep 
in  March  1871  (ibid.).  It  is  said  to  be 
"  important  from  April  15  to  Novem- 
ber 15:  dry  after  that  date"  (Albert 
Nyanza,  vol.  ii,  p.  308). 

38  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  i,  pp.  33-84. 

39  Ibid,  p.  46. 
«°  Ibid,  p.  48. 

41  Geograph.  Journal  for  1876,  p.  38. 
In  this  part  of  its  course,  where  the 
water  is  most  dispersed,  the  Nile  is 
often  obstructed  by  great  masses  of 
floating  vegetation,  which  even  form 
dams  across  the  river.  Channels  have 
to  be  cut  through  these  obstructions 
in  order  that  boats  may  pass  up 
or  down  stream.  (Lieut.  Baker  in 
Geograph.  Journal  for  1874,  pp.  38-40. 
Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  ii,  pp.  329-332.) 

42  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  i,  p.  44. 

43  Sir  S.  Baker  makes  the  latitude  of 
Khartoum  15°  29',  but  the  mean  result 
of  a  number  of  observations  taken  re- 
cently is  15°  36'  6  (See  the  Geographi- 
cal Journal  for  1874,  p.  71). 

44  So  Bruce  (Travels,  vol.  v,  p.30S). 
I  am  not  aware  that  there  have  been 
any  more  recent  observations. 

46  Humboldt  (Central  Asien,  p.  93) 
gives  the  elevation  as  955  toises,  or 
6,106  English  feet. 

46  The  courses  of  the  Blue  Nile  and 
its  affluents  were  in  part  explored  by 


CH.  I.] 


THE   LAND. 


263 


S:rS.  Baker  in  1861-2.  He  descended 
cue  Dinder  from  about  lat.  14°  nearly 
to  its  junction  with  the  Blue  Nile,  and 
then  the  Blue  Nile  itself  to  Khartoum 
(see  his  Nile  Tributaries,  pp.  357-375). 

47  Baker,  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  i.  p.  7. 

48  Ibid.  p.  8 ;  Nile  Tributaries,  pp.  373 
et  seq.  (4th  edition). 

49  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  i,  p.  33. 

50  Nile  Tributaries,  Preface,  p.  viii. 

51  Baker,  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  i,  p.  6. 
32  See    Wilkinson    in    the    author's 

Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  8  (3d  edit.). 

53  Three  main  cataracts  are  com- 
monly reckoned  between  Abu  Hamed 
and  Korosko;  but  Belzoni  notes  five 
between  Korosko  and  Koke  (see  his 
map,  opp.  p.  485),  and  there  are  at 
least  two  others  between  Koke  and 
Abu  Hamed. 

54  This  was  the  route  taken  by  Bruce 
in  1772,  by  Burckhardt  in  1814,  and  by 
Baker  in  1861.  It  is  now  almost  in- 
variably followed. 

55  Baker,  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  i,  p.  4; 
Nile  Tributaries,  p.  4. 

56  See  Girard  in  the  Description  de 
VEgypte,  "Hist.  Nat.'1  vol.  ii,  p.  343: 
"L'Egypte  semble  commencer  en 
quelque  sorte  a  on  finit  le  sol  grani- 
tique."  Compare  Wilkinson,  Topog- 
raphy of  Thebes,  p.  452;  Kenrick,  An- 
cient Egypt,  vol.  i,  pp.  33-5,  etc. 

57  Description,  "  Hist.  Nat."  vol.  ii, 
p.  344. 

58  See  the  map  attached  to  Belzoni's 
Travels,  and  compare  the  still  more 
exact  one  of  the  Description  ("An- 
tiquites,"  vol.  ii,  ad.  fin.),  which 
leaves  nothing  to  be  desired. 

59  Description,  "  H.  N.,"  l.s.c.  Com- 
pare Wilkinson,  Topography,  pp.  438- 
417.  Champollion  observes  that  the 
river  here  "  makes  a  second  entrance 
into  Egypt." 

60  Especially  Edfou  (Apollinopolis 
Magna)  and  Esne  (Latopolis),  both  of 
which  are  on  the  left  bank  (Description, 
l.s.c. ;  Topography  of  Thebes  j>\).  425  and 
435).  Kenrick  (vol.  i,  p.  37)  wrongly 
places  Edfou  on  the  right  bank. 

91  Strictly  speaking,  the  sandstone 
ends  and  the  limestone  begins  before 
Gibelein.  The  exact  point  of  the 
change  is  opposite  El  Qenan,  about 
fourteen  miles  above  Esne  (Topogra- 
phy, p.  429. 

65  Description,  p.  345  and  Map. 

es  At  Darout-el-Sherif,  in  lat.  27°  34' 
(Description,  p.  345).  Mr.  Kenrick 
regards  this  canal  as  branching  off 
more  than  a  hundred  miles  higher  up 
the  stream,  at  Chenoboscion,  near 
Diospolis  Parva  (Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i, 
p.  45).  But  the  French  savants  dis- 
tinguish between  the  Bahr  Yousuf  and 
the  branch  stream,  which  extends 
from  Chenoboscion  to  Syout  (Lyco- 
polis),  a  little  north  of  which  it  ter- 
minates. 

64  Zouyieh  is  the  form  used  by  Bel- 
zoni, Zaouy  that  of  the  French  sa- 


vants.    This  place  is  probably   the 
Iseuni  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 

65  Description,  "Hist.  Nat."  vol.  ii, 
p.  345:  "  Ces  terres,  pouvant  etre  fa- 
cilement  arrosees,  sont  les  plus  pro- 
ductives  de  l'Egypte  moyenne." 

66  Wilkinson,  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  8,  note2,  3d  edition. 

67  Herod,  ii,  17.  To  these  three  main 
branches  Herodotus  adds  two  minor 
ones,  the  Saitic  and  Mendesian  branch- 
ing from  the  Sebennytic,  and  two 
artificial  branches  or  canals. 

68  If  we  add  to  this  the  flow  through 
the  Albert  Nyanza,  and  the  course  of 
the  Somerset  from  the  Ripon  falls,  we 
shall  have  a  total  length  of  about  300 
miles  more,  or  2,800  miles. 

09  Baker,  Mb* it  Nyanza,  vol.  i,  p.  49; 
vol.  ii,  p.  308.  The  upper  portion  of 
the  streams  forming  the  Bahr-el- 
Ghazal  has  been  explored  by  Herr 
Schweinfurth,  and  is  carefully  laid 
down  in  his  large  map  (see  Heart  of 
Africa,  vol.  i,  opp.  p.  1). 

'70  Baker,  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  ii,  p.  308. 

7i  Ibid. 

72  See  above  p.  7. 

73  Baker,  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  ii,  p.  309. 

74  See  Baker's  small  map,  Albert 
Nyanza,  vol.  i,  opp.  p.  xxi.  (repeated 
in  his  Nile  Tributaries  and  his  Ismailia). 

75  Oeograph.  Journal  for  1874,  p.  38. 

76  Baker's  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  i,  p.  47. 

77  Ibid.  p.  8.  Compare  Nile  Tribu- 
taries, pp.  22-3. 

78  Albert  Nyanza,  vol.  i,  p.  9;  Nile 
Tributaries,  p.  25. 

79  Albert  Ni/anza,  vol.  i,  p.  10. 

»  Ibid.  p.  5.  The  courses  of  the  Blue 
Nile  and  Atbara,  together  with  their 
tributaries,  are  well  given  by  Sir  S. 
Baker  in  the  map  accompanying  his 
Nile  Tributaries  of  Abyssinia^  opp.  p.  i. 

81  The  French  savants  made  the 
average  rise  7,419  metres  (Description 
"  Hist.  Nat."  vol.  ii,  p.  352),  which  is 
23,721  English  feet.  Sir  G.  Wilkinson 
says  the  ri»a  at  Old  Cairo  is  sixteen 
cubits,  or  twenty-four  feet.  (See  the 
author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  297,  3f 
ed.) 

82  Description,  l.s.c. 

83  Wilkinson,  in  the  author's  Herod 
otus,  l.s.c. 

84  Ibid. 

86  See  the  description  of  an  unusual' 
rise  in  Belzoni's  Operations  and  Dis 
coteries,  pp.  299-303.  Extraordinary 
inundations  in  ancient  times  wert 
equally  disastrous  (Plin.  H.  N.  v,  9). 

se  Herod,  ii,  13. 

87  The  visit  of  Herodotus  to  Egypt 
was  probably  during  the  Athenian 
occupation,  which  was  from  B.C.  460 
to  B.C.  455.  Nine  hundred  years  be- 
fore this  would  be  B.C.  1360-1355. 

88  Herod,  l.s.c.  The  views  of  Herod- 
otus were  adopted  by  Dr.  Shaw  in  the 
last  century,  who  argued  that  "  in 
process  of  time  the  whole  country 
might  be  raised  to  such  a  height  tha> 


264 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY   OF   ANCIENT   EGYPT. 


[CH.  i. 


the  river  would  not  be  able  to  over- 
flow its  bunks,  and  Egypt,  conse- 
quently, from  being  the  most  fertile, 
would,  for  want  of  the  annual  inunda- 
tion, become  one  of  the  most  barren 
parts  of  the  universe"  (Travels,  vol. 
ii,  p.  235). 

89  Herodotus  tells  us  that  sixteen 
cubits,  or  twenty-four  feet,  was  the 
normal  rise  in  his  day  (B.C.  460-450). 
A  statue  of  the  Nile  at  Rome,  sur- 
rounded by  sixteen  diminutive 
figures,  indicates  that  the  rise  was 
sixteen  cubits  in  the  time  of  the 
Roman  Empire.  Sixteen  cubits  is  as- 
signed by  Abd-allatif,  the  Arabian 
historian,  as  the  medium  between  ex- 
cess and  defect  (ab.  a.d.  1-200;;  and 
twenty-four  feet  is  said  to  be  the 
usual  rise  of  the  river  at  Cairo  in  our 
own  day  (Wilkinson,  in  the  author's 
Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  297,  3d  edit. ), 

90  Description  tie  V  Egypt  e,  "  Hist. 
Nat."  vol.  ii,  p.  366:  "En  effet,  si  lea 
depots  de  limon  exhaussent  le  sol  de 
l'Egypte,  la  meme  cause  exhausse 
aussi  le  fond  du  Nil,  de  sorte  que  la 
profondeur  de  ce  fleuve  au-dessoua 
de  la  plaine  doit  rester  a  peu  pres  la 
meme." 

«■  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p. 
80;  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  15,  note  4. 

92  See  Wilkinson  in  the  author's 
Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  298. 

93  Especially  in  the  plains  of  Don- 
gola,  about  lat.  19°. 

94  Wilkinson,  l.s.c. 

96  See  Agatharcides  ap.  Diod.  Sic.  i, 
14;  Plutarch,  De  Md.  et  Osir.  p.  366,  C; 
Abd-allatif,  quoted  by  Shaw,  Travels, 
vol.  ii,  p.  215;  Russell,  Ancient  and 
Modem  Egypt,  p.  46,  etc. 

«5  The  first  inundation  is  beyond  all 
question  caused  by  the  Abyssinian 
rivers ;  but  the  flooding  would  scarce- 
ly continue  so  long  as  it  does,  if  it 
were  not  for  the  White  Nile,  which  is 
highest  in  November. 

97  Baker  found  the  first  rains  com- 
mence in  Abyssinia  "  in  the  middle 
of  May  "  (  Victoria  Xyanza,  vol.  i,  p.  9). 
The  last  shower  fell  on  September  15 
(Nile  Tributaries,  p.  142). 

98  Albert  Xyanza,  vol.  ii,  p.  307. 

99  This  expression  is  not  to  be  taken 
quite  strictly.  The  White  Nile  rises 
at  Ismailia,  near  Gondokoro,  a  little 
more  than  four  feet  ( ueograph.  Journal 
for  1874,  p.  44);  at  Towtikia,  in  lat.  9° 
25',  as  much  as  14  feet  3  inches  (ibid, 
p.  42);  at  Khartoum,  certainly  more 
than  5  feet  (Baker,  Albert  Xyanza,  vol. 
i,  p.  34).  But  its  rise  is  slight  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  Blue  Nile  and 
the  Atbara. 

i°°  See  above,  p.  8. 

i°i  Baker,  Albtrt  Xyanza,  vol.  i,  p.  7; 
Nile  Tributaries,  p.  373. 

10(2  Baker,  Albert  Xyanza,  vol.  i.  p.  10. 

i°3  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  He  odo- 
tus.  vol.  ii,  p.  29,  note  8. 


104  The  analysis  made  by  the  French 
savants  showed  the  Nile  deposits  to 
contain  nearly  one-half  argillaceous 
earth  (alumen),  about  one-fifth  car- 
bonate of  lime,  one-tenth  water,  and 
the  remainder  carbon,  carbonate  of 
magnesia,  oxide  of  iron,  and  silica. 
The  oxide  of  iron  gives  it  its  reddish 
hue. 

105  The  ancient  Egyptians  them- 
selves made  a  twofold  division,  viz. 
into  the  Upper  and  the  Lower  conn- 
try,  the  latter  corresponding  to  the 
Delta.  Hence  the  Hebrews  designated 
Egypt  by  a  dual  form,  Mizraim,  or  the 
two  Mizrs.  Horodotus  makes  a  simi- 
lar distinction  (ii,  7, 8).  The  Ptolemies 
seem  to  have  introduced  a  threefold 
division:  that  into  Lower  Egypt,  or 
the  Helta :  Middle  Egypt,  or  the  Kep- 
tanomis;  and  Upper  Egypt,  or  the 
Thebaid  (Strab.  xvii.  1,  $  3;  Plin.  H.  X. 
v.  9,  §  9:  Ptol.  Geogr.  iv.  5).  The  Ro- 
mans maintained  this  division,  but 
subdivided  the  Helta  and  the  Thebaid, 
and  called  the  Heptanomis  Arcadia. 
After  the  Arab  conquest  Upper  Egypt 
became  known  as  the  Said,  Middle 
Egypt  as  the  Vostani,  and  Lower 
Egypt  as  the  Bahari,  or  "  maritime 
country." 

106  Description  de  VEgypte,  "Hist.  Nat." 
vol.  ii,  p.  344;  Wilkinson,  Topography 
of  Thebes,  pp.  451-2;  Kenrick,  Ancient 
Egypt,  vol.  i.  p.  35.  * 

107  Description,  l.s.c. ;  Kenrick,  p.  41. 
los  That  is,  from  twelve  to  fifteen 

miles  (Wilkinson  in  the  author's  He- 
rodotus, vol.  ii,  p.  11,  note  1). 

109  Description,  "H.  N."  vol.  ii,  p.  346. 
Compare  Herod,  ii,  8,  and  Scylax, 
Pe>  ipl.  p.  103. 

u0  Occasionally,  as  the  first  cataract 
at  Silsilis,  and  at  Gibelein,  the  hills 
close  in  and  leave  little  or  no  ground 
between  the  cliffs  and  the  river.  (See 
above,  p.  8,  and  compare  the  Descrip- 
tion, "  H.  N."  vol.  ii,  p.  436.) 

111  Description,  pp.  345,  395,  etc. 

112  The  western  chain  is  continuous ; 
the  eastern  one  is  penetrated  by  a 
valley  in  lat.  30°  32',  along  which  was 
carried  anciently  the  line  of  the  canal 
which  united  the  Nile  with  the  Red 
Sea. 

113  See  Wilkinson  in  the  author's 
II  rodotvs,  vol.  ii,  p.  7,  note 7. 

114  Ibid.  p.  9,  note  6. 

115  Description,  "Hist.  Nat."  vol.  ii, 
p.  553;  Wilkinson,  Modern  Egyptians, 
vol.  i,  p.  401. 

116  On  these  changes  see  the  Descrip- 
tion, "H.  N."  vol.  ii,  pp.  367-70,  and 
compare  Wilkinson  in  the  author's 
Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  26,  note  1. 

"7  Herod,  ii,  17. 

118  Description.  "Hist.  Nat."  vol.  ii,  p. 
34S.  Along  this  strip  runs  the  line  of 
the  Alexandrian  canal. 

119  Ibid.  Compare  Wilkinson  in  the 
author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p   6,  note  4. 

120  Description,  pp.  348-51. 


en.  i.} 


THE    LAND. 


205 


121  [bid.  p.  349. 

122  s^e  the  French  map,  and  compare 
that  given  by  Dr.  Brugsch  in  his  pamph- 
let on  the  Exodus  of  the  Israelites. 

123  Herod,  ii,  92.  140:  Thucyd.  i,  109,  etc. 
Compare  Brugsch,  VExode  et  les  Monu- 
ment8  Egypttens,  p.  11. 

i24  Brugsch  supposes  the  Israelites  to 
have  marched  along  this  sand-bank. 

125  Description  lie  VEgypte.  "Hist. 
Nat."1  vol.  ii,  pp.  373-3,  398-404,  etc. 

126  Ibid.  "  Antigoiter, "  vol.  ii,  p.  91 ; 
"Hist.  Nat."  vol.  ii,  p.  435. 

i27  See  the  author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii, 
p.  6,  note  4 :  and  compare  Wilkinson, 
Ancient  Eg ypti ans,  vol.  l,  p.  7. 

128  Herod,  ii,  149;  Strab.  xvii,  1-3; 
Plin.  //.  JY.  v,  9,  I  9 ;  Diod.  Sic.  i,  52 ; 
Pomp.  Mel.  i,  9. 

123  See  the  "Memoire  sur  le  lac  Mceris. " 
in  the  Descript.  de  VEgypte,  "Anti- 
quites,"  vol.  i,  pp.  79-114. 

130  Linant's  account  is  given  in  a  Me- 
moire which  was  published  at  Alexan- 
andria  in  1843  by  the  "  Societe  Egypti- 
enne."  It  is  entitled  "Memoire  sur  le 
lac  Maris,  presents  et  lu  d  la  Hociete 
Egyptienne  le  5  juillet  1842,  par  Linant 
de  Bellefonds,  etc' 

i3i  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place  in  Universal 
History,  vol.  ii,  p.  335  (translated  by 
Cottrell). 

132  Bunsen  says  the  lake  is  "about  33 
miles  long,  and  has  an  average  width  of 
about  four  miles'''  (ibid.  p.  337).  Bean 
Blakesley  {Herodotus,  vol.  i,  p.  304)  ex- 
tends the  lenuth  to  3")  or  36  miles.  Other 
estimates  will  be  found  in  Jomard's 
Memoire,  pp.  83-4.        133  Bunsen,  p.  325. 

134  An  account  of  the  system  employed 
will  be  given  in  the  chapter  on  the  Agri- 
culture of  the  Egyptians. 

135  Herod,  ii,  149.  The  Birket-el-Ke- 
roun  is  said  still  to  produce  excellent 
fish.  {Description,  "  Etat  Moderne," 
vol.  11,- p.  213.) 

136  Strab.  xvii.  1:  afuj'to-ywTaTO?  t~ov  cltt- 
O.VTWV  6  'Apcrii'OtTT]?  vo/uo?  kcltto.  re  ty]v 
h>\iiv  /cai   tt)?    KaracTKevrji/. 

137  Mr.  Kenrick  says:  "The  Red  Sea 
is  nowhere  more  than  150  miles  from  1  ae 
valley  of  the  Nile'-1  {Ancient  Egypt,  vol. 
i,  p.  61)  ;  but  this  is  untrue.  Sir  G.  Wil- 
kinson estimates  the  distance  in  lat.  24° 
at  175  miles.  (Seethe  author's  Herodo- 
tus,  vol.  ii,  p.  11,  note9.)  The  French 
map  in  the  Description  shows  the  same. 

las  See  BelzonPs  Travels,  pp.  305-7. 
Compare  the  Description.  "Hist.  Nat." 
vol.  ii,  pp.  449-57  and  pp.  611-21  :  and  see 
also  Russell,  Ancient  and  Modern  Egypt, 
pp.  419-20  :  and  Kenrick.  Ancient  Egypt, 
vol.  i,  pp  61-66. 

139  Description,  "Hist.  Nat."  vol.  ii.  p. 
437  :  "La  chaine  orientate  presente,  dans 
sa  partie  septentrionale,  des  escarpe- 
ments  semblablee  a  de  longuee  murailles 
fornixes  d  "assises  horizontales.  Le  nom 
de  Oebel  el-Mo&attam.(monta,gne  taillQ^) 
qu"elle  porte  dans  le  pays,  lui  a  ete  don- 
x\q  sane  doute  a  cause  de  ces  formes  es- 
carpees." 


140  Kenrick,  p.  62. 

i4i  Russegger,  Geognostiche  A'arte, 
quoted  by  Kenrick,  vol.  i,  p.  62,  note  2. 

142  Description,  "Hist.  Nat.1'  vol.  ii,  p. 
345. 

143  This  is  well  marked  in  BelzonFs 
map.  The  Description  also  gives  it  very 
clearly  in  the  general  "Carte  de 
PEgypt,"  at  the  end  of  the  "Antiqui- 
tes/1  vol.  ii. 

144  Description,  "Hist.  Nat."  l.s.c. ; 
Wilkinson,  Topography  of  Thebes,  p. 
412 ;  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p. 
62. 

145  This  was  traversed  by  Belzoni 
(Travels,  pp.  304-330).  It  is  noticed  by 
Mr.  Kenrick  (l.s.c.)  and  represented  in 
the  "  Carte  de  TEgypte  "  of  the  Descrip- 
tion. 

146  Belzoni,  Travels,  pp.  305,  307,  308, 
etc.  The  trees  mentioned  are  the  sont 
and  sveamore. 

147  Ibid.  p.  395  and  PI.  36. 

148  Ru&Bell,Ancierit  and  Modern  Egypt, 
p.  413.  i4»  Ibid. 

i50  Belzoni,  Travels,  pp.  309,  314,  320, 
etc. 

i5i  Ibid.  pp.  313-15.  Compare  Wilkin- 
son. Topography  of  Thebes,  p.  420 ;  and 
Russell,  Ancient  and  Modern  Egypt,  pp. 
418-19.  ' 

152  The  chief  authorities  for  this  de- 
scription are  the  French  savants  General 
Andreossy  and  M.  Gratian  le  Pere,  whose 
Memoirs  on  the  valley  will  be  found  in 
the  Description,  "Etat  Moderne,'1  vol.  i, 
pp.  279-208,  and  vol.  ii,  pp.  475-480. 

i53  Description,  "Etat  Moderne,"  vol. 
i,  p.  2,i  1. 

i54  Gen.  Andreossy  argues  from  this, 
with  considerable  force,  that  the  water 
must  be  really  derived  from  the  Nile, 
and  filter  through  the  thirty  miles  of  in- 
tervening soil,  since  the  copious  flow  of 
the  springs  is  exactly  coincident  with 
the  time  of  the  inundation. 

155  (Jen.  Andreossy  says  "the  carbon- 
ate "  (p.  282) ;  but  Wilkinson  (in  my  He- 
rodotus, vol.  ii,  p.  14o,  note  4)  "the 
subcarbonate.11  I  am  not  chemist  enough 
to  know  which  is  right. 

156  The  salt  from  one  of  the  lakes  is 
said  to  be  of  a  red  color,  and  to  have  an 
odor  like  that  of  a  rose  (Andreossy, 
l.s.c. 

157  A  few  palms  grow  in  places,  and 
there  are  numerous  tamarisk  bushes. 
Otherwise,  the  vegetation  consists  mere- 
ly of  the  "  flags,  sedge,  and  rushes, 
which  thickly  fringe  the  margins  oi  the 
lak^s  "  (ibid.  p.  285). 

158  Andreossy,  p.  208;  Russell,  p.  61, 
and  map. 

159  Russell,  l.s.c. 

100  Tbe  supposed  connection  has  de- 
pended very  much  on  the  name  Bahr- 
bela-ma,  or  "river  without  water," 
which,  however,  is  really  applied  by  the 
Arab  to  any  waterless  ravine.  There  is 
a  Bahr-bela-ma  in  the  Fayoum,  which 
has  no  issue  from  it  (75;inpen,s  Egypt, 
Vol.  ii,  pp.  340-2) :  another  between  The 


2CG 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 


[CH.  a 


Fayoum  and  the  oasis  of  Ammon  (Belzo- 
ni.  Travels,  p.  401) ;  and  a  third  near  the 
Matron  Valley  {Description,  "Etat  Mo 
derne,1'  vol.  i,  p.  288). 

161  See  the  remarks  of  Mr.  Kenrick, 
Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p.  70. 

162  Compare  Herod,  ix,  12G.  The  war- 
like qualities  of  the  modern  Abyssinians 
are  undeniable. 

163  Herod,  iii,  25.  Compare  Burckhardt, 
Travels  in  Nubia,  p.  171 ;  Baker.  Albert 
Nyanza,  vol.  i,  p.  4 ;  Nile  Tributaries,  p. 
4:  etc. 

164  Herod,  iv,  197. 

165  Ibid,  iv,  181.  The  oases  are  more 
numerous  than  Herodotus  imagined ; 
but  still  they  bear  only  a  small  propor- 
tion to  the  arid  territory.  (See  Earth's 
Maps  in  the  fifth  volume  of  his  Travels, 
opp.  p.  1  and  opp.  p.  457). 

166  xhe  Maxyes  seem  to  have  been  the 
most  powerful  of  the  tribes  (Lenor- 
mant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  427).  They  are 
mentioned  by  Herodotus  (iv,  191),  and 
others  (Hecat.  Fr.  304 ;  Justin,  xviii,  6 ; 
Steph.  Byz.  ad  roc),  and  take  a  leading- 
part  in  the  great  Libyan  attack  on  Egypt, 
which  will  De  described  in  a  later  chap- 
ter. 

167  In  the  infancy  of  nations  sea-bar- 
riers were  of  great  importance,  and 
could  with  difficulty  be  surmounted,  ow- 
ing to  the  dangers  of  navigation.  The 
Red  Sea,  with  its  rock-bound  coast,  its 
want  of  harbors,  and  its  liability  t  sud- 
den storms,  was  peculiarly  dreaded. 

168  The  Pharaohs  frequently,  perhaps 
generally,  conveyed  their  armies  into 
Syria  by  sea ;  but  their  enemies,  the 
Hyksos,  the  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  and 
Persians,  traversed  the  desert  when  they 
made  their  invasions.  The  early  Arab 
conquerors  and  the  Crusaders  marched 
through  the  desert  frequently,  as  in  more 
recent  times  did  Napoleon  and  Ibrahim 
Pasha. 

169  The  nation,  called  Hyks(os  by  Ma- 
netho,  probably  a  Semitic  race. 

170  This  spur  is  known  as  Amanus  in 
the  north,  then  as  Casius  and  Bargylus  ; 
towards  the  south  as  Libanus  or  Leban- 
on  (•'  the  White  Mountain  "). 

171  This  range  bears  various  names. 
Towards    the    south    it    is    known    as 

^  Anti-libanus,  or  the  range  over  against 
Lebanon. 

172  See  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  iv,  p. 
291  (1st  ed.). 

173  This  is  the  native  name  of  the  more 
southern  part  of  the  Ccelesyrian  valley 
(see  Tristram,  Land  of  Israel,  p.  620  ;  and 
compare  Smith's  Diet  of  the  Bible,  vol. 
iii.  p.  1405). 

*74  See  Hor.  Od.  ii,  7,  8 :  Sal.  i.  2,  1 ; 
Propert.  Eleg.  ii,  23,  21 ;  iii,  4,  30;  Juven. 
Sat.  iii,  62-66,  etc. 


CHAPTER  II. 

1  See  above,  pp.  34-5. 

2  Russell,  Ancient  and  Modern  Egypt, 
pp.  53-4. 

3  Supra,  p.  20. 

4  Herod,  ii,  20.  Compare  Diod.  Sic.  i,  39, 
and  Aristot.  Meteor,  ii,  6. 

5  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodotus 
vol.  ii,  p.  2i3,  note  *  (2d  editon);  Andre- 
dossy    in   the    Description    e    VEgypte- 
"Etat  Moderne,"*  vol.  i,  p.  267. 

6  See  Anderson's  Geography,  p.  152. 
The  Egyptians  themselves  spoke  of  three 
seasons.  — spring  summer,  and  winter 
(Diod.  Sic.  i.  11). 

7  The  lowest  temperature  registered  at 
Cairo  during  the  French  occupation  was 
2°  of  Reaumuz,  or  3S%°  of  Fahrenheit 
which  was  reached  on  one  night  during 
January,  1799:  37^°  was  registered  on 
one  other  night.  The  average  tempera- 
ture at  night  was  about  46°.  (See  the 
Description  de  VEgypte,  "  Hist.  Nat."  vol. 
ii,  p.  332). 

6  De  situ  Orbis,  i,  9. 

9  Herod,  iii,  10.  (-riVe  v<j9r\crav  ai  (dr)Ba; 
\ijaKddi).  Mons.  Courtelle  in  the  Descrip- 
tion (-'Hist.  Nat.11  vol.  ii,  p.  321)  echoes 
Herodotus. 

10  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodotus, 
vol.  ii,  p.  14. 

ii  Ibid.  p.  15. 

12  Russell.  Ancient  and  Modern  Egypt, 
pp.  419-20;  Belzoni,  Eesearches,  pp.  305, 
307,  311,  etc. 

13  Russell,  p.  55. 

14  See  Herod,  iii,  26. 

i5  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  427.  3d  edition. 

16  Burckhardt  "s  Travels  in  Ni/bia,  p. 
190:  Baker.  Nile  Tributaries,  p.  17. 

17  Wilkinson's  Topography  of  Thebes, 
p.  387. 

18  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
ii.  p.  179. 

19  Ibid.  p.  180. 
2°  Ibid. 

2i  Ibid.  p.  181. 

22  See  the  Description  de  VEgypte, 
"Hist.  Nat."  vol.  i,  p.  53;  Wilkinson, 
Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii,  p.  179.  See 
also  the  plate  in  the  Description,  "Hist. 
Nat."'  Planches,  vol.  iii,  pi.  1.  Compare 
Theophrast.  H  P.  ii,  7;  p.  68. 

23  Wilkinson,  l.s.c. 

24  Description,  "Hist.  Nat."  vol.  ii,  p. 
145. 

25  Ibid.  Planches,  vol.  iii,  pi.  2. 

26  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  found  a  single 
bunch,  which  he  gathered  from  a  wild 
palm,  to  have  on  it  between  6,000  and 
7,000  dates.  The  tree  was  one  of  a  cluster, 
each  of  which  bore  from  5  to  22  bunches. 
It  may  be  concluded  that  each  tree  pro- 
duced from  30,000  to  100,000  dates  (see 
Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii, 
p.  177,  note). 

27  A  single  feddan  (about  1%  acre  (is 
sometimes  planted  with  as  many  as  400 
trees.     (Ibid.  p.  178,  note). 

as  Strab.  xvii,  1,  \  51. 


VoW. 


Plate  LXIIL 


Fig.  161.— A  Syrian  Fort.— See  Page  219. 


Fig.  162.— Egyptian  War  galley.— See  Page  320. 


Plato  LXVI. 

nrrmrrmrr 


Vol.  2. 


CH.  II.] 


CLIMATE   AND    PRODUCTIONS. 


2C7 


29  Description  de  VEgypte,  "Hist.  Nat.11 
vol.  ii,  p.  318;  Wilkinson,  l.s.c. 

30  Wilkinson  says:  "No  portion  of 
this  tree  is  without  its  peculiar  use.  The 
trunk  serves  for  beams,  either  entire  or 
split  in  half;  of  the  gereet,  or  branches, 
are  •  made  wicker  baskets,  bedsteads, 
coops,  and  ceilings  of  rooms,  answering 
every  purpose  for  which  laths  or  any  thin 
wood-work  are  required;  the  leaves  are 
converted  into  mats,  brooms,  and  bas- 
kets; of  the  fibrous  tegument  at  the  base 
of  the  branches,  strong  ropes  are  made; 
and  even  the  bases  of  the  gereet  are 
beaten  flat  and  formed  into  brooms. 
Nor  a_e  the  stalks  of  the  branches  with- 
out their  use:  their  fibres,  separated  by 
the  mallet,  serve  for  making  ropes,  and 
for  the  leef,  which  is  so  serviceable  in  the 
bath.  Besides  the  brandy,  the  lowbgeh, 
and  the  date-wine,  a  vinegar  is  also  ex- 
tracted from  the  fruit;  and'the  large  pro- 
portion of  saccharine  matter  contained 
in  the  dates  might,  if  required,  be  ap- 
plied to  useful  purposes.11  (Ancient 
Egyptians,  vol.  ii,  p.  178.) 

31  Russell,  Ancient  and  Modern  Egypt, 
p.  475. 

32  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
ii,  p.  205. 

33  Wilkinson's  Topography  of  Thebes, 
p.  208,  note. 

34  Ibid.     Compare  Russell,  l.s.c. 

35  Description  de  VEgypte,  "Hist. 
Nat.11  vol.  ii,  p.  191. 

36  Description  de  VEgypte,  "Hist. 
Nat.11  vol.  ii,  p.  193. 

37  Plin.  H.  N  xiii,  5;  "Ex  myxis  in 
iEgypto  et  vina  fmnt.11 

38  The  pods  of  the  sont  are  also  valued, 
as  they  answer  well  for  tanning  (Wilkin- 
son, Topography  of  Thebes,  p.  210). 
This  is  a  use  to  which  they  were  applied 
anciently  (Plin.  H.  N.  l.s.c.  and  xxiv, 
12). 

39  Herod,  ii,  96;  Plin.  H  N.  xiii,  9. 

40  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  154,  note  *  (3d  edition). 

41  Description,  "Hist.  Nat.11  vol.  ii,  p. 
886. 

42  See  the  Speaker's  Commentary,  vol. 
i.  p.  359. 

43  Tristram  (quoted  in  the  Speaker's 
Commentary,  l.s.c). 

44  Dfiscription,  l.s.c. 

45  Wilkinson  says  it  has  not  now  found 
in  the  valley  below  Ethiopia  (Topo- 
graphy of  Thebfis,  p.  209):  but  it  was  seen 
growing  near  Cairo  at  the  time  of  the 
French  Expedition  (Description,  "H. 
N.11  vol.  ii,  p.  323).  The  ancients  regarded 
it  as  undoubtedly  Egyptian  (Theophrast. 
//.  I.  iii,  3:  iv,  2:  Plin.  H.  N.  xiii,  9). 

40  Belzoni.  Researches,  pp.  320-1;  Wil- 
kinson, Topog.  of  Thebes,  p.  209. 

47  Description' de  VEgypte,  "H.  N.11 
vol.  ii,  p.  222. 

48  Wilkinson,  l.s.c. 

49  Abd-allatif  says  (Relation  de  VE- 
gypte, traduite  par  M.  de  Sacy,  p.  17): 
"Son  fruit  ressemble  a  la  datte.11 

60  Wilkinson,  ut  supra. 


l.s.c;  Plin.  l.s.c. 
the  author's  Herod- 


51  Description,  p.  223. 

52  Wilkinson  in  tiie  author's  Ilerod- 
otvs,  vol.  ii,  p.  153. 

53  Wilkinson,  Topography  of  Thebes,, 
p.  210. 

54  Plin.  H.  N.  xv.  7. 
65  Strab.  xvii,  2.  §  5. 

56  Description  de  VEgypte,  "Hist, 
Nat.11  vol.  ii,  p.  2. 

57  Wilkinson,  Topography  of  Thebes, 
p.  205. 

58  Burckhardt,  Travels  in  Nubia,  p. 
281. 

59  Wilkinson,  Topography,  p.  208. 

60  See  Plin.  H.  N.  xiii,  5;  and  Mar- 
tial, Epig.  xiii,  28. 

61  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  150;  Cowan  in  the  En- 
cyclopaedia Britannica,  vol.  xvii,  pp. 
346-8. 

62  Plin.  //.  N.  xiii,  12. 

63  Herod,  ii,  92. 

H4  Wilkinson,  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, l.s.c. 

65  Plin.  H.  N.  vi,  22:  vii,  16;  xiii,  11; 
Theophrast.  H.  P.  iv,  9:  Plut.  de  Isid.  et 
Osir.  'i  18;  Lucan,  Pharsalia,  iv,  136; 
Isaiah,  xviii,  2. 

",;  Herod,  ii,  96. 

H7  Theophrastus, 

6M  Wilkinson  in 
Otvs,  vol.  ii,  p.  148. 

63  Ibid. 

70  Herod,  ii,  92.  Theophrastus  repre- 
sents the  cakes  as  formed  of  the  seeds 
only  (Hist.  Plant,  iv,  10). 

71  Herod,  l.s.c. 

72  Wilkinson,  Topography  of  Thebes, 
p.  205,  note. 

73  Description  de  VEgypte,  "H.  N.1' 
vol.  ii,  p.  307.  74  Ibid.  p.  306. 

75  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
ii,  p.  183. 
7«  Description,  "H.  N.11  vol.  ii,  p.  309. 

77  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  149. 

78  The  Nelumbo  is  the  xua^o?  WyvirTior 
of  Theophrastus  (//.  P.  iv,  10):  Diodorus 
Siculus  (i,  9  30);  Strabo  (xvii,  2,  g  4);  and 
DioBCorides  (ii,  128);  and  the  faba  JEgpy- 
tia  of  PLr.y  (H.  N.  xvii,  12),  which  he  also 
calls  by  its  Creek  name  of  cyamos.  Its 
fruit  is  thought  by  some  to  be  the 
"  bean  "  which  Pythagoras  forbade  his 
followers  to  cat. 

79  The  Nelvmbo  is  represented  as  an 
Egyptian  type  on  the  large  statue  of  the 
Nile-Cod  in  the  Vatican.  It  appears  in 
the  mosaic  of  Palestrina  with  a  similar 
i  hi  port  (Histoire  de  lAcademie  des  In- 
scriptions for  1790),  and  is  employed  to 
express  the  same  idea  on  various  Roman 
coins.  (See  Spanheim,  De  praestantia  et 
turn  nvmisrnatvm,  vol.  i,  p.  302.  Lond. 
1708;  Zoega,  Nurnism.  ^Egypt.  p.  193,  PI. 
12,  No.  253;  Morrell,  Thesaur.  Num.  vol. 
ii,  p.  391,  PI.  14,  No.  5,. 

80  Description,  l.s.c. 

81  Wilkinson,  Topography  of  Thebes, 
p.  206,  note. 

83  Description,  l.s.c.  Wilkinson  sa\s 
"about  twenty-five.'11 


208 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 


[CH.  II. 


83  Herod,  ii,  92;  Theophrast.  Hist. 
Plant,  iv.  10. 

84  The  subject  of  Egyptian  vegetables 
has  been  carefully  elaborated  by  Sir 
Gardner  Wilkinson  {Topography  of 
Thebes,  pp.  211-266;  Ancient  Egyptians. 
vol.  iv,  pp.  54-77);  to  whose  works  the 
reader  is  referred  for  further  informa- 
tion. 

85  Eleven  varieties  of  the  melon  and 
eiht  of  the  cucumber  are  mentioned. 
(Wilkinson,  Topography,  p.  262.) 

86  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otvs,  vol.  ii,  p.  206,  note  6. 

8T  See  PI  in.  H.  N.  xix,  8;  xx,  17,  20. 

88  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  69. 

89  On  the  cultivation  of  these  three 
kinds  of  grain  see  Exod.  ix,  31,  32;  and 
compare  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  iv,  pp.  61,  97,  etc. 

90  These  are:  1.  the  Toivdlee,  or  long- 
eared  wheat;  2.  the  Dthukr  Yousefee, 
which  is  large-eared,  and  has  a  black 
beard:  3.  The  Naygeh,  small-eared,  with 
black  beard  and  husk;  4.  the  Zerra  el  Neb- 
bi,  which  is  red,  and  without  any  beard;  5. 
tae  Moghuz,  which  has  a  short,  broad 
ear;  and  6,  the  Tubban.ee.  or  white  wheat, 
the  kind  most  commonly  cultivated. 
(See  Wilkinson's  "Topography  of  Thebes, 
p.  261.  note.) 

9i  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  8i. 
92  Ibid.  p.  53. 
83  Wilkinson,  Topography,  l.s.c. 

94  Ibid.  Compare  the  Speaker's  Com- 
mentary, vol.  i,  p.  285;  note  on  Ex.  ix. 
31. 

95  Wilkinson.  Topography,  pp.  263-4. 
99  Herod,  ii,  37. 

97  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  pp.  61,  62,  97;  Topography,  p.  217. 

98  Plin.  H.  N.  xviii,  12. 

99  Wilkinson,  Topography,  p.  218 
^°"  Plin.  l.s.c. 

i°i  The  Coptic  name  is    0&.pJJLOC 

"tharmos,:    (Wilkinson,  Ancient    Egyp- 
tians, vol.  iv,  p.  53). 

102  As  the  Trifoliitm  Alexandrinum, 
which  gives  ordinarily  three  crops,  and 
sometimes  four.     (Wilkinson,  l.s.c.) 

103  Wilkinson,  Topography,  p.  218. 
i«4  Supra,  p.  56-7. 

105  Pliny  calls  it  "cibis  fcedum,  lucer- 
nis  utile1'  (//.  N.  xv,  7). 

ice  Herod,  ii,  94;  Plin.  H.  N.  1  s.c 

i|J7  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  55;  Topography  of  Thebes,  p.  220. 

i°8  Plin.  H.  N.  xv,  7;  xix,  5. 

i°9  Ibid,  xv,  7,  etc. 

110  Wilkinson,  Topography,  p.  219. 

m   Herod,  ii,  94:  Strab.  xvii,  2,  §  5. 

in  Plin.  H.  N.  xiii,  1. 

1 13  The  "  metopion  "  contained  various 
other  ingredients,  but  tlie  Egyptian  oil  of 
bitter  almonds  predon. mated.  (See  Plin. 
H.  N.  xiii,  1— "  metopion— oleum  hoc  est 
amygdalis  amans  expressum  in  iEgypto, 
cui  addidere  omphacium,"  etc.:  and  com 
pare  xv,  ?•  "Amygdaimum,  quod   aliuui 


metopium  vocant."    Compare  Dioscond 
i,  39.) 

114  Plin.  H.  N.  xiii,  1:  xv,  7. 

i]5  Plin.  H.  N.  xii,  24. 

116  Ibid,  xiii,  1.  Compare  xv,  7  and 
xxiii,  4. 

117  Ibid,  xxi,  11,  22.  The  "sampsu- 
chus"  was  a  plant  which  grew  in  Cyprus 
and  Mitylene  (ibid,  xiii,  1.) 

118  Ibid,  xa,  7;  xxii,  24. 

119  Ibid,  xv,  7. 

i'20  Ibid,  xiii,  3:  "Terrarum  omnium 
^Egyptus  adcommodatifc.sima  unguen- 
tis." 

i2i  Especially  the  "telinon"  (Athen. 
Deipn.  v,  p.  195:  Plin.  xiii,  1),  and  the 
"Mendesium"  (Plin.  1  s.c.) 

122  Herod,  ii,  81,  with  Wilkinson's 
note.  (RawYmson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p. 
132.  note  8.) 

123  Herod,  ii,  63. 

124  Ibid.  86.  Wilkinson  confirms  the 
statement  of  Herodotus. 

125  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod^ 
tus,  vol.  iv,  p.  27,  note  8. 

i2«  Ibid.  vol.  ii,  pp.  271-2. 

127  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol 
iii,  pp.  13S-9;  vol.  iv,  p.  98,  etc. 

128  Ibid.  vol.  iv,  p.  70. 

129  Wilkinson,  Topography  of  Thebes, 
p.  262. 

130  Plin.  H  N.  xix,  1. 
i3i  Ibid. 

132  Wilkinson,  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  pp.  63  and  142.  Pliny  says: 
"Vestes  inde1'  (i.  e.  e  gossipio)  "sacerdo- 
tibus  jEgypti  grafissimce''  (l.s.c.) 

133  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  143. 

134  Ibid.  p.  132;  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  62. 

135  Belzoni,  Besearches,  p.  175. 

136  See  Odyss,  iv,  228-30: 

'E<T0Aa,    Ta    01    IIoAuSaju.va,    nopev,    ©aivo? 

ira.pa.Koni.>;, 
A\yvTTTtri,  rrj  7rAeicrTa.  oje'pei  £ei'Swpos  apovpa 
<ba.pp.aKa,  TroWa  pev  io~6Aa  p.epiyp.eva,  ttoA- 

Aa.  Se  Auypoi. 


137 

Ancie 

138 
13S 
140 
14  I 

iv,  p 

142 
143 
144 

iv,  p. 

145 
14C 
147 
14ft 
149 
150 

iv,  p. 

1P1 
152 
)»S 
1  jl 


"An  indigenous  plant"  (Wilkinson, 

nt  Egyptians,  vol.  iv,  p.  62). 

Ibid. 

Plin.  H.  N.  xix,  8;  xx,  16. 

Ibid,  xxiii,  5. 

Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 

64. 

Plin.  H.  N.  xxiv.  15. 

Ibid.  16. 

Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 

70. 

Plin.  H.  K.  xx,  17. 

Ibid,  xx,  8. 

Ibid,  xx,  20. 

Ibid,  xxi,  32. 

Ibid. 

Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  ~ol 

74. 

Plin.  H.  N.  xxvii,  7,  ad  fin. 

Dioscond.  Mat  M<d.  1.  18. 

Ibid.  1.  118. 

Ibid.  1,  124. 


CH.  H.] 


CLIMATE   AND   PRODUCTIOXS. 


269 


155  Tbid.  i,  28. 

156  pun.  H.  N.  xxvii,  12. 

157  ibid,  xxiv,  18. 

is*  Dioscorid.  Mat.  Med.  i,  116. 

i5&  Ibid,  i  115. 

160  Ibid,  i,  133. 

i«i  Ibid  i.  143,  144. 

162  Ibid,  i,  154. 

i«3  Ibid,  i,  155. 

16*  Ibid,  i,  158.  165  Ibid,  i,  187. 

i06  See  Herod,  ii,  71;  and  compare 
Diod.  Sic.  i,  35;  and  Wilkinson,  Ancient 
Eg  ptians,  vol.  iii,  p.  75. 

167  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians.,  vol. 
v.  p.  178 

I"6  Burckhardt,  Travels  in  Nvbia,  p. 
32;  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
in.  p.  74. 

16B  Wilkinson,  l.s.c. 

170  Seneca,  Nat    Quasi,  iv,  2. 

i7i   ! it-rod.  ii,  G9,  148.  ./Elian,  x,  24. 

172  Wilkinson.  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
ii,,  p.  78.  Topography,  p.  409.  Compare 
tbu  remarks  of  M.  Geoftroy  St.  Hilaire  in 
tip    Description,  "li.  N.'    vol.  ii,  p.  144. 

173  ,\  ilKlIlSOll,  1  s  c. 

"4  Herod,  ii,  68:  Diod.  Sic.  i,  35.  Wil- 
kinson, Ancient  Egy plains,  vol.  iii,  p,  8U. 

i'5  Wilkinson,  ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iii.  )).  29. 

176  Ibid.  Athenaeus  says  that  a  lion  was 
hunted  and  killed  by  the  Emperor  Ha- 
drian near  Alexandria  iDtlpn.  xv.  6);  and 
Amenemhat  I.  of  the  12th  dynasty,  speaks 
of  hunting  the  lion  and  the  crocodile 
{Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  14). 

177  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iii.  p.  16. 

"8  ibid,  iii,  24:  v,  145,  149,  etc. 

179  Wilkinson,  Topography  of  Thebes, 
p.  243,  note. 

ife0  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
v,  p.  159. 

iel  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
v,  p.  159. 

182  ibid.  vol.  iii,  p.  2. 

183  Herod,  ii,  67:  Aristot.  Hist.  An.  viii, 
28:  Plin.  H.N.  viii,  22.  Compare  Wilkin- 
son,  Ancient  Egyptians,   vol.   in,  p.  27. 

184  Plin.  H.  N.  l.s.c. 

lp5  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  27;  vol.  v.  pp. 
145— fj. 

i«fi  Description  de  VEgypte,  "  H.  N." 
vol.  n,  p.  138. 

i87  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  30;  vol.  v,  p. 
151. 
i88  Description,  p.  141. 
-'  Wilkinson,  vol.   v,   p.    152,   M.    St. 
'ii  lire  makes  the  length  twenty  French 
ties  (Description,  p.  139;,  which  is  less 
in  two  feet. 

190  Description,  p.  143;  Wilkinson,  vol. 
..  p.  150. 

191  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  30:  vol  v,  p. 
155.  Compare  Strab.  xvii,  1.  §  39:  Plin. 
H.  N.  viii,  24:  yElian,  Nat.  An.  vi,  38. 

'92  Description,  p.  141;  Wilkinson,  vol. 
.ii,  p.  31;  vol.  v,  p.  153.  Hence  the  name 
oi  "  Pharaoh's  Cat,"  by  which  the  ichneu- 
mon is  known  to  the  modern  Arabs. 

i9<*  Wilkinson.  A ncient  Egyptians  vol. 
v,  p.  152 


194  According  to  Diodorus  (\,  35)  th? 
ichneumon  broke  the  eggs  of  tne  croco- 
dile, not  to  eat  them,  but  to  benefit  man- 
kind. It  also  destroyed  the  full-grown 
crocodile  by  a  wonderful  contrivance. 
Covering  itself  with  a  coat  of  mud,  it 
watched  till  the  crocodile  was  asleep, 
with  its  mouth  gaping;  when  suddenly  it 
sprang  into  the  creature's  jaws,  glided 
down  its  throat,  and  gnawed  through  its 
stomach,  so  making  its  escape  (i,  87). 
Strabo  told  a  similar  tale  (xvii,  1,  §  39), 
while  E-.my  and  ^Elian  stated  that,  before 
attacking  the  asp,  it  covered  itself  with  a 
coat  of  mud.  Tne  modern  Arabs  have  a 
story  that,  if  bitten  by  the  asp,  the  ich- 
neumon runs  to  a  certain  plant,  eats 
some,  and  puts  some  on  tne  wound, 
thereby  rendering  the  poison  harmless! 
(See  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  30.) 

195  Thucyd.  i,  21  :  '  12?  Ao-yo-ypaoxn  £vve- 
Oeaav  em  to  TrpuaaycoybTepov  Tjy  aicpoacrei, 
rj   6.Ky]0e<jrepoi>. 

196  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iii,  p.  28. 

197  ibul.  vol.  v,  p.  175. 

lw>*  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
m,  pp.  9,  14,  19,  etc. 
1!'!i  Herod,  ii,  67. 

200  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  114,  note4  . 

201  Wrilkinson.  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iii,  p.  21;  vol.  v,  p.  183. 

2°2  Ibid. 

293  Herod,  ii,  47;  Horapollo,  ii,  37: 
^Elian,  N.  A.  x,  16. 

2f  4  WTi!kinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iii,  pp.  17-22. 

205  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iii,  pp.  24-6. 

2f>6  ibid.  p.  25. 

207  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iii,  p.  24. 

208  Ibid.  p.  25.  The  defassa  is  thought 
to  be  the  real  animal  intended,  where  the 
artist  seems  to  be  representing  wild 
cattle.  (See  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  pp.  18, 
19. » 

209  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iii,  p.  31. 

2io  Ibid.  vol.  iii,  p.  21;  vol.  v.  p.  174. 

211  it  is  probable  that  Herodotus  may 
intend  the  monitor  of  the  Nile  by  his 
evv8pL<>  since  the  otter,  which  is  what 
zwSpis  ordinarily  means,  was  certainly 
not  a  native  of  Egypt.  (See  Wilkinson, 
vol.  v,  p.  137.) 

212  Three  feet  three  inches,  according 
to  M.  Geoff roy  St.  Hilaire  {Dtscription, 
"H.  N."  vol.  i,  p.  122). 

2i3  Herodotus  (iv,  192)  speaks  of  the 
land  monitor  as  three  cubits  (4  feet  6 
inches)  long.  But  this  is  an  excessive 
estimate.  The  largest  seen  by  Sir  G. 
Wilkinson  measured  about  four  feet. 
(See  his  note  in  the  author's  Herodotus, 
vol.  iii,  p.  167,  note  8.) 

214  Wilkinson,  l.s.c.  Compare  De- 
scription, "H.  N.11  vol.  i,  p.  125. 

2'5  See  Herod,  iv,  192. 

218  Wilkinson,  in  the  author's  Heiod> 
otus,  vol.  ii,  p.  178,  note. 


270 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 


[CH.  II. 


217  The  identity  of  the  Egyptian  sus, 
"mare,"  with  the  Hebrew  2*»2  is  gener- 
ally admitted.  ' 

218  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iii,  p.  35;  iv,  p.  20. 

219  See  1  Bangs,  x,  28,  30. 

220  Cen.  xii,  16,  Wilkinson,  Ancient 
Egyptians,  vol.  ii,  p.  34. 

221  Wilkinson,  vol.  v,  p.  118. 

222  See  the  Speakers  Commentary,  vol. 
i,  p.  445. 

223  Wilkinson,  vol.  v,  p.  199. 
22*  Herod,  ii,  41. 

225  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
mtus,  vol.  ii,  pp.  18,  19,  22,  etc. 

226  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iii,  p.  33;  vol.  v,  pp.  190-193. 

227  Diod.  Sic.  i,  87.  The  milk  of  the 
sheep  was  also  used  for  food,  and.  cheese 
was  made  of  it  (ibid). 

228  Diod.  Sic.  l.s.c.  Compare  Horn. 
Od.  iv,  8(3. 

229  Herod,  ii,  47. 

230  ibid,  ii,  14.  231  ibid,  ii,  164. 

232  Diodorus  tells  us  that  the  cats  were 
valued  on  account  of  their  destroying 
asps  and  other  reptiles  (i,  87).  It  is  said 
that  at  the  present  day  they  do  attack 
and  kill  asps  and  also  scorpions  (Wilkin- 
son, Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  v,  p.  155). 
Cicero  says  that  no  one  ever  heard  tell  of 
an  Egyptian  killing  a  cat  (De  Nat.  Deor. 
i,  29). 

233  Herod,  ii,  66.  Compare  Milan,  Nat. 
An.  vii,  27. 

234  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  42;  vol.  v,  p. 
166. 

235  Herod,  ii,  l.s.c;  Diod.  Sic.  i,  83. 

236  Numerous  embalmed  cats  have  been 
found  at  Thebes  and  other  places,  both 
in  Upper  and  Lower  Egypt  (Wilkin- 
son, vol.   v,   p.  167).     They  are  carefully 

•wrapped  in  linen  bandages,  with  the  face 
and  ears  painted  outside,  and  are  de- 
posited in  wooden  coffins  or  mummy 
cases. 

237  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  38. 
23«  Ibid.  p.  13. 

239  See  the  plate  at  the  end  of  Wilkin- 
son's Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  i. 
24°  ibid.  vol.  iii,  p.  32. 

241  Ibid.  p.  33. 

242  Ibid.  p.  32;  No.  7. 

243  These  are  given  by  M.  Geoffroy  St. 
Hilaire  as  the  Aguila  heliaca,  or  "eagle 
of  Thebes,11  which  is  large  and  of  a 
blackish  color;  the  fulva,  or  common 
brown  eagle;  the  melanceetos,  a  small 
black  variety;  and  the  halueetos,  or  "sea 
eagle.11  {Description,  "H.  N.11  vol.  i.  pp. 
82-87.) 

244  These  are:  1.  Falco  tinnunculus,  the 
"cenchris11  of  Pliny  (//.  N.  x.  52;  xxix, 
6);  and  cresserelle  cf  Buff  on;  2.  F.  smi- 
HllU8  (the  efflerillon  of  Button),  and  3.  F. 
communis,  probably  the  "sacred  hawk'* 
of  Herodolus  (ii,  65). 

2"  See  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  ni,  pp.  51-2;  vol.  v,  pp.  120-122. 

24«  Description,  "  H  N.11  vol.  i,  p.  89. 

2,7  Belon,  Nature  dts  Oyseaux,  vol.  ii, 
p,  27- 


248  Description,  "H.  N."  vol.  i,  p.  80. 

249  Travels,  vol.  v,  p.  155,  and  plate 
opposite. 

250  Description,  pp.  76-7;  Wilkinson, 
vol.  iii,  p.  51. 

25i  Wilkinson,  vol.  v,  p.  204.  The 
Arabic  rokhama  is  no  doubt  identical 
with  the  Hebrew  Em  wrongly  translated 
in  the  Authorizeu  Version  by  "gier- 
eagle  "  (Lev.  xi,  18). 

252  Hasselquist,  Voyage  dans  le  Levant 
p.  195. 

2^2  Herod,  ii,  76. 

254  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod' 
otvs,  vol.  ii,  p.  125,  note  6. 

255  Russell,  Ancient  and  Modern  Egypt, 
p.  466.  Compare  Wilkinson  in  the 
author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  125.  note  6; 
and  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  v,  p.  220. 

256  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  171;  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  v,  pp.  22f5-7. 

2"  Herod,  ii,  72. 

258  See  Wilkinson's  note  on  Herodotus, 
ii,  72. 

259  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
ii,  p.  368;  vol.  iii,  p.  47. 

26<)  Russell,  Ancient  and  Modern  Egypt, 
p.  469. 

261  Russell,  Ancient  and  Modern  Egypt, 
pp.  469,  470. 

262  Charadrivs  oedicnemiis,  known  to 
the  Arabs  as  the  Kervan,  or  Ear  aw  an. 
(Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  v, 
p.  255.) 

263  Russell,  Ancient  and  Modern  Egypt, 
p.  468. 

264  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
v,  p.  225. 

263  Ibid.  vol.  iii,  p.  41;  vol.  v,  p.  262, 
etc. 

266  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
v.  p.  226. 

267  ibid.  vol.  iii,  p.  80.  Compare  Wil- 
kinson's note  in  the  author's  Herodotus, 
vol.  ii,  p.  97. 

2P8  Herod,  ii,  68;  .Elian,  Nat.  An.  viii, 
25.  The  idea  once  started,  that  the  bird 
was  the  crocodile's  friend,  led  on  to 
statements  for  which  there  was  no  foun- 
dation at  all  in  fact,  as  that  the  bird 
hopped  into  the  crocodile's  mouth  when 
he  was  asleep,  and  ate  the  leeches  that 
were  annoying  him!     (See  Herod,  l.s.c.) 

26s  Herodotus  reckons  the  annual  sup- 
ply taken  in  one  of  the  Nile  canals — that 
joining  the  river  to  the  Lake  Aloeris — as 
equal  in  value  to  about  60,000^.  of  our 
money  (ii,  149).  Diodorus  (i,  52)  and 
Strabo  (xvii,  2  §  4)  also  notice  the  excel 
lence  of  the  Nile  fisheries. 

270  Strabo  (l.s.c.)  enumerates  no  fewer 
than  fourteen  sorts  which  had  peculiar 
characteristics.  See  Ancient  Monarchies, 
vol.  iv,  pp.  86-7,  note  *,  1st  edition. 

27i  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iii,  p.  58;  vol.  v,  p.  249;  Description  dt 
VEgypte,  "H.  N."  vol.  i,  p.  370. 

272  Wilkinson,  vol.  v,  p.  251. 

273  Herod,  ii,  72;  Plut.  De  Is.  et  Osir 
£18. 

274  Wilkinson,  vol.  v,  p.  252, 


CH.  II  J 


CLIMATE   AND   PRODUCTIONS. 


276  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  101,  2d  edition. 

276  So  De  Pauw,  Travels,  vol.  i,  p.  136. 

277  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iii,  p.  60. 

278  Russell,  p.  471. 

279  Hasselquist,  Voyage  dans  le  Le- 
vant, p.  223. 

280  Russell,  p.  470. 
ssi  Ibid.  p.  471. 

282  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  58. 

283  ibid.  pp.  58-9;  vol.  v,  p.  251. 

284  Russell,  p.  471. 

285  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  pp.  58-9. 

286  See  above,  p.  34,  and  37. 

287  Description  de  VEgypte,  "H.  N." 
vol.  i,  pp.  115-120.  (Compare  "Plan- 
ches," vol.  i,  pi.  i.) 

288  ibid.  p.  126. 

289  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  vol.  xix, 
p.  31. 

290  Description,  "Hist.  Nat.11  vol.  i, 
pp.  125-6. 

2oi  See  Mr.  Houghton's  account  of 
this  animal  in  Dr.  Smith's  Dictionary  of 
the  Bible,  vol.  ii,  pp.  126-7;  and  compare 
the  Description,  "11.  N.11  vol.  i,  pp.  132-3, 
and  "Planches,11  vol.  i,  pi.  v,  fig.  o. 

292  Hasselquist,  Voyage  dans  le  Le- 
vant, p.  220. 

293  Description,  "H.  N.11  vol.  i,  p.  134; 
Eorskal,  Descript.  Animal.  13;  Wilkin- 
son, Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  v.  p.  124. 

2»4  So  Mr.  Houghton  (Did.  of  the 
Bible,  vol.  ii.  pp.  126-7). 

2a5  Description,  p.  130. 

296  Mr.  Houghion  in  the  Diet,  of  the 
Bible,  vol.  ii.  p.  127. 

2!'7  Description,  pp.  155-6. 

298  Herod,  ii,  74. 

299  Description,  l.s.c. 

300  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  104,  note  "i,  2d  edition. 

301  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
v,  p.  246. 

302  Houghton  in  Diet,  of  the  Bible, 
vol.  ii,  p.  127. 

303  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
v,  p.  241.  The  French  savants  made  the 
length  a  little  short  of  rive  feet  (Descrip- 
tion, 'H.  N.11  vol.  i,  p.  157);  but  Sir  G. 
Wilkinson  had  one  in  his  possession 
which  measured  exactly  six  feet. 

304  Wilkinson,  p.  242. 

305  Bruce,  Travels,  vol.  vii,  pp.  302-3; 
Lane  Modem  Egyptians,  vol.  ii,  p.  106. 

30*  See  the  observations  of  M.  Geof- 
froy  St.  Hilaire  in  the  Description,  Hist. 
Nat  ,1  vol.  i,  p.  134. 

so'  Democrit.  ap.  PI  in.  H.  N.  xxviii,  8; 
Aristot.  Eth.  JYic.  i,  10,  $8;  Hist.  Anim. 
ii,  11,  §1,  ^Elian,  Nat.' Anim.  iv,  33; 
Ovid,  Met.  xv,  411;  Solin.  Polyhist.  §  43; 
Leo  African    Descr.  Afric.  ix,  p.  298,  etc. 

308  See  the  Description,  "H.  N.1'  vol.  i, 
pp.  127,  167. 

309  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  vol.  xix, 
•p.  37.  The  author  had  a  chameleon  in 
his  own  house  for  some  months,  about 
the  years  1H46-7,  and  was  convinced  that 
the    hanges  of  color  were  emotional. 

81«  Hou-ihlon  in  the  I)i,c.t.  of  the  Bible, 


vol.    iii,    p.    1161;    Wilkinton,    Ancient 
Egyptians,  vol.  v,  p.  126. 

311  See  the  representation  in  the 
author's  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  iii,  p. 
65,  1st  edition. 

312  Wilkinson,  vol.  v,  p.  155.  (Com- 
pare p.  166). 

3i3  Russell,  Ancient  and  Modern 
Egypt,  p.  464. 

314  Pour  species  are  said  to  be  pecul- 
iar to  Egypt,  viz.  Truxalis  nasuta,  Tr. 
variabilis,  Tr.  procera,  and  Tr.  miniata. 
(Houghton  in  the  Diet,  of  the  Bible,  vol. 
ii,  p.  129.) 

315  Houghton  in  the  Diet,  of  the  Bible, 
vol.  ii,  p.  132. 

3i6  See  Gentleman's  Magazine  for 
July,  1748,  pp.  331  and  414. 

317  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Eggytians,  vol. 
v,  p.  149.  The  ibis  also  (ib.  p.  221),  and 
no  doubt  other  Egyptian  birds,  help  to 
destroy  the  locusts. 

3i8  Ibid.  p.  155. 

3i9  Ibid.  vol.  iii,  p.  322.  Compare 
Topography  of  Thebes,  p.  319,  and  the 
author  s  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  pp.  9  and  170. 

320  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iii,  pp. 
322-3;  Topography,  p.  442. 

32i  There  are  porphyry  quarries  at 
Gebel  e1  Dokhan,  nearly  opposite  Man- 
faloot  (Topography,  p.  363j;  and  blocks 
of  porphyry  strew  the  surface  of  the 
Western  Desert  in  some  places  (ibid.  p. 
451).     There  is  also  porphyry  near  Syene. 

322  Stanley,  Sinai  and  Palestine,  "In- 
troduction,11 p.  xlvi;  Wilkinson,  Topog- 
raphy of  Thebes,  pp.  4.")7-8. 

323  Topography,  p.  459. 

324  Herodotus  gives  an  indication  of 
the  actual  practice  when  he  tells  us  that 
boatmen  conveyed  a  monolithic  chamber 
from  Elephantine  to  Sa'is  in  the  Delta  (ii, 
175).  That  it  took  three  years  to  convey 
the  block,  he  was  no  doubt  told,  but  the 
fact  may  well  be  doubted. 

325  The  granite  of  Syene  is  found  in 
abundance  at  Thebes  and  Memphis.  Its 
conveyance  to  Sa'is  rests  on  the  testi- 
mony of  Herodotus. 

326  Their  existence  is  testified  by 
Agatharcides  (De  Rub.  Mar.  p.  23), 
Diodbrus  (iii,  12),  and  others;  and  the 
fact  that  they  were  worked  under  the 
Pharaohs  is  thought  to  be  sufficiently 
indicated  by  the  remains  which  still 
exist  in  the  Eastern  Desert  about  Wady 
Foakhir  and  Wady  Allaga.  (Wilkinson, 
Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iii,  pp.  228-9.) 

327  Diod.  Sic.  i,  49. 

328  Wilkinson,  vol.  i,  p.  234. 

329  Ibid.  vol.  iii,  p.  246.  This  mine 
"lies  in  the  Eastern  Desert,  between  the 
Nile  and  the  Red  Sea,  at  a  place  called 
Hammami." 

33<i  Brugsch,  Hist.  d'Egypte,  p.  47: 
Will- -iiison  in  the  author's  Herodotus, 
vol.  ii,  pp.  292  and  350,  note  i". 

33i  Iron  may  also  have  been  imported 
from  the  countries  on  the  Upper  Nile, 
where  it  is  abundant. 

832  Description  de  VEgypte,  "Etat  Mo- 
devue,11  vol    i,   p.  282;  RusseL,  Ancient, 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  AXCIEXT  EGYPT.  [CH.  IIL 


and  Modern  Egypt,  p.  60;  Wilkinson  in 
tne  auuiur's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  121, 
note4. 

333  Wilkinson,  Topography  of  Thebes, 
pp.  428  and  433. 

334  Herod,  ii,  88-88:  Diod.  Sic.  i,  91. 

335  Description,  "Etat  Moderne,11  vol. 
i,  p.  282. 

336  Wilkinson,  Topography,  p.  364. 

337  ibid. 

338  Ibid.    p.   319. 

33»  Russell,  p.  450. 

340  Ibid.    p.   01. 

341  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
i.  p.  45;  Topography,  p.  421;  .Russell,  p. 
451. 

342  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
i,  p.  231;  Topography,  p.  420. 

243  Russell,  pp.  450-5;  Wilkinson, 
Topography,  p.  419. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

1  See  Lenormant,  Histoire  Ancienne 
de  VOrient,  vol.  i,  p.  329:  Brugsch,  His- 
toire d'Egypte,  premiere  partie,  pp.  5-6 ; 
Donne  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of  Greek  and 
Roman  Geography,  vol.  i,  p.  38 ;  Stuart 
Poole  in  Smith  s  Dictionary  of  the  Bible, 
vol.  i,  p.  501. 

2  See  Brugsch,  p.  6:  "La  langue  des 
Egyptiens  ....  n'ofire  aucune  an- 
alogic avec  les  langues  des  peuples 
d'Afrique.11 

3  Dr.  Birch  observes,  with  more  refine- 
ment than  most  previous  writers,  that 
"on  the  earnest  monuments  the  Egyp- 
tians appear  as  a  red  or  dusky  race,  with 
features  neither  entirely  Caucasian  nor 
Nigritic  ;  more  resembling  at  the  earli- 
est age  the  European11  (i.  e.  the  Cauca- 
sian), "at  the  middle  period  of  the  em- 
pire the  Nigritic  races,  or  the  oiispring 
of  a  mixed  population,  and  at  the  most 
flourishing  period  of  the  empire  the  sal- 
low tint  and  refined  type  of  the  Semitic 
families  of  mankind.11  (Egypt  from  the 
Earliest  Times,  Introduction,  p.  ix.) 

4  See  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place  in  Uni- 
versal History,  vob"  v,  pp.  745-787 ;  Phi- 
losophy of  History,  vol.  iii,  pp.  185-9. 

5  Especially  Hee.ren,  African  Nations, 
vol.  ii,  pp.  101-109,  E.T.:  Manual  of  An- 
cirnt  History,  p.  57,  E.T. 

6  Diod.  Sic.  iii,  11. 

7  Brugsch,  Histoire  a"1  Egypt e,  pre- 
miere partie,  p.  7. 

8  Niebuhr  remarks  on  the  difficulty  of 
distinguish. ng  the  bulk  of  the  modern 
Egyptians  from  Arabs  (Vortrdge  iiber 
alte  Geschichte,  vol.  i,  p.  57),  but  notes 
that  the  pure  Copts  are  clearly  distinct 
and  different. 

9  See  Donne  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of 
Greek  and  Roman  Geography,  vol.  :,  p. 
3o. 

io  Herod,  ii,  146.  It  bar  been  argued 
that  the  term  used  (/u.eAdyxP°e?)  means  no 
more  than  "swarthy;11  but  its  literal 
rendering  is  "black-skinned,11  and  there 


is  nothing  to  show  that  Herodotus  did 
not  intend  it  literally. 

11  As  Herodotus  represents  (ii,  104). 

12  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  HerodO' 
lus,  vol.  ii,  p.  146,  note 4,  and  p.  49, 
note*. 

13  See  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  iii,  pp.  SeS-IO. 

14  Gen.  x,  13.  14. 

15  "Misraim11  is  a  dual  form,  and 
means  "the  two  Misrs,11  or  "Egypts."1 
The  names  of  the  "sons  of  Mizraim  " 
are  all  plural  in  form,  and,  it  is  generally 
allowed,  represent  tribes  or  races. 

10  See  Lenormant,  Histoire  Ancienne 
tie  rOrient,  vol.  1,  p.  330. 

17  Brugsch,  Histoire  d'Egypte,  p.  12. 
The  distinction  between  the  north  and 
south  country  is  constant  in  the  Egyp- 
tian inscriptions.  The  kings  term  them- 
selves "lords  of  the  thrones  of  the  two 
countries,11  or  "kings  of  the  upper  and 
lower  countries.'*  {Records  of  the  Past, 
vol.  iv,  pp.  11,  14,  16,  etc.  ;  vol",  vi,  pp.  19, 
23,87,  etc.)  They  wear  two  crowns,  one 
the  crown  of  Upper,  the  other  that  of 
Lower  Egypt. 

18  Some  idea  of  the  extent  and  variety 
of  Egyptian  literature  may  be  obtained 
by  the  ordinary  student  from  the  speci- 
mens contained  in  the  unpretending  but 
most  valuable  series  published  by  Messrs. 
Bagster  under  the  title  of  Records  of  the 
Pa^t,  vols,  ii,  iv,  and  vi.  He  may  also 
with  advantage  cast  his  eye  over  the 
"List  of  Further  Texts.''  arranged  by 
M.  Renouf,  and  given  in  vol.  vi,  pp.  162 
5  of  tlie  same  work. 

19  The  Greeks  tnemselves  always  spol;e 
with  respect  of  the  Egyptian  progress  in 
the  sciences,  and  Greeks  of  high  culture 
constantly  visited  Egypt  with  a  view  of 
improving  themselves.  It  has  been 
questioned  whether  the  Egyptians  had 
much  to  teach  them  (Cornewall  Lewis, 
Astronomy  of  the  Ancients,  pp.  277-28' ')  ; 
but  the  Greeks  themselves  were  proba- 
bly the  best  judges  on  such  a  point. 
Among  those  who  sought  improvement 
in  Egypt  are  said  to  have  been  Hecataeus, 
Thales,  Solon,  Pythagoras.  Herodotus, 
CEnopides,  Democritus,  Plato,  nd  Eu- 
doxus. 

20  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  Introduction,  p.  xvi. 

21  e»e  especially  Wilkinson,  Ancient 
Egyptians,  vol.  vi,  pis.  24  a,  33,  40,  43  a, 
55,  etc. 

22  As  the  wooden  statue  in  the  muse- 
um of  Bouiaq.  described  by  Dr.  Birch 
(Egypt fro?/)  the  Earliest  Times,  p.  43), 
and  the  animal  forms  on  several  bas- 
reliefs  (see  Wilkinson.  A/uient  Egyp- 
tians, vol.  iii,  pp.  9,  13,  22:  vol.  iv,  p. 
139.  etc.). 

23  Brugsch.  Histoire  d' Egypt e,  p    17. 

24  See  Gen.  xxxix.  16:  Herod,  ii,  60, 
111,  121.  ?  5.  126  :  Diod.  Sic.  i.  59 :  Records 
of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  140;  vol.  vi.  pp. 
153-6.  etc. 

25  Records  of  the  Past.  vol.  ii.  k>  113. 

26  See  Brugsch,  Histoire  d' Eg'-jpie,  p. 


CH.  III.]  THE    PEOPLE    AND   THEIE    NEIGHBORS. 


273 


i">:  "Rien  de  plus  gai,  de  plus  amusant, 
Qe  plus  naif  que  ce  bon  peuple  egyptien, 
qui  a.mait  la  vie,  et  qui  se  rejouissait 
profondement  de  son  existence.  .  .  . 
On  sadonnait  aux  plaisirs  de  toute  es- 
pece,  on  chantait,  on  buvait,  on  dansait, 
on  aimait  les  excursions  a  la  campagne, 
etc.  Conforme  a  ce  penchant  pour  le 
plaisir  les  gais  propos,  la  plaisanterie  un 
peu  libre,  les  bons-mots,  la  raillerie  et  le 
gout  nioqueur  etaient  en  vogue,  et  les 
badinages  entraient  j usque  dans  les  tom- 
beaux." 

27  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  Introduction,  p.  xvi ;  Wilkinson, 
Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii,  p.  41. 

28  Brugsch,  p.  18. 

29  See  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  ii,  p.  42 ;  Roseliini,  lionumenti  deW 
Egitto,  vol.  ii,  p.  249,  etc.  Compare 
Exod.  v,  14. 

30  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  16, 
102,  etc. 

3i  Birch,  p.  50:  "I  have  passed  110 
years  of  my  life  by  the  gift  of  the  king." 

32  Isaiah  xxxvi,  6 ;  2  Kings  xviii,  21. 
Compare  Ezekiel  xxix,  6,  7:  "And  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Egypt  shall  know  that 
I  am  the  Lord,  because  they  have  been  a 
staff  of  reed  to  the  house  of  Israel.  When 
they  took  hold  of  thee  by  thy  hand,  thou 
didst  break  and  rend  all  their  shoulder; 
and  when  they  leaned  upon  thee,  thou 
brakest,  and  madest  all  their  loins  to  be 
at  a  stand.  " 

3?  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  Introduction,  p.  xvi. 

34  Birch,  Egypt  Jrom  the  Earliest 
Times,  Introduction,  p.  xv. 

35  See  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
€tvs,  vol.  ii,  pp.  271  277,  where  many  of 
the  games  are  represented. 

36  The  "Book  of  Egyptian  Wisdom,1' 
written  by  Prince  Phthaophis  in  his  100th 
year  (Birch,  pp.  49,  50),  shows  an  excel- 
lent perception  of  moral  truth,  and  has 
not  unaptly  been  compared  with  the 
Proverbs  of  Solomon. 

37  Joseph.  Bell.  Jvd.  ii,  16.  The  num- 
ber given  in  this  place  is  7,500,000 ;  but  it 
is  exclusive  of  the  Alexandrians,  who 
are  elsewhere  reckoned  at  300,000.  (Diod. 
Sic.  xvii,  52.) 

38  Diod.  Sic.  i,  31. 

89  Mr.  Bonne.  (See  Dr.  Smith's  Dic- 
tionary of  Greek  and  Roman  Geography, 
vol.  i,  p.  38.) 

40  Mr.  Kenrick.  (See  his  Ancient 
Egypt,  vol.  i,  p.  181.) 

4i  Herod,  ii,  165-5.  Diodorus  made  the 
number  624,000  in  the  reign  of  Sesostris 
(i,  54) :  and  the  Egyptian  priests  told  Ger- 
manicus  that  it  had  amounted  to  <00,000 
(Tacit.  Ann.  ii,  60).  42  Herod,  ii,  164. 

43  The  slave  class  was  large  and  very 
important.  See  Brugsch  (Histoire  d'E- 
yypte,  p.  16),  who  says:  "Les  esclaves, 
pour  la  plupart  sortis  du  nombre  des 
prisonniers  de  guerre,  formaient  un 
element  trds-important  de-  la  popula- 
tfedTuX  . 

*4  As    Lancashire.    Surrey,    Stafford- 


shire, Warwickshire,  and  the  West  Rid- 
ing of  Yorkshire, 
is  Herod,  iv,  168-97. 

46  Brugsch,  Histoire  d'Egypte,  p.  8. 

47  Recoids  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  33; 
vol.  iv,  p.  42,  etc. 

48  Ibid.  vol.  iv,  p.  44. 

49  See  Birch,  Egypt  from,  the  Earliest 
Times,  Introduction,  p.  ix ;  Brugsch, 
Histoire  d  Eqirpte,  p.  8. 

5»  Birch,  l.s.c. 

51  "Leur  costume  etait  d1une  simpli 
cite  toute  primitive.11  (Brugsch,  l.s.c.) 
Compare  the  representation  in  the  au- 
thor's Herod,  vol.  ii,  p.  170. 

52  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodo- 
tus, vol.  ii,  p.  41,  note  8. 

53  See  Ezek.  xxix,  10 ;  Herod,  ii,  29. 

54  Donne  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of 
Greek  and  Roman  Geography,  vol.  i,  p. 
57. 

55  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodo- 
tus, l.s.c. 

56  Herod,  iii,  21,  30. 

57  Ibid,  iii,  p.  20,  114.  Compare  Isaiah 
xlv,  14. 

58  Both  Pierret  and  Brugsch  suggest 
the  root  £^,  "people,11  as  that  from 
which  Amu  is  derived  (Pierret  in  the 
Records  of  the  Past,vo\.  vi,  p.  83;  Brugsch, 
Histoire,  p.  8).  Brugsch,  however,  add* 
that  possibly  the  root  may  be  the  Coptic 
ame,  which  is  in  the  plural  ame'ou,  and 
means   "a  herdsman.11 

69  Brugsch,  l.s.c. 

60  Birch,  Egypt,  p.  129. 

si  Brugsch,  p.  9. 

62  According  to  Manetho,  nyk  meant 
"king,"  and  sos,  "shepherd11  (Joseph. 
c.  Apion.  i,  2  14).  It  is  generally  believed 
that  Shasu  is  the  same  word  as  sos.  (See 
Birch,  Egypt,  p.  75;  Wilkinson  in  the 
author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  351 ;  Le- 
normant,  Histoire  Ancienne  de  V  Orient, 
vol.  i,  p.  360,  etc.) 

63  They  are  sometimes  spoken  of  with 
great  contempt,  as  in  the  tablet  of  Aah- 
mes  (Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p.  8), 
where  the  writer  says,  "  I  brought  as  trib- 
ute from  the  land  of  the  Shasu  very  many 
prisoners — I  do  not  reckon  them.'''' 

64  The  Arabians  have  always  been 
divided  into  a  multitude  of  tribes,  and 
have  never  been  united,  except  under 
Mohammed  and  his  immediate  succes- 
sors. The  Hittites  seem  to  have  had  a 
number  of  kings  (Ancient  Monarchies, 
vol.  ii,  p.  363,  note  2;  1  Kings  x,  29:  2 
Kings  vii,  6).  The  Syrians  formed  several 
states,  Aram-Beth-Rehob,  Aram-Dam- 
mesek.  Aram-Maachah,  Aram-Zobah,  etc. 

65  The  early  Egyptian  and  early  Baby- 
lonian chronology  are  both  of  them  un- 
certain: but  individually  I  incline  to  place 
the  commencement  of  monarchy  in  Egypt 
about  b.  c.  2450,  and  its  commencement 
in  Babylonia  about  b.  c.  2300.  At  any 
rate,  it  can  scarcely  be  supposed  that  the 
monarchy  mentioned  in  Gen.  x,  10  was 
much  later  than  that  of  which  we  hear  in 
Gen.  xii,  15-20. 


27<i 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  AXCIEXT  EGYPT.  [CH.  IV. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

1  SeeChampollion,  Grammaire  Egyp- 
tienne,  Paris,  183'j ;  Dictionnaire  Egyp- 
ienne,  Paris,  1841;  Lepsius,  Lettre  d  At. 
Rosellini  sur  le  systeme  Hieroglyphique, 
Rome,  1857;  Birch,  Egyptian  Grammar 
and  Dictionary  in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol. 
v;  Brugseh,  Script ura  jEgyptiorum  de- 
motica,  Berlin,  1848:  Grammaire  d'/no- 
ti<j>te.Bcr,'n\,  18">J:  Hieroglyphisch-demo- 
tisJies  Wdrterbuch,  Leipsic,  1808;  De 
Rouge,  Grammaire  Egypt,  Paris,  18J7, 
etc. 

2  Stuart  Poole  in  Smith's  Diet,  of  the 
Bible,  vol.  i,  p.  501. 

3  See  Max  Miiiler,  Languages  of  the 
Seat  of  War,  p.  83. 

4  There  appears  to  have  been  three  va- 
rieties of  Coptic,  the  Memphit'",  the 
Thebaic  (or  Sahidic),  and  the  Bashmu- 
ric,  but  they  do  not  greatly  differ.  (See 
Dictionary  of  Languages,  p.  53 :  and  com- 
pare the  article  on  "  Versions'11  in  Smith's 
Dictionary  of  the  Bible.) 

5  Lepsius  Lettre  a  M.  Bosellini,  p.  17: 
Lenormant,  Hisfoire  Ancienne  de  t' Ori- 
ent, vol.  i.  pp.  408  500  :  Birch  in  Bunsen's 
Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  590. 

6  Lenormant,  p.  505. 

7  The  "Great  Harris  Papyrus,1''  which 
has  been  translated  by  Dr.  Birch  and  Pro- 
fessor Eisenlohr  in  the  Records  of  the 
Past,  vol.  vi.  pp.  21-7*,  vol.  viii,  pp.  5-52, 
is  in  hieratic,  and  belongs  to  the  time  of 
Rameses  III,  a  king  of  the  19th  dynasty. 
Some  of  the  hieratic  papyri  at  "Berlin 
are  ascribed  to  the  12th  or  13th  (ibid. 
vol.  vi,  pp.  131-4).  Dr.  Birch  speaks  of 
works  on  medicine  in  the  hieratic  cha- 
racter as  "attributed  to  the  kings  of  the 
old  Empire11  {Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  25). 

8  Lenormant,  l.s.c. 

9  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodotus, 
vol.  ii,  p.  258.  r 

J"  Ibid.  p.  259. 

11  The  monarchical  government  of  the 
beehive  was  early  noticed,  and  led,  no 
doubt,  to  this  symbolism,  which  is  be- 
lieved to  have  been  adopted  in  Babylo- 
nia no  less  than  in  Egypt.  (See  Oppert, 
Voyage  en  Mesopotamie,  vol.  ii,  p.  68.) 

12  The  Egyptians,  it  is  said,  thought 
there  were  ho  male  vultures,  so  that  each 
vulture  was  a  mother.  (Lenormant,  His- 
toire  Ancienne  de  V Orient,  vol.  i,  p.  504.) 

13  The  Egyptians  regarded  suicide  as 
the  worst  of  all  crimes. 

14  See  the  so-called  "Egyptian  altar11 
at  Turin,  where  this  determinative  fol- 
lows the  names  of  fourteen  deities,  of 
all,  in  fact,  but  Horus  and  Nepthis. 
(Transactions  of  Bibl.  Archaeology  Soci- 
ety, vol.  i,  opp.  p.  112.) 

i*  Wilkinson  in  the  Author's  Herodo- 
tus, voi.  ii,  p.  262 ;  Birch  in  Bunsen's 
Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  597. 

1(*  Some  determinatives  were  merely 
grammatical.     The  papyrus  roll      »~ 
was  added  as  a  tacit  sign  to  substantives, 


adjectives,  and  verbs.    Two  human  legs 
walking  marked  activity  of  any  kind. 

17  Some  signs  stand  for  words  of  two 
syllables,  as  the  flag  on  the  flag-staff  — , 

for  neter,  "a  god,11  the  guitar   ♦  for     | 
nefer,  "good,11  etc. 

18  Dr.  Birch  argues  (Bunsen's  Egypt, 
vol.  v,  p.  599)  that  every  hieroglyphic 
character  represents  a  syllable,  each  con- 
sonant having  a  vowel  sound  inherent  in 
it :  practically,  however,  he  represents 
the  alphabetic  hieroglyphs  by  single  let- 


ters.   Thus  he  reads 


UP 


ot  as  hu-bu- 


su,  but  as  hebs. 

19  Lepsius,  Lettre  a  M.  Rosellini,  p.  44;  i 
Wilkinson  in   the    author's   Herodotus, 
vol.  ii,  p.  262. 

20  Dr.  Birch  regards  this  as  "a  vase  of 
fire'*  (Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  599). 

21  I  follow  here  Dr.  Eisenlohr's  render- 


ing of  the  hieroglyphs 


n  iand  % 


(Transactions  of  Bibl.  Arch.  Society,  vol 
i,  pp.  358  and  367).      Dr.   Birch  renders 

"^^   by  TH  (ibid.  vol.  iv,  p.  172.)    And 


1 


is  generally  rendered  by  the  same  in 


the  name  of  Kambath  or  Kenbuth,  for 
"Cambyses.11    But  the  Persian  letter  to 

which  the  i  corresponds  in  this  word  ia 
a  J  undoubtedly.  M.  Lenormant  con- 
siders all  three  forms      (    J   and  Lfa 

to  represent  the 

sound  TS  (Histoire  Ancienne  de  V Orient, 

vol.  i,  p.  501).     So  Birch  with  regard  to 


^"^and    I 
m 


in  Bunsen^  Egypt,  vol.  v, 


p.  603. 

22  Birch  regards  this  form  as  merely 
another  representation  of  T. 

23  Lettre  a  M.  Rosellini,  pp.  48-56,  and 
Planche  A,  part  ii,  at  the  end  of  the 
work. 

24  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodo- 
tus, vol.  ii,  p.  260;  Lepsius,  Lettre  a  M. 
Rosellini,  p.  49. 

25  Dr  Birch  gives  this  sign  the  sound 
of  nen  {Dictionary  of  Hieroglyphics  in 
Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  453).  But  Dr. 
Eisenlohr  prefers  to  render  it  by  an 
(Transactions  of  Bibl.  Arch.  Society,  vol. 
i,  p.  360,  line  *). 

2*  Dr.  Birch  (Dictionary,  p.  420)  notes 
one  other  word  (kamut,  "to  place11  or 
"carve11)  where  the  crocodiles  tall  it 
used. 


CH.  V.]  LANGUAGE    AND    WRITING. — LITERATURE. 


275 


27  The  fount  of  hieroglyphic  type  em- 
ployed in  tue  present  work  contains 
about  eight  hundred  forms  ;  but  there  are 
many  other  forms  besides,  which  occur 
so  rarely  that  they  have  hitherto  not 
been  expressed  in  type. 

28  There  are  occasional  exceptions  to 
this  rule  (Birch  in  Bunserrs  Egypt,  vol. 
v,  p.  595) ;  but  they  are  so  rare  as  scarce- 
ly to  deserve  mention. 

29  Wilkinson  in  the  author1  s  Herodo- 
tus, vol.  ii,  p.  238. 

so  a  later  form  of  the  masculine  article 

is  |yv  pi,  and  a  still  later  one,    r— ^ 

pe. 
"i  The  t  is  sometimes  expressed  in  the 

/ater  times  by  1 . 

32  The  n  was  expressed  in  later  times 
by  \/  ;  and  a  full  form  naiu  was  some- 
times used. 

33  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodo- 
tus, vol.  ii,  p.  263.  Dr.  Birch,  however, 
allows  a  dual.  (See  Bunsen's  Egypt, 
vol.  v,  p.  619.) 

34  Compare  the  Hebrew  suffixes  : — 

1st  pers.  sing.  "p.  2d  (masc.)  ?r 

(Jem.)  ^-  3d  (masc.) -^- 

(fem.)    n~ 
1st  pers.  plur.  !jy  2d  (masc.  Q2- 


43  This  is  the  case  with 


i 


(fern.)  T  D-. 

(fern.)  ?n-- 


3d  (masc.)  nn- 


y  ausenu,  they  are 


The  2d  pers.  sing.  masc.  and  1st  pers.  pi. 
are  identical :  the  rest  show  a  connec- 
tion. 

35  Instead  of  -nenu  we  sometimes  find 
-nu,  as  in  the  declension  of  au,  to  be, 
which  is : — 

aua,  I  am  aunu,  we  are 

auk,  thou  art  (m.)     I  antenu  ve  are 
aut,  thou  art  (./.)      \ 
uuf,  he  is 
aus,  she  is 

36  The  r  is  no  doubt  the  preposition  er, 
"  for"'  or  "to"  and  au-a-r-ar="I  am  for 
making,"  or  "I  am  to  make,11  i.e.  "I will 
make.11     (See  Birch,  p.  661.) 

37  See  an  article  on  Egyptian  preposi- 
tions, by  Mr.  Le  Page  Kenouf,  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archaeology,  vol.  ii,  p.  301  el  seq. 

38  Birch  in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol  v,  p. 
675. 

39  See  above,  page  63. 

*°  In  Roman  times  ha  was  replaced  by 


her 


+ 


,  which  is  also  used  in  the  sense 


of  "  vvith." 

41  Birch  in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  pp. 
710-713. 

42  Birch  in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p. 
714, 


rupu,  "or,11  but  not  with  any  other  con- 
junction. (Compare  the  Latin  use  of  v* 
and  que.) 


CHAPTER  V. 

1  Dr.  Birch  appears  to  me  to  speaS 
somewhat  too  favorably  when  he  says 
of  the  historical  texts:  "The  narrative 
is  clear;  and  the  metaphors,  sparingly 
introduced,  are  at  once  simple  and  in- 
telligible: the  text  marches  to  the  cadence 
of  an  harmonious  syntax.''''  (Records  of 
the  Past,  vol.  ii,  preface,  p.  iii.)  But  I 
differ  with  great  diffidence  from  so  high 
an  authority. 

2  Compare  the  remarks  of  M.  Ludwig 
Stern  in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi, 
p.  127. 

3  What,  for  instance,  can  be  made  of 
the  following,  which  is  given  as  a  trans- 
lation of  one  of  the  "Magical  Texts1' 
(Records,  vol.  vi,  p.  121)1'— 

"The  burning  brazier, 
The  great  fire  basin. 
Prepared  by  him  who  affrights. 
The  overthrown :  he  that  is  headless, 
The  place  of  death,  the  place 
Of  lite  ;  the  great  rock 
Throwing  fire  against  Set  and  his  com 
panions.11 

4  Birch  in  the  Records,  vol.  ii,  preface, 
p.  ii. 

»  Ibid. 

5  Cornewall  Lewis,  Astronomy  of  th* 
Ancients,  p.  340. 

6  See  Herod,  ii,  3,  77 ;  Plat.  Tim.  §5 ; 
Diod.  Sic.  i,  44 :  Manetho  ap.  Joseph, 
Contr.  Ap.  i,  12,  26 ;  Apollodor.  ap.  Syn- 
cell.     Chronograph,  vol.  i,  p.  171,  etc. 

7  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis  (Astronomy,  pp.  262- 
275)  rejects  all  these  testimonies  unhesi- 
tatingly, on  the  ground  that  "the  later 
Greeks  (is  Herodotus  a  late  Greek  ?)  were 
wanting  in  that  national  spirit  which 
leads  moderns  to  contend  for  the  claims 
of  their  own  countrymen  to  inventions 
and  discoveries,11  and  to  priority  in  the 
various  walks  of  literature  ;  but  he  does 
not  attempt  to  explain  how  the  Greeks 
came  to  be  destitute  of  a  feeling  which 
is  so  natural  and  (unless  they  are  an  ex- 
ception) so  absolutely  universal.  He 
seems  really  to  assume  that  his  favorite 
Gieeks  must  have  been  the  originators  of 
all  science,  learning,  and  literature,  and 
to  be  determined,  on  account  of  this 
foregone  conclusion,  to  reject  all  state- 
ments— even  those  made  by  themselves 
— to  the  contrary. 

8  Birch  in  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii, 
preface,  p.  ix. 

9  Records  of  the  Past,  vols,  ii,  iv,  vi, 
and  viii. 

10  See  the  Recherches  sur  les  Monu- 
ments des  six  premieres  Dynasties  of  the 


276 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  [CH.  V. 


iftte  Vicomte  Em.  tie  Rouge:  the  His- 
wire  d  Egypt e  and  Recuetl  de  Monu- 
ments   Egyptiens  of   Dr.   Brugsch  ;    the 

DenkmiUer  of  Lepsius ;  the  Melanges 
Egyptologiqves  and  other  works  of  M. 
Chabas;  the  Monuments  divers  of  M. 
Mariette ;  and  numerous  articles  in  the 
Zeitschrift  fiir  agyptische  Sprache,  the 
Revue  Archeologhjue,  and  the  Memoires 
de  V Acadcmie  des  Inscriptions  et  Belles- 
Lettres  during  recent  years. 

11  Birch  in  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii, 
preface,  p.  ix. 

i2  See  Lenormant,  Mam: el  d'Uixto'ire 
Ancienne  de  POrieni,  vol.  i,  pp.  506-20; 
Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times, 
Introduction,  p.  xiii :  and  Records  of  the 
Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  1(32-5. 

13  Lenormant,  p.  50a:  "Le  premier 
rang  appartient  aux  livres  religieux.11 

14  Bunsen*s  Egypt,  vol.  v,  pp.  125-326 ; 
Lenormant,  l.s.c. 

15  Birch's  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  l.s.c. ;  Records  of  the  Past,  vol. 
vi,  p.  164,  etc. 

is  Bunsen,  p.  133. 

17  Ritual,  ch.  lxiv,  ad  Jinem  (Bunsen, 
p.  209). 

18  Lenormant,  l.s.c. 

19  Cnampollion  was  the  first  to  make 
this  division  (Bunsen,  p.  137).  It  is  the 
one  preferred  by  M.  Lenormant  (Manuel, 
\oi.  1,  pp.  507-515). 

20  Birch  in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v, 
pp.  1.38-56. 

2i  Lenormant,  pp.  507-9. 

22  Birch  in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  pp. 
139,  172,  etc. 

23  What,  for  instance,  can  be  more  ob- 
scure than  such  passages  as  these,  which 
are  fair  specimens  of  the  document? — 

"I  am  Yesterday.  I  know  the  morn- 
ing. Let  him  explain  it.  Yesterday  is 
Osiris,  the  Morning  the  Sun  :  tne  day  on 
which  are  strangled  the  deriders  of  the 
universal  Lord,  when  his  sqn  Horus  has 
been  invested  ;  or  the  day  is  the  victory 
of  his  arms,  when  the  chest  of  Osiris  has 
been  confronted  by  his  father  the  Sun.11 
(ch.  xv- 1,  p.  172.) 

"Turn  has  built  thy  house;  the  two 
Lion  -  gods  have  founded  thy  abode. 
Ptah  going  round  thee,  di  vine  Horns  puri- 
fies thee,  the  god  Set  does  so  i  n  turn.  The 
Osiris  has  come  from  the  earth.  He  has 
taken  his  legs ;  he  is  Turn.  He  is  from 
his  city.  Behind  thee  is  a  white  lion  to 
claw  the  head.  The  Osiris  has  turned 
back  (or,  Osiris  has  turned  thee  back)  to 
gnud  thee.  It  is  invisible  to  the  guar- 
ui  111s,  said  by  the  Osiris.  It  is  Isis  whom 
thou  iiast  seen.  He  has  stroked  his  locks 
for  him.  He  has  directed  his  face  to  the 
mouth  of  his  road,  or  its  horn.  He  is 
conceived  by  Isis,  engendered  by  Keph- 
thys.11     (Ibid.  p.  179.) 

24  See  the  rubrics  at  the  end  of  chapters 
xviii,  xix,  and  xx;  and  compare  Lenor- 
mant, Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  509. 

26  Ritual,  ch.  cxvi,  ad  Jin.     (Bunsen 
r>  248.) 
**  Ibid,  oh.  cxxv,  (Bunaca,  p.  838). 


2"  I  have  followed  chiefly  the  transla- 
tion of  Lenormant,  but  have  adopted 
some  idiomatic  phrases  from  Dr.  Birch 
(Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  pp.  253-6). 

2,5  Lenormant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  514; 
Birch  in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  256. 

2y  Birch  in  Bunseirs  Egypt,  vol.  v,  pp. 
260-309. 

30  Lenormant,  Manuel,  vol.  i.  p.  516. 
It  is  remarkable  that  the  "  Ritual  of  the 
Dead1  like,  the  Ertang  of  Manee  (Seventh 
Monarchy,  p.  97),  is  accompanied  by  pic- 
tures, which  form  an  essential  portion  of 
it,  and  are  reproduced  in  the  various 
copies. 

3i  Records,  vol.  ii,  pp.  119-26. 

32  Ibid.  vol.  iv,  pp.  121-28. 

33  Ibid.  vol.  vi,  pp.  105-12. 

34  Ibid.  vol.  iv,  pp.  123-4. 

35  Here  occurs  the  name  of  the  de- 
ceased person,  with  whom  the  copy  of 
the  book  is  buried.  It  is  believed  that 
the  book  was  deposited  exclusively  with 
the  mummies  of  priests  or  priestesses  of 
Ammon-Ra.  A  dead  person  is  always 
termed  by  the  Egyptians  an  ''Osiris.*1 

36  See  above,  p.p-27,  28. 

37  "On,"  or  "An,11  is  the  city  called 
by  the  Greeks,  "Heliopolis,11  or  "the 
City  of  the  Sun.11  (See  the  Speaker's 
Commentary,  vol.  i,  p.  206.) 

38  Goodwin,  Cambridge  Essays,  1858, 
p.  230;  Lenormant,  Manuel  d'llistoi/e 
Ancienne,  vol.  i,  p.  517:  Birch,  Egypt 
from  the  Earliest  Times,  p.  1^0. 

39  A  complete  translation  of  this  com- 
position will  be  found  in  the  Records  of 
the  Past.  vol.  ii,  pp.  67-78).  A  version  of 
certain  pairs  of  the  poem  was  published 
by  .Mr.  Goodwin  in  1858  [Cambridge  Es 
sans,  pp.  240-2).  The  translation  "in  tha 
text  follows  these  authorities. 

40  Birch  in  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii. 
p.  30. 

41  The  poem  is  entitled  "The  Speech 
of  Ammon-Ra.  Lord  of  the  Seats  of  th« 
Upper  and  Lower  World.11 

42  See  Diiniichen,  Historische  Inschrif- 
ten,  ii,  40;  Stern  in  the  Zeitschrift  fur 
agyptische  Sprache  for  1873,  p.  58  ;  and 
R&  ords  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  129-30. 

43  Records,  vol.  vi,  p.  127. 

44  The  Egyptians  distinguished  the  Ri- 
sing from  the  Setting  Sun.  calling  the  for- 
mer Ra,  and  the  latter  Turn. 

4&  rpjie  '-Tour"1  was  partially  translated 
by  Mr.  Goodwin  in  1858  (Cambridge  Es- 
says, pp.  266-9).  In  1866  a  full  transla- 
tion in  Piench  was  published  by  M.  Cha^ 
has  under  the  title  of  Vo%  age  d'  un  Egyp- 
tien  en  Syrie  et  Phenecie.  M.  Drach,  of 
The  British  Museum,  contributed  an  Eng- 
lish translation  to  the  Becords  of  the 
Past  in  1873  (vol.  i,  pp.  109-16). 

46  Khatiima  is  perhaps  Edom  (E5*nX)i 
Hudum  in  Assyrian. 

47  Tsor  seems  to  b"  the  same  word  as 
the  Hebrew  tsur  1^  "  }?),  which  the  Greek 
rendered  bv  Tv'po?  [Tyre).  The  word 
means  "  rock,11  and  was  probably  applied 
to  any  fort  situated  on  a  rocky  eminence, 

*«  Qodeeh  may  be  one  of  the  many  Sy« 


CH.  VI.] 


AGRICULTURE. 


27? 


nan  towns  called  Kadesh  =  "holy," 
w.iente  the  modern  Arabic  name  for  Je- 
rusalem, Al-Kods. 

49  On  the  Shasu,  see   above,  p.  116. 

50  Perhaps  Mount  Lebanon,  or  else 
Hermon. 

si  The  "Tale  of  the  Two  Brothers, 11  was 
first  noticed  by  M.  de  Rouge  in  the  Re- 
vue Archeologique  vol.  ix,  p.  385  et  seq). 
A  considerable  portion  of  it  was  trans- 
lated by  Mr.  Goodwin  in  1858  (Cambridge 
Essays,  pp.  223-38).  In  I860  Dr.  Birch 
published  the  text.  M.  Le  Page-Renouf 
translated  a  part  in  1863  (Atlantis,  vol. 
iv).  Complete  translations  have  since 
been  made  by  Dr.  Brugsch  in  1864  (Ger- 
man): by  M,  Maspero  in  1867  (French), 
and  by  M.  Renouf  in  1873  (English).  This 
last  translation  will  be  found  in  the  Re- 
cords of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  pp.  139-52.  The 
"  Possessed  Princess'1  was  first  translated 
by  Dr.  Birch  in  1853  (Transactions  of 
Royal  Society  of  Literature,  vol.  iv,  p. 
217  et  seq.).  This  translation  was  review- 
ed and  another  oiven  by  Dr.  Rouge  in 
the  Revue  Asiatk/i/c,  1856-8,  who  accom- 
panied his  translation  with  a  representa- 
tion of  the  text.  Dr.  Brugsch  published 
a  German  translation  in  his  Geschichte 
Aegpytens,  in  1859.  Finally,  Dr.  Birch 
has  republished  his  translation,  with  a 
few  corrections,  in  the  Records  of  the 
Past  (vol.  iv,  j) p.  55-50).  The  story  of 
the  "Doomed  Prince1"  has,  so  far  as  I 
know,  i)  en  translated  only  by  Mr.  Good- 
win, whose  version  first  appeared  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Biblical 
Archaeology  (vol.  iii,  pp.  349-50),  whence 
it  has  been  transferred,  almost  without 
alteration,  to  the  Records  of  the  Past, 
vol.  ii,  pp.  155-  >0. 

52  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  p.  142 
(line  230  of  the  story). 

53  It  is  not  quite  clear  whether  Sane- 
ha's  prayer  is  addressed  to  trie  King  of 
Egypt  or  to  Heaven  :  but  on  the  whole  I 
incline  to  think  that  the  king  is  intended, 
and  that  Saneha,  though  he  does  not  ex- 
pressly say  so,  adopted  the  very  prosaic 
expedient  of  sending  to  his  Majesty  Osir- 
tasen  I.  a  petition  for  pardon  and  restor- 
ation. The  prayer  of  the  petition  seems 
to  be  contained  in  lines  225-232: — 

Grant  me  to  return  home- 
Permit  me  to  show  myself. 
Have  I  not  suffered  anxiety? 
What  more  is  there  to  boast? 
Let  me  be  buried  in  the  land  of  my 

birth : 
Let  me  have  a  fortunate  lot  hereafter  ; 
Grant  me  'pardon. 

54  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  p.  144 
(line  311  of  the  talc). 

55  Ibid.  p.  150  (line  511  of  the  tale). 

56  The  MS.  is  imperfect  at  the  begin- 
ning, and  opens  in  the  middle  of  a  sen- 
tence. We  gather  from  a  later  passage 
that  Saneha  was  quitting  Egypt  because 
he  had  fallen  into  disgrace  at  court. 

57  The  Sakti  were  enemies  of  Egypt 
towards  the  east,  probably  a  tribe  of 
Arabs. 


68  According  to  Brugsch  (Geograph- 
ische  Inschriften,  vol.  i,  pp.  150,  260),  Ka- 
niur  was  a  town  of  Lower  Egypt,  situated 
in  the  Heliopolite  canton. 

59  See  the  account  of  them  given  by 
Mr.  Goodwin  in  the  Cambridge  Essays 
for  1858,  pp.  246-265. 

60  See  Lenormant,  Manuel  d'Histoire 
Ancienne,  vol.  i,  p.  519 ;  and  Brugsch, 
Etudes  sur  un  Papyrus  Medical  de  Ber 
tin,  Leipsic,  1853. 

61  Lenormant,  l.s.c. 

62  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp. 
115-26 ;  and  note  especially  the  receipt 
(p.  125)  with  the  statement  appended  of 
its  effect  on  those  who  use  it:  "Thou 
art  protected  against  the  accidents  of 
life  ;  thou  art  protected  against  a  violent 
death ;  thou  art  protected  against  fire ; 
thou  escapest  in  heaven,  and  thou  art  not 
ruined  upon  earth.11 


CHAPTER  VI. 

1  See  above,  ch.  ii,  pp. 

2  Ibid.  pp.  49-67. 

s  Gen.  xii,  10:  xli,  57;  xlii,  1-3.  Com- 
pare Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p.  43; 
and  Birch.  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  63. 

4  Herod,  iii,  91. 

6  The  Alexandrian  corn-fleet  enjoyed 
the  protection  of  a  convoy  of  war- 
galleys;  it  was  met  at  Puteoli  by  a  depu- 
tation of  senators,  and  the  appearance 
of  its  topsails  above  the  horizon  was  the 
signal  for  the  proclamation  of  a  general 
holiday  (see  Merivale,  Roman  Empire, 
vol.  iv,  p.  392). 

6  Tacitus  says:  "Augustus,  inter  alia 
dominationis  arcana,  vetitis  nisi  permis- 
su  ingredi  senatoribus  aut  equitibus 
Romahis  inlustribus,  seposuit  ^Egyptum; 
ne  fame  urgeret  Italiam,  quisquis  earn 
provinciam  claustraque  terrse  ac  maris, 
quamvis  levi  praesidio  adversum  ingen- 
tes  exercitus  insedisset11  (Ann.  ii,  59). 
Again,  it  is  noted  that  the  danger  which 
would  result  to  Rome  from  the  revolt  of 
Eijypt  caused  the  rule  to  be  made  that 
its  governor  should  oe,  not  a  senator, 
but  a  knight,  Pliny  says:  "Percrebuerat 
antiquitus  Urbem  nostram,  nisi  opibus 
-JSgypti,  ali  sustentarique  non  posse1' 
(Paneg.  §31). 

7  See  Diod.  Sic.  i,  74. 

8  Diod.  Sic.  i,  73.  Though  the  kings 
had  once  been  owners  of  all  the  land 
except  that  of  the  priests  (Gen.  xlvii,  20- 
26),  they  must  subsequently  have  made 
grants  to  individuals  by  which  they 
parted  with  their  property.  Diodorus 
and  Herodotus  agree  as  to  the  triple 
ownership  of  the  land, — by  the  king,  by 
the  priests,  and  by  members  of  the  mil- 
itary class  (Diod.  S.  l.s.c;  Herod,  ii,  168): 
and  tin;  monuments  show  a  large  class 
of  rich  private  proprietors  who  are  no*; 
priests. 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  [i'U.  VI 


9  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "Introduction,    p.'xviii. 

10  Ibid.  p.  44.  "In  private  the  Egyp- 
tian lord  led  a  charmed  life, — his  estate 
was  cultivated  by  slaves. " 

ii  Diod.  Sic.  i,  74. 

i2  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
jv,  p.  35. 

13  The  royal  lands  were,  in  the  time  of 
Joseph,  let  for  one-fifth  of  the  produce, 
— a  moderate  rate,  and  one  not  uncom- 
mon in  the  East.  (See  the  author's 
Seventh  Monarchy,  pp.  441-2.)  But  it  is 
uncertain  whether  this  continued.  Di- 
odorus  seems  to  speak  of  a  money  rent. 

14  There  is  no  positive  evidence  of 
this;  but  it  is  the  impression  of  "those 
most  familiar  witn  the  monuments.  (See 
Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iv, 
p.  34.  i 

15  On  the  oppressiveness  of  this  sys- 
tem, which  still  prevails  in  parts  of 
Turkey,  see  the  author's  Seventh  Mon- 
archy,^- 44i>  note  2. 

16  Wilkinson,  vol.  iv,  p.  108,  and  pi. 
18,  fig.  1.  Some  land  at  the  edge  of  the 
desert  must  have  reappeared  about  the 
same  time  as  the  river  banks. 

17  Herod,  ii,  14. 

i8  Herodotus  says,  "by  pigs11  (l.s.c); 
and  though  this  has  been  objected  to,  it 
has  been  regarded  as  not  improbable  by 
some  good  modern  authorities  (see 
Lurcher's  note  on  Herod,  ii,  14  in  his 
Histoire  d'Htrodote;  and  Wilkinson, 
Anci(  nt  Egyptians,  vol.  iv,  p.  46).  Goats 
are  represented  upon  the  monuments  as 
treading  in  the  grain.  According  to 
Wilkinson,  sheep,  oxen,  and  even  asses 
were  (.ecasionally  employed  for  the  pur- 
pose (ib.  p.  39). 

19  Rosellini  believed  that  metal  plough- 
shares were  represented  on  the  monu- 
ments (Mon.  Civ.  vol.  i,  p.  299).  Wil- 
kinson questions  this. 

20  St.  Hilaire  says  that  ej^en  at  the 
present  day  the  plough  used  in  Egypt  is 
"seldom  furnished  with  an  iron  share11 
{Egypt  and  the  Suez  Canal,  p.  100). 

21  For  representations  of  these  see 
Fellows's  Asia  Minor,  p.  71;  Lycia,  p. 
174;  C.  Niebuhr,  Description,  de  VArabie, 
o>> p.  p.  137:  Smith,  Dictionary  of  the 
Bible,  vol.  i,  p.  29;  and  compare  the 
author's  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  i,  p. 
567. 

22  An  exception  occurs  in  a  tomb  near 
the  Pyramids,  where  the  stilt  is  flat,  and 
the  handles  which  rise  from  it  curve  in 
a  direction  opposite  to  the  usual  one. 
(See  the  author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p. 
18;  and  compare  Lepsius,  Denkmaler, 
vol.  iii,  part  ii,  pis.  51  and  56.) 

23  Occasionally  a  cow,  when  plough- 
ing, was  accompanied  by  her  calf,  which 
disported  itself  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
mother,  but  was  muzzled  to  prevent  its 
sucking.  (See  Rosellini,  Monumenti  Ci- 
vili,  pi.  xxxii,  2.) 

24  A  full  description  of  the  arrange- 
ment employed  will  be  found  in  Wilkin- 
son i  A    K  voL  iv,  pp.  42-3). 


25  Three  are  represented  as  thus  em 
ployed  in  a  tomb  at  Thebes  (Wilkinson, 
A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  46). 

26  The  Roman  scariflcalio  (Plin.  H.  N. 
xviii,  17)  was  a  light  ploughing ;  but  the 
term  seems  equally  applicable  to  the 
still  lighter  "scratching"  of  the  soil  by 
the  hoe. 

27  Several  hoes  have  been  found  in 
tombs.  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  says  that  in 
no  instance  had  he  seen  a  hoe  with  a 
metal  blade  (A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  45). 

28  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  45 ; 
Kenrick,  vol.  i,  p.  185. 

29  See  the  author's  Ancient  Monarch- 
ies,  vol.  i,  p.  567. 

so  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  136;  vol. 
iv,  p.  48. 

31  Herod,  ii,  36.  Though  Herodotus 
was  in  error  in  supposing  that  all  the 
Egyptians  "made  their  bread  of  the 
olyra,"  yet  no  doubt  his  error  had  a 
foundation  in  fact.  The  doora  bread 
was  eaten  by  the  great  mass  of  the 
Egyptians.  (See  Wilkinson  in  the  au- 
thor's Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  58.) 

32  Kenrick,  vol.  i,  p.  186. 

33  The  Egyptians  thought  that  the 
"Nile  God"  protected  the  newly-sown 
fields  from  the  birds.  See  Records  of 
the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p.  108,  note  i. 

34  As  in  Italy.  See  Virg.  Georg.  i,  155- 
58. 

35  Gen.  xli,  49.  According  to  Pliny 
(H.  N.  xviii,  7),  the  return  on  the  corn 
sown  was  a  hundredfold.  The  grain, 
however,  was  light  (ib). 

36  It  is,  at  any  rate,  always  represented 
as  bearded  on  the  monuments. 

37  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  85. 

38  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  64. 

39  The  statement  of  Herodotus,  that 
pigs  not  only  trod  in  the  grain  on  moist 
soils,  but  also  trod  it  out  upon  the 
threshing-floors  (ii,  14),  is  discredited  by 
the  fact  that  the  treading-out  of  the  corn 
is  always  represented  on  the  monuments 
as  accomplished  either  by  oxen  or  by 
asses  (Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  92). 

4°  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  pp.  86,  89, 
and  90. 

4i  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  64.  Compare  Herod,  ii,  77; 
Diod.  Sic.  i,  52;  Strab.  xvii,  1,  §37; 
Athen.  Deipn.  i,  25.  Sir  Gardner  Wil- 
kinson found  malt  at  Thebes.  (See  the 
author's  Herodotvs,  vol.  ii,  p.  127,  note  *.) 

42  In  a  harvest  song,  discovered  by 
Champollion  at  Eilethyias,  the  oxen  are 
represented  as  in  the  main  threshing/oy 
themselves.    The  song  runs  as  follows  :— 

Thresh  for  yourselves,  thresh  for  your- 
selves, 

O  oxen,  thresh  for  yourselves,  for  your- 
selves; 

Measures  for  yourselves,  measures  for 
your  masters ! 

(See  Champollion's  Letters  s?/r  VEgyptt, 

pp.  146  and  196.) 

43  Wilkinson,  A.  A",  vol    iv,  p.  98. 


CH.   VI.] 


AGRICULTURE. 


279 


44  Ibid.  p.  59. 

45  Ibid.  pp.  98  and  99. 

46  Ibid.  p.  99. 

47  Herodotus  thought  that  the  Egyp- 
tians never  ate  beans  and  never  sowed 
them  (ii,  37);  but  in  this  he  was  mis- 
taken, and  is  to  be  corrected  from 
Theophrastus  (H  P.  vol.  ii,  p.  323). 
Diodorus  (i,  89),  and  Pliny  (H.  N.  xviii, 
12).  Probably  only  the  priests  were  for- 
bidden to  eat  them.  (Wilkinson  in  the 
author's  Herod,   v.  ii,  p.  66.) 

48  piin.  H  N.  xviii,  12.  The  lentils 
grown  near  Pelusium  were  especially 
celebrated  (Virgil,  Georgiea,  i,  228;  Mar- 
tial, Epigrammata,  xiii,  9,  1). 

49  The  wheat  straw  which  was  cleared 
from  the  fields  after  the  reaping  of  the 
ears  was  also  used  for  the  same  purpose 
(Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  95). 

so  Ibid.  vol.  ii,  p.  137. 

si  Deut.  xi,  10. 

62  Supra,  p.  161.  • 

53  As  in  Assyria  (Layard,  Nineveh  and 
Babylon,  p.  109,  and  pi.  opp.  p.  110);  and 
in  modern  Egypt  (Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol. 
ii,  vignette  on  p.  1).  Representations  of 
the  ancient  Egyptian  hand-swipe  will  be 
found  in  the  author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii, 
p.  21;  in  Wilkinson's  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  ii,  p.  4;  in  Rosellini's  Monumenti 
Civili,  pi.  xi,  No.  2;  and  elsewhere. 

54  Wilkinson,  vol.  ii,  p.  141. 

55  See  the  Memoires  sur  le  Lac  Maris 
oX  M.  Jomard  in  the  Description  de 
VEgpyte,  and  of  M.  Linantde  Bellefonds, 
published  at  Alexandria  in  1843.  Com- 
pare Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  ii,  pp.  209-232. 

56  Some  remains  of  this  dam  or  dyke, 
in  the  most  southern  part  of  the  basin, 
are  still  above  30  feet  broad  and  nearly 
40  feet  high. 

57  Herod,  ii,  101  and  149;  iii,  91. 

58  It  is  thought  by  some  that  the  reser- 
voir, besides  rendering  possible  the  culti- 
vation of  the  Fayoum,  was  also  of 
service  in  relieving  the  Nile  valley  of 
superfluous  water  when  the  inundation 
was  excessive,  and  furnishing  a  supply 
when  it  was  in  defect  (Birch,  Egypt  from 
the  Earliest  Times,  p.  68);  but  the  size  of 
the  reservoir  was  scarcely  sufficient  to 
make  it  of  much  service  in  these  re- 
spects. 

59  Strab,  xvii,  1,  %  35. 

60  Piin.  H.  N.  xv,  3. 
6i  Ibid. 

62  Strab.  l.s.c. 

83  See  above. 

64  Herodotus  says  the  vir.e  was  not 
cultivated  in  Egypt  (ii,  77);  and  some 
moderns  have  caught  at  this  assertion 
and  made  much  of  it  as  discrediting  the 
Pentateuch  (Gen.  xl,  9);  but  there  is 
abundant  evidence  that  the  "Father  of 
History"  was  in  this  instance  mistaken, 
the  vine  being  really  cultivated  very 
widely.  (See  Hengstenberg,  Egypt  and 
Moses,  p.  16;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii, 
pp.  143-171). 

86  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  121. 


66  See  Strabo,  l.s.c.  The  roots  are  still 
found  there  (Wilkinson,  vol.  ii,  p.  161). 

67  Athenaeus,  Deipnosoph,  i,  p.  25,  E. 

68  Athenaeus  Deiphnosoph,  i,  p.  25,  R 
Compare  Piin.  H.  N.  xiv,  3;  Virg.  Georg. 
ii,  91;  Horat.  Od.  i,  31,  14;  Strab.,  l.s.c. ; 
etc. 

69  Hellanicus,  Fr.  155. 

70  Piin.  H.  N.  xiv,  7. 

7i  See  a  representation  in  Wilkinson, 
vol.  ii,  p.  151. 

72  Wiikinson,  vol.  ii,  p.  148. 

73  Ibid.  p.  149. 

74  See  Genesis  xl,  11:  "I  took  the 
grapes,«and  pressed  them  into  Pharaoh's 
cup,  and  I  gave  the  cup  into  Pharaoh's 
hand.11 

76  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  158. 

76  Athenaeus,  i,  p.  25,  E. 

77  piin.  H  N.  xiv,  3;  Athenaeus,  l.s.c; 
Strab.  xviii,  1,  g  14. 

78  Piin.  H  N'.  xiv,  7. 

79  Athen.  l.s.c. 

so  Herod,  ii,  94;  Thucyd.  i,  109-10. 
si  Diod.  Sic.  i,  43. 

82  See  above,  p.  81. 

83  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  45. 

84  Ibid. 

85  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  95. 

86  See  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  161;  and  compare  Lepsius, 
Denkmdler,  vol.  iii,  part  ii,  pis.  60,  132, 
etc. 

87  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv.  p.  101. 
ss  Ibid.  pp.  95,  122,  etc. 

89  See  the  representation  in  Wilkinson, 
vol.  ii,  p.  134. 

90  Wilkinson,  vol.  iv,  p.  139.  Compare 
Rosellini,  Monumenti  Civili,  vol.  i,  p. 
270  and  pi.  xxxi. 

9i  Rosellini,  Monumenti  Civili,  pi.  xxx*, 
Wilkinson,  vol.  iv,  p.  130;  Lepsius,  Denk- 
mdler, vol.  iii,  pt.  ii,  pi.  9. 

92  "  Veal  and  beef,  not  pork  and  mut- 
ton, were  the  principal  meats  that  ap- 
peared at  an  Egyptian's  table.11  (Birch, 
Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times,  p.  45.) 

93  Wilkinson,  vol.  i,  p.  280;  vol.  iii,  p. 
146,  etc.     Compare  Herod,  ii,  81. 

94  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  pp.  141-2. 

96  Diod.  Sic.  i,  36.  Sir  G.  Wilkinson 
observes  that  this  is  still  the  case  in 
Egypt,  but  only  when  the  sheep  are  very 
carefully  fed  and  attended  to.  {A.  E.  vol. 
ii,  p.  17,  note). 

96  Herod,  ii,  42. 

97  That  the  Egyptians  drank  milk  is 
stated  by  Birch  (l.s.c.)  but  whether  the 
produce  of  cows  or  goats,  or  both,  he 
does  not  mention.  Goats1  milk  was 
drunk  by  the  Israelites  (Prov.  xxvii,  27). 

os  Exod.  xxv,  4;  xxvi,  7;  xxxvi,  14. 
99  Herod,  ii,  47,  164. 
ioo  ibid,  ii,  47,  48. 

101  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  33. 

102  See  above,  p.  81. 

i°3  This  is  the  view  to  which  Wilkin- 
son, on  the  whole  inclines.  Compare  A. 
E.  vol.  iv,  pp.  39  and  49,  with  the  author'% 
Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  20  note  2.) 

104  See     Wilkinson's    representation. 


280 


NOTES   TO    HISTORY    OF   ANCIENT   EGYPT.        [CH.  VII. 


taken  from  a  tomb  at  Thebes  (A.  E.  vol. 
iii,  p.  34);  and  compare  Rosellini,  Mori. 
Civ.  vol.  i,  p.  209,  and  pi.  xxx,  3. 

106  So  Birch:  "  The  domestic  fowl  was 
unknown  to  hinV"  (i.  e.  the  Egyptian  lord); 
"it  had  not  been  brought  by  the  hands  of 
tributaries  to  the  valley  of  the  Nile, 
where  it  never  appears  in  Pharaonic 
times1''  (Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times, 
p.  45).  Wilkinson  agrees  as  to  the  fact 
of  the  non-appearance,  but  does  not 
draw  the  conclusion  that  fowls  were 
therefore  unknown.  On  the  contrary,  he 
supposes  them  to  have  always  "aboun- 
ded in  Egypt11  (A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  214;  com- 
pare vol.  ii,  p.  18,  and  vol.  iv,  p.  133). 
Fowls  were  certainly  common  in  Egypt  in 
Roman  times.  It  seems  to  be,  on  the 
whole,  most  probable  that  they  were  in- 
troduced by  the  Persians. 

io«  Birch,  l.s.c;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol. 
ii,  pp.  18,  21,  and  380.  Compare  Eerod. 
ii,  37. 

107  Herod,  ii,  45;  Wilkinson,  vol.  v.  p. 
227;  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  pp.  57-8, 
etc. 

108  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  132. 

io9  Ibid. 

no  Herod,  ii,  77. 

in  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  216; 
Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times,  p. 
46;  Horapollo,  Hierogl.  i,  57. 

112  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  7;  vol.  iv,  p. 
140. 

113  Ibid.  Compare  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ. 
pi.  xxx,  2;  and  Lepsius,  Denkmdler,  vol. 
iii,  pt.  ii,  pi.  xvii,  b. 

114  In  our  Authorized  Version  Joseph 
is  said  to  have  sent  "wagons11  into  Pales- 
tine to  fetch  Jacob  and  his  brothers1 
families  (Gen.  xlv,  19,  27:  xlvi.  5).  And 
some  modern  commentators  justify  the 
rendering.  (See  the  Speaker's  Commen- 
tary, vol.  i,  p.  216.)  But  as  "wagon11  in 
modern  English  mean  as  four-wheeled 
vehicle,  the  word  is  inappropriate  in 
Genesis  xlv,  and  xlvi,  where  two-wheeled 
vehicles,  or  carts,  are  certainly  intended. 
'See  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  pp.  178- 
80). 

us  i^e  carts  represented  on  the  monu- 
ments belong  for  the  most  part  to  for- 
eigners (Wilkinson,  vol.  i,  p.  369).  But  I 
believe  there  are  instances  of  their  em- 
ployment in  the  carriage  of  native  agri- 
cultural produce. 

n«  See  above,  p.  83. 

ii''  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  87. 

1)M  ibid.  vol.  iii,  p.  195.  Compare 
Lepsius,  Denkmdler,  vol.  iii,  pt.  ii,  pi.  civ. 
b. 

no  See  Herod,  ii,  108. 

I20  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  82;  Wilkinson  in  the  author's 
Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  177,  note  2;  Picker- 
ing, Races  of  Man,  p.  373 

i2i  Birch,  l.s.c;  Herod,  ii,  162:  Wilkin 
son,  A.  E.  vol..  i,  pp.  289  and  406.      It  is 
curious  how  unfrequently  the  Egyptians 
arc    ('presented  on  horseback. 

J22  Rosellini,  Monumenti  Civili,    pis. 


cxvi,  exx,  exxii,  etc.;  Wilkinson,  Ancient 
Egyptians,  vol.  i,  pp.  336,  338,  354,  etc. 

123  Birch.  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  82. 

124  Diodorus  makes  the  cavalry  of 
Sesostris  amount  to  24,000,  when  the 
chariots  are  27,000  (i,  54).  That  of  Shishak 
(Sesonchis)  was  60,000,  when  the  chariots 
were  no  more  than  1,200  (2  Chron.  xii,  3). 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Egyptians 
maintained  a  large  cavalry  force  from  the 
time  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  though 
representations  of  horsemen  on  the 
monuments  are  scanty  in  the  extreme. 
(See  Ex.  xiv,  9;  2  Kings  xviii,  24;  Jerem. 
xlvi,  9:  Herod,  ii,  162:  Wilkinson,  Ancient 
Egyptians,  vol.  i,  pp.  288-292,  etc.) 

125  See  1  Kings  x,  29;  2  Chron.  i,  17. 

126  Records  of  the  Fast,  vol.  ii,  p.  75; 
Diod.  Sic.  i,  45,  ad  fin. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

i  By  "architecture11  I  understand  not 
the  mere  "technic  art11  of  constructing 
buildings  for  various  uses,  but  the  "aes- 
thetic11 one  of  constructing  buildings 
which  shall  not  be  merely  useful,  but 
shall  likewise  affect  the  mind  with  the 
sense  of  beauty,  of  grandeur,  or  of  both 
together.  (See  P'ergusson,  Hist,  of  Ar- 
chitecture, vol.  i,  pp.  10-16,  2d  edition.) 

2  This  was  the  case  in  the  ancient 
Chaldaea  or  Babylonia.  (See  the  author's 
Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  i,  p.  71,  2d  edi- 
tion.) 

3  Herod,  ii,  99,  ad  fin. 

4  Diod.  Sic.  i,  51. 

6  See  Howard  Vyse's  Pyramids  ofGhi- 
zeh,  vol.  iii,  p.  2,  and  map. 

6  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture,  vol. 

i,  p.  ioo: 

7  Birch  ascribes  the  great  pyramid  of 
Saccarah  to  Ouennephes,  a  Manethonian 
king  of  the  first  dynasty  (Egypt  from  the 
Earliest  Times,  p.  25).  Lenormant  re- 
gards its  builder  as  Kekeou  (Cechous)  of 
the  second  Manethonian  dynasty  (Man- 
uel d'Histoire  Ancienne,  vol.  i,  p.  332). 
The  pyramids  of  Ghizeh  are  universally 
ascribed  to  kings  of  the  fourth  dynasty. 

8  Fergusson,  vol.  i,  p.  102. 

9  External  ornamentation  is  confined 
to  the  doorways  (Fig.  36)  or  entrances, 
which  are  sometimes  carved  curiously. 
The  lintels  are  rounded.  Door-posts  are 
represented  in  the  stone  on  either  side  of 
the  doorway ;  an  imitation  of  lattice- 
work appears  above ;  at  the  side  are  al- 
ternate pilasters  and  depressions  adorned 
with  a  sort  of  panelling.  The  whole  ap- 
pears to  be  an  imitation  of  the  facade  of 
a  house,  in  which  the  main  material  used 
was  wood. 

This  would  seem  to  indicate  that  there 
was  a  wooden  architecture  in  Egypt  an- 
terior to  the  stone  one.  Of  this  wooden 
architecture  there  are,  however,  no  re- 
mains. 

io  Vyse  (Pyramids  of  Ghizeh,  vol.  iii, 


CH.  VII.] 


ARCHITECTURE. 


281 


p.  78),  Birch  (Egypt from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  28),  and  others  call  it  a  '•  pyra- 
mid "  Fergusson  says  (Hist,  of  Archi- 
tecture, vol.  i,  p.  100),  that  it  is  not  so 
much  a  pyramid  as  a  "tower.1"' 

11  These  are  Perring's  measurements, 
recorded  by  Vyse  in  the  Appendix  to  his 
work,  vol.  iii,  p.  79. 

12  Ibid. 

13  This  edifice  has  been  briefly  de- 
scribed by  Dr.  Birch  (Egypt,  p.  33),  more 
elaborately  by  Baron  Bunsen  (Egypt's 
Place,  vol.  ii,  pp.  379-84),  and  Mr.  Fer- 
gusson (Hist,  of  Architecture,  vol.  i,  pp. 
100,  101.)  But  the  accounts  of  these  wri- 
ters are  all  taken  from  the  work  of  Col. 
Howard  Vyse,  which  is  the  authority  fol- 
lowed in  the  text,  (See  Pyramids  of 
Ghizeh,  vol.  iii,  pp.  41-50.) 

i*  The  gradual  diminution  of  the  sev- 
eral stages  is  as  follows  : — 

FT.  IN. 

Basement  stage  .  .  37    8 

Second  stage  .  .  35  11 

Third  stage  .  .  .  34    3 

Fourth  stage  .  .  32    7 

Fifth  stage    .  .  .  30  10 

Sixth  stage  .  .  .  29    2 

Dr.  Birch  regards  the  pyramid  as  having 
had  originally  seven  stages  ;  but  there  is 
no  trace  of  a  seventh  stage,  and  neither 
Vyse  nor  Fergusson  favors  his  theory. 

15  Vyse,  vol,  iii,  p.  42. 

16  Ibid.  p.  43.  There  is  a  deviation 
from  the  exact  central  point,  whether  in- 
tentional or  not  is  uncertain,  to  the  ex- 
tent of  36  feet  eastward. 

17  This  had  disappeared  at  the  time  of 
Col.  Vyse's  excavations  ;  but  it  was  seen 
at  an  earlier  date  by  Minutoli. 

18  The  entire  doorway  has  been  re- 
moved to  Europe,  and  is  now  in  the  Ber- 
lin Museum. 

19  \Tvse,  vol.  iii,  p.  41 ;  Fergusson,  vol. 
\,  p.  100. 

29  A  second  instance  of  an  oblong  py- 
ramid exists  in  the  Mustabet-el-Faraoun 
or  "Throne  of  Pharaoh,11  described  by 
Vyse,  vol.  iii,  p.  53. 

21  Vyse  thinks  that  the  N.  and  S.  sides 
were  originally  no  more  than  331  feet, 
the  E.  and  W.  sides  being  394  feet. 
Subsequently  to  the  original  construction 
a  wall  10  feet  in  thickness  was  (he  says) 
built  on  at  the  northern  and  southern 
ends  (P yramids  of  Ghizeh,  vol.  iii,  p.  42, 
note). 

22  Wilkinson  (Topography  of  Thebes, 
p.  329)  says  this  was  the  method  employ- 
ed in  smoothing  the  second  pyramid. 
He  mentions  both  methods  in  the  au- 
thor's Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  201,  note  3. 

23  Brugsch,  Histoire  d'Egt/pte,  p.  52. 

24  See  Herod,  ii,  124-34:  Diod.  Sic.  i, 
63,  64;  Strabo,  xvii,  i.  §33.  The  last- 
named  writer  notices  that,  the  three  are 
only  the  chief  anions:  many — ttoAAou  fxiv 
eitri  Trvoa/ouSe?,  rpei?  6e  o^ioAoyoi. 

2*  Vyse  makes  the  base  354  feet  6 
Inches  (Pyramids  of  Ghizeh,  vol.  ii,  p. 
'20)     Fergusson  calls  it  354  feet,  Herod- 


\uuu 


otus  (ii,  134),  curiously  enough,  under- 
estimates the  size  of  this  pyramid,  inaK 
ing  the  length  of  each  side  no  more  than 
280  feet. 

29  Vyse,  Pyramids  of  Ghizeh,  vol.  ii. 
p.  120. 

27  Bunsen's  Egypt's  Place  in  Univ. 
History,  vol.  ii,   p.  166. 

28  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  120. 

29  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodo- 
tus, vol.  ii,  p.  208,  note  1. 

30  On  the  lid  of  the  sarcophagus  which 
occupied  the  sepulchral  chamber  of  this 
pyramid  was  the  cartouche — 

which  is  read  as  Men-  * I~X 

ka-re  or  Men-ker-re,/      tf&ttii 
undoubtedly  the  orig- 
inal of  the  Mencheres' 
(Manetho),  Mecherin- 
us  (Diod.  Sic),  or  Mycerinus  (Herod.),  of 
the  Greek  writers. 

31  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  122. 

32  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  82,  and  compare  pi. 
3,  figs.  7  and  9  (opp.  p.  81). 

33  The  sarcophagus  was,  unfortunately, 
lost  on  its  way  to  England,  the  vessel 
which  conveyed  it  having  foundered  off 
the  coast  of  Spain  (ibid.  p.  84,  note  3). 

34  See  above,  note  9,  chapter  vii. 

35  See  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  103. 

36  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  123. 

37  Ibid.  p.  84,  note  3. 

38  Bunsen,  EgypVs  Place,  vol.  ii,  p.  167. 

39  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  79. 

40  Bunsen,  vol.  ii,  p.  171 ;  Wilkinson 
in  the  author's  Herod.,  vol.  ii,   p.  209. 

41  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  117:  Bunsen,  vol.  ii, 
p.  154;  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  95. 

42  Eleven  acres,  one  rood,  and  thirty- 
eight  poles,  according  to  Vyse  and  Per- 
ring  (Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  119) ;  499,  849  square 
feet,  according  to  Fergusson  (l.s.c). 

43  Vyse,  l.s.c. 

44  Bunsen,  vol.  ii,  p.  152. 

45  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  118. 

46  Belzoni,  Researches,  p.  271. 

47  Vyse,  l.s.c. 

48  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  pp.  118-9. 

49  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  ii,  p. 
153. 

5"  Ibid.  vol.  ii,  p.  152. 

6J  Herod,  ii,  127 ;  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  115 ; 
Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodotus, 
vol.  ii,  p.  204,  note  2. 

82  Vyse,  l.s.c.  ;  Bunsen,  vol.  ii,  p.  154. 
Dr.  Birch  is  less  accurate  than  usual 
when  he  says  that  this  pyramid  was  "of 
admirable  execution11  (Egypt  from,  the 
Earliest  Times,  p.  38). 

53  Bunsen  (vol.  ii,  plan  opp.  p.  147) 
and  Wilkinson  (plan  in  vol.  ii,  of  the  au- 
thor's Herodotus,  p.  199)  represent  the 
Great  Pyramid  as  lying  exactly  northeast 
of  the  second.  But  the  expert,  Perring, 
lays  down  very  positively  the  contrary 
(Vyse,  vol.  ii,  plan  of  the  pyramids  opp. 
p.  148). 

64  The  base  of  the  Great  Pyramid  was 
thirty-three  feet  below  that  of  the  Second 
Pyramid  (Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  106).    in  verti 


282 


NOTES  TO   HISTORY   OF   ANCIENT   EGYPT.        [ch,  VH 


c*l  height  it  exceeded  the  Second  Pyra- 
mid by  twenty-six  feet  six  inches.  Its 
elevation  above  the  plain  was  conse- 
quently less  than  that  of  the  Second  Py- 
ramid by  six  feet  six  inches.  This  fact 
has  not  been  commonly  noted. 

55  At  480  (or  rather  4«0%)  by  Vyse  and 
Perring  (vol.  ii,  p.  109);  at  484  by  Mr. 
Fergusson  (Hist,  of  Architecture,  vol  i, 
p.  95):  and  at  485  by  Mr.  Piazzi  Smyth  (As- 
tronom.  Observ.,  p.  5).  The  height  de- 
pends on  the  exact  angle  of  the  casing 
stones,  which  is  given  as  51°  50'  by  Vyse 
and  Perring  (vol.  i,  p.  261), but  by  Mr.  Fer- 
gusson as  51°  51'  (Hist,  of  Architecture, 
v  ol.  i,  p.  95). 

56  So  Vyse  and  Perring  (l.s.c).  Mr. 
Fergusson  says  760. 

57  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  32.  Compare  Wilkinson,  To- 
pography of  Thebes,  p.  323,  note,  where 
the  comparison  with  Lincoln's  Inn  Fields 
was  iirst  made. 

58  These  are  Perring's  estimates  (Vyse, 
vol.  ii,  p.  113).  They  have  been  gener- 
ally accepted.  (See  Bunsen,  vol.  ii,  p. 
155;  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodo- 
tus, vol.  ii,  p.  200:  Fergusson,  Hist,  of 
Architecture,  vol.  i,  p.  95.) 

59  Herod,  ii,  124,  ad  fin.,  with  Wilkin 
son's  comment. 

60  Lenormant  says  (Manuel  d'Histoire 
Ancienne,  vol.  i.  p.  235) :  "La  pyramidede 
Khoufou  est  demeuree  la  plus  prodigi- 
euse  des  ceuvres  humaines,  au  moins  par 
sa  masse." 

6i.  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  110. 

62  Fer«usson,  History  of  Architecture, 
vol  i.  p. '99. 

63  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  ii,  p.  160. 
Compare  Herod,  ii,  124. 

64  The  angle  of  the  descending  passase 
is  2*6°  41',  that  of  the  ascending  one  26°  18' 
(Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  110). 

65  At  first  three  feet  ten  inches  high 
only;  after  "the  step"  five  feet  eight 
incnes  (ibid.  p.  112). 

66  Vvse  passim;  Bunsen1.  vol.  ii,  pp. 
156, 158;  Wilkinson;  Topography,  p.  324. 
There  is  no  ground  for  this  appellation. 

67  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p.  113. 

68  The  sarcophagus  had  no  inscription: 
but  the  walls  of  the  chambers  had 
roughly  scrawled  upon  them  in  red  ochre 
the  names  of 


ihufu 
Khnum-Khufu 


(53D 


and 


See  Lepsius,  Denkmaler,  vol.  iii,  pt.  ii, 
pi.  1.  Dr.  Birch  seems  to  regard  these 
two  cartouches  as  representine  the  same 
kin<r  (Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times, 
Dp.  32-8). 


69  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  p   111. 

70  Bunsen,  vol.  ii,  p.  164. 

71  Ibid.  Compare  Vyse,  vol.  ii,  pian 
opp.  p.  158. 

72  Vyse,  vol.  ii.  p.  111. 

73  Ibid.  p.  110.  This  fact  would  seem 
to  show  either  a  change  of  design  on  the 
part  of  the  original  builder,  or  the  pass- 
ing of  the  building  into  new  hands,  and 
the  substitution  for  the  original  design 
of  an  entirely  new  plan. 

74  See  the  work  of  Mr.  Piazzi  Smyth; 
entitled  Antiquity  of  Intellectual  Man, 
Edinburgh,  1865,  p.  240,  etc. 

75  These  ideas,  which  originated  with 
Signor  Cavi^lia,  were  encouraged  by 
Col.  Howard  Vyse  (Pyi  amids  of  Ghizeh, 
vol.  ii,  pp.  105,  106)  and,  to  some  extent, 
by  Wilkinson  (Topography  of  Thebes, 
p.  328).  Their  entire  falsity  is  sufficiently 
indicated  by  the  facts,  that  no  two  pyra- 
mids have  their  sides  inclined,  or  theL* 
entrance  passages  sloped,  at  tha  same 
angle. 

76  Birch.  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  35. 

77  The  symmetrical  idea  before  the 
minds  of  the  constructors  of  the  pyra- 
mids seems  to  have  been  that  each  face 
of  a  pyramid  should  form  an  equilateral 
triangle.  Their  architectural  skill  was 
not  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  effect 
this  quite  exactly,  but  they  did  not  miss 
their  aim  by  very  much.  The  propor- 
tions of  the  bases  to  the  sloping  edges  in 
the  three  pyramids  are  as  follows:-- 

SLOPING 
BASE       EDGE       DEFICIENCY 

Great  Pyramid    764       723  l-19th. 

Second  Pyramid  707       672  l-20th. 

Third  Pyramid     354       330  l-15th. 

(See  Fergusson's  History  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  96.) 

78  See  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  pp.  32-41;  Lenormant,  Manuel 
d'Histoire  Ancienne,  vol.  i,  pp.  537-8; 
Fergusson,  History  of  Architecture,  vol. 
i,  p.  98;  Brugsch,  Histoire  d'Egypte,  pp. 
51-59,  etc. 

79  Lenormant,  p.  537;  Fergus.,  p.  98. 

80  Vyse,  vol.  i,  p.  288:  vol.  ii,  pp.  78,  82, 
etc.;  Belzoni,  Researches,  pp.  269,  274, 
etc. 

81  Fergusson,  vol.  i,  p.  100. 

82  Ibid.  p.  98. 

83  According  to  Diodorus  (i,  64,  28)  the 
entrance  to  the  Third  Pyramid  was  not 
concealed,  but,  on  the  contrary,  was 
poin+ed  out  for  observation,  by  having 
the  name  of  Mencheres  inscribed  over 
it.  If  this  were  so,  we  must  attribute  it 
to  the  carelessness  or  hostility  of  the 
kings  of  the  fifth  dynasty,  who  may  have 
come  into  power  before  the  works  con- 
nected with  the  closing  of  the  tomb  of 
Mencheres  were  completed. 

84  This  was  first  proved  by  Sir  Henry 
James,  of  the  Royal  Engineers,  whose 
models  and  lucid  explanations  con- 
vinced me  of  the   fact,  when  I  was  at 


Vol.  1. 


Plate  LXV1L 


^^O^ 


dCjsps: 


Fig.  166.— Egyptian  Javelins.— See  Page  217 


Fig  167.-HEAD-REST.-See         Fig.  1G8.-Egyptian    Fig.  Ib9.-EGYP- 
Page  229  Military  Drum.—      tian  Captive.— 

See  Page  224.  See  Page  224. 


Fig.  170.—  Prisoners  of  War,  escorted  BY  their  Captor.— See  Page  222. 

a 


Fig  i71._Egyptian  undergoing  the  BASTiNADO.-See  Page  22o. 


Plate  LXVIII. 


Vol  I 


Fig.  17$;.—  Egyptian  Saw.-  See  Page  227 


Fig.  173.— Egyptian  Porcelain  Vase  .  — 
See  Page  232. 


Fig.  174.— Process  of  Smoothing  Stone. 
-  See  Page  227. 


Fig.  175.— Women  Weaving.— See  Page  228. 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  LXIX. 


Fig.  170. — Furniture-making. — See  Page  229. 


Fig.  177.— Chariot-making.— See  Page  229. 


Fte.  1T8.~Oi.ass  blowikgi— See  Page  880*. 


Plate  LXX. 


Vol.  I. 


Fig.  179.— Specimens  of  ordinary  Egyptian  Pottery.— See  Page  231. 


Fig.  180.— Elegant  Vases  and  Asiphorje,— See  Page  231. 


CH.  VII.  J 


ARCHITECTURE. 


283 


Exeter  on  the  occasion  of  the  meeting  of 
the  British  Association  in  1869.  Mr.  Fer- 
gusson  adopts  Sir.  H.  James's  views 
(Hist,  of  Architecture,  vol.  i,  p.  98). 

85  Herodotus  (ji,  125)  expressly  notices 
that  the  stones  were  raised  in  this  way, 
a  step  at  a  time,  by  machines  placed  on 
the  step  below.  Mr.  Perring  found 
marks  of  the  use  of  such  machines 
wherever  the  upper  surface  of  the  orig- 
inal steps  was  exposed  to  view.  He 
conjectured  that  the  mac'  ine  used  was 
the  pohjxpaston  of  Vitruvius  (Vyse, 
Pyramids  of  Ghizeh,  vol.  i,  p.  197,  note). 

86  i.  e.,  diminishing  as  they  ascend. 

87  See  Fig.  54,  plate  xx,  and  compare 
the  frontispiece  to  the  first  volume  of 
Col.  Vyse's  work. 

88  Fergusson,  vol.  i,  pp.  91,  92.  Com- 
pare Vyse,  vol.  i,  p.  289  :  "The  masonry 
of  the  [central]  chamber  is  probably  the 
finest  specimen  in  the  world.  It  consists 
entirely  of  enormous  masses  of  polished 
granite,  worked  down  and  laid  with  the 
greatest  exactness,  and  has  retained  its 
original  perfection  for  unnumbered  cen- 
turies, whilst  other  mighty  fabrics,  com- 
posed of  coarse  workmanship  aud  mater- 
ials, have  gradually  crumbled  away  into 
shapeless  masses  of  stone  and  rubbish. 
In  this  instance  every  block  is  as  fresh 
and  as  perfect  as  when  taken  from  the 
quarry,  and  such  is  the  ponderous  solid- 
ity and  perfection  of  their  texture,  and 
the  labor  and  science  employed  in  their 
arrangement,  that  they  seem  to  set  at 
defiance  the  effects  of  time  and  the 
efforts  of  human  violence.11 

89  Fergusson.  vol.  i,  p.  105. 

90  Ibid.     Compare  Vyse,  vol.  i,  p.  176. 

91  After  noticing  the  fact  that  at  first 
sight  the  pyramids  generally  disappoint 
travellers,  Col.  Vyse  observes:  "A  more 
deliberate  examination,  however,  never 
fails  to  alter  and  correct  these  opinions; 
and  it  was  universally  acknoivledged  by 
those  who  remained  for  any  length  of 
time  at  Ghizeh,  that  the  more  carefully 
and  completely  they  were  inspected  the 
more  extraordinary  their  grandeur  ap- 
peared .  .  .  Pre-eminent  In  dimensions 
and  antiquity  over  all  other  buildings  in 
the  world,  they  are  alike  admirable  for 
the  excellence  of  their  masonry,  the 
skill  and  science  displayed  in  their  con- 
struction, and  the  imposing  majesty  of 
their  simple  forms.11  (Pyramids  of  Ghi- 
zeh, l.s.c.) 

92  Herod,  ii,  124-34  and  148.  Compare 
i  93. 

'  93  Tacit.  Ann.  ii,  61. 

94  "Soldiers,  forty  centuries  look 
down  upon  you  from  the  top  of  the  pyr- 
amids.11 (See  Alison,  History  of  Europe, 
vol.  iii,  p.  433.) 

95  Diod.  Sic.  i,  63;  ii,  11;  Strab.  xvii,  1, 
§33. 

96  Richardson,  Travels  along  the  Med- 
iterranean and  Parts  adjacent,  vol.  i,  p. 
119,  quoted  by  Dr.  Russell  in  his  Egypt, 
Ancient  and  Modern,  p.  124.  Compare 
Diod.  Sic.  i,  63,  sub  fin. 


97  Vyse  (vol.  iii,  pp.  57-63  and  70-D 
gives  a  full  account  of  two  brick  pyra- 
mids at  Dashoor.  They  were  composed 
of  crude,  not  baked,  bricks,  and  were 
cased  with  Mokattam  limestone.  The 
original  bases  were  estimated  at  342  feet 
6  inches  and  350  feet,  their  perpendicular 
heights  at  %u  feet  4  inches  and  215  feet 
6  inches.  There  is  also  a  pyramid  chiefly 
built  of  crude  brick  at  Illahoun,  (Fig. 
52)  on  the  way  to  the  Fayoum.  This  had 
not  only  a  casing  of  stone,  but  was 
strengthened  internally  by  a  number  of 
stone  walls,  the  arrangement  of  which 
will  be  best  understood  by  the  represen- 
tation on  the  opposite  page.  There  is 
another  brick  pyramid  inside  the  Fay- 
oum, known  as  the  Pyramid  of  Howara 
(Vyse,  vol.  iii,  p.  83). 

98  Herod,  ii,  135. 

99  Vyse,  vol.  iii,  pp.  65-7. 
ioo  Ibid.  p.  66. 

101  So  Wilkinson  (Topography  of 
Thebes,  p.  338).  The  Dashoor  pyramid 
shows  an  inferiority  of  construction  in 
the  upper  part;  and  it  is  doubtful  if  it 
was  ever  quite  completed  (Vyse,  vol.  iii, 
p.  66). 

102  See  Mr.  Fergusson's  description  of 
the  "Tomb  of  Menephthah11  (Fig.  50)  at 
Thebes  (Hist,  of  Architecture,  vol.  i,  p. 
128).  This  excavation  was  350  feet  long, 
and  descended  gradually  till  it  reached  a 
depth  of  nearly  100  feet  below  the  level 
of  the  entrance.  It  comprised  five  pil- 
lared chambers,  numerous  passages  or 
corridors,  and  a  large  room  with  a  coved 
roof,  in  which  Belzoni  found  the  sar- 
cophagus of  Menephthah  (Researches,  p. 
23.5  >. 

103  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  103. 

104  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i.  p.  103.  Compare  Falkener  in 
Museum  of  Class.  Antiquities,  vol.  i,  p. 
87.  The  resemblance  to  the  Doric  order 
was  remarked  by  the  architect  Gaetano 
Rosellini,  who  accompanied  the  Tuscan 
expedition  of  the  Grand  Duke  Leopold. 
(See  Rosellini,  Monumenti  Civili,  vol.  i. 
p.  65,  note  4.)  It  is  also  noticed  by  Sir 
Gardner  Wilkinson  (Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  i,  p.  44),  and  by  Bunsen  (Egypt's 
Place,  vol.  ii,  p.  284). 

105  '-Tali  colonne  sono  tra le  piu.  eleganti 
di  quante  se  ne  veggono  negli  antichi 
monumenti  d'Egitto.11  (Rosellini,  Mon. 
Civ.  l.s.c.) 

loe  "A  que8te colonne,  oltre  Teleganza 
del  la  forma,  aggiungono  vaghezzo  i 
colori,  che,  disposti  con  belP  armonia, 
danno  risalto  agli  steli,  ai  legami,  ed  ai 
bocciuoli11  (Rosellini,  p.  70). 

107  Ibid.  p.  69;  Fergusson,  vol.  i,  p. 
110. 

los  Herod,  ii,  99  ;  Diod.  Sic.  i,  45, 46,  etc. 

109  Donaldson  in  the  Transactions  oj 
the  Society  of  British  Architects  for  Feb. 
1861 ;  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  104. 

n°  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  38. 


284 


NOTES   TO    HISTORY   OF    AXCTEXT    EGYPT.        [CH.  VIL 


111  Fergusson,  vol.  i.  p.  105. 

112  Fergusson,  vol.  i,  p.  105-6. 

ii3  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egytians,  vol. 
i,  p.  45 :  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  ii, 
p.  283,  etc. 

ii4  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  219. 

us  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  118. 

n*  See  the  plan  in  the  Description  de 
V  Egypte,  "Antiquites,11  "Pianches,11  vol. 
ii,  pi.  4,  tig.  1. 

117  According  to  the  French  savants 
the  original  height  was  about  twenty- 
four  feet  (Description  de  I  Egypte,  l.s.c. 
fig.  4). 

"8  Ibid.  "Texte,'1  vol.  i,  ch.  ix.  p.  25. 

119  Description,  "Texte,'1  vol.  i,  ch.  ix, 

f>.  2t5 :  "On  s  etait  apercu  sans  doute  que 
es  pierres  du  plafond,  trop  pesantes, 
menacoient  de  se  rompre  sous  leur  propre 
poids. " 

120  ibid.  p.  28. 

121  DAnville,  Memoir  es  snr  V Egypte, 
p.  205;  Description,  "Antiquites,"  vol.  i, 
ch.  ix.  p.  121;  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyp- 
tians, vol.  i,  pp.  114-6. 

122  Brugsch.  Geschichle  Aegyptens 
•water  den  Pharaonen,  p.  542  ;  Fergusson, 
Hist,  of  Architecture,  vol.  i.  pp.  116-7 ; 
Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times,  p. 
127. 

123  Fergusson,  p.  117.  Diodorus  gives 
the  pylons  a  height  of  forty-rive  cubits, 
or  sixty -seven  and  a  half  feet  (i,  47).  Ttie 
French  savants  (Description,  "Plan- 
ches,1'' vol.  ii,  pi.  27)  represent  it  as  some- 
what greater  (about  seventy-three  feet). 

124  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
i,  p.  116:  Description,  "Texte,1'  vol.  i,  ch. 
ix,  pp.  123-4;  Fergusson,  p.  116. 

125  That  is  to  say,  a  court  with  colon- 
nades all  round  it. 

126  The  French  savants  made  the  two 
courts,  the  hall,  and  the  building  beyond, 
all  of  them,  of  exactly  the  same  width  ; 
but  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  and  other  author- 
ities tell  us  that  the  width  of  the  edifice 
is  contracted  at  each  stage.  (See  the  plan, 
plate  xxt.) 

i27  So  Wilkinson  (l.s.c.)  and  Fergusson 
(vol.  i,  p.  116).  The  French  explorers 
supposed  that  there  had  been  ten  rows 
Df  six  columns,  and  thus  made  their  num- 
ber sixty.  (Description,  "Antiquites,11 
"Texte,11  vol.  i,  ch.  ix,  p.  132;  "Plan- 
ches,11 vol   ii,  pi.  27.) 

128  The  central  pillars  have  a  height  of 
thirty-five  feet,  the  side  ones  of  twenty- 
four.  The  former  are  above  six  feet  in 
diameter,  the  latter  about  five  feet.  (De- 
scription, "Texte,11  l.s.c.) 

129  Description  de  VEgypte.  pp.  132-3. 

130  So  Wilkinson  and  Fergusson.  The 
French  explorers  thought  that  there 
might  originally  have  been  as  many 
apartments  in  the  rear  of  the  great  hall 
as  Diodorus  states.  (See  their  plan, 
"Antiquites,11  pi.  33.) 

13*  Description,  "Texte,11  vol.  i,  ch.  ix, 
pp.    184-5;  Wilkinson,    Topography  of 

7%9b€€y  pp,  10-18, 


i32  Description,  p.  125.  note  *. 

133  ibid.  pp.  80-1. 

134  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture. 
vol.  i,  p.  118. 

135  Wilkinson,  Topography  of  Thebes. 
p.  173. 

136  Description,  "Antiquites,11  vol.  i, 
ch.  ix,  p.  208. 

i37  Wilkinson,  l.s.c. 

138  Description,  "Antiquites,11  vol.  i, 
ch   ix,  p.  216. 

139  Ibid. 

140  The  bases  of  the  second  pylons  ex- 
ceed in  width  those  of  the  rirst  by  about 
six  feet  (Description,  "Planches,-1  vol. 
iii,  a.  pi.  21).  It  is  therefore  probable 
that  they  had  a  greater  weight  to  support. 

"i  Ibid.  "Texte,1   vol.  i,  ch.  ix,  p.  218. 

i42  Mr.  Fergusson  says  340  (Hut  of 
Architecture,  vol.  i,  p.  118):  and  I  do  not 
know  on  what  authority.  Sir  U.  Wilkin- 
son gives  the  length  as  329  feet  (Topog- 
raphy, p.  174);  the  French  explorers  at 
100  metres,  which  is  328  feet  (Description, 
vol.  i.  ch.  ix,  p.  220). 

143  So  Wilkinson  and  Fergusson.  The 
Description  (l.s.c.)  makes  the  width  exact- 
ly half  tiie  length,  or  bil  feet. 

144  The  side  columns  are  said  by  Wil- 
kinson to  be  forty-one  feet  nine  inches 
high  and  twenty-seven  feet  in  circum- 
ference (Topography,  1  s.c.) 

14?  See  Fergusson,    - 

146  Their  width  was  forty-eight  feet, 
that  of  the  western  p\  ions  hfty-two  feet. 

147  See  the  Description,  "Antiquites," 
vol.  i,  ch.  ix,  p.  228.  The  total  height  of 
these  obelisks  is  reckoned  by  the  French 
savants  at  twenty-two  metres  and  three- 
quarters,  or  seventy-four  feet  seven 
inches. 

148  Mr.  Fergusson  (Hist  of  Architec- 
ture, vol.  i,  p.  118)  (alls  this  a' -'hall.**  but 
I  do  not  suppose  that  he  imagines  the 
the  space  between  the  piers,  which  was 
above  thirty  feet,  to  have  been  roofed  in. 

i49  Description,  p.  220:  "  Cet  obe- 
lisque  est  le  plus  eleve  des  onze  que 
renferme  encore  1  Egypte,  et  il  egale 
presque  en  hauteur  les  plus  grands  qui  se 
trouvent  a  Rome." 

150  Description.,  p.  230. 

151  Description,  p.  2o4:  "  Tout  semble 
indiquer  ici  un  lieu  mysterieux  et  revere, 
dans  lequel  les  pieties  on  les  ministres 
du  roi  avoient  seuls  la  faculte  d'entrer."1 

i»2  Ibid.  p.  232. 

153  On  the  probability  that  '--Tachin 
and  Boaz"  stood  in  front  of  the  Temple, 
and  not  under  the  porch,  see  the  author's 
note  on  1  Kings  vii,  15-19,  in  the  Speak- 
er's Commentary. 

154  One  hundred  yards  long  by  nearly 
eighty  broad.  (See  the  plan  in  the 
Description,  "Planches.11  a.  vol.  iii,  pL 
21:  and  compare  above,  plate  xxvii  a.) 

155  Ibid.  Texte,  "Antiquites,11  vol.  i, 
ch.  ix.  p.  237. 

156  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  119.  The  Description  makes  the 
length  143  feet.   '  .    -    - 

lftT  See  the  plan,-  plate  xxvii  a. 


CH.  VII.] 


ARCHITECTURE. 


285 


is«  Mr.  Enrg-nspon  says  "360  feet" 
(l.s.c.),  but  tn.f*  Lb  wore  tuan  the  exireine 
width  of  the  propylaea  in  front,  which 
does  not  exceed  345  feet.  In  rear,  the 
length  of  the  wall  which  skirted  the  en- 
closure was  not  more  than  330  feet. 

159  By  exaggerating  the  width  Mr. 
Fergusson  is  enabled  to  say.  that  the  en- 
tire edifice  "  occupies  nearly  twice  the 
area  of  St.  Peter's  at  Rome.11  But  this 
is  an  over-estimate. 

160  Description.  "  Antiquites,  vol.  i, 
ch.  ix.  p.  220. 

lei  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  119. 

162  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  119. 

163  Stanley,.  Sinai  and  Palestine,  "In- 
troduction, "  p.  xxxviii. 

164  Fergusson,  vol.  i,  pp.  119-20. 

ifi*  The  monuments  in  the  shape  of 
obelisks,  which,  like  the  one  in  Kensing- 
ton Gardens,  are  built  up  of  a  number  of 
moderately  sized  stones,  transgress 
against  the  fundamental  law  of  the  obe- 
lisk's being,  which  is  to  be  monolithic. 
They  offend  against  good  taste  like  sham 
carvings  on  a  ceiling,  or  wood  painted  to 
imitate  marble. 

146  The  nearest  approach  to  a  Roman 
obelisk  is  that  of  the  Piazza  Navona, 
which  appears  to  have  been  erected  in 
Egypt  to  the  honor  of  Domitian  by  his 
flatterers  in  that  country.  It  belongs 
thus  to  Roman  times,  but  was  the  pro- 
duction of  Egyptian  workmen. 

167  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  129:  Smith,  Diet,  of  Greek  and 
Roman  Antiquities,  p.  816. 

168  Description,  "Antiquites,'"  vol.  i, 
p.  229,  note;  Fergusson,  l.s.c. 

169  Description,  l.s.c. 
1™  ibid. 

171  According  to  the  French  savants, 
the  obelisks  nearest  in  height  to  that  of 
St.  John  Lateran  are  the  great  obelisks  of 
Karnak,  which  they  imagined  to  have 
measured  29.83  metres,  or  ninety-seven 
feet  eight  inches,  but  which  are  now  said 
to  have  a  height  of  only  ninety-three  feet 
(Stuart  Poole  in  the  Encyclopaedia  Bri- 
tannica,advoc.  Egypt,  p.  508:  Fergusson, 
Hist,  of  Architecture,  vol.  i,  p.  129).  Next 
to  these  comes  the  one  before  St.  Peter's, 
which  measures  25.135  metres,  or  eighty- 
two  feet  four  inches.  Almost  of  the  same 
size  are  the  great  obelisk  of  Luxor  and 
its  fellow,  now  the  main  ornament  of  the 
Piace  de  la  Concorde  at  Paris,  which 
measure  twenty-five  metres,  or  almost 
exactly  eighty-two  feet.  The  obelisk 
near  the  Porta  del  Popolo  at  Rome  has  a 
height  of  seventy-eight  feet,  that  at  fleli- 
opolis  of  sixty-six,  and  that  recently 
brought  to  England  of  sixty-seven  feet. 

i™  The  obelisk  in  front  of  St.  Peter's 
is  estimated  to  weigh  694,000  lbs. 
(French),  or  335  tons;  that  in  the  Place 
de  la  Concorde  and  its  fellow  at  Lux- 
or, 525,236  lbs.  (French),  or  254  tons;  the 
smaller  one  of  those  si;!l  standing  at 
Luxor,  352,767  lbs.  (Frentn),  or  1^0  tons. 


(See  the  Description,  "Antiquites,11  vol. 
i,  pp.  188,  229  and  230.) 

173  See  Zoega,  De  Obeliscis;  and  com- 
pare Plin.  H.  N.  xxxvi,  8,  I  14. 

174  Plin.  l.s.c. 

175  I  cannot  agree  with  those  who  see 
in  obelisks  nothing  but  "grotesque  and 
unsightly  monuments  of  Eastern  super- 
stition1-' (Merivale,  Roman  Empire,  vol. 
iv,  p.  73). 

i78  Mr.  Fergusson  says  the  average 
proportion  is  ten  diameters  {Hist,  of 
Architecture,  vol.  i,  p.  29).  But  in  the 
best  specimens,  as  in  that  of  the  Lateran 
obelisk,  the  height  is  so  exactly  eleven 
diameters  that  we  must  conclude  that 
proportion  to  have  been  intended.  (The 
French  engineers  give  the  diameter  as 
2.923  metres,  the  height  as  32.159.  Now, 
2.923  +  11  =  32.153.) 

177  The  name  was,  I  beliave,  first  given 
by  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  {Topography 
of  Thebes,  pp.  28,  31,  and  "Table  of  Con- 
tents, 11  p.  xxiii;  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
i,  p.  58).  It  has  been  adopted  by  Fergus- 
son  {Hist,  of  Architecture,  vol.  i,  p.  118) 
and  others. 

178  Fergusson,  vol.  i,  p.  123. 

179  See  the  plan  in  the  Description, 
"Planches,11  vol.  iii,  a.  pi.  54,  which  is 
reproduced  above. 

180  Fergusson,  l.s.c. 
i8i  Fergusson,  p.  126. 

182  These  were  in  every  case  solid 
structures,  pierced  (at  the  utmost)  by  a 
single  narrow  staircase,  which  led  to  the 
top  {Description.  "Antiquites,11  vol.  i,  ch. 
ix,  p.  209). 

183  ibid.  p.  221.  Wilkinson  says  that 
the  usual  construction  is  by  layers  of  two 
blocks  each  {Architecture),  p.  44). 

i84  Wilkinson,  Topography  of  Thebes, 
p.  174,  note;  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iii, 
p.  .332. 

285  That  of  Rameses  II.  at  the  Rame- 
seum  weighed,  according  to  Wilkinson 
{Topography,  p.  12),  887  tons  5  cwt.  and 
a  half.  Those  of  Amenophis  III.,  in  the 
plain  of  Qurnah,  which  are  said  to  con- 
tain 11,500  cubic  feet  (Wilkinson,  Ancient 
Egyptians,  vol.  iii,  p.  329),  must  be  near- 
ly as  heavy. 

186  See  Burton's  Excerpta,  pi.  41;  and 
compare  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  He- 
rodotus,vo\  ii,  p.  263,  note  3.  One  such 
apartment  is  said  to  have  weighed  as 
much  as  5,000  tons  (!)  ;  but  this  estimate 
depends  on  the  accuracy  of  Herodotus  ia 
the  measurements  which  he  gives  of  the 
monolithic  chamber  at  Buto  (ii,  155),  and 
on  a  calculation[foanded  thereon  by  Wil- 
kinson {A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  331).  It  is 
scarcely  possible  that  the  chamber,  if  of 
the  size  stated,  was  really  formed  of  a 
single  block. 

187  Description,  "Antiquites,11  vol.  i, 
ch.  ix,  p.  221.  Wilkinson  says,  a  length 
of  "above  twenty-four  feet1"'  {Architec- 
ture of  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  18,  note). 

188  Supra,  p.  112  and  note  172  chapter 
vii. 

x89  This  was  the  proportion  ultimately 


286 


NOTES   TO   HISTORY   OP   ANCIENT   EGYPT.        [CH.  VII. 


fixed  for  the  Doric  order,  in  which  the 
column  was  the  thickest.  Antique  speci- 
mens are  found  which  approach  the  pro- 
portions usual  in  Egypt.  (See  Smith's 
Diet,  of  Greek  and  Roman  Antiquities, 
p.  325). 

190  See  Wilkinson's  Architecture  of 
Ancient  Egypt,  pp.  35,  43,  etc. 

i9i  See  above,  p.  103. 

192  Wilkinson,  Architecture,  p.  7. 

193  See  plate  xxix,  Pig.  71,  Nos.  2  and 
4. 

is*  Description,  "Planches,*'''  vol,  i,  a. 
pis.  18,  88,  etc. 

195  See  plate  xxix,  Fig  71,  No.  1. 

196  Description,  Antiquites,11  vol.  i,  ch. 
ix,  p.  35:  "Des  chapiteaux  a  cainpanes11 
— p.  132:  "Ce  chapiteau  a  la  forme  d'une 
tieur  de  lotus  epanouie.11 

i97  Chapiteaux  a  boutonsde  lotus  tron- 
ques11  {Description,  "Antiquites,11  vol.  i. 
ch.  ix,  p.  127);  the  "bud-capital11  of  Wil- 
kinson {Architecture  of  Ancient  Egypt, 
p   33). 

198  "II  est  a  remarquer  que  cet  ordre 
est  propremeut  celui  de  TheOes;  partout 
il  y  est  employe,  et  on  ne  le  retrouve 
que  rarement  ailieurs11  {Description,  p. 
133). 

199  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  119;  Dtscription,  "Antiquites,11 
vol.  i,  ch.  ix,  p.  1(55;  Wilkinson,  Topog- 
raphy of  Thebes,  pp.  175-6. 

200  Fergusson,  p.  123.  This  was  com- 
moner in  the  later  than  in  the  earlier 
times.  Numerous  specimens  exist  in 
Upper  Egypt,  as  at  Kouin  Ombou,  at 
Esne,  and  elsewhere. 

201  The  Doric  capital  was  from  one- 
eighth  to  one-twelfth  the  height  of  the 
pillar,  the  Ionic  from  one-ninth  to  one- 
eleventh,  the  Corinthian  between  one- 
seventh  and  one-eighth  {Encyclop.  Brit, 
ad.  roc.  Architecture,  pp.  463-6). 

202  See  1  Kings  vii,  15-19,  which  shows 
that  in  the  pillars  Jachin  and  Boaz,  the 
proportion  of  the  capital  to  the  shaft  of 
the  column  was  as  one  to  two! 

203  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  iii,  p.  306. 

204  For  an  example  see  Encyclop.  Brit. 
vol.  iii,  pi.  li,  fig.  7 

205  See  plate  xxix,  Fig.  71,  Nos.  2  and 
3. 

208  In  the  great  pillared  hall  at  Kar- 
nak  the  width  of  the  central  avenue  is 
eighteen  feet,  the  diameter  of  the  col- 
umns at  their  Dase  being  eleven  feet 
eigb+  -yiehes,  which  gives  an  intercol- 
umniation  of  not  much  more  than  a 
diameter  and  a  half;  but  in  the  temple 
of  Rameses  II.,  which  projects  into  the 
great  court  at  Karnak,  and  again  in  the 
larger  of  the  two  temples  towards  the 
south,  the  distance  of  two  diameters  is 
reached.  See  the  Description,  "Plan- 
ches,11 A.  pis.  21  and  55,  tig.  3. 

207  Description,  "Antiquites,11  vol.  i, 
ch.  ix,  p.  212. 

208  Ibid.  pp.  35,  127,  etc. 

209  "£i]es  sont  vetues  d'une  tunique 
longue  et  etroite.11    (Ibid.  p.  127.) 

210  An  exception  appears  in  a  set  of 


caryatides  belonging  to  the  temple  of 
Rameses  II.  at  Karnak,  where  the  top  of 
the  mitre  rises  a  little  above  the  line  of 
the  architrave.  (See  Description,  "Plan- 
ches,11 vol.  iii,  pis.  25  and  30,  tig.  1.) 

211  As  the  Greek  caryatides  were  said 
to  be  (Vitruv.  i,  1,  §5;  Plin.  H.  N.  xxxvi, 
45). 

212  See  above,  p.  113. 

213  Herod,  ii,  111.  Compare  Plin.  H. 
N.  xxxvi,  8,  §14,  where  four  are  ascribed 
to  Sesothes,  two  to  Rhamesis  (Kameses), 
two  to  Mesphres,  etc. 

214  See  the  remarks  of  the  French: 
engineers,  on  the  two  obelisks  of  Luxor. 
{Description,  "Antiquites,11  vol.  i,  ch.  ix. 
pp.  188-9.) 

2i5  See  the  plates,  vol.  i,  A.  pi.  18.  The 
temple  at  Philse  is  a  late  construction, 
and  the  character  of  its  ornamentation 
Would  scarcely  be  a  sure  indication  of 
the  character  of  decorative  art  under  the 
Pharaohs.  Still,  it  is  a  thoroughly  Egyp- 
tian building,  and,  considerering  how 
disinclined  the  Egyptians  vere  to  change 
of  any  kind,  might  not  improbably  re- 
peat more  ancient  work. 

216  Belzoni,  Researches,  pp.  231,  234. 
etc.;  Rosellinl,  Monimienti  Civili,  vol.  i, 
pp.  54,  106,  etc.;  Sharpe,  History  oj 
Egypt,  vol.  i,  p.  73. 

217  Belzoni,  p.  234;  Stanley,  Sinai  and 
Palestine,  "Introduction,11  pp.  xxxix-xl.; 
Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture,  vol.  i, 
p.  129. 

218  See  Rosellini,  Monumenti  Civili, 
Plates,  vol.  ii,  pi.  53.  rigs.  16  and  17;  pi. 
59,  tigs.  1  and  2;  pi.  71,  tig.  11,  etc. 

219  Wilkinson  says:  "No  one  who 
understands  the  harmony  of  colors  will 
fail  to  admit  that  they  {i.e.  the  Egyp- 
tians) perfectly  understori  their  distri 
bution  and  proper  comumations,  and 
that  an  Egyptian  temple  was  greatly  im- 
proved by  the  addition  of  painted  sculp- 
tures.11 {Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iii,  p. 
298.) 

220  So  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  131.  The  point  admits  of  a 
doubt. 

22i  See  above,  pp.  105,  106. 

222  The  term  was  first  used  by  the 
French  savants  in  the  Description 
("Antiquites,11  vol.  i,  ch.  ix,  pp.  30-33). 
It  has  been  adopted  from  them  by  Sir  G. 
Wilkinson  {Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii,  p. 
116:  vol.  v,  p.  345)  and  Mr.  Fergusson 
{Hist,  of  Architecture,  vol.  i,  p.  130). 

223  Rameses  III.,  of  the  twentieth  dy- 
nasty. 

224  These  measures  are  taken  from  the 
Description,  "Planches,11  vol.  ii,  a.  pi.  16. 

225  Description,  "Antiquites,11  vol.  i, 
ch.  ix,  p.  32. 

226  One  very  peculiar  ornamentation 
requires  special  notice.  The  sills  of 
several  blank  windows  are  supported  by 
a  row  of  heads,  apparently  those  of  cap- 
tives, which  seem  crushed  beneath  the 
weight  that  presses  on  them.  (See  the 
Description,  "Planches,11  vol.  ii,  a.  pi.  17, 
fig.  7;  and  compare;  Wilkinson,  Ancient 


CH.  VIII.] 


MIMETIC    ART. 


237 


Egyptians,  voi.  v,  pp.  34'-;  and  Archi- 
lovi.ui-e,  p.  64).  Tins  ornament,  is  nowhere 
else  repeated. 

227  See  the  woodcut,  and  compare 
Rosellini,  Monumenti  Civili,  vol.  ii,  pp. 
381-2,  with  the  representation  given  in 
vol.  ii,  of  the  Plates  (pi.  68,  tig.  8). 

228  Rosellini  argues  that  this  repre- 
sents a  lantern,  which  acted  at  once  as 
a  skylight  and  a  ventilator.  But  there  Is 
nothing  to  show  this. 

229  See  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  vol.  ii,  pp. 
382-6,  and  compare  the  illustration  in  his 
Plates,  vol.  ii,  pi.  68,  fig.  2,  from  which 
the  woodcut  in  the  text  is  taken. 

230  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  p.  132. 

231  These  •'Minds,11  as  I  have  called 
them,  may  possibly  he  shutters;  but  they 
seem  not  quite  to  reach  the  bottom  of 
the  window. 

232  The  artist  has  accidentally  omitted 
this. 

233  Dlodorus  says  that  the  Theban 
houses  had  occasionally  four  and  even 
five  stories  (i,  45).  The  tomb  containing 
this  representation  is  close  to  Thebes. 

234  See  the  Plates,  vol.  ii,  pi.  69;  and 
compare  the  description  givei  in  the 
text  (vol.  ii,  pp.  386-8). 

235  History  of  Architecture,  vol.  i,  p. 
131. 

236  Rosellini  conceives  the  <  firy 
material  to  have  been  crudi  '.;. 
(Mon.  Civ.  vol.  ii,  p.  380.  Compare  .\  d- 
kinson,  Topography,  q.  199.) 

237  As  Sir  G.  Wilkinson,  Mr.  Fergus- 
son,  and  Mr.  R.  S.  Poole,  whose  con- 
tribution to  the  Encyclopcedia  Britannica 
on  the  subject  of  Egypt  is  of  meat  value. 

238  See  Wilkinson,  Architecture  of 
Ancient  Egypt,  p.  17;  Topography  of 
Thebes,  pp.  8i,  201;  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  ii,  p.  116;  vol.  iii,  p.  319;  Sharpe, 
Hist,  of  Egypt,  vol.  i,  pp.  49,  143,  Vyse, 
Pyramids  of  Ghizeh.  vol.  ii,  p,  131,  etc. 

239  See  above,  p.  10'. 

240  Fergusson,  II, sc.  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  "Introduction,"  p." 22. 

241  Wilkinson,  Architecture  of  Ancient 
Egypt,  pp.  30  and  103;  Topography  of 
Thebes,  pp.  3  and  54;  Fergusson,  Hist,  of 
Architecture,  vol.  i,  p.  115. 

242  See  the  Description,  "Planches,11 
vol.  i,  A.  pi.  5;  vol.  iii,  a.  pi.  5. 

243  Hist,  of  Architecture,  vol.  i,  p.  95, 
note. 

244  See  page  107. 

245  See  Wilkinson,  Architecture  of 
Ancient  Egypt,  pp.  29  and  43;  Topog- 
raphy of  Thebes,_  l.s.c;  Description, 
"Antiquites,11  vol.  i,  ch.  ix,  p.  214. 

246  Wilkinson,  Architecture,  p.  30. 

247  Description,  "Planches,11  vol.  i,  a. 
pis.  6,  8,  etc.;  Wilkinson,  Architecture, 
p.  61. 

248  Description,  "Planches,11  vol.  ii,  a. 
pi.  28;  and  compare  the  text,  "Anti- 
qnftas,"  vol.  i,  ch.  ix,  p.  128. 

*  249  ibid.  "Planches,11  vol.  i,  a.  pi.  50. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

i  Birch,  Guide  to  the  Egyptian  Gal 
leries  of  the  British  Museum,  p.  16  ;  Wil- 
kinson, Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iii,  p. 
304. 

2  Birch,  l.s.c. 

3  Lenormant,  Manuel  d'Hisloire  An- 
cienne,  vol.  i,  p.  540  ;  Birch,  Egypt  from 
the  Earliest  Times,  p.  43. 

4  The  Egyptians  carved  their  statues  in 
calcareous  stone,  in  dark  and  red 
granite,  in  porphyry,  and  in  basalt.  They 
also  employed  wood  in  the  more  ancient 
times,  and  bronze,  ivory,  and  porcelain 
for  statuettes. 

6  "Les  muscles,  les  veines,  les  plis  et 
les  contractions  de  la  peau  n'y  sont  pas 
rendus,  ni  merae  la  charpente  osseuse.11 
(Lenormant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  539.) 

6  Lenormant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  539. 
"La  figure  egyptienne  est  modeiee,  non 
pasgrossierement,  mais  sommairement. n 

7  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p. 
265. 

8  See  plate  xxxiv,  Fig.  86. 

9  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  16. 

10  Birch,  l.s.c.  p.  17.  Compare  Ken- 
rick, vol.  i,  p.  266. 

11  This  is  done  even  in  the  remarkable 
wooden  statue  which  forms  the  glory  of 
the  museum  of  Boulaq,  and  is  said  to  ex- 
hibit "a  truth,  grace,  and  fidelity,  which 
shows  the  hand  of  a  great  master11  (Birch 
Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times,  p.  43).  * 
There  is  no  doubt  some  evidence  that 
the  practice  was  occasionally  adopted  by 
the  Greeks;  but,  in  spite  of  this,  a  true 
taste  will  pronounce  it  "more  honored 
in  the  breach  than  the  observance.11 

12  The  author  delivers  here  his  own  im- 
pression of  the  Egyptian  statues  which 
have  come  under  his  notice.  He  has  not 
thought  it  necessary  to  encumber  his 
pages  with  representations  of  the  hideous 
figures  themselves.  They  may  be  seen 
in  all  their  native  ugliness  in  the 
Egyptian  collection  at  the  British 
Museum,  in  the  Louvre,  at  Berlin,  and 
elsewhere. 

13  See  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  vi,  Supplement,  pis.  21,  22,  24,  25,  27, 
35a,  40,  etc. 

14  The  grotesque  character  of  the 
figures  of  Phthah  was  noted  by  Herod- 
otus (iii,  37),  and,  if  we  may  believe  him, 
attracted  the  attention  of  Cambyses.  The 
figures  of  Bes  are,  according  to  Wilkin- 
son (A.E.  pi.  24a),  even  more  hideous. 

15  Birch.  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  15. 

16  See  above  p.  116. 

17  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  17. 

18  See  the  representations  in  the  De- 
scription de  VEgypte,  "Antiquites,11  vol. 
v,  pi.  64-72. 

19  Professor  Owen  calls  it  "a  sculpture 
of  exquisite  art  and  finish11  (Leisure 
Hour  for  May,  1876,  p.  321).  Ampere 
says:  "Oette  grande  figure  mutilee  est 
d'un  effet  prodigieux ;  e'est  comrae  une 
apparition  eternelle  Le  fantfime  d<* 
pierre  parait  uttenuf ;  on  dirait  qu  ii  en. 


2.:  s 


kot::s  to  history  of  ancient  lgypt.      [ch.  viii 


entend  et  qu1il  regarde.  Sa  grande  oreille  ] 
semble  recueillir  les  bruits  du  passe  :  ses  | 
yeux  tournes vers  Torient  semblent  epier 
l'avenir:  ie  regard  a  une  profondeur  et 
une  verite  qui  fascinent  le  spectateur. 
Sur  cette  figure,  moitie  statue,  moitie 
montagne,  ou  decouvre  une  majeste  sin- 
guliere,  une  grande  serenite,  et  meme 
une  certaine  douceur."  (Quoted  by  Le- 
normant  in  his  Manuel  d  Histoire  An- 
cienne,  vol.  i,  p.  541.) 

20  See  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  vi,  Supplement  pi.  43. 

21  Ibid.  vol.  iii,  pp.  263-275 ;  Kenrick, 
Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p.  264;  Lenorniant, 
Manuel,  vol.  i,  pp.  353-4.  etc. 

22  Lenorniant,  Manuel  d' Histoire  An- 
cienne,  vol.  i,  pp.  538-541  ;  Wilkinson, 
Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iii,  p.  87 ;  Ken- 
rick, Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  i.  pp.  2U4-5. 

23  Birch,  Guide  to  British  Museum,  p. 
18  ;  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodotus, 
vol.  ii,  p.  2,59-2(4,  3d  edition.  The  main 
authorities  upon  the  points  are  Plato, 
Diodoras,  and  Synesius. 

24  Birch,  Egypt  frar*  the  Earliest 
Times,  pp.  43.  129,  175,  etc.;  and  see  be- 
low, pp.  299-301. 

25  See  the  author's  Ancient  Monarch  it  s, 
vol.  iii,  pp.  29o,  301,  and  3:34  (2d  edition). 

26  See  the  frontispiece  to  Sir  C.  Fellows 
Lycia,  and  compare  the  Lycian  sculp- 
tures in  British  Museum. 

27  A  somewhat  high  relief  is  observ- 
able in  the  hideous  monster  figureu  oy 
Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  vi, 
Supplement,  pi.  43  a.  Also  in  Lepsius, 
Denkmaler,  vol.  iii,  part  ii,  pis.  11  and 
44;  and  in  the  Description,  "Antiquites," 
vol.  iii,  pi.  31. 

28  See  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  ii,  p.  416  ;  fig.  2,  a. 

29  1  Sam.  ix,  2. 

30  Horn.  II.  iii,  226-7: 

avnp   171)5    Te    /u.e'705    re, 
'E^j^o?    'Apyeiiav    Keu>a\riv    T£~    xai    eypeas 

U)|UOU5- 

31  See  the  Description  de  I'Egypte, 
"Antiquites,11  vol.  iii,  pis.  3,  6,  38,  etc.; 
and  compare  Lepsius,  Denkmaler,  vol. 
vi,  pt.  iii,  pis.  12o,  127,  165,  etc. 

32  One  of  the  best  of  the  battle-scenes 
is  reproduced  in  the  woodcut  opposite. 
It  exists  at  Karnak,  on  the  northern  wall 
Df  the  central  building,  and  probably 
"-'presents  Amenophis  I,  destroying  his 

•mies     (see     the    Description,     "An- 

vs,"  vol.  iii,  pi.  40,  fig.  6).      Fig.  95. 

!  The  remark  of  Madame  de  Stael  is 

te  just.    "Les  sculpteursegyptiens  sai- 

-aient  avec  bien  plus  de  genie  la  figure 

.<'<  animaux    que    celle    des  hommes11 

I*   triune,  vol.  i,  p.  127). 

34  At  first  the  animal  forms  are  weak, 
and  sometimes  aosurd,  as  the  tall  hare  in 
the  Denkmaler  (vol.  iii,  pt.  ii,  pi.  3),  and 
the  very  feeble  dogs  catching  antelopes 
of  different  kinds  in  the  same  (vol.  iii, 
pt.  ii,  pi.  6).  But  they  became  fairly 
satisfactory  not  much  later  ;  and  by  the 
date  of  the  18th  dynasty7,  they  leave  but 
little  to  be  desired. 


35  Compare  Rosellini,  Monvmenti 
Culii,  vol.  ii,  pis.  0  to  13,  with  Wiikin 
son,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iii,  pp.  36- 
51. 

36  Rosellini,  Monumenti  Cirili,  vol.  ii, 
pi.  15.  The  scene  is  taken  from  a  tomb 
at  Beni  Hassan,  near  Thebes. 

37  See  the  Description,  'Antiquites,'" 
Texte,  vol  i,  ch.  ix.  g  i,  p.  54,  and 
Planches,  vol.  ii,  pi.  9,  fig.  1. 

38  The  wall  is  here  interrupted  by  a 
doorway,  whi<  h  renders  the  composi- 
tion imperfect,  and  can  scarcely  have 
been  part  of  the  original  structure. 

3y  Compare  the  Description  (l.s.c.)— 
"Ce  bas-relief,  precieux  sous  le  rapport 
de  Thistoire  (?),  ne  Test  pas  moins  sous 
le  rapport  de  Tart.  On  pent  remarquer 
la  franchise  et  la  hardiesse  du  dessin,  la 
variete  et  la  fermete  des  attitudes  de 
toutes  les  figures ;  ^expression  de  la 
douleur est snrtout  rendue  avec  beaucoup 
de  verite.11 

40  See  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  iii.  pp.  16,  18.  22;  Lepsius,  Denkma- 
ler, vol.  ii.  pt.  ii.  pis.  22,  46,  etc. 

41  Lepsius.  Deu/rr/ti/ler.  vol.  iii,  pis.  10, 
21.  25,  42,  57  a,  etc.  Sometimes  both 
i.  ires  stand,  the  wife  a  little  in  the  rear 
(ibid.  pis.  13,  17  a,  21,  etc.). 

42  Or  on  a  scale  slightly  smaller  (ibid, 
pis.  27.  38  a,  etc.). 

43  Ibid.  pis.  10.  47,  &c. 

44  Ibid.  vol.  iii,  pt.  ii,  pis.  47,  51 ;  vol. 
vi.  pt.  iii,  pi.  154. 

45  Rosellini,  Man.  Cic.  vol.  ii,  pi.  22, 
fig.  3. 

46  Ibid.  fig.  2.  Compare  Wilkinson, 
A.E.,  plate  at  the  end  of  vol.  i,  line  3. 
A  better  representation  of  the  real  pro- 
portions will  be  found  in  Lepsius,  Denk- 
maler, vol.  vi.  pt.  iii.  pi. 118. 

47  Lepsius,  Denkmaler,  vol.  vi,  nt.  iii, 
pis.  158,  159,  104.  166,  etc. 

48  Rosellini.  pis.  08  and  69. 

49  Wilkinson,  A.E.  vol.  i,  p.  293. 

50  Ibid.  vol.  ii,  pp.  188-9. 

51  A  striking  instance  of  this  bad 
drawing  may  be  seen  in  Wilkinson,  vol. 
ii.  p.  145,  where  a  tank  of  water  inter- 
posed between  two  rows  of  palm  trees  is 
made  to  show  itself  by  being  raised  up 
to  half  their  height,  and  then  placed  at 
right  angles  to  the  spectator,  suspended 
in  air.  like  the  coffin  of  Mohammed! 

52  See  Wilkinson,  vol.  ii,  pi.  9,  and 
woodcut,  p.  142.  No.  130;  and  Rosellini, 
vol.  ii,  pi.  69. 

53  See  above,  p.  126. 

54  See  the  Description  de  VEgypte, 
"Antiquites,"  vol.  i,  pi.  18;  vol.  ii,  pi. 
37:  and  compare  Wilkinson.  A.E.  vol. 
vi.     Supplement,  pi.  55,  pt.  iii. 

55  See  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  ii,  p.  3(3(5.  Compare  the  passage  of 
Horace  to  which  he  refers  (Sat.  ii,  8,  54). 

56  Wilkinson,  vol.  ii.  p.  367. 

57  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  pp, 
269-70. 

58  Description  de  VEgypte.  "Antiqui 
tes,"  vol  ii.  pi  83,  rig.  1  ;  Wilkinson,  A 
E.,  Supplement,  vol.  vi,  pi.  87 


CH.    IX.  J 


SCIEXCE. 


289 


59  In  the  animal  paintings  there  seems 
to  be  some  exception  to  this  rule.  Rosel- 
lini  has  representations  of  beasts,  birds, 
and  fish,  where  the  color  is  softened  off 
from  dark  to  light  (Monumenti  Civili, 
vol.  ii,  pis.  13,  16,  17,  20,  and  25). 

60  Patterned  dresses  are  common  in 
the  case  of  foreigners,  rare  in  that  of 
Egyptians.  For  examples,  see  Lepsius, 
Denkmaler,  vol.  iv,  pt.  ii,  pi.  133;  vol.  vi, 
pt.  iii,  pis.    115-6,  and  136. 

61  As  particularly  sails  and  cabins  of 
vtpsels  (Rosellini,  M.  C.  vol.  ii,  pis.  107, 
106;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  pi.  xvi), 
caparisons  of  horses  (Description,  "An- 
tiquites,"  vol.  iii,  pi.  12;  Wilkinson,  vol. 
i,  pi.  1),  sea;^  (Wilkinson,  vol.  ii.  pi.  11; 
vol.  vi,  pi.  20,  etc.),  frames  of  harps  (ibid. 
vol.  ii,  pi.  13,  (and  woodcut,  on  p.  270), 
bow-cases  (ibid.  vol.  i,  p.  346),  and 
dresses  of  deities  (ibid.  vol.  vi,  pis.  20, 
23,  33.  50,  etc.). 

62  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  300. 

63  This  is  found,  I  believe,  only  in 
representations  of  animals.  See  Rosel- 
lini,  Mou.  Civ.  vol.  ii.  pi.  xvii,  figs.  6,  7, 
10 ;  pi.  xx,  figs.  4,  7,  8). 

e*  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  303. 

65  Ibid.  pp.  302-3. 

66  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  302. 

67  See  particularly  the  Description  de 
I'Egypte',  "Antiquites,"  Planches,  vol. 
ii,  pi.  91. 

68  Sir  J.  Reynolds,  Discourses  before 
the  Royal  Academy,  Discourse  iv,  p.  102. 

69  Ibid.     Discourse  iv,  p,  89 

™  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  301. 

71  See  above  p.  133. 

72  See  K.  O.  Mliller,  History  of  Greek 
Art,  pp.48,  76,  etc  ;  Falkener,  Ephesus, 
pp.  200-1  ;  Fcigusson,  Hist,  of  Architec 
lure,  vol.  i,  pp.  252-4. 

73  Raskin,  Stones  of  Venice,  vol.  i,  pis. 
1,  5,  8;  vol.  ii,  pi.  5*:  Seven  Lamps  of 
Architecture,  pp.  130-133. 

74  Compare  above,  p.  117. 

7&  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  203 : 
Fenrusson,  Hist,  of  Architecture,  vol.  i, 
p.  120. 

76  L'art  egyptien,11  says  Lenormant, 
"semble  etre  retenu  par  certains  cotes 
dans  une  eternelle  ent'ance11  (Manuel  eT- 
Histoire  Ancienne,  vol.  1.  p.  533).  "It  was- 
the  peculiarity  of  Egyptian  art,11  observes 
Mr.  Kennck,  "that  the  characteristics  of 
its  infancy  were  perpetuated  through  all 
the  stages  of  its  existence11  (Ancient 
Egypt,  vol.  i,  p.  2dl). 

77  Lenormant,  having  mentioned 
works  of  ait  which  he  attributes  to  the 
second  dynasty,  says  :  "En  les  etudiant, 
on  y  remarque  une  rudesse  et  une  inde- 
cision tic  style  qui  montre  qua  la  fin  de 
la  deuxieme  dynastie  Part  egyptien 
cherchait  encore  sa  voie,  et  n"  etait  qu1- 
imparfaitement  forme11  (Manuel,  vol.  i, 
p.  333). 

7~  Birch,  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  43.  A  com- 
parison of  the  busts  in  the  Roman  room 
of  the  Brit.  Museum,  ranging  from  Ju- 
Uus  Cresar  to  Elagabalas,  wiih  th<-  best 
specimens  of  Egyptian  art,  will  (1  think) 


show  this  judgment  to  be  very  much 
too  favorable. 

79  Wholly,  according  to  Lenormant 
'(Manuel,  vol.  i.  p.  53S):  but  not  so,  accord- 
ing to  Birch  (Guide  to  Museum,  p.  18). 

80  Lenormant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  3.54. 

81  "La  qualite  predominante  dans  la 
sculpture  de  cet  age  est  la  finesse,  Tel 
eganee,  et  Thaimohie  des  proportion*11 
(iDid.  p.  353). 

62  See  above  p.  1"3. 

83  On  the  "Granu  Style"  see  Sir  J 
Reynolds's  Discourses  bejore  the  Royal 
Academy,  Discourse  iii. 

84  Birch,  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  129;  Wil- 
kinson, A.  E.,  vol.  iii,  p.  305;  Lenor- 
mant, Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  42J.  "Les  monu- 
ments de  Rameses  II.,"  says  the  last 
named  writer,  "nous  font  assister  a  une 
decadence  radicale  de  la  sculpture 
egyptienne  qui  se  precipite  avec  une  in- 
croyable  rapidite  a  mesure  qu'on  s'avance 
dans  ce  long  regne.  II  aebute  par  des 
ceuvres  digues  de  toute  admiration,  qui 
sont  le  ne  plus  ultra  de  Tart  egyptien, 
coinme  les  colosses  de  Memphis  et  d1- 
Ibsamboul ;  mais  biontot  Toppression 
universelle,  qui  pese  sur  toute  la  contree 
comme  une  joug  de  fer,  tarit  la  source  de 
la  grande  inspiration  dea  arts.  La  seve 
creatrice  semble  s'epuis.;r  dans  les  entre- 
prises  gigantesques  concnes  par  un 
orgeuil  sans  bornes.  One  nouvelle  gen- 
er.it ion  d'artistes  ne  vient  pas  remplacer 
celle  qui  s'etait  formie  sous  les  souver 
ains  precedents.  A  la  fin  du  regne  la 
decadence  est  complete.11 

85  Lenormant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  469 
Birch,  Ancient  Egypt,  pp.  176-7;  Wil 
kinson,  A.  E.,  vol.  iii,  p.  306. 

86  Birch,  p.  177. 

87  L'art  Egyptian  eut  une  derniere 
renaissance,  qui  se  prolongea  pendant 
toute  la  duree  do  la  dynastie  Saite,  et 
qui,  sans  atteindre  a  la  verite  et  d  la 
grandeur  de*  anciennes  ecoles,  produisit 
cependant  un  "rand  nombre  des  <euvres 
charmantes  par  leur  finesse11  (Lenor- 
mant, Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  4  ii). 

88  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  17. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

1  The  Egyptian  ideas  on  morals  were 
sound,  as  has  been  observed  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter  (ch.  iii,  p.  108).  But  they 
did  not  reduce  morals  to  a  science. 
Their  only  ethical  works  were  collec- 
tions of  proverbs  Csee  Chabas,  Le  plus 
ancien  livre  du  Monde,  Paris,  1857). 

2  The  Weddas  of  Ceylon  are  said  not 
to  be  able  to  count  beyond  three  (see 
Report  of  the  British  Association  for 
1875,  part  iii,  p.  175). 

3  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p. 
345. 

4  The  numbers  of  various  objects 
mentioned  in  the  "Great  Harris  Papy- 
rus11 often  exceed  a  million  (Record*  of 


290 


NOTES   TO    HISTORY    OF   ANCIENT    EGYPT.         [CH.  IX. 


the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  43,  45,  49,  etc.;  vol. 
viii,  pp.  42-5). 

5  See  the  author's  Ancient  Monarchies, 
vol.  i,  p.  103,  2d  edition. 

e  Herod,  ii,  109;  Diod.  Sic.  i,  81. 

7  Isocrat.  Busir.  §30,  p.  227,  Strab.  xiv. 
1,  §16;  Diod.  Sic.  i,  90,  98;  Cic.  De  Fin.  v, 
29;  Justin,  xx,  4;  Val.  Max.  viii,  7,  2; 
Amra.  Marc,  xxii,  16,  §21,  etc. 

8  Callimach.  ap.  Diod.  Sic.  x,  11. 

a  Cic.  De  Nat.  Deor.  iii,  3(5:  Plutarch, 
De  Repugn,  Stoic,  vol.  ii,  p.  1089. 

10  Lenormant,  Manuel  d'Histoire  An- 
cienne,  vol.  i,  p.  519. 

11  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p. 
328;  Cornewail  Lewis,  Astronomy  of  the 
Ancients,  p.  278. 

12  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p  328.  3d  edition. 

13  Eustath.  Comment  ad  Dionys.  Per. 
p.  214,  ed.  C.  Miiller. 

14  See  Plat.  Epin.  §9,  p.  987 :  Asist.  De 
Coulo,  ii,  12,  §3:  Cic.  De  Div.  i,  42,  Diod. 
Sic.  i,  50  and  69;  Strab.  xvii,  1,  §5;  Manil. 
i, 40-5;  Macrob.  Comment,  in  Somn.  Scip. 
i,  21,  §9.  Piin.  H.  A.  vii,  56;  Diog.  Laert. 
Prooem.  22:  Val.  Max.  l.s.c:  A  chill.  Tat. 
Isag.  i,  p.  73:  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  i,  16, 
§74;  Lactant.  Div.  Inst.  ii.  13,  etc. 

15  See  Lewis's  Astronomy  of  the  An- 
cient*, p.  277.  '-The  true  character  both 
of  the  Babylonian  and  the  Egyptian 
priests,  as  astronomers,  seems  to  have 
been,  that  from  an  early  period  they 
had,  induced  by  the  clearness  of  their 
sky,  and  by  their  seclusion  and  leisure — 
perhaps  likewise  stimulated  by  some 
religious  motive — been  astronomical  ob- 
serrers/'1    Comp.  p.  157. 

is  See  Lewis,  pp.  150-7  and  287-291; 
Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  pp.  328, 
310. 

17  Herod,  i,  74:  vii.  37:  Liv.  xliv,  37; 
Plutarch,  jEmil.  §17.  Even  nations  so 
civilized  as  the  Greeks  and  Romans 
participated  in  these  apprehensions 
(Thucyd.  vii,  50;  Plut.  Pelopr?m:  Dion. 
§24:  Q.  Curt.  Vit.  Alex,  iv,  39;  Diod.  Sic. 
xx,  5;  Tacit.  Ann.  i,  24). 

18  "It  may  be  reasonably  suspected,11 
says  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis,  "that  the  observa- 
tions of  the  Egyptians  were  particularly 
directed  to  phenomena  such  as  eclipses'''' 
{Astronomy    of  the   Ancients,    p.    278). 

^  Conon,  who  lived  about  B.C.  250  made  a 
collection  of  the  solar  eclipses  which  the 
Egyptians  had  observed  (Senec.  Nat. 
Qvaest.  vii,  3).  Their  observation  of 
eclipses,  both  solar  and  lunar,  is  attested 
bv  Diodorus  (i.  50)  and  Diogenes  Laertius 
{Pram.  §1). 

19  These  registers  are  mentioned  by 
Strabo  (xvii,"  i,  §)5,  Theophrastus  (De 
Lapid.  §24),  Valerius  Maximus,  (viii,  7, 
2),  and  others. 

20  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol  i,  p. 
340. 

2i  Diog.  Laert.  Pythag,  81,  25.  It  must 
be  admitted  to  be  doubtful  whether 
Pythagoras  reallv  knew  this  fact  or  not. 
(bee  Lewis,  pp.  123  132.) 

as  Lewis,  p.  287;  Kenr ,  vol.d,  p.  339. 


23  The  Egyptians  seem  at  no  time  to 
have  made" use  of  any  era.  They  dated 
events  by  the  regnal  years  of  their  kings. 
In  default  of  any  authoritative  table  of 
the  kings — and  none  such  seems  to  have 
existed — a  Greek  or  Chaldean  astronomer 
would  derive  little  advantage  from  the 
statement  that  an  eclipse,  total  or  par- 
tial, of  the  sun  or  moon,  had  taken  place 
(say)  in  the  fourth  year  of  Rameses  H. 

24  Hieronym.  ap.  Diog.  Laert.  i,  27; 
Plutarch,  De  Placit  Phil,  i,  3;  Joseph,  r. 
Ap.  i,  p.  2;  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  i,  15,  §06; 
Pamphila.  ap.  Diog.  Laert.  i,  24;  Euseb. 
P/itp.  Ev.  x,  4-,  etc. 

25  Herod,  i,  74. 

26  See  the  author's  Ancient  Monarchies, 
vol.  ii,  p.  575,  2d  edition. 

27  Aristot.  De  Cento,  ii,  12,  §3. 

28  It  is  probable  that  the  Egyptians 
had  sun-dials  at  least  as  early  as  th? 
Jews,  i.e.,  by  the  beginning  of  the  seventh 
century  b.c.  But  sun-dials  would  be  of 
no  use  for  measuring  the  time  of  a  lunar 
occultation, which  could  only  be  observed 
at  night.  For  this  purpose  some  kind  of 
clock  was  necessary;  but  we  have  no 
evidence  that  the  ancient  Egyptians  pos- 
sessed clocks. 

29  Lewis,  Astronomy  of  the  Ancients, 
p.  156.  The  reason  of  the  neglect  seems 
to  have  been  that  the  planets,  on  account 
of  their  motion,  "were  classed  with 
wandering  meteors  and  comets,'"  and 
consequently  looked  down  upon,  the 
admiration  of  the  Greeks  being  reserved 
for  the  stars  as  fixed  and  immutable. 

30  "Eudoxus  primus  ab  ^Egypto  hos 
mot  as  in  Graeciam  transtulit."  (Senec. 
Nat.  (Incest,  vii,  3.) 

31  Simplicius,  in  the  Schol.  Aristot.  ed. 
Brandis.  p.  4996. 

32  Lewis,  Astr.  of  the  Ancients,  l.s.c. 

33  Simplicius,  l.s.c. 

34  By  Ideler  {Berlin  Transactions  for 
1830,  p.  78).  It  is  not  easy,  however,  to 
see  how  KE  could  pass  into  H. 

S5  Schol.  ad  Arat.  1,  752. 

3fi  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  p.  757. 

37  See  the  author's  Ancient  Monarchies, 
vol.  ii,  p.  573. 

38  The  zodiacs  at  Denderah  and  Esneh, 
which  at  one  time  were  regarded  as 
native  Egyptian,  are  now  proved  to  be- 
long to  Roman  times,  and  rightly  consid- 
ered to  be  less  Egyptian  than  Greek. 
The  earlier  astronomical  monuments  are 
altogether  dissimilar. 

39  Kenrick,  An.  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p.  341. 

40  Achilles  Tatius  savs  (Fragm.  p.  96) 
that  the  Greeks  and  Romans  took  the 
name  of  the  Balance  from  the  Egyptians. 

4i  Lenormant,  Manuel  d'Histoire  An 
cienne.  vol.  i,  d.  520. 

42  Herod,  ii,  4;  Syncell.  Chrono- 
graph, p.  123.  Lepsius  believes  that  the 
five  intercalary  days  are  noticed  in  a 
monument  belonging  to  the  twelfth 
dvnastv  (See  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt. 
vol.  i,  p.  330). 

43  Thi*  is  distin-tly  stated  by  Geminus 
Jsagog.  in  Arafi  Phcenorn.  §6). 


■STot  t 


Plate  LXXL 


Fig 


.  181  .-Specimens  of  Egyptian  Glass  VESSELS.-See  Page  506. 


Fig.  183— Potters  at  Work.— See  Page  514 


Fig.  183,-Goldsmith  at  WoR.i.-See  Page  515 


Plate  LXXII. 


Vol.  I 


Fig.  184. — Egyptian  Gold  Vases.— See  Page 234. 


Fig.  185.— Harpoon  and  Fishhooks.— See  Paee  236. 


CH.  X.] 


RELIGION. 


291 


44  Censorit..  De  Die  Natali,  §18;  Tac. 
Ah/i.  vi,  28;  Oeminus,  §ti,  etc. 

*»  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i.  p. 
335;  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  4;  Birch,  Egypt  from  the 
Earliest  Times,  p.  127. 

46  Censorin.  §21. 

47  See  the  arguments  in  Kenrick,  pp. 
334-5;  which,  however,  did  not  convince 
Sir  G.  C.  Lewis. 

48  Kenrick,  p.  310.        ™  Ibid.  p.  322. 

50  Lepsius,  Chiouologie  der  Aegypter, 
pp.  190  et  seq. 

51  Brugsch,  Histoire  d'Egypfe,  pt.  i,  p. 
39,  1st  edition  (quoted  by  Lewis,  Astron- 
omy of  the  Ancient*,  p.  278,  note  133). 

52  Lenormant,  Manuel  d'Histoite  An- 
cienne,  vol.  i,  p.  520. 

53  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earnest 
Times,  p.  127;  Herod,  ii,  82;  Diod.  Sic.  i, 
81;  Cic.  De  Div.  i,  1;  Jamblich.  viii,  1; 
Luc  an,  i,  040. 

54  Wilkinson  says  that  the  horoscope 
was  determined  "by  observing  the  con- 
stellations that  appeared  on  the  eastern 
horizon  at  the  moment  of  birth11  (see  the 
author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  135,  note  2. 
3d  edition. 

55  See  Lewis,  Astronomy  of  the  An- 
cients, p.  301. 

56  A  "Sallier  papyrus11  contains  a  cal- 
endar of  lucky  and  unlucky  days,  which 
has  probably  an  astrological  basis. 
Otherwise,  though  there  is  much  magic 
in  the  Egyptian  remains,  there  is  little 
that  comes  under  the  head  of  astrology, 

57  See  Lewis,  Astronomy  of  the  An- 
cients, pp.  301-4,  and  compare  the  refer- 
ences in  note  6  on  the  preceding  page. 
(Herod,  ii,  82,  does  not  necessarily  bear 
on  the  subject). 

58  Jerem.  lxvi,  11;  Herod,  ii,  84. 

69  Manetho  ap.  Euseb.  Chron.  Can. 
1,20. 

60  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  vi.  p.  758. 

61  Diod.  Sic.  i,  82.  Compare  Aristot. 
Pol.  ni,  10. 

62  Horn.  Od.  iv,  229. 

63  Herod,  iii,  1  and  132. 

64  Pliny  says  (H.  A7:  xix,  5):  "In 
Egypto,  regibus  corpora  mortuorum  ad 
scrutandos  morbos  insecantibus,11  etc. 

65  Herod,  ii,  84.  According  to  this 
writer,  besides  dentists  and  oculists, 
the  Egyptians  possessed  doctors  who 
treated  diseases  of  the  stomach  only, 
diseases  of  the  head  only,  and  so  of 
other  parts  of  the  body.  He  even  goes 
so  far  as  to  say  that  "each  physician 
treated  only  one  disorder.11 

es  Herod,  ii,  77:  Diod.  Sic.  i,  82. 

67  See  above,  p.  78. 

68  Vyse,  Pyramids  of  Ghizeh,  vol.  i,  p. 
289;  Owen  in  Leisure  Hour  for  1876,  p. 
336. 

69  Owen,  l.s.c. 

70  See  Fergusson,  Hist,  of  Architect- 
ure, vol.  i,  p.  92  (quoted  above,  p.  214). 

71  See  above,  p  114. 

72  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
Iii,  pp.  325-8:  and  compare  the  author  s 
fferod.,  vol.  ii,  pi.  opp.  p.  177. 


73  Levers  and  rollers  were  known  to 
the  Assyrians  at  the  time  of  Sennacherib 
(B.C.  690),  and  were  employed  by  them  in 
the  transport  of  colossi.  (See  Layard's 
Nineveh  and  Babylon,  pi.  opp.  p.  112;  and 
compare  the  author's  Ancient  Monarch- 
ies, vol.  i,  p.  402,  2d  ed.) 

74  On  the  time  consumed  in  the  trans- 
portation of  the  larger  masses,  see 
Herod,  ii,  175,  who  says  that  it  took 
three  years  to  convey  a  certain  monolith 
from  the  quarries  near  Elephantine  to 
Sais  in  the  Delta.  Two  thousand  men 
were  employed  in  effecting  the  transport. 

75  The  occurrence  of  accidents  is  in- 
dicated by  one  of  the  stories  which 
Herodotus  heard  with  respect  to  the  site 
occupied  by  the  moonlith  above  referred 
to.  It  was  evidently  out  of  place;  and 
"some  said  that  one  of  the  workmen 
engaged  in  moving  the  mass  was  crushed 
and  killed  by  it,  and  that  this  was  the 
reason  of  its  being  left  where  it  stood11 
in  his  day.     (See  Herod,  ii,  175,  ad  tin.) 

76  See  above,  p.  98. 

77  Wilkinson  notes  this  {Ancient 
Egyptians,  vol.  iii,  pp.  325,  334,  etc.) 

78  Herod,  ii,  125.  The  contrary  state- 
ment of  Diodorus,  who  lived  more  than 
f»,ur  hundred  years  later,  is  of  no  weight. 

rs>  Sec  above,  p.  \  note  86. 


CHAPTER  X. 

1  Herod,  ii,  37,  ad  init. 

2  Forty-one  consecutive  chapters  of 
the  Second  Book  (chs.  36-76)  are  entirely 
devoted  to  this  subject,  which  is  further 
treated  in  chs.  91,  122,  138,  and  144-6. 

3  See  above,  cb.  vii,  p.  103. 

4  See  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  iv,  o.  141. 

6  Herod,  ii  60. 

6  Lenormant,  Manuel  d'Histoire  An- 
cienne,  vol.  i,  p.  521. 

7  Compare  Lepsius,  Das  Toatenbuch 
der  Aegypter,  passim:  Bunsen,  EgipVs 
Place,  vol.  ii,  pp.  357-444;  vol.  iv,  pp. 
305-60;  Lenormant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  pp. 
520-36 ;  Birch,  Egypt,  '-Introduction,11 
pp.  ix-xii  ;  Gfrtide  to  British  Museum, 
pp.  11-21 ;  and  De  Rouge,  Eludes  sur  Ie 
Rituel  funeraire,  passim. 

8  Lenormant  says,  strongly  and  well : 
"En  Egypte,  comme  partont  dans  le 
paganisme,  it  y  avail,  en  realile  deux  re- 
ligions, Tune  a  1 'usage  des  classes  popu- 
lates, qui  n'etait  que  la  forme  exierieure 
de  la  doctrine  esoteriqe,  et  piesentait  un 
monstrueux  assemblage  des  plus  gros- 
sieres  superstitions ;  Lautre  connue 
seulement  de  ceux  qui  avaient  appro- 
fondi  la  science  reli<.iense,  renfermait 
quelques  dogmes  plus  reeves  et  formait 
une  sorte  de  theologie  savante,  au  fond 
de  laquelle  se  retrouvait  la  gmnde  idee 
de  Tunite  de  Diem1"  (Manual  d' Histoire 
Ancienne,  vol.  i,  pp.  521-2). 

9  As  Dr.  Birch,  who  lay«  it  down  that 
"  the  religion  of  the  Egyptians  consisted 


292 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT. 


[ch.  ST. 


of  an  extended  polytheism  represented 
by  a  series  of  local  groups11  {Guide  to 
Museum,  p.  4),  and  holds  moreover,  that 
"  their  religious  notions  were  chiefly 
connected  with  the  worship  of  the  Sun'1 
(Ancient  Egypt,    "Introduction,11  p.  ix.) 

10  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  l.s.c. 

11  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "Introduction,11  p.  x. 

i2  Lenormant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  522. 
Compare  Records  of  the  Past,  where  such 
phrases  as  the  following  are  frequent: — 
,  "Hail  to  the  One  in  his  works,  single 
'  among  the  gods;11  "Chief  of  all  the  gods;11 
"Father  of  the  gods;11  "Maker  of  the 
gods;11  "Lord  of  the  gods  ;""  "the  One  ma- 
ker of  existences;11  "the  One  alone  with- 
out peer;'1  "the  true  King  of  gods;11  etc. 
(See  vol.  ii,  pp.  129-32,  vol.  iv,  pp.  99,  100; 
vol.  vi,  p.  100,  etc. 

13  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  178 

14  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p,  178.  Curiously  enough,  these  high, 
monotheistic  ideas  are  applied  in  the 
later  times,  where  they  are  manifestly 
inapplicable,  as  to  the  Nile-God,  of 
whom  we  read  in  one  of  the  hymns: — 

He  is  not  graven  in  marble; 
He  is  not  beheld; 
His  abode  is  not  known; 
No  shrine  (of  his)  is  found  with  painted 
figures. 

And  again: — 

Unknown  is  his  name  in  Heaven; 
He  doth  not  manifest  his  form; 
Vain  aie  all  representations! 

(See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  pp.  109, 
113;  with  Canon  Cook's  comment,  p.  109. 

15  In  the  "Litany  of  Ra,11  translated  by 
M.  Edouard  Naviile  (Records  of  the  Past, 
vol.  viii,  pp.  105-28),  Ra  is  called  "The 
Supreme  Power;11  "the  master  of  the  hid- 
den spheres;11  "the  only  One;  11  "the  su- 
premely great  one;11  "the  great  Hon  that 
creates  the  gods;11  "the  great  eldest  one;11 
and  the  like. 

16  Even  the  Nile-God,  as  we  have  seen 
(see  above,  p.  325,  note  l)  could  be  ad- 
dressed as  if  the  Supreme  God. 

17  The  Hermes  psychoponipus  ('Epja^s 
i//uxo7roju.7T6?)  of  Plutarch  (Be  Is.  et  Osir. 
111). 

18  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
v,  pp.  70-5;  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol. 
l,  pp.  430-1. 

19  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iv,  pp.  414- 
15.  etc. 

20  See  the  author's  Ancient  M on  archies, 
vol.  ii,  pp.  331-7,  and  vol.  iii,  pp.  348-9. 

21  Wilkinson,  vol   iv,  p.  423. 

22  See  above,  pp.  52.  71-2,  etc. 

23  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  pp.  418-19;  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol. 
i,  p.  443,  etc. 

24  The  inscription  of  Set  and  his  em- 
blems on  the  monuments  in  the  earlier 
times,  and  their  subsequent  obliteration, 
imply  at  any  rate  a  serious  change  of 
opinion. 


25  Ritual  of  the  Bead,  ch.  cxxxv,  (Bun- 
sen,  vol.  v,  p.  262). 

26  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  315. 

27  These  details  are  represented  with  a 
certain  amount  of  variety.  Sometimes 
Anubis  is  assisted  by  Horus,  more  fre- 
quently he  is  alone.  Sometimes  the  indi- 
vidual himself  is  weighed  in  the  balance 
instead  of  his  actions.  Occasionally  Hai> 
machis  (Harpocrates)  sits  on  the  crook: 
of  Osiris. 

28  Ritual  of  the  Bead,  ch.  cxxix,  (Bim- 
sen,  vol.  v,  p.263). 

29  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "  Introduction,11  p.  x. 

80  Usually  he  quits  the  presence  of 
Osiris  in  the  form  of  a  pig,  and  is  recon- 
veyed  to  earth  by  Anubis  in  a  boat 
guarded  by  monkeys.  (See  Wilkinson, 
A.  E.  "Supplement,11  pi.  87/;  Description- 
de  I' Egypt e,  "Antiquites,"  Planches,  vol. 
ii.  pi.  S3,  rig.  1;  Rosellini,,  Monumenti  del 
Quito,  pi.  lxvi,  etc.) 

81  So  Lenormant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.. 
528:  "L'aneantissement  de  Petre  etait 
tenu  par  les  Egyptiens  pour  la  chatiment 
reserve  aux  mediants.11  This  is  not,, 
perhaps,  universally  allowed. 

32  Ritual  of  the Bead,  ch.  cxlviii.  (Bun- 
sen,  vol.  v,  pp.  298-9.) 

33  See  above,  pp.  72~a 

34  Herod,  ii,  145;  Bunsen,  vol.  i,  pp. 
361--8;  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  He- 
rodotus, vol.  ii,  pp.  284,  291;,  Birch, 
Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times,  <"  Intro- 
duction,11 p.  xi. 

35  See  his  Intellectual  System  of  the 
Universe,  ch.  iv,  p.  413. 

36  See  Mosheim's  Latin  translation  of 
Cudworth's  great  work,  vol.  i,  notes  to  d. 
413. 

87  See  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  i,  pp.  364- 
66;  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodotus, 
vol.  ii,  p.  284;  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt, 
vol.  i,  p.  363. 

38  Kenrick,  vol.  i,  p.  364. 

"Birch,  Ancient  Egypt,  "Introduc- 
tion,11 p.  x. 

40  See  the  author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii, 
pp.  284-7. 

4i  Ap.   Plutarch,  Be  Is.   et  Osir,  §  9 ;: 

Tuiv  noKkiav  vofJu^ovToiv  XBlov  nap'  Alyvn~- 
ticks  bvofxa  tov  Ato?  elvat  rbv  'Afj.ovf,, 
MaveOws  jucV  6  2e/3evyvTT/?  to  KeKpvp.p.evov> 
o'lerai,  xai  tyjv  upv^iv  iiirb  TauTrjs  8r)\ov<r~ 
6ai  tyjs  <poivf}?. 

42  Birch,  Bict.  of  Hieroglyphics,  in 
Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v.  pp.  344-5, 

43  See  especially  the  hymn  to  Amen- 
Ra  published  in  vol.  ii,  of  Records  of  the 
Past,  p.  132,  lines  7-9:— 

Ruler  of  men: 

Whose  name  is  hidden  from  his  creature*,. 

In  his  name  which  is  Amen. 

Compare  the  Ritual  of  the  Bead,  ch. 
clxvi,  "O  Amnion!  I  beg  to  know  thy 
name.  .  .  .  Hidden  is  thy  name." 

44  See  the  treatise  Be  Isid.  et  Osir.  l.s.c. 

45  Herod,  ii,  42;  Diod.  Sic.  1,  13;  Plu- 
tarch, l.s.c,  etc. 

48  In   Homer  Zeus   is    7raTTjp   avipuv 


CH.  X.] 


RELIGION. 


293 


re  0eui>  re,  as  in  Virgil  Jupiter  is 
"Divoni  Pater,11  or  "hominum  sator  atque 
Deorum."  No  other  classical  god  has 
this  title. 

47  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  li,  p.  129; 
vol.  vi,  p.  100 ;  Bunsen,  Egypt,  vol.  i.  p. 
3(39. 

48  Bunsen,  l.s.c. 

49  See  Rosellini,  Mon.  del.  Culto,  pi. 
ix,  fig.  1. 

60  One  of  Amnion's  titles  in  the  hymns 
addressed  to  him  is  "Lord  of  the  crown 
high-plumed11  (Records  of  the  Past,  vol. 
ii,'  pp.  130,  132,  etc.) 

51  In  some  representations  of  Ammon, 
the  feathers  have  been  covered  with  thick 
gold  leaf.  (See  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum, 
p.  12.) 

52  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  24li. 

43  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  297.  Bunsen  views  the  uas  as  the 
symbol  of  power  (Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i, 
p.  369). 

54  Bunsen,  vol.  i,  p.  371;  Records  of  the 
Past,  vol.  ii,  pp.  20,  31,  34,  etc.;  vol.  iv, 
p.  11;  vol.viii,  p.  3,  etc. 

65  Sometimes  he  has  also  the  hawk's 
head,  which  is  proper  to  Ra,  or,  per- 
haps we  should  say,  to  solar  deities. 

56  See  above,  page  149. 

37  Description,  "Antiquites,11  vol.  iii, 
pi.  45,  tig.  2. 

68  Ritual  of  the  Dead,  ch.  clxvi.  In 
one  of  the  Hymns  to  Amen,  he  is  called 
"King  alone,  single  among  the  gods;  of 
many  names,  unknown  is  their  number.'''' 
(See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  134,  § 
17.) 

*9  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  p.  99. 
eo  Ibid.  vol.  vi.  pp.  99-100. 

61  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii.  p.  131. 

62  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  pp.  231,  235;  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place, 
vol.  i,  pp.  375-7. 

"  Plutarch,  Be  Isid.  et  Osir.  §  26; 
Diod.  Sic.  i,  12,  §  2.  Neither  writer  men- 
tions Kneph,  but  both  evidently  point  to 
him. 

64  Compare  Gen.  i,  2 :  "And  the  Spirit 

of  God  D^"P$   "^^  moved    upon    the 

face  of  the  waters.11 

65  Birch,  Ancient  Egypt,  "Introduc- 
tion,11 p.  x. 

fi6  See  the  "Hieroglyphical  Dictionary,11 
in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  pp.  425  and 
4o2. 

6'  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv.  p.  238. 

f8  Bunsen,  vol.  i,  p.  377.  Hence  he  is 
"frequently  represented  in  the  tombs11 
(Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  239). 

69  See  the  Ritual,  §  clxiii,  ad  fin.,  and 
3  clxvi. 

70  So  Birch,  and  Bunsen  (Egypt's 
Place,  vol.  i,  p.  375).  Wilkinson,  how- 
ever, maintains  that  the  long  spiral 
horns  are  also  those  of  a  kind  of  sheep 
(Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iv,  pp.  242-3). 

7»  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  237. 
"  Ibid.  p.  241;  Bunsen,  vol.  i,  p.  376; 
Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Culto,  pi.  lxv, 


73  See  a  representation  in  Wilkinson. 
A.  E.  "Supplement,11  pi.  21,  part  l,  tig.  2; 
and  compare  Rosellini,  Monumenti  del 
Culto,  pi.  ii,  fig.  3 ;  pi.  xx,  fig.  1 ;  pi.  li, 
fig.  2 ;  etc. 

74  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  239.  When  Herodotus  (ii,  74) 
speaks  of  the  horned  snake  as  sacred  to 
the  Theban  Jupiter  (Ammon),  he  is  prob- 
ably confusing  Amnion  with  Kneph,  and 
the  horned  snake  (coluber  cerastes)  with 
the  asp  (coluber  haje). 

75  Herodotus,  in  the  same  chapter  in 
which  he  identifies  the  Egyptian  Am- 
mon with  the  Creek  Zeus,  says  that  "the 
Egyptians  give  their  statues  of  Zeus  the 
face  of  a  ram11  (ii,  42),  which  is  only 
true  of  Kneph.  Alexander,  on  his  con 
quest  of  Egypt,  claimed  to  be  the  son  of 
Amnion,  and  thereupon  adopted  the 
curved  rani's  horn  which  marks  his  coins 
and  so  many  of  the  coins  of  his  "succes- 
sors.11 Lucas  has  the  phrase  "tortis  cor- 
nibus  Amnion1'  (Pharsal.  ix,  514),  and 
in  Claudian  (Ue  quarto  Consulatu  Hon^ 
orii,  1,  143)  Amnion  is  "corniger.  '1 

76  Since  there  was  but  one  God  in  their 
Pantheon  who  could  well  be  paralleled 
with  either  Ammon  or  Kneph,  and  sinc<? 
Ammon  was  occasionally  represented, 
with  the  head  of  Kneph.  (See  above,  p. 
336.) 

77  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  16. 

78  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p.  388. 

79  Ibid.  p.  377. 

80  Ancient  Eg yptians,\o\.  iv,  pp.  235^3. 

81  Some  read  the  hieroglyph  -"^si  of 

this  god  as  Min. 

82  Wilkinson,  A.  E.,  vol.  iv,  p.  202. 

83  Bunsen,  vol.  v,  p.  583. 

84  Herod,  ii,  46.  Compare  Bunsen,  vol. 
i,  ]).  374. 

85  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supplement,1' 
pis.  26,  76,  and  77,  part  ii ;  Bunsen,  vol.  i, 
pi.  i;  Description,  "Antiquites,11  vol.  iii, 
pi.  14,  fig.  4,  etc. 

8<5  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  pp.  257-8 ; 
Description  de  VEgypte,  "Antiquites,1' 
vol.  ii.  pi.  11,  fig.  3;  vol.  iii,  pi.  36,  fig.  4, 
etc. 

87  Herod,  ii,  91  ;  with  Wilkinson's 
note. 

88  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  55. 

89  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  p.  142. 

90  The  allusion  is  to  the  tall  plumed 
headdress  common  to  Khem  with  Am 
mon. 

91  This  marked  feature  in  the  repre^ 
sentations  of  Khem  has  been  already 
noticed  (supra,  p.  343).  It  is  mentioned 
by  Stephen  of  Byzantium  (ad  voc. 
TIAN02  nOAIS),  who  says  the  hand  and 
whip  were  "directed  against  the  moon,1' 
which  seems  very  improbable. 

92  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
v.  p.  264. 

93  Ibid. 

94  Herod,  ii,  99:  iii,  37:  Diodorus 
Siculus,  i,  57,  §  5 :  Plutarch,  De  Isid.  el 
Osir.  1 10;  Horapollo,  i,  10;  etc. 


294 


HOTES  TO   HISTORY   OP   ANCIENT   EGYPT. 


[CH.  X. 


95  See  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
''Supplement,-1  pi.  23,  figs.  1,  4,  and  6  ; 
Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Cidto,  pi  vi, 
fig.  1  :  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p. 
382;  Description  lie  I'Egypte,  "Antiqui- 
tes,11  vol.  iii,  pi.  32,  fig.  4. 

»•  Wilkinson,  pi.  23,  figs.  2  and  5 ;  pi. 
24,  fig.  3 ;  Rosellini,  Mon.  del  Culto,  pi. 
xxxvi,  fig.  1,  etc. 

97  See  plate  xxxv,  and  compare  Herod, 
iii,  37;  Bunt-en,  vol.  i,  p.  383  ;  Wilkinson, 
pi.  24  a,  lig.  1 ,  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum, 
p.  13 ;  Gallery,  pi.  7,  fig.  18. 

as  See  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  vi.  pi,  24, 
figs.  1,  2,  and  3. 

»9  Lbid.  vol.  iv,  p.  254. 

100  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  13; 
Bunsen,  vol.  i,  p.  382. 

J oi  Bunsen,  vol.  l,  p.  384. 

i°2  Jamblich,  Be  Mysteriis,  iv,  3. 

i°3  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  253. 

104  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  11.  It 
is  of  course  quite  possible  that  the 
Egyptian  root  pet-h  has  a  connection 
with  the  Hebrew  n^d  which  in  Kal  has 
the  same  meaning. 

105  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p. 
35  •  vol.  viii,  p.  6,  7,  22,  etc. 

io6  Herod,  ii,  101,  110,  121,  g  1,  136,  and 
153. 

107  Brugsch,  Geschichle  Aegypfens,  p. 
47;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.,  vol.  iii,  p.  399;  Le- 
normant,  Manuel  d'Histoire  Ancienne, 
vol.  i,  p.  552 ;  "Aucun  monument  de 
Memphis  ne  subsiste  encore  debout.'11 

i°8  Herod,  ii,  155.  1  assume  the  identity 
of  Buto  with  Mut,  about  which  Wilkin- 
son was  doubtful  {A.  E.  vol.  iv.  pp.  271- 
-5),  but  which  later  writers  regard  as  cer- 
tain.    (See  Bunsen,  vol.  i,  p.  379.) 

109  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  pp. 
88.  94 :  vol.  vi,  p.  71  ;  and  Bunsen,  l.s.c. 

'io  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  274. 

111  Damascius  in  Cory's  Ancient  Frag- 
ments, p.  320. 

n2  Horapollo,  i,  11.  r 

us  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  276. 
For  a  good  clear  representation  see 
Rosellini,  Mon.  del  Uulto,  pi.  lvii,  fig.  2. 

hi  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  pp.  88, 
jM;  vol.  vi,  pp.  23,  24,  34,  etc.:  Rosellini, 
pi.  xiii,  fig.  1 ;  xxx,  fig.  4;  xxxi,  fig.  4; 
xxxvi,  fig.  2:  etc. 

»'■»  Herod,  ii,  67. 

n6  Plutarch,  Sympos.  iv,  Q.  5:  Wil- 
kinson, A.  E.  vol.'iv,  p.  273. 

117  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  pp.  88, 
94 ;  vol.  vi,  p.  71. 

us  Horod.  ii,  83,  133,  152,  and  155-6. 

n9  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  266; 
Birr-h,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  13. 

120  According  to  Horapollo,  Sati  (Hera) 
presided  over  the  upper  portion  of  the 
firmament  of  heaven  (i,  11). 

i2i  The  bilingual  inscriptions  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Elephantine  show  this. 
(See  Bunsen,  vol.  i,  p.  381.) 

122  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  267. 

12?  Birch,  in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p. 
583.  There  is  no  appearance,  however, 
of  her  having  any  solar  character,  and 


the  arrow  which  forms  an  element  in  her 
name,  or  accompanies  it,  would  seem  ra- 
ther to  point  to  a  war-goddess. 

12*  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv.  p.  270, 
and  "Supplement,11  pi.  xxi,  part  2,  fig.  1  ; 
Bunsen,  vol.  i,  p.  381,  and  pi.  ii,  fie  2. 

125  See  the  Description,  "Antiquites," 
vol.  i,  pi.  16. 

126  Plato,  Tim.  p.  21,  e.  Compare 
Herod,  ii,  168. 

i2?  Wilkinson,  Mat.  Hieroglyph,  vii ; 
Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p.  386  ;  etc. 

128  Bunsen,  l.s.c. 

129  Rosellini,  Mon.  del  Quito,  pi.  liv, 
fig.  2. 

130  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv.  p.  285 ; 
"  Supplement,11  pi.  xxviii,  figs.  1  and  2; 
Bunsen,  vol.  i,  pi.  2,  fig.  5. 

i3i  Wilkinson,  pi.  xxviii,  fig.  3. 

132  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  13. 

133  Delsid.  et  Osir.  §62. 

134  Saturn,  i,  19. 

135  Strom,  v,  p.  155. 

136  Birch,  Ancient  Egypt,  "Introduc- 
tion,'1 pp.  ix-x. 

137  Ibid.;  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  11. 

138  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p. 
387. 

139  See  the  Records  of  the  Past,  vol. 
viii,  pp.  105-128. 

140  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv.  p.  287 ; 
Mat.  Hieroglyph,  p.  6. 

i4i  Bunsen,  l.s.c;  Birch,  Ancient 
Egypt,  "Introduction,11  p.  x;  Lenormant, 
Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  524;  Brugsch,  Geschichte 
Aegyptens,  p.  29  ;  etc. 

142  Rawlinson,  Ancient  Monarchies, 
vol.  i,  p.  143. 

143  Ran  and  rau  mean  "swift"  in 
Ancient  Egyptian.  (See  Birch's  Diction- 
ary in  Bunsen "s  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  466.) 

144  Bunsen,  vol.  i,  p.  387;  Wilkinson, 
A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  295  ;  and  compare  Rosel- 
lini, Monumenti,  del  Culto,  pi.  x,  fig.  1 ; 
pi.  xxx,  fig,  2  ;  pi.  xxxiii,  fig.  1  ;  etc. 

145  Wilkinson,  A,  '£.  "Supplement,''1  pi. 
xxix,  fig.  3. 

146  Wilkinson,  A.  E.,  "Supplement," 
vol.  iv.  p.  295.  This  explanation  was 
first  given  by  Porphyry. 

i4v  Horapollo,  i,  6. 

148  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  297. 

1*9  Ibid.  vol.  v,  pp.  256-60.  Not  much 
light  is  thrown  on  the  subject  by  the  in- 
scriptions, where,  however,  the  follow- 
ing passages  occur:  "Hail  to  thee,  Ra, 
the  supreme  power,  the  beetle  that  folds 
his  wings,  that  rests  in  the  empyrean, 
that  is  born  as  his  oivn  son"  (Records, 
vol.  viii,  p.  105);  and  "Homage  to  thee, 
Ra,  supreme  power,  the  god  with  the 
numerous  shapes  in  the  sacred  dwelling  : 
his  form  is  that  of  the  beetle"  (ibid.  p. 
108)'.  From  the  first  of  these  passages  it 
would  seem  th  it  the  s}rmbol ism  grew  out 
of  the  idea  that  each  scarab  was  a  male, 
which,  however,  generated  another  (Pint. 
De  Isid.  el  Osir.  §  10),  while  from  the 
second  it  might  be  concluded  that  the 
round  or  roundish  form  of  the  beetle  lay 
at  the  root  of  the  selection. 

i"  See  Plin.  H.  N.  xxx,  11. 


CH.  X.] 


RELIGION. 


295 


i6i  So  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  258. 
Dr.  Birch  notices  tnat  the  stone  and  por- 
celain scarabaei  found  in  Egypt  do  not 
all  represent  one  species  of  beetle,  since 
"some  have  plain  and  others  striated 
elytra11  {Guide  to  Museum,  p.  72). 

152  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii, 
pp.  21,  34,38,  etc. 

153  Strictly  speaking,  the  third  god  of 
the  Memphitic  triad  was  Turn,  rather 
than  Ra ;  but  Turn,  as  will  be  shown 
later,  was  little  more  than  a  form  of 
Ra. 

154  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  231. 

155  Birch,  Ancient  Egypt,  "Introduc- 
tion,11 p.  x. 

156  See  the  "Litany  of  Ra11  in  the 
Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  pp.  105-28, 
and  note  particularly  p.  106,  verse  12,  p. 
107,  verse  27,  and  p.  108,  verse  31. 

157  See  above,  p.  162-3. 

158  See  Mr.  Goodwin's  translation  of 
the  Boulaq  Papyrus,  No.  17,  in  the  Trans- 
actions of  the  Society  of  Biblical  Archae- 
ology, vol.  ii,  pp.  253-d. 

159  Khepr  or  Khepru  is  "to  create, 
make,11  in  Ancient  Egyptian.  (See  Birch's 
Diet,  of  Hieroglyphics,  p.  566).  The 
courtiers  of  Ranieses  II.  are  represented 
in  one  place  as  saying  to  their  master, 
"The  god  Ra  is  like  thee  in  his  limbs  :  the 
god  Khepra  in  creative  force'"  (Records 
of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  p.  78). 

i60  See,  besides  the  above-quoted  pas- 
sage, Records,  vol.  ii,  pp.  98,  131,235;  vol. 
iii,  pp.  4J,  10d,  111,  etc. 

161  This,  which  was  not  known  to 
Wilkinson  (A.  E.  vol.  v,  pp.  23-6),  is  now 
made  clear  by  the  inscriptions  (see  above, 
p.  148,  and  compare  Records  of  the  Past, 
vol.  iv,  p.  122),  and  generally  admitted 
by  Egyptologists.  (Birch,  Egypt  from 
the  Earliest  Times,  "Introduction,11  p. 
x;  Lenorinant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  524;  Be 
Horrack  in  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p. 
122;  Stuart  Poole  in  Smith's  Dictionary 
of  the  Bible,  vol.  ii,  p.  631;  etc.) 

162  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  25: 
Birch,  "Introduction,11  p.  xi ;  Records  of 
the  Past,  vol.  v,  p.  27 ;  etc. 

i63  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  23, 
52,  59 ;  vol.  viii,  pp.  6,  39 ;  etc. 

164  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  25. 

i65  Turn  is  called  "Lord  of  the  two 
lands  of  On11  repeatedly  in  an  inscription 
of  Ranieses  III.  (Records  of  the  Past,  vol, 
vi,  pp.  59,  61 :  vol.  viii,  p.  39;  etc.)  The 
two  lands  seem  to  have  been  called  re- 
spectively "the  land  of  Ra11  and  "the 
Ian  1  of  Hannachis.11 

i66  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  131. 

i67  Ibid.  vol.  vi,  p.  52. 

"8  Ibid.  vol.  iv,  p.  95. 

i«9  Ibid.  vol.  viii,  p.  143.  Other  titles  of 
Turn  are,  "Creator  of  those  who  are,11 
"the  hidden,11  "the  Maker  of  Heaven, " 
"the  producer  of  the  gods,11  "the  self- 
creating,11  and  "the  Lord  of  life,  sup- 
plying (life  to)  the  gods.11  (See  the 
Ritual  of  the  Dead,  ch.  lxxix,  ad  init, 
and  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  p.  52.) 

170  Birch,  Ancient  Egypt,    "Introduc- 


tion,"" p.  xi ;  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi 
pp.  52-86:  and  vol.  iv,  pp.  27  and  41, 
where  On  or  Heliopolis  is  called  "the 
city  of  the  god  Turn.11 

171  See  the  Records,  vol.  iv,  pp.  11,  13, 
14,  27,  etc. 

172  Bunsen,  EgypVs  Place,  vol.  i,  p. 
398. 

'™  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  25; 
Bunsen,  vol.  i,  pp.  395-7. 

174  See  plate  xliii  a,  tig.  107. 

175  Compare  the  representation  of  Ra, 
supra,  plate  xliv,  rig.  110. 

176  See  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  14. 
A  similar  representation  occurs  in  the 
Great  Harris  Papyrus,  where  Ramesea 
III.  addresses  the  great  triad  of  Memphis, 
Phthah,  Sekhet,  and  Nefer-Tum.  (See 
the  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  p.  6.) 

177  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p. 
397. 

178  The  other  is  one  dedicated  to  Kneph, 
and  originally  erected  at  Elephantine, 
which  was  to  be  seen  at  Sion  House  un- 
til its  demolition  in  1875. 

i7y  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  p.  27; 
vol.  viii,  p.  26 ;  etc. 

i«o  Ibid.  vol.  vi,  pp.  59-60. 

lei  Ibid.  p.  59.  The  total  number 
mentioned  is  12,983. 

182  Ibid.  pp.  61-2. 

18*  This  versio  is  taken  from  the 
Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  100-1.  A 
few  alterations  have  been  made,  chiefly 
to  improve  the  rhythm. 

i8*  Birch,  Dictionary  oj  Hieroglyphics, 
pp  579  and  583. 

185  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supplement," 
pi.  4i,  part  ii. 

i8«  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi.  p.  109; 
vol.  viii,  p.  24;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v, 
p.  16. 

i87  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  105, 
115,  116,  119,  124,  etc.,  Ritual  of  the  Dead, 
pp.  180,  259,  275  ;  etc. 

188  So  Bunsen  (EgypVs  Place,  vol.  v, 
p.  275),  and  Birch  (Guide  to  Museum,  p. 
14). 

189  Ritual  of  the  Dead,  p.  180. 

]9°  Rosellirii,  Monumenti  del  Uulto,  pi. 
x,  2;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supplement,11 
pi.  46,  part  ii.   ■ 

191  Birch,  Ghdde  to  Museum,  pp.  14-15; 
Ritual  of  the  Dead,  ch.  xvi. 

192  See  the  Ritual,  chs.  xviii,  xxxv,  cxv, 
exxsiv,  etc. 

193  So  Birch  (Guide  to  Museum,  l.s.c.) 

194  Dictionary  of  Hieroglyphics,  pp. 
579,  580. 

i96  It  is  remarkable  that  in  the  Egyp- 
tian paintings  the  hue  assigned  to  Shu 
r  black  or  nearly  so  (Wilkinson,  A.  E. 
vol.  v,  pp.  15-16). 

196  Bunsen,  EgypVs  Place,  vol.  i,  p. 
405. 

197  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  33,  and 
"Supplement,11  pi.  49,  part  ii.  Compare 
Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  p.  143. 

198  Birch  calls  him  simply  "the  Egyp- 
tian Mars11  (Guide  to  Museum,  p.  14) :  but 
Wilkinson  notes  that  the  real  bloody  god 
of  war  is,  not  Mentu,  but  Reshpu,  or  (as 


29G 


NOTES  TO   HISTORY   OF   AXCIEXT   EGYPT.  [CH.  X. 


he  reads  the  name)  Ranpo  {A.  E.  vol.  v, 
p.  Si). 

199  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii, 
pp.  43,  71,  74,  75,  77;  vol.  iv,  p.  14;  vol. 
viii,  p.  75 ;  etc. 

200  Buri^en,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p. 
404;  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p.  14; 
vol.  viii,  p.  75. 

201  Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Quito,  pi. 
ii,  1. 

2<>2  Bunsen,  vol.  i,  p.  405. 

203  Charupollion  originally  suggested 
the  derivation  of  Hermonthis  from 
Mentu-Ra  by  inversion  of  the  two  ele- 
ments. Wilkinson  approves  his  sugges- 
tion (.4.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  33,  note). 

2°4  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  43. 

205  Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Cullo,  pi. 
ii,  1  and  pi.  xxxiv,  2. 

206  Herod,  ii,  42  ;  Birch,  Ancient  Egypt, 
"Introduction, "  p.  xi ;  Wilkinson,  A.  E. 
vol.  iv,  p.  345. 

2("  Wilkinson,  vol.  iv,  pp.  317,325,  etc. 

208  "Ce  soleil  infernal  prenait  plus 
specialement  le  nom  d'Osiris."  (Lenor- 
mant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  525.) 

209  See  above,  p.  150. 

210  See  the  "Hymn  to  Osiris,11  translat- 
ed in  the  Records  of  the  Pastr  vol.  iv,  pp. 
99-100. 

211  Compare  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv, 
pp.  320-1,  with  the  above  mentioned 
hymn. 

'212  Wilkinson,  l.s.c. 
"3  Records  of  Past,  l.s.c. 

214  Ibid.  vol.  iv,  p.  103.  It  is  not  quite 
clear  whether  these  expressions  are  ap- 
plied to  Osiris  or  to  his  son,  Horuc. 

215  So  Birch,  Dictionary  of  Hiero- 
glyphics, p.  582.  Hellanicus  "observed 
that  the  Egyptians  did  not  say  "Osiris,"'"' 
like  the  Greeks,  but  "Hysiris"  (ap.  Plut. 
Be  Isid.  el  Osir.  g  34).^ 

216  Evtot  6"e  Kal  rovvofxa.  Siepix-qvevovcn 
7roAv6(/>#aA/u.oi',  go?  tou  nev  OS  to  7roAv, 
tov  8e   IPI  tov  6(j)9a\ixbv  AlyvnTi(^-y\wTTr] 

4>odC,ovTo<;  (ap.  Plut.  Be  Isid.  et  Osir.  %  10). 
Bunsen  prefers  the  derivation,  "son  of 
Isis,"  from  Hes  =  "Isis"  and  ar  = 
"child,  son"11  {Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p. 
423);  but  the  order  of  the  two  elements 
must  be  reversed  to  give  this  meaning. 

2*7  So  Bunsen,  vol.  i,  p.  425.  But  Wil- 
kinson thinks  the  head  to  be  that  of  "a 
crane,  peculiarized  by  a  tuft  of  two  long 
feathers"  {A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  342). 

2is  Ibid.  p.  340. 

219  See  plate  xliii  b   (central  figure). 

220  Bunsen,  EgypVs  Place,  vol,  i,  p. 
424. 

221  Or  rather,  the  ^'symbol  of  stability." 
(See  Wilkinson,  vol.  iv.  p.  341 ;  Birch, 
Quidi  to  Museum,  p.  15). 

222  There  is  >ne  specimen  in  the  Brit- 
ish Museum,  called  by  Dr.  Birch  (l.s.c.) 
"unique."  There  is  another  in  the 
Museum  of  Liverpool.  (See  Gatty's  Cata- 
logue, p.  8,  No.  27.) 

223  Birch,  l.s.c. 

224  On  some  of  the  contradictions,  see 
Bunsen.  EgypVs  Place,  vol.  i,  p.  438. 

22«  Ibid.  pp.  41(5,  439,  etc, 


226  Plutarch,  Be  Isid.  et  Osir.  §  11 ;  Re 
cords  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  p.  121. 

227  Records  of  the  Past.  vol.  vi,  p.  119. 
22»  Bunsen,   Egypt's  Place,   vol.   i.   p. 

438. 

229  See  Wilkinson  {Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  iv,  pp.  329-33),  where  the  entire 
legend  is  given  in  full. 

230  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supplement," 
pi.  42,  fig  2. 

231  Lenormant,  Manuel  d'Histoire 
Ancienne,  vol.  i,  pp.  525-6. 

232  So  Plutarch  {Be  Isid.  et  Osir.  §§  13- 
33),  who  is  followed  by  Bunsen  {Egypt's 
Place,  vol.  i,  p.  437)  and  Wilkinson  {A. 
E.  vol.  iv,  pp.  336-7). 

233  See  page  108. 

234  Records  of  the  Pa»t,  vol.  ii,  p.  119 ; 
vol.  iv,  pp.  7,  99,  126:  vol.  vi,  p.  3;  vol. 
viii,  pp.  26.  29,  etc. 

23s  Wilkinson  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  346. 
23<*  Ibid,  pp,  189,  255,  345,  etc. 

237  The  most  usual  title  of  Osiris  is 
"lord  of  Abydos  :  "  but  we  find  him  also 
termed  "lord  of  Phis"  (Birch,  Guide  to 
Museum,  p.  15)  and  said  to  "reside"  in 
This  {Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p.  99). 

238  Wilkinson,  A.  E.,  vol.  iv,  pp.  395- 
405 :  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  pp. 
433-6 :  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum.,  p.  13  ; 
Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p.  420, 
etc. 

239  Brugsch  {Histoire  d'Egypte,  p.  22) 
and  Lenormant,  {Manuel  d'Histoire 
Ancienne,  vol.  i,  pp.  525-6)  seem  to  admit 
but  one  Horus. 

240  See  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i, 
p.  438. 

341  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  52  et 
seqg. 

242  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
"Supplement,"  pi.  35a,  part  ii,  fig.  2; 
Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  15  ;  Gatty, 
Catalogue  of  Mayer  Collection,  p.  9 :  etc. 

243  Records  of  the   Past,  vol.  ii.  p.  40. 

244  Records  of  the  Past,  pp.  5,  123 ;  iv, 
p.  125;  viii,  p.  131;  Wilkinson,  A.  E. 
vol.  iv,  p.  398 ;  Ritual  of  the  Bead,  ch. 
cxli. 

245  Records,  etc.,  vol.  viii,  pp.  131-4. 

246  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "Introduction,"  p.  xi. 

247  See  the  Records,  vol.  ii.  pp.  37,  64, 
76,  90,  91,  98 ;  vol.  iv,  pp.  11-14,  20-3,  35, 
55,  etc.;  vol.  vi,  p.  70;  vol.  viit,  pp.  69, 
74,  75,  etc. 

248  See  an  Inscription  of  Khufu 
(Cheops)  given  by  Bunsen  in  his  fifth 
volume,  pp.  719-21,  where  that  king  calls 
himself  ankh  Mar — "the  living  Horus." 

249  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  pp.  89, 
91,  92. 

250  See  Birch's  Grammar,  in  Bunsen's 
Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  621. 

251  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  19. 

252  See  Lepsius,  Benlindler,  vol.  vi, 
part  iii,  pis.  91-110;  Wilkinson,  Ancient 
Egyptians,  "Supplement,"  pi.  30;  and 
Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times,  p, 
109. 

263  Birch,  pp.  107-10.  Compare  Wih 
kinson  {A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  298)  and  Leuor- 


CH.   X.] 


"RELIGION". 


29? 


mant  (Manuel  d'Histoire  Ancienne,  vol. 
i,  pp.  391-3.) 

254  Lepsius,  Denkmdler,  vol.  vi,  part 
iii.  pis.  91,  106,  110,  etc. 

255  Wilkinson,  A.  J?,  vol.  iv,  p.  387: 
Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p.  400; 
Birch,  Egypt,  from  the  Earliest  Times, 
"Introduction,'1"  p.  xi. 

256  See  the  Ritual  of  the  Dead  in  Bun- 
een's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  pp  211,  239,  275,  etc. 

257  So  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p. 
401.  To  me  it  seems  that  the  object, 
which  is  a  simple  circle,  and  is  some- 
times held  with  both  hands  (Description 
de  I'Egypte,  "Antiquites,"  vol.  i,  pi.  xi, 
1 ),  may  be  merely  the  sun's  disk. 

258  Bunsen,  l.s.c.  and  Birch,  Guide  to 
Museum,  p.  14. 

259  Records  of  the  Past.  vol.  viii,  p.  50. 

260  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  394. 

261  The  title  "lady  of  the  dance  and 
mirth,"  is  almost  the  sole  monumental 
evidence  of  there  being  any  aspect  of 
Athor  in  which  she  could  be  reasonably 
compared  with  Venus.  But  the  Greeks 
and  Komans  were  determined  to  find  re- 
semblances, and  often  made  the  most  ab- 
surd identifications. 

262  Plutarch,  De  Isid.  et  Osir.  ?  56. 

2«3  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  pp.  381-2. 
264  See  above,  p.  169. 
266  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  pp.  119- 
23 

266  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p.  121. 

267  ibid.  pp.  101-2. 

2«8  See  the  Ritual  of  the  Dead,  in  Bun- 
sen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  pp.  180-82,  262,  269, 
etc. 

269  Birch's  Hieroglyphic  Grammar  in 
Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  621. 

270  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
iv,  p.  384. 

271  Records  of  Ihe  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  123; 
vol.  iv,  p.  101,  etc. 

272  Wilkinson,  l.s.c. 

273  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p. 
419. 

274  Plutarch  says  that  her  soul  was 
placed  in  Sirius,  or  the  Dog-Star,  after 
her  death  (De  Isid.  et  Osir.  %%  21  and  61); 
but  the  death  of  Isis  was  scarcely  an 
Egyptian  idea.  It  is  certain,  however, 
that  some  very  close  connection  was  re- 
garded as  existing  between  the  star  and 
the  goddess.  (See  Records  of  the  Past, 
vol.  ii.  p.  122 ;  and  compare  Wilkinson, 
A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  371.) 

27s  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  370. 

276  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  13. 

277  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p. 
:392.  Compare  Records  of  ihe  Past,  vol. 
iv,  pp.  55,  58,  60,  etc. 

278  Khons  is  connected  by  Birch  with 


thens 


© 


51 


"to  hunt,  to  chase:'1 


and  Nefer-netp  would  seem  to  come  from 
the  two  words  nefer,  "good,"  and  help 

•^   "food,"    "welcome,"   "a   table." 


But  in  neither  case  is  the  exact  intention 
of  i  lie  name  certain. 

2  9  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  pp.  55, 
58.  88,  etc. 

28«  Ibid.  p.  58. 

2«i  Ibid.  p.  94. 

282  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p. 
392.  Compare  the  Description,  vol.  iii, 
pis.  32  and  33,  Roselhni,  Mon.  del  Culto, 
pi.  xxxiii,  2. 

283  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  p.  32. 

284  Ibid.,  vol.  iv,  pp.  55-60. 

285  See  plate  xlii,  fig.  104. 
28«  Supra,  pp.  339  and  367. 

287  See  Wilkinson, A. E. "Supplement," 
pi.  45,  fig.  3. 

288  Ibid. 

s89  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  90 ; 
vol.  iv,  p.  123;  vol.  viii,  p.  30,  etc. 

29«  Ritual  of  the  Dead,  pp.  175,  214, 
236,  etc.  In  one  place  (p.  275)  Thoth  is 
"the  husband  of  Truth." 

291  See  for  these  titles,  the  Records  of 
the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p.  123  :  the  Ritual  of  the 
Dead,  pp.  161,  180;  and  Bunsen's  Egypt's 
Place,  vol,  i,  p.  393. 

292  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  v,  p. 
133.     Compare  p.  209. 

293  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  pp. 
123-5.  The  value  of  the  writings  of 
Thoth  to  the  good  souls  in  the  Amenti 
is  noticed  also  in  the  Ritual,  ch.  xciv. 

294  The  legend  is  contained  in  the 
"Tale  of  Setnau,"  which  has  been  trans- 
lated by  Dr.  Brugsch,  and  will  be  found 
in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  pp. 
133-48. 

296  Dictionary  of  Hieroglyphics,  in 
Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  583. 

296  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  v,  p.  7, 
note. 

297  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  p. 
Ill :  "All  eyes  are  open  on  thee,  and  all 
men  worship  thee  as  a  god.'''' 

298  Ibid.  vol.  ii,  p.  90;  Wilkinson,  A. 
E.  vol.  v,  p.  4. 

299  Records,  vol.  ii,  p.  90,  note  2.  Com 
pare  the  Ritual,  chs.  cxiv,  and  cxvi. 

3°o  Records,  vol.  ii,  p.  90,  par.  59. 
3°i  Ibid.  vol.  vi,  p.  111. 

302  See  the  Description  de  I'Egypte, 
"Antiquites,"  vol.  i,  pi.  10,  part  2 ;  vol. 
ii,  pi.  13,  part  1  ;  Wilkinson,  A.  E. 
"  Supplement,"  pi.  54  a;  Birch,  Guide  to 
Museum,  p.  15. 

303  Seb  has  an  important  part  assigned 
to  him  in  the  legend  called  "The  De- 
struction of  Mankind  by  Ra,"  (Records 
of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  p.  110) :  but  other- 
wise his  name  scarcely  occurs  half  a 
dozen  times  in  the  five  Egyptian  volumes 
of  that  series. 

304  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p.  405. 

305  On  the  danger  to  life  in  Egypt  from 
the  crocodile,  see  Herod,  ii,  90 ;  ^Elian, 
Nat.  Anim.  x.  24;  Senec.  Nat.  Qumst.  iv, 
2 :  Diod.  Sic.  i,  35 ;  and  compare  Records 
of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  pp.  143,  155,  and  160. 

306  The  word  "  Savak  "  occurs  as  an 
element  in  a  royal  name  as  early  as  the 
twelfth  dynasty  (Brugsch,  Geschichte 
Aegyptens,  p.  164),  which  would  seem  to 


298 


NOTES   TO   HISTORY   OF   AXCTEXT   EGYPT.  [CH.  X. 


imply  his  recognition  as  a  god  by  the 
Tneoans  ;  but  we  nave  no  clear  evidence 
of  his  worship  until  the  time  of  the 
nineteenth,  when  he  is  much  honored 
by  Rameses  II.  and  Rameses  III.  (See 
Rosellini,  Mon.  del  Quito,  pis.  xxxii,  2: 
xxxiii,  1  and  2  ;  xxxv,  2  ;  xxxvi,  1  and  2  ; 
Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  pp.  29,31.) 
so?  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  36. 

308  See  above,  p.  131. 

309  Compare  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "  Sup- 
plement,1'' pi.  50,  pt.  2,  fig.  3,  with  pi.  81, 
pt.  1,  fis.  1 ;  and  pi.  50,  pt.  2,  fig.  1,  with 
pi.  24,  fig.  2. 

310  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "Introduction,11  p.  xii ;  Records 
of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  p.  24,  note,  etc. 

'  311  See  Birch's  Did.  of  Hieroglyphics, 
pp.  402-3. 

312  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  p. 
24.  ; 

3i3  Ibid.  p.  29:  "The  men  which  he 
gave  to  the  temple  of  the  god,  Hanher  of 
the  tall  plumes.'''1 

3i4  Rameses  III.  speaks  of  Onuris  as 
"resident  in  Tennu,"  which  Is  the  same 
place  as  Silsilis. 

315  Records,  vol.  viii,  pp.  84-25. 

3i6  See  Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Quito, 
pi.  xv,  1 ;  and  compare  Wilkinson,  A.  E. 
"Supplement,11  pi.  50,  pt.  1. 

317  This  ornament  does  not  appear  on 
the  head  of  any  other  god.  It  consists 
of  +h>>ee  spheres  placed  side  by  side  over 
the  ^6ual  wavy  horns  and  surmounted 
by  three  vascular  forms  with  a  disk  at 
tb^  top  of  each.  On  either  side  are  the 
usuai  ostrich  feathers  and  uraei. 

Curiously  enough,  this  ornament, 
whicn  was  certainly  not  common  in 
Egypt,  appears  very  slightly  modified  in 
the  near  vicinity  of  the  tomb  of  Cyrus. 
(See  the  author's  Herodotus,  vol.  i,  p. 
256,  3d  ed.) 

3i8  Champollion,  Le/tres  ecrites  d'E- 
gypte,  lettre  xi,  pp.  155-6.        r- 

si»  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  35. 

320  So  Champollion,  l.s.c. 

321  Wilkinson  says,  he  "held  a  post 
among  the  contemplar  gods  of  Upper 
and  Lower  Egypt  from  Philse  to  the 
Delta "  (A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  54),  but  men- 
tions no  temple  where  he  was  wor- 
shipped separately. 

322'  Synes.  Encom.  Calv.  p.  73,  b; 
Aram.  Marc,  xxii,  14  ;  Macrob.  Saturnal. 
i,  20,  etc. 

323  See  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  15  ; 
Gatty,  Catalogue  of  Mayer  Collection, 
p  8,  etc. 

3-4  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
cfcs.  vol.  ii,  pp.  284-6. 

325  Wilkinson,  A  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  280. 
There  is  some  doubt  whether  the  true 
wife  of  Fhthah  was  Bast  or  Sechet,  or 
whether  these  two  names  did  not  really 
belong  to  a  single  goddess.  Individu- 
ally I  incline  to  this  theory ;  but  Dr. 
Birch  in  a  recent  work  distinguishes  be- 
tween the  two,  and  suggests  that  they 
were  sisters  (Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "  Introduction,"  p.  xi.) 


326  Bunsen  suggests  the  meaning, 
"the  old  (oldest :-)  of  the  avengers  :  "  but 
doubtfully  (Egypt's  Place,  vol.  l,  p.  39-;;). 

327  see  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supple- 
ment,11 pis.  2?,  35a,  and  51.  Compare 
Description  de  V  Egypt  e,  "Antiquites,'''1 
vol.  i,  pi.  16,  No.  2 ;  vol.  iii,  pi.  48 ; 
Rosellini,  Mon.  del  Culto,  pi.  8,  No.  3; 
pi.  32,  No.  1 ;  and  numerous  statues  in 
the  British  Museum,  as  those  numbered 
16.  62,  88,  517,  518  and  520. 

328  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  277. 

329  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p. 
143. 

330  Ibid.  vol.  viii,  p.  31 
33i  Herod,  ii.  137. 

332  Ibid,  ii,  60. 

333  Her  worship  by  Rameses  in.  ap- 
pears upon  the  monuments  (Rosellini, 
Mon.  del  Culto,  pi.  viii,  ^o.  3:  pi.  xxxii, 
No.  l),and  is  also  noticed  in  the  inscrip- 
tions (Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  p. 
31).  She  was  a  favorite  with  Sheshonk, 
who  erected  statues  to  her.  Osorkon  I. 
adorned  her  temple  at  Bubastis.  It  is 
Rameses  111.  who  calls  her  his  "  mother,1' 
(Records,  l.s.c.) 

33*  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp. 
108-9,  and  vol.  viii,  pp.  131-3. 

335  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
"Supplement,*'  pi.  32,  fig.  3. 

336  see  the  "Tears  of  Isis,"  in  the 
Records  of  the  Past.  vol.  ii,  pp.  119-24. 

536  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p.  417  ; 
Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  iv, 
p.  438. 

3"  Seethe  "Ritual  of  the  Dead,"  in 
Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  pp.  180,  269,  270, 
310,  etc. 

338  ibid.  p.  179. 

339  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  \ol.  iv,  pp.  437-8. 

340  See  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  582. 

341  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  l,  p.  421. 

342  Birch,  Guide  to  Egyptian  Galleries, 
p.  5. 

343  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  81, 
84.  etc. 

344  Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Culto,  pi. 

6,  fig.  2. 

Si5  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  p.  81. 
34«  Birch,  l.s.c. 

347  Sometimes  instead  rf  feathers,  the 
cap  seems  to  be  crowned  by  a  row  of 
lotus  blossoms.  (See  Rosellini,  Mon.  del 
Culto.  pi.  2,  fig.  2.) 

348  This  is  proved  by  an  inscription 
found  at  Sehayl,  near  the  first  cataract, 
where  she  is  called  "  Anuke  or  Hestia." 
(See  Wilkinson's  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
v,  p.  21) 

349  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  x,  pp.  25- 

7,  etc. 

350  Diod.  Sic.  i,  76. 

SJi  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supplement,'' 
pi.  88.  Sometimes  Ma  is  present  in  pei*- 
son  and  watches  the  proceedings  (D* 
cription  de  VEgypte,  "Antiquites, '-  vcL 
ii.pl.  35). 

352  Rosellini,  Mon.  del  Culto,  pi-  S5, 
fig.  1. 

353  Wilkinson.  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  31. 

354  See  the    RUual   of  the   Dead,  ca. 


CH.  X.] 


RELIGION. 


299 


lxxv,  where  the  deceased  person  is 
utmered  into  the  "Hall  of  the  Two 
'truths"  (Bunnell's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p. 
832). 

y55  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi, 
pp.  105,  115,  116,  110,  124 ;  Ritual  of  the 
Dead,  pp.  180,  275,  etc. 

3->*  See  the  Records,  vol.  x,  p.  137:— 
"Shu,  the  son  of  Ra,  as  Ra,  navigates 
the  heaven  on  high  every  morning  ;  the 
goddess  Tafne  rests  upon  his  head  :  she 
gives  her  fire  against  his  enemies  to  re- 
duce them  to  non-existence.1-' 

357  Records,  vol.  vi,  pp.  116  and  119. 

358  Rosellini, Monumenti  del  Culto,  pis. 
xi  and  xii ;  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyp- 
tians, "  Supplement,"  pi.  li,  part  i. 

359  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  38. 
sou  Rosellini,  l.s.c. 


3«i  From  mer,   ^C      or 


**C- 


to 


love,11   and   skar 


P 


US. 


m 


"silence.11 

3,52  Birch  in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p. 
582. 

3<s3  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  81. 

364  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  39. 

385  Sharpe,  Egyptian  Inscriptions,  p. 
78. 

see  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supplement,11 
pi.  li,  part  tii. 

so?  Ibid.  vol.  v,  pp.  80-1. 

368  See  above,  p.  149. 

369  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p. 
121:  "Thine  enemy  is  vanquished;  he 
tto  longer  exist  eth:^  and  compare  vol.  vi, 
pp.  116-7.  "Shu  and  Tefnut  (Tafne) 
place  their  son,  Horus,  son  of  Isis,  on  the 
throne  of  his  father  ;  they  upset  Set ; 
they  drag  him  to  a  secret  place  of  pun- 
ishment in  the  east.  Horns  kills  him  in 
his  name. 

370  See  the  list  of  early  Egyptian  gods 
in  Manetho  (ap.  Euseb.  Citron.  Can.  i, 
20,  <S  1);  where  Typhon  (=  Set)  occurs  be- 
tween Osiris  and  Horus. 

371  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  p.  3. 

372  The  name  of  Seti  1.  is  commonly 


written 


where  the  sitting  figure 


represents  Set. 

3'3  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  pp.  416- 
18. 

374  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p. 
27,  32,  etc. 

375  Ibid.  vol.  vi,  pp.  117,  122 ;  vol.  x,  p. 
162.  etc. 

376  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
"Supplement,"  pi.  38,  pt.  ii,  fig.  1  ;  pi. 
39,  fig.  1  :  and  pi.  78,  fig.  1. 

377  Ibid.  pi.  38,  pt.  ii,  fijr.  2. 

378  So  Canon  Cook  in  the  Records  oj 
the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  102,  and  Bunsen  in 
his  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p.  425. 

379  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  101. 


380  ibid.  vol.  x,  p.  145.  This  enlistment 
of  Nubti,  or  Nubi,  among  the  helpers  ot 
the  sun  is  very  remarkable. 

3S1  See  Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Culto, 
£i.  xxxi,  fig.  1  :  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Sup- 
plement,11 pi.  40. 

382  See  fig.  108. 

383  Rosellini,  l.s.c. 

3«4  See  plate  xxxv,  fig.  88,  where  the 
central  figure  is  that  of  Bes. 

3^  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  432. 

3*6  Wilkinson,  l.s.c. 

387  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  16. 

38«  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  435. 

383  See  above,  p.  171, 

39o  See  the  Ritual  of  the  Bead,  ch. 
xxxix,  (in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  pp. 
193-5.) 

39J  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodo- 
t'ir  .  vol.  ii,  p.  220,  2d  edition. 

392  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians, 
"Supplement,"  pi.  44,  pt.  i,  fig.  3. 

3«3  ibid.  pi.  88. 

8»4  Ibid.  pi.  87. 

39 5  Propert.  Ill,  xi,  41 ;  Ov.  Met.  ix, 
690  ;  Virg.  s&n.  viii,  698  ;  Plutarch,  De 
Isid.  et  Osir.  §  14. 

396  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supplement,11 
pi.  44,  pt.  i,  fig.  2. 

397  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  x,  p.  3. 

398  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p.  3; 
vol.  x,  pp.  3,  85;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv, 
p.  4-12. 

399  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  x,  p.  149. 

400  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p. 
415. 

4oi  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  71.  The 
mummied  form  is  by  far  the  most  com- 
mon. 

402  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  pp.  78-1.  Com- 
pare Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  pp.  89-90. 

403  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  x,  pp.  86- 
7;  (iatty,  Catalogue  of  Mayer  Collection, 
p.  39. 

404  RUual  of  the  Dead,  ch.  xvii  (in 
Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  175). 

405  See  especially,  Records  of  the  Past, 
vol.  x,  pp.  85-7. 

406  Ritual  of  the  Dead,  ch.  cxlix,  ad 
fin. 

407  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supplement,11 
pi.  62  ,  Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Culto, 
pi.  Ixvi,  etc. 

408  See  the  Ritual,  ch.  exxv,  (Bunsen, 
pp.  253-6). 

409  Ibid.  p.  252. 
4io  ibid.  p.  256. 

4ii  Ibid.  The  final  annihilation  of  the 
wicked  soul,  when  it  took  place,  was 
effected  by  Shu.     (See  above,  p.  363.) 

4i2  Nun  is  often  mentioned  in  the 
sacred  myths,  as,  for  instance,  in  the 
-Destruction  of  Mankind  by  Ra,11  where 
he  is  called  "the  firstborn  of  the  gods,1' 
and  said  to  be  the  father  of  Ra  {Records 
of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  105-6). 

4i3  See  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  pp. 
56-9:  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  pp. 
107-114:  vol.  vi,  pp.  66-9;  Rosellini, 
Man.  del  Culto,  pi.  xxx,  fig.  4. 

4  1*  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  x,  p.  149 

4i5  Ibid.  vol.  vi,  p.  69. 


300 


NOTES   TO    HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT   EGYPT. 


[CH.  X. 


418  Ibid.  vol.  iv,  pp.  12-13;  vol.  x,  pp. 
29,  34,  etc. 

417  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  31. 
Khaft  is  called  "lady  of  the  country" 
by  Thothmes  HI,  in  a  tablet  set  up  at 
Thebes. 

418  Birch  in  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii, 
p.  29. 

4i9  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supplement," 
pis.  54  and  54a;  Birch  in  Bunsen's  Egypt, 
vol.  v,  p.  583. 

420  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  pp.  41-5 ; 
Rosellini,  Mon.  del  Cullo,  pi.  xMii,  fig. 
2, and  pi.  lii,  fig.  2.  Birch  readr  che  name 
as  "Nub,11  regarding  the  initial  letter  as 


J .    and  not    J^ 


(See  Bunsen's  Egypt, 


vol.  v,  p.  582.) 

421  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  64 ;  and 
"Supplement,11  pi.  58,  pt.  4;  Records  of 
the  Past,  vol.  x,  p.  156  ;  Birch,  inBunsen;s 
Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  583. 

422  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  14. 

423  Ibid.  vol.  viii,  p.  78 ;  Wilkinson, 
A.  E.  "Supplement,11  pi.  64,  pt.  2. 

424  Records  of  the  Past,  Lb. a;  Birch  in 
Bunsen's  Egyyt,  l.s.c. 

425  Bunsen,  vol.  i,  pp.  409-10 ;  Records 
of  the  Past,  vol.  x,  p.  142;  Wilkinson,  A. 
E.  "Supplement,11  pi.  70,  pt.  1. 

426  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p.  31 ; 
vol.  x.  p.  1  2,  etc. 

427  Ibid.  vol.  ii,  pp.  68,  71,  76 ;  Birch, 
Guide   to  Museum,  p.  11. 

428  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  pp.  83-4 ; 
Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  pp.  411-12. 

429  Bunsen,  vol.   i,  p.  412 ;    Birch,   l.s.c. 

430  Birch  in  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p. 
583;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supplement,11  pi. 
65,  pt.  3. 

431  Am,  the  "Cerberus11  of  Wilkinson, 
(A.  E.  vol.  v.  p.  77,  and  "Supplement,11 
pi.  63,  pt.  2),  seems  to  have  been  one  of 
the  demons  of  Hades.  He  watches  the 
weighing  of  souls  (Wilkinson,  — pi.  88) 
Amente  was  a  feminine  Amnion  (Bunsen, 
Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p.  378) ;  Astes,  one 
of  the  gods  of  Hades,  joined  with  Thotti, 
Osiris,  and  Anubis  (Ritual  of  the  Dead, 
ch.  xviii);  Hak,  a  son  of  Kneph  and  Anu- 
ka,  worshipped  together  with  them  at 
Elephantine  ;  Maki,  a  crocodile  god,  a 
son  of  Set  (Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  x, 
pp.  139,  147,  and  154).  Nausaas  was  a 
daughter  of  Ra,  or  Turn,  and  one  of  the 
chief  deities  of  Heliopolis  (ib.  vol.  vi, 
pp.  56,  58).  Nebhept,  generally  coupled 
with  Nausaas,  is  thought  to  have  been  a 
form  of  Athor.  Nishem  or  Nuneb,  is 
joined  by  Horus  of  the  18th  dynasty  with 
Uati,  Neith,  Isis,  Nephthys,  Horus,  and 
Set  (ib.  vol.  x,  p.  34).  Nuhar  and  Urhek 
are  included  by  Birch  in  his  list  of  Egyp- 
tian deities  (Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  pp. 
581-3);  the  former  is  said  to  be  a  "god  of 
the  firmament.11 

432  Herod,  ii,  145. 

433  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  x,  pp.  41-2. 
Vi  Tbid.  p.  35. 

^  rbid.  p.  97. 


436  Strictly  speaking,  Manetho's  list  is 
one  of  seven,  not  eight,  deities.  But  Isis 
may  perhaps  be  considered  to  be  implied 
in  Osiris.  (See  Euseb.  Chron.  Can.  i,  20, 
§  1,  and  compare  Syncell.  Chronograph, 
pp.  51-2.) 

437  Herod,  ii,  43 :  'E/c  ruv  6kiw  0eu>v  oi 
SvwSeKa.  0eol  iy  ev  ov  to .  Compare  ch. 
145. 

438  Bunsen's  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  pp. 
366-8. 

439  So  Bunsen,  p.  387.  But  the  Egyp- 
tian mythology  is  not  always  self-con- 
sistent. Ra  is  sometimes  the  son  of  Nun 
(Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  105-6). 

440  Birch,  Grade  to  Museum,  p.  12.  The 
lists  here  given  do  not  altogether  agree 
with  those  contained  in  Dr.  Birch's 
Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times,  which 
are  as  follows  : — 

EIGHT   GREAT   GODS       EIGHT  GREAT    GODS 
AT  THEBES.  AT  MEMPHIS. 


1. 

Ammon  Ra. 

1. 

Phthah. 

2. 

Mentu. 

2. 

Ra. 

3. 

Shu. 

3. 

Shu  (with 
Tafne). 

4. 

Seb. 

4. 

Seb. 

5. 

Nut. 

5. 

Nut. 

Ii. 

Osiris. 

6. 

Osiris  (with 
Isis. 

7. 

Set. 

7. 

Set. 

8. 

Horus  (with 
Athor). 

8. 

Horus. 

441  Heliopolis,  for  instance,  the  "Eight11 
would  almost  certainly  have  comprised, 
besides  Ra  and  Horus,  the  god  Turn  and 
the  goddesses  Nebhept  and  Nausaas.  (See 
Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  p.  52.) 

442  It  is  observable  that  Bunsen,  who 
alone  attempts  to  fix  on  a  definite 
"twelve,11  is  obliged  immediately  to  ap- 
pend to  his  list  a  "supplementary11  one 
of  thirteen  others  (Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i, 
pp.  409-11). 

442  Maentfef  and  Karbukef  appear  in 
the  Ritual  of  the  Dead  as  companions  of 
the  "Four  Genii,1*  but  apparently  are  of 
a  lower  grade  (Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  v, 
p.  175). 

443  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "Introduction.'1  p.  xi;  Guide  to 
Museum,  p.  11 ;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv, 
pp.  230-3.  Bunsen  objects  to  the  word 
"triad,11  and  thinks  .the  grouping  by 
three  unimportant  (Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i, 
p.  365). 

445  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  l.s.c. 

446  Supra. 

447  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  133. 

448  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  pp. 
j 08-10. 

449  There  is  one  slight  acknowledg- 
ment in  a  "Hymn  to  Turn,11  which  has 
been  already  given  at  length,  (supra,  pp. 
361-2)  ;  and  in  the  Ritual  of  the  Dead,  it 
is  admitted  that  the  soul,  after  passing 
through  the  Hall  of  the  Two  Truths,  and 
protesting  five  times  over,  "  I  am  pure,  ! 
am  pure,  etc.,    still  requires  cleansing  in 


CH.  X.] 


RELIGION". 


301 


the  basin  of  purgatorial  fire.  "Extract 
ye  all  the  evil  out  of  me,11  say  the  souls  ; 
"  obliterate  my  faults ;  annihilate  my 
sins.11  "Thou  niayest  go,11  reply  the 
spirits;  "we  obliterate  all  thy  faults; 
we  annihilate  all  thy  sins.''''  (See  Bun- 
sen's  Egypt,  vol.  v,  p.  260). 

450  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp. 
137-9. 

«i  Ibid.  vol.  x,  pp.  7-9. 

452  Ibid.  vol.  vi,  p.  150.  Compare 
Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,   vol.   v, 

-  p.  400. 

453  Record*,  vol.  x,  p.  52. 

454  Contrast  with  these  utterances 
those  of  David  (Ps.  xxxi,  9-10 ;  xxxii,l-7  ; 
xl,  12,  etc.),  Isaiah  (vi,  5,)  and  even  Job 
(xi.  4  ;  xiii,  (5). 

455  Bread  is  usually  placed  first  in  the 
general  descriptions  of  sacrifices  (Re- 
cords of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p.  3 ;  vol.  vi,  pp. 
29,  31,  etc.  ;  vol.  x,  p.  44).  Ten  or 
twelve  different  kinds  of  bread  are 
mentioned  as  offered  to  ihe  Theban 
triad  by  Rameses  III.  (ibid.  vol.  vi,  pp. 
44-5),  whose  total  of  "good  bread, 
different  loves,''1  offered  in  one  temple 
during  the  space  of  thirty-one  years  was 
2,844,357,  or  above  90,000  annually. 

458  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  45, 
64  etc. 

4"  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  337 ; 
Juv.  Sat.  vi,  540 ;  Records  of  the  Past, 
vol.  iv,  p.  13;  vol.  vi,  p.  45,  etc. 

458  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p.  3 ; 
vol.  vi,  pp.  29,  31,  45,  etc. 

459  Wilkinson.  A.  E.  vol.  v,  pp.  368-9. 
48°  Herod,  ii,  39  ;  Records  of  the  Past, 

vol.  vi,  p.  28 ;  vol.  viii,  p.  14 ;  vol.  x,  p. 

44,  etc. 

461  "  Spirits "  are  thought  to  occur 
among  the  offerings  of  the  kings  to  the 
temples  (Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp. 

45,  62,  etc). 

482  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  pp.  338-40. 
4«3  Wilkinson,    A.    E.   vol.  v,   p.   339. 

Compare  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii, 
p.  12. 

484  See  the  "  Inscription  of  Queen 
Hatasu  "in  the  Records  of  the  Past,  vol. 
x,  pp.  13-19. 

48s  Ibid,  vol.vi,  pp.  42,  46,  65,  67,  etc. 

488  Ibid.  vol.  48-9,  65,  68,  etc. 

487  Herod,  ii,  41,  45,  Records,  vol.  ii, 
pn   90,  93,  96,  etc.;  vol.  vi,  pp.  31,  33,  etc. 

483  H  -rod.  ii.  42. 

489  ibid,  ii,  47-8. 

470  Just  as  they  did  among  the  Jews. 
(S  "•  Levit.  v,  7  ;  xii,  8  ;  and  xiv,  22). 

471  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  x,  p.  44. 

472  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  347; 
Ken  rick,   Ancient    Egypt,  vol.  ii,  p.  11  ; 

t  Trevor,  Ancient  Egypt,  p.  172,  etc. 

473  See  Herod,  ii,  41.  (Herodotus  says 
that  they  were  "sacred  to  Isis,"  but,  by 
mentioning  Atar-bechis  as  their  burial 
place,  shows  that  it  was  not  Isis,  but 
Athor,  to  whom  they  were  dedicated.) 

474  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  47, 
64,  66  ;  vol,  viii,  p.  20,  etc. 

47 5  Ibid.  vol.  ii,  pp.  90,  96,  99;  vol.  x„ 
pp.  44,  62,  etc. 


476  Herod,  l.s.c. ;  Porphyr.  De  Ao- 
stinent.  ii,  §  11 ;  Hieronym.  Adv.  Jooiu, 
ii  7  *  etc. 

'477  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  352. 

478  Herod,  ii,  38. 

479  Wilkinson,  l.s.c. 
48°  Herod,  ii,  40. 

4»i  See  above,  p.  192. 

482  Herod,  ii,  39. 

483  Deut.  xii,  1-9. 

484  Herod,  ii,  40. 

485  Herod,  ii,  66-7.  Compare  Wilkin- 
son, A.  E.  vol.  v,  pp.  161-8.  Cat  mum- 
mies are  very  common  (Birch,  Guide  to 
Museum,  pp.  60-1). 

488  Herod,  ii,  67,  75 ;  Wilkinson  A.  E. 
vol.  v  pp.  217-25. 

*'  •  Wilkinson,  vol.  v,  pp.  128-31 ; 
Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  pp.  17,  60,  etc. 

488  Herod,  ii,  65,  67 ;  Diod.  Sic.  i,  87 ; 
Wilkinson,  vol.  v,  pp.  205-210,  etc. 

489  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  pp. 
105,  108 ;   Birch.  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  72. 

490  Wilkinson  expresses  himseif  doubt- 
fully on  this  point  (A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  243). 

49i  Plut.  De  Isid.  et  Osir.  %  72.  (Com- 
pare Herod,  ii,  63.)  Sheep  were  especially 
sacred  at  Thebes  and  at  Sais. 

492  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  pp.  138-41. 

493  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "Introduction,1"'  p.  xii  ;  Guide  to 
Museum,  pp.  17-20. 

494  Herod,  ii,  65;  Diod.  Sic.  i,  83; 
Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  pp.  91-5. 

49s  Herod,  ii,  67. 

498  Herodotus  says  that  even  acciden- 
tally killing  an  ibis  or  a  hawk  entailed 
the  penalty  of  death  (ii,  65,  ad  fin.) 
But  this  was  not  the  Egyptian  law.  The 
fanaticism  of  the  people  may  occasion- 
ally have  led  to  such  a  shocking  result. 
(See  Diod.  Sic.  l.s.c.) 

497  Plut.  Be  Isid.  et  Osir.  g  44. 

498  On  the  signs  by  which  an  Apis  calf 
was  known,  see  Herod,  iii,  28,  ad  fin., 
and  compare  ^Elian,  Nat.  An.  xi,  10 ; 
Plin.  H.  N.  viii.  46;  Amm.  Marc,  xxii, 
14.  The  chief  seem  to  have  been  a 
white  star  on  the  forehead,  and  a  white 
mark  on  the  back  or  side,  in  which 
some  resemblance  could  be  traced  to 
the  outline  of  an  eagle.  It  is  evident 
that  the  priests  would  easily  find  a  fresh 
Apis,  whenever  they  wanted  one. 

499  Herod,  ii,  15*. 

600  So  Lenormant  (Manuel  d^Histoire 
Ancienne,  vol.  i,  p.  535)  and  Birch, 
(Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times,  "In- 
troduction,11 p.  xii.)  Others  make  the 
Apis  bulls  incarnations  oi  Osiris  (Wilkin- 
son, A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  347;  Bunsen, 
Egypt's  Place,  vol.  i,  p.  431). 

6oi  The  hieroglyphics  which  represent 
this  name  are  different  from  those  ex- 
pressive of  the  Nile-god,  but  identical 
(or  nearly  so)  with  the  group  which 
represents  the  second  genius  of  Amenti 
(see  above,  p.  409). 

502  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  iv,  p.  351. 

603  Strab.  xvii,  1,  §  31.  There  were 
also  apartments  provided  in  the  temple 
for  a  certain  number  of    other    cows. 


302 


NOTES   TO    HISTORY    OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT. 


[CH.  X. 


Apis  requiring  to  nave  the  solace  of 
female  companionship.  (See  ^Elian, 
Nat.  An.  xii,  10.) 

504  piin#  #.  jsf.  viii,  46 ;  Amm.  Marc. 
xxii,  14. 

505  Kecently  discovered  by  M.  Ma- 
riette.  (See  his  Eenseignements  sur  les 
soixante-quatre  Apis  trouves  au  Sera- 
pf:vm,  Paris,  1855.) 

506  Lenormant,  Manuel  d'Histoire,  An- 
cienne,  vol.  i,  p. 536  ;  Records  of  the  Past, 
vol.  iv,  pp.  63-4. 

607  Records  of  the  Past,  l.s.c. 

see  Herod,  iii,  27;  ^Elian,  l.s.c;  Plut. 
De  Isid.  et  Osir.  §  35 ;  Diod.  Sic.  i, 
84  etc. 

509  pint,  he  Isid.  et  Osir.  §  33 ;  Diod. 
Sic.  l.s.c.  ;  St,rab.  xvii,  1,  §  27. 

sio  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "  Introduction, "  p.  xii. 

5ii  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  196. 

512  Macrob.  Salurnal.  i,  21;  Strab. 
xvii,  1,  §  47 ;  ^Elian,  Nat.  An.  xii,  11. 

5i3  Macrob.  l.s.c. 

5i4  Ibid.      Compare  ^Elian,  l.s.c. 

sis  ./Elian,  l.s.c. 

5i6  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supplement," 
pi.  35a,  pt.  2 ;  pi.  36,  tigs.  2  and  3. 

5i7  Strab.  xvii,  1,  §  22. 

5i8  Strabo  (l.s.c.)  seems  to  pi  ,ce  this 
animal  on  a  par  with  the  Apis  and 
Mnevis  bulls. 

519  This  is  the  view  to  which  Sir  G. 
Wilkinson  inclines.  (See  the  author's 
Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  pp.  92-3,  2 J  edition.) 
Among  the  ancierts,  it  was  held  by 
Diodorus  (i,  86)  and  Cicero  {De  Nat. 
Deor.  i,  36). 

520  Even  Wilkinson  allows  that  they 
have  weight,  and  suggests  that,  besides 
the  ground  of  utility,  the  Egyptians  must 
have  had  some  other  "hidden  motive" 
on  which  it  is  idle  to  speculate  (.4.  E.  vol. 
v,  p.  109). 

si"  Diod.  Sic.  i,  12. 

522  Plut.  De  Isid.  et  Osir.  ?  72.   r 

523  Ibid.     Compare  Diod.  Sic.  i,  86. 

624  Canon  Trevor  (see  his  Ancient 
Egypt,  p.  184).  Porphyry,  among  the 
ancients,  was  an  advocate  of  this  theory 
{De  Abstinent,  iv,  9).  It  is  disproved  by 
the  fact  that  the  Egyptians  worshipped 
some  animals  only,  not  all. 

525  Mr.  R.  Stuart  Poole  (Dictionary  of 
the  Bible,  vol.  i,  p.  501). 

926  See  Lenormant,  Manvel  d'Histoire 
Ancienne,  vol.  i,  pp.  533-4: — "Le  symbo- 
lisme  etait  l'essence  menie  du  genie  de  la 
nation  egyptienne  et  de  sa  religion. 
L'abus  de  cette  tendance  produtsit  la  plus 
grossiere  et  la  plus  monstrueuse  aberra- 
tion du  culte  exterieur  et  populaire  de  la 
terre  de  Mitsraim.  Pour  symboliser  les 
attributs,  les  qualites  et  la  nature  des  di- 
verges divinites  de  leur  pantheon,  les  pre- 
tres  egyptiens  avaient  eu  recours  anx  etres 
du  regne  animal.  Le  taureau,  la  vache,  le 
belier,  le  chat,  le  singe,  le  crocodile, 
rtiippopotame,  l'epervier,  1'ibis,  le 
scarabee,  etc.,  etaient  les  emblemes 
chacun  (Tun  personnage  divin.  On  rep- 
resentait  le  dieu  sous  la   figure  de  cet 


animal,  ou  ^ilus  souvent  encore,  par  ac- 
couplement  etrange  et  particulier  a 
TEgypte,  on  lui  en  donnait  la  tete  sur  un 
corps  humain.  Mais  les  habitants  des 
bords  du  Nil,  eloignes  de  Tidolatrie  des 
autres  nations  paiennes  par  un  instinct  de 
leur  nature,  avaient  prefere  porter  leurs 
hommages  a  des  images  vivantes  de  leurs 
dieux  plutot  qua  des  images  inertes  de 
pierre  ou  de  metal ;  et  ces  images 
vivantes,  ils  les  avaient  trouvees  dans  les 
animaux  qu'ils  avaient  choisis  pour  em- 
blemes de  Tidee  exprimee  dans  la  con- 
ception de  chaque  dieu.  De  la  ce  culte 
des  animaux  sacres,  qui  paraissait  si 
etrange  et  si  ridicule  aux  Grecs  et  aux 
Remains. 11 

527  The  chief  apparent  exceptions  are 
the  dog,  the  ichneumon,  the  shrevvmouse, 
and  the  fish  worshipped  in  different 
localities :  to  which  may  perhaps  be 
added  the  ibex  and  the  antelope,  if  these 
were  really  sacred.  No  gods  have  been 
found  represented  by  the  forms,  or  with 
the  heads,  of  these  animals.  I  suspect, 
however,  that  originally  the  Egyptians 
confused  together  the  wolf,  the  jackal, 
and  the  dog,  and  that  the  ancients  were 
not  altogether  wrong  when  they  said  that 
Anubis  had  the  head  of  a  dog  (see  above, 
p.  408).  In  most  of  the  remaining  cases 
the  worship  was  markedly  local,  and  may 
have  been  connected  with  some  local 
divinity  of  whom  we  have  no  representa- 
tion. 

s28  See  above,  p.  146-7. 

629  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodo- 
tus, vol.  ii,  p.  202,  2d  edit. 

530  Herod,  ii,  155,  169,  etc.:  Diod.  Sic.  i, 
45-9;  Strab.  xvii,  1,  §§  28,  46,  etc. 

53i  Herod,  ii,  37. 

532  "Instead  of  a  single  priest,'11  says 
Herodotus  (l.s.c),  "each  god  has  the  at- 
tendance of  a  college,  of  whom  one  is  the 
chief  priest.11  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  observes 
that  this  statement  "is  fully  confirmed 
by  the  sculptures.11  (See  the  author's 
Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  56,  note  8.) 

sss  Herod,  ii,  58,  ad  init. 

534  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodo- 
tus, vol.  ii,  p.  85,  note.  The  feast,  being 
delayed  until  the  moon  actually  reap- 
peared, took  place  in  reality  on  the  day 
after  the  new  moon. 

535  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  315. 

536  Herod,  ii,  47. 

537  Wilkinson  doubts  the  statements  of 
Herodotus  on  this  point,  because  Osiris 
was  not  a  Priapic  god  (A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p. 
342>.  But  they  are  confirmed  by  Plutarch, 
who  declares  that  the  Paamylia,  a 
festival  in  honor  of  Osiris,  resembled  the 
Greek  Phallophoria  (De  Isid.  et  Osir.  J} 
12  and  §  18).  Even  Wilkinson  would  ab 
low  that  the  indecencies  in  question 
formed  a  part  of  the  Egyptian  religion; 
but  he  would  transfer  them  from  the  cult 
of  Osiris  to  that  of  Khem.  (See  A.  E. 
vol.  v.  p.  306.) 

538  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  301 
(compare  vol.  iv,  p.  335);  Trevor,  Ancient 
Egypt,  p.  190. 


CH.  XI.] 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS. 


303 


539  Herod,  ii,  60-3. 

540  Seven  hundred  thousand,  without, 
counting  children,  at  Bubastis,  accord- 
ing to  this  writer  (ii,  60,  ad  fin.) 

541  Compare  the  well-known  bloody 
rites  of  Juggernaut. 

542  PHn.  N.  H.  viii,  46. 

543  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol. 
v,  p.  271. 

544  Ibid.  p.  275.  Compare  the  author's 
Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  8") :  2d  edit. 

845  See  Rosellini,  Monumenti  del  Culto, 
pis.  67  et  seqq. 

546  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  pp.  271-5. 

847  Ibid.  pp.  302-7. 

««»  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  pp.  384, 
397,  etc. 

549  See  Birch's  Gvide  to  the  Vestibules 
of  the  Egyptian  Galleries,  pp.  29-39. 

550  Birch  says  that  the  scenes  repre- 
sented are  "acts  of  sepulchral  homage  or 
ancestral  worship  made  by  the  children 
and  other  relatives  of  the  dead11  {Guide 
to  Vestibules,  p.  23).  Wilkinson,  on  the 
contrary,  suggests  that  "it  was  not  to  the 
deceased  that  these  ceremonies  were  per- 
formed, but  to  that  particular  portion  of 
the  Divine  essence  which  constituted  the 
soul  of  each  individual  and  returned  to 
the  Deity  after  death11  (A.  E.  vol.  v,  p. 
381). 

S5i  See  above,  pp.  177,  180,  etc. 

552  Compare  above,  p.  76. 

553  Herod,  ii,  171. 

854  A  good  article  on  this  subject  has 
appeared  in  the  Nineteenth  Century, 
(December  1878,  pp.  1105-20)  since  the 
earlier  portion  of  this  chapter  was  in 
type.  The  writer  takes  a  somewhat  over- 
favorable  view,  and  omits  to  notice  the 
great  contrast  between  the  esoteric  and 
exoteric  systems  in  Egypt, — the  religion 
of  the  few  and  the  religion  of  the  many. 
No  account  of  the  Egyptian  religion  can 
be  regarded  as  a  fair  one  which  is  silent 
on  the  subject  of  the  general  idolatry  and 
polytheism,  of  the  existence  of  indecent 
rites,  and  of  the  constant  occurrence  of 
indecent  emblems  in  the  religious  repre- 
sentations. 

555  Herod,  l.s.c.  Compare  ii,  48,  ad 
fin.:  and  also  chs.  61,  62,  65,  etc. 

6fi6  As  Diodorus  and  Macrobius.  (See 
Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iv,  p.  326.) 
Plutarch's  explanations  (De  Isid.  et  Osir. 
%  38  et  seqq.)  are  scarcely  more  trust- 
worthy. 


CHAPTER  XL 

1  Herod,  ii,  35. 

2  As  the  division  into  classes,  which, 
if  not  actual  castes,  approached  nearly  to 
the  caste  character. 

3  As  the  dislike  of  foreigners,  and  the 
designation  of  one  port  only  with  which 
they  might  trade  (Herod,  ii,  179). 

4  The  Egyptian  chariots,  arms,  furni- 
ture, and  personal  ornaments  have  a 
considerable  resemblance  to  the  As- 
syrian. 


5  "The  Manners  and  Customs  of  the 
Ancient  Egyptians,  including  their  Pri- 
vate Life,  Government,  Laws,  Arts,  Manu- 
factures, Religion,  and  Eaily  History,  de- 
rived from  a  comparison  of  the  paint- 
ings, sculptures,  and  monuments  still  ex- 
isting wilh  the  accounts  of  ancient 
authors,  illustrated  bydiawings  of  those 
subjects.  By  Sir  J.  G.  Wilkinson,  F.R.S., 
M.li.S.L.,  etc.  Five  volumes,  with  Sup- 
plement, containing  Plates  and  Index. 
London:  Murray,  1837-41. " 

6  In  producing  his  "History  of  He- 
rodotus,'1 the  author  had  for  many  years 
the  advantage  of  Sir  G.  Wilkinson's  kind 
assistance,  and  was  in  constant  commu- 
nication with  him  on  Egyptian  and  other 
subjects. 

7  A  work  in  two  volumes,  moderately 
illustrated,  will  penetrate  to  a  class  of 
British  readers,  to  whom  works  in  five 
volumes,  illustrated  lavishly,  are  a  for- 
bidden luxury.  Moreover,  the  author's 
writings  are  largely  read  in  America, 
where  Sir  G.  Wilkinson's  "Manners  and 
Customs11  is  not  (he  believes)  to  be  found 
even  in  all  public  libraries. 

8  Herod,  ii,  164-6.    *>  Plat.  Tim.  p.  24  b. 
i°  Liod.  Sic.  i,  28,  73. 

11  Strab.  xvi,  1,  §3. 

12  See  the  table,  opp.  p.  644;  and  com- 
pare pp.  36-7. 

13  Herod,  ii,  143.  The  number  of  gen- 
erations is,  of  course,  unworthy  of  crodit, 
but  the  general  fact  of  the  hereditary 
succession  of  the  Theban  high  priests 
would  be  one  within  the  cognizance  of 
Herodotus's  informants,  and  may  be  ac- 
cepted. 

14  See  Birch.  Ancient  Egypt,  "Intro- 
duction,11 p.  xx.;  Lenormant,  A  ami  el 
d'Histoire  Ancienne,  vol.  i,  pp.  477-8; 
Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodotus,  vol. 
ii,  p.  248,  3d  edition. 

15  Herod,  ii,  166,  sub  fin. 

16  As  Herodotus  declares  t^ey  did  (ii, 
47). 

17  The  subjoined  will  show  the  resem- 
blances and  differences  between  these 
three  authorities : — 

CLASSES  Or  HERODOTUS. 

1.  Priests. 

2.  Soldiers. 

3.  Cowherds. 

4.  Swineherds. 

5.  Traders. 

6.  Boatmen. 

7.  Interpreters. 

CLASSES  OF  PLATO. 

1.  Priests. 

2.  Soldiers. 

3.  Herdsmen. 

4.  Husbandmen. 

5.  Artificers. 

6.  Jiimters. 

CLASSES  OF  DIODORUS. 

1.  Priests. 

2.  Soldiers. 

3.  Herdsmen. 

4.  Husbandmen. 

5.  Artificers. 


304 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  [CH.  XL 


18  See  Strab.  l.s.c,  and  compare  Le- 
norinant,  vol.  i,  p.  481:  "Tonte  la  por- 
tion de  la  population  libre  qui  n'appar- 
tenait  ui  au  corps  sacerdotal  ni  au  corps 
militaire  composait,  en  Egypte,  un  troi- 
sieme  ordre  tie  l'etat,  qui  lui-meme  se 
subdividait  en  plusieurs  classes,1'  etc. 

19  See  above,  p.  80. 

20  Herod,  l.s.c. 

2i  Herod,  ii,  149,  ad  fin. 

22  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  129,  and  Ancient  Egyp- 
tians, vol.  iii,  p.  47. 

23  Herod,  ii,  154. 

24  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "  Introduction, "  p.  xix. 

25  Lenormant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  p.  487. 

26  Out  of  twelve  officials,  whose  inscrip- 
tions are  published  in  the  Records  of  the 
Past,  six  appear  to  have  been  soldiers, 
and  three  others  priests. 

27  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "Introduction,11  p.  xix. 

28  Herod,  ii,  37,  sub  fin.;  Rosetta  Stone, 
line  6  (in  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iv,  p. 
71). 

29  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "Introduction,11  p.  xx. 

30  See  Rosetta  Stone,  l.s.c;  and  com- 
pare Decree  of  Canopvs,  line  2  (Records, 
etc.,  vol.  viii,  p.  83);  and  Clem.  Alex. 
Strom,  i,  p.  758. 

31  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p. 
450. 

32  Birch,  l.s.c.  Compare  Decree  of 
Canopus,  line  3. 

33  Rosetta  Stone,  lines  6-7;  Decree  of 
Caiiopns,  l.s.c. 

34  Ibid.  Compare  Records,  vol.  x,  p. 
53. 

35  Diod.  Sic.  i,  29;  Porphyr.  De  Absti- 
nentia,  iv,  8.  There  is  a  famous  figure 
of  a  "  pastophorus 11  in  the  Vatican, 
which  has  been  represented  in  various 
works  on  art.  (See  Winckelman1s  His- 
tory of  Art,  vol.  i,  pi.  7;  and  Vipconti's 
Museo  Pio-Clementino,  vol.  vii,  pi.  6.) 

3«  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  238. 
37  Ibid.,  and  compare  the  Rosetta  Stone, 
line  7.  S8  Porphyr.  l.s.c. 

39  Wilkinson,  l.s.c. 

40  Herod,  ii,  68;  Diod.  Sic.  i,  83;  etc. 

41  Birch  speaks  of  "chapters  or  sy- 
nods,11 by  which  the  highest  posts  were 
filled  up  when  vacant  (Egypt  from  the 
Earliest  Times,  "Introduction,11  p.  xx): 
but  I  am  not  aware  that  there  is  any  evi- 
dence of  their  existence  earlier  than  the 
time  of  the  Ptolemies. 

42  That  the  priests  had  their  lands  be- 
fore the  time  of  Joseph,  is  apparent  from 
Gen.  xlvii,  22  and  26. 

43  This  seems  to  be  the  meaning 
Diodorus  Siculns  (i,  73),  who  may  . 
had  access  to  the  Roman  registers. 

44  This  appears  especially  from  the 
"Great  Harris  Papyrus,11  where  the 
priestly  lands,  slave  cultivators,  barns, 
granaries,  cattle  -  stalls,  poultry  -  yards, 
etc.,  are  repeatedly  mentioned  (Records 
of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  81-34;  vol.  viii,  pp. 
8-39). 


:   of 
lave 


4S  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  202. 
48  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  31 
32,  36  •  vol.  viii,  pp.  14,  29,  39,  etc. 

47  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  37- 
40,  61,  69,  etc.;  vol.  viii,  pp.  16-17,  20-21, 
32-35,  etc. 

48  Rameses  IH.  declares  that  he  pre- 
sented to  temples,  in  the  course  of  thirty- 
one  years,  gold  vases  weighing  2,218,920 
grains  troy,  silver  vases  weighing  3,399,- 
900  grains,  3,047  pieces  of  linen,  6,278  tur- 
quoise rings,  4,247  crystal  rings,  12,256 
"  pectorals,11 10,463  seals,  and  other  orna- 
ments in  lapis  lazuli,  jasper  green  fel- 
spar, turquoise,  and  crystal,  almost  with- 
out number.  (See  Records  of  the  Past, 
vol.  viii,  pp.  32-5). 

49  Herod,  ii,  37.     Porphyry  (De  Absti- 
nent. i\,  7)  says  thrice  a  day  ,  and  once*- 
in  the    night,   occasionally.    But  he    is 
speaking  of  Roman  times. 

50  Herod,  l.s.c.  In  the  representations 
of  priests  upon  the  monuments,  the  head 
is  either  perfectly  bare,  or  covered  with 
an  ample  wig,  which  descends  to  the 
shoulders.  (See  the  author's  Herodotus, 
vol.  ii,  pp.  62-3,  3d  edition.) 

51  So  Herodotus  (l.s.  c);  but  Pliny  says 
that  cotton  dresses  were  particularly 
agreeable  to  the  priests  (H.  A.  xix.  1). 
Probably  we  have  here  an  indication  of 
the  laxer  discipline  which  prevailed  ulti- 
mately. 

62  Herod,  l.s.c;  Birch,  Guide  to  Mu- 
seum, p.  26.  Shoes  were  not  really  worn 
until  the  Grseco.  Roman  period. 

53  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  279.  For 
a  representation,  see  above,  p.  282. 

54  Herod,  ii,  37;  Plut.  De  Isid.  et  Osir. 
§  6. 

se  pint.  De  Isid,  et  Osir.  §  8. 
68  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.   i,   p. 
447. 
V  See  note  92,  chap.  vi. 

68  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  278. 

69  As  Wilkinson  supposes.  (See  the 
author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  62,  note  9  ; 
and  compare  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt, 
vol.  i,  p.  449.) 

<»i  Diod.  Sic.  i,  80,  §  3. 
72  Wilkinson,    A.    E.    vol.    i,    p.   282; 
Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  i,  p.  266. 

63  See  the  author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii, 
pp.  62-3;  and  compare  Wilkinson,  A,  E. 
"  Supplement,11  pi.  76,  where  a  procession 
of  priests  in  various  costumes  carries  the 
divine  emblems. 

64  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  "Supplement," 
pi.  76. 

as  Ibid.  vol.  i,  pp.  278-379. 

86  Compare  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  pp. 
258-262,  with  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt, 
vol.  i,  p.  452. 

87  Herod,  ii,  35.  88  Kenrick,  l.s  c 
89  Herod,  ii,  54,  56.  Compare  De  Rouge,. 

Monuments  qu'on  peut  attribuer  six 
premieres  Dynasties  de  VEgypte,  pp.  83, 
97,  etc. 

70  Records  of  the  PasU  vol.  iv,  p.  71. 

7*  Wilkinson,  in  the  author's  Herodo- 
tus, vol.  ii,  p.  56.  (Compare  Ancient 
Egyptians,  vol.  i,  p.  960.) 


CH.  XI.] 


MANNERS   AND    CUSTOMS. 


305 


7*  Wilkinson,  A.  E..  "  Supplement,'1 
pis.  83-0. 

73  Herodotus  (ii.  105-6)  estimates  the 
actual  soldiers  at  410,0<X),  Diodorus  (i,  54) 
692,000.  Taking  the  average  of  a  family 
at  five  persons,  the  former  estimate 
would  give  for  the  military  class  a  total 
of  2,050,000,  the  latter  a  total  of  3,400,000. 

74  See  above,  p.  210. 

75  Diod.  Sic.  i,  54,  ^6;  IW<.  <5e  toZ? 
irpoeLprifj.ei'ot.s  /caTe/cAvjpoii^rjcre  t  rj  v  a  p  i  <r- 
T  tj  y  rrj?   ^cipa?. 

7  s  Herod,  ii,  168. 

7r  See  above,  note  75,  chap.  xi.  ' 

78  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vi,  9  ;  and 
compare  Diod.  Sic.  i,  73,  §  6. 

79  Herod,  ii,  165-6. 

80  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodo- 
tus, vol.  ii,  p,  249,  note  6 ;  Birch,  Diction- 
ary of  Hieroglyphics,  p.  410. 

81  Herod,  ii,  106.       82  Herod,  ii,  165. 

83  Ibid,  ii,  30,  with  Wilkinson's  note. 

84  Ibid,  ii,  168. 

*5  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  286. 

8«  Diod.  Sic.  i,  53,  \  3.  Birch,  in  his 
additions  to  Wilkinson,  notes  that  mili- 
tary schools  are  alluded  to,  and  the 
hardships  endured  at  them  complained 
of,  in  a  letter  written  by  a  contemporary 
of  Rame6es  II.,  and  published  by  M. 
Maspero  (A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  187  ;  ed.  of  1878). 

87  So  Diodorus,  l.s.c. 

88  Diod.  Sic.  i,  53,  §  5. 

89  Diodorus  makes  the  infantry  of 
Sesostris  600,000,  the  cavalry  24,000,  and 
the  chariots  27,000  (i,  54,  §  4).  This  is 
not  historical,  but  it  indicates  the  notions 
which  that  writer  obtained  from  the 
Egyptian  priests  of  the  proportion  which 
the  three  main  arms  of  the  service  bore 
one  to  the  other. 

90  Metal  helmets  were  but  rarely  worn, 
the  weight  being  inconvenient  in  so  hot 
a  climate.  (See  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i, 
p.  330.)  Still,  unless  they  had  been  in 
occasional  use,  the  story  told  by  Herod- 
otus of  Psamatik  I.  (Herod,  ii,  151) 
would  scarcely  have  gained  acceptance. 

91  Wilkinson,  l.s.c. 

92  Herod,  ii,  182,  with  Wilkinson's 
note  ;  and  compare  Ancient  Egyptians, 
vol.  i.  pd.  331-2. 

93  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol,  i,  p.  332,  and 
pi.  iii,  fig.  7. 

94  Instances  are  found  where  the  shield 
expands  instead  of  contracting  (Rosel- 
lini,  Monumenti  Storici,  pi.  xcivt  line  2, 
etc.)    But  they  are  of  rare  occurrence. 

95  Wilkinson,  vol.  i,  pp.  298-9. 

96  See  Rosellini,  Monumenti  Storici,  pi. 
cxvii,4;  and  compare  Wilkinson,  A.  E. 
vol.  i.  p,  202,  ed.  of  1878. 

97  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodo- 
tus, vol.  iv,  opp.  p.  402. 

98  Rosellini,  Monumenti  Storici,  pis. 
cxxvi,  cxxix,  etc. 

99  Rosellini,  Monumenti  Storici,  pis. 
cxxvi,  etseqq. ;  Lepsius,  Dmkmdler ,  vol. 
vi.  part  iii,  pis.  154,  155,  etc. 

100  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol  i,  pp.  301, 
334:  Rosellini,  Man.  Stor.  pis-  cxxix, 
cxxz,  etc. 


ioi  Wilkinson,  vol.  i.  p.  316  ;  Rosellini, 
Mon.  Civ.  pi.  cxvii,  3. 

102  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  exx  ;  Lep- 
sius, Denkmdler,  vol.  vi,  pt.  iii,  pi.  145, 
b;  etc. 

103  Diod.  Sic.  i,  54,  \  4. 
i°4  Herod,  ii,  162. 

105  Ex.   xv,  21  ;   Is.  xxxvi,  9 ;  2  Kings 
xviii,  23-4,  etc. 
i°»  2  Chron.  xii,  3,. 

107  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  pp. 
68,  70,  72,  etc. 

108  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  292. 

109  In  the  army  of  Xerxes  they  served 
as  sailors  only  (Herod,  vii,  89) ;  in  the 
army  of  Artaxerxes  Mnemon  at  Cunaxa 
as  infantry  only  (Xen.  Anab.  i,  8,  §  9). 

110  See  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pis. 
lxii,  1  ;  lxiv,  etc.  ' 

>"  Diod.  Sic.  l.s.c. 

i'2  2  Chron.  xii,  3. 

1,3  Lepsius  VenkmMer,  vol.  vi,  pt.  iii, 
pis.  155,  160;  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pis. 
lxxxvii,  xevi,  ciii,  cv,  etc. 

114  Lepsius,  vol.  vi,  pi.  155;  Rosellini, 
pi.  evil. 

115  Rosellini,  pi.  ciii. 

116  Ibid.  Sometimes  the  warrior 
drives  ;  but  this,  it  may  be  presumed, 
was  before  coming  into  the  presence  of 
the  enemy.     (See  Rosellini,  pi.  lxxxii.) 

117  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  336,  fig. 
1.  Three  warriors  are  frequent  in  the 
chariots  of  other  nations.  (Rosellini, 
pis.  lxxvviii-xci,  etc.  ;  Lepsius,  vol.  vi, 
pis.  157-00.) 

us  See  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  342. 

119  Rosellini,  Monumenti  Storici,  pis. 
lxxxii,  Ixxxiv,  and  c. 

i2°  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  348, 
(For  representations,  see,  besides  the 
places  mentioned  in  the  preceding  note, 
Rosellini,  M.  S.  pis.  lxxxi,  and  cii.) 

i2i  Wilkinson,  p.  343. 

122  Thr  representations  of  chariots  rep 
resent  toe  pair  of  horses  as  driven  by  a 
single  r<dn;  but  it  is  supposed  that  1  his 
is  an  "economy'  of  the  artists,  and  that 
in  realitv  each  horse  had  his  own  rein. 

123  See  fig.  149. 

124  See  Rosellini,  Monvmenti  Storici, 
pi.  ci :  and  compare  Wilkinson,  A.  E. 
vol.  i,  p.  318. 

125  The  kinghasinall  cases  the  curved, 
and  not  the  straight,  sword.  It  is  also 
more  common  than  the  straight  sword  in 
the  hands  of  the  soldiers. 

126  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  pp.  324-5 ; 
Rosellini,  Mon.  Civili,  pis.  cxvii,  5,  and 
cxix  1 

i27  Wilkinson,  vol.  i,  p.  326. 

128  See  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  39, 
No.  5467. 

129  -por  a  representation,  see  Rosellini. 
Mon.  Storici,  pi.  cxxix. 

130  Wilkinson,  vol  i,  page  329. 

131  Wilkinson,  vol.  i,  p.  319.  Compare 
the  weapons  themselves  in  the  British 
Museum  (Nos.  5423-0). 

132  The  bronze  used  for  arms  appears, 
upon  analysis,  to  have  been  composed  as 
follows  ;   copper  940,  tin  5*9,  iron   01. 


306 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  [ch.  XL 


(See  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  39.) 
The  tiu  is  in  a  smaller  proportion  than 
usual  ,  but  the  slight  tiuge  of  iron  was 
probably  more  than  a  compensation. 

133  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  320. 

134  ibid.  p.  319. 

135  See  Herod,  iii,  21. 

136  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  308. 

]3T  Kosellini,  Mon.  Civili,  pi.  cxxi,  25  ; 
Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  305. 
•3«  Wilkinson,  p.  308. 

139  See  rig.  156.  It  is  noticeable  that 
the  Egyptian  chariot  archers  often  at- 
tempt to  entangle  their  enemies  with 
their  strung  bows,  which  implies  great 
confidence  in  the  strength  of  the  string. 

140  Wiikiison,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  310 
(woodcut  33,  lig.  4). 

14 1  Ibid.  p.  309.  It  may  perhaps  be 
questioned  whether  two  or  three  feathers 
were  used. 

142  ibid.  p.  306  (woodcut  29). 

143  Rosellhii,  Mon.  Storici,  pis.  xlvi,  1 ; 
xlviii  2,  etc.  Lepsius,  Denkmdler,  vol. 
vi,  pt.  iii,  pis.  126  b,  160,  166,  etc. 

i44  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civili,  pi.  cxxi,  23 
and  26. 

145  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  315. 

146  See  the  representations  in  Rosel- 
lini,  Mon.  Storici,  pis.  cxxix,  cxxx, 
cxxxiii,  etc. 

147  Wilkinson,  p.  293 ;  Rosellini,  Mon. 
Storici,  pi.  xcvi ;  Lepsius,  Denkmdler, 
vol.  vi,  part  iii,  pi.  155. 

148  Rosellini,  Mon.  Sto?"ici,  pi.  ciii. 

149  See  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pis. 
cxxvii  and  cxxviii. 

150  The  plume  of  Ammon,  the  heads 
of  Horns,  Khonsu,  Athor,  Isis,  and  Tafne, 
the  jackal  of  Anubis,  the  hawk  of  Horus 
or  Ra,  the  crocodile  of  Savak,  the  stork 
of  Thoth,  are  among  the%  forms  recog- 
nized. Sacred  anks  are  'also  common. 
(See  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  294  ;  and 
Rosellini,  Mon.  Civili,  pi.  cxxi,  Nos.  1  to 
15.)  ,  r 

151  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p. 
68,  where  we  find  the  chief  division  of 
the  army  of  Rameses  II.  named  a.^er  the 
gods,  Ammon,  Ra,  Phthah,  an'"  oet. 

152  Birch  in  the  new  edition  of  Wil- 
kinson's Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  i,  p. 
193,  note  8. 

153  Birch  in  the  new  edition  of  Wil- 
kinson's Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  i,  p. 
i93,  note  «. 

154  Records  oj  the  Past,  l.s.c. 

155  The  four  chiefs  who  direct  the  at- 
tack on  the  fort  represented  on  page  468 
are  the  four  sons  of  Rameses  IlT  (See 
Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  361,  note.) 

156  See  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pi. 
cviii  ;  Lepsius,  Denkmdler,  vol.  vi,  pt. 
iii,  pis.  145  c  and  166. 

i67  See  the  woodcut  plate  lxiv,  and 
compare  Lepsius,  Denkmdler,  vol.  vi,  pt. 
iii,  pi.  145  c;  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pi. 
lxviii. 

ifa8  See  the  author's  Ancient  Monar- 
chies, vol.  1,  p.  474,  2d  edition. 

169  See  the  author's  Ancient  Mon- 
archies, vol.  i,  p.  471. 


i60  Dr.  Birch  speaks  of  the  employ- 
ment of  catapults  by  the  Egyptians 
(Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times,  "Intro- 
duction," p.  xix),  and  Canon  Cook  finds 
balistee  mentioned  in  an  inscription  of 
Pianchi  (Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p. 
88;,  who,  however,  is  an  Ethiopian  and 
not  an  Egyptian.  But  I  am  not  aware 
that  any  representation  occurs  in  the 
Egyptian  monuments  of  either  a  catapult 
or  a  balista.  Still  it  is  not  improbable 
that  they  may  have  been  introduced  from 
Assyria  in  the  time  of  the  twenty-second 
dynasty.  The  later  monarchs,  however, 
have  left  us  no  representations  of  their 
wars  or  sieges,  so  that  we  nave  no  means 
of  knowing  whether  or  no  they  innovated 
upon  the  old  Egyptian  practice. 

i6i  See  fig.  160. 

162  Herod,  ii,  157. 

163  1  Kings  xiv,  25-6,  compared  with  2 
Chron.  xii,  2-9. 

16"  So  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  274 
(edition  of  1878). 

165  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  pp. 
5-6;  vol.  vi,  pp.  7-10. 

i66  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pi.  cxxxi ; 
Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  pp.  203-4  ;  De- 
scription de  VEgypte,  "Antiquitea,"  vol. 
ii,  pi.  x. 

167  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  204. 

168  pY,r  representations,  see  Lepsius, 
Denkmdler,  vol.  iii.  pt.  ii,  pi.  45;  vol.  v, 
pi.  17 ;  Description  de  VEgypte,  "An- 
tiquites,"  vol.  iv,  pi.  lxv,  3;  vol.  v,  pi. 
xviii,  7. 

168  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  pp.  95- 
6.  Compare  Brugsch,  Geschichte  Aegyp- 
tens,  pp.  697-S. 

170  The  use  of  the  Nile  boats  in  war- 
fare is  indicated  in  the  Records  of  the 
Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  6;  vol.  vi,  p.  7 ;  etc. 

171  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  205. 

172  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  45; 
vol.  iv.  p.  47;  vol.  viii,  p.  48;  etc. 

173  See  the  Description,  "Antiquites," 
vol.  ii,  pi.  x. 

174  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pis.  lxxxv, 
cxxxv,  etc.;  Lepsius,  Denkmater,  vol.  vi, 
pt.  iii,  pis.  cxxix,  cxxx,  etc. 

i75  Brugsch,  Geschichte  Aegyptens,  p. 
551  ;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.,  vol.  i,  pp.  402-3. 
Compare  Herod,  ii,  108. 

176  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,pp.  8-9. 

177  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pis.  lxiv, 
Ixxix,  cxi ;  Description  cL-  V  Egypte,  An- 
tiquites," vol.  ii,  pi.  16;  vol.  iii,  pis.  6 
and  22 ;  vol.  iv,  pi.  22,  fig.  11,  Lepsius, 
Denkmdler,  vol.  vi,  pt.  iii,  pis.  130,  139, 
140,  etc. 

i7s  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  398. 

179  See  the  author"*  Ancient  Mon- 
archies, vol.  i,  pp.  447-8,  2d  edition. 

i80  The  only  approach  to  an  exception, 
so  far  as  I  know,  is  in  the  case  of  Amasis, 
who  after  a  time  consented  to  the  death 
of  Apries  (Herod,  ii,  169). 

i8i  Manetfho  ap.  Euseb.  Chron.  Can.  i, 
20.  (See  the  Fragmenta  Hist.  Gr.  vol.  ii. 
p.  593:  Fr.  65.) 

isa  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  398. 
Compare  Description  de  VEgypte,  "An* 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  LXXII1. 


Fig.  186.— Building  a  Boat.— See  Page  521. 


Fig.  187.— An  Egyptian  Gentleman's  Pleasure  Boat— See  Page  524. 


Plate  LXXIV. 


Vol.  I. 


Fig.  188.— Ordinary  Nile  Boat  in  full  sail.— Sec  Page  524. 


r 


Fig.  189.— Nile  Boat.— See  Page  524. 


CH.  XI.] 


MANNERS   AND    CUSTOMS. 


307 


tiquites,1'  vol.  ii,  pi.  12:  Rosellini,  Mori. 
Storici,  pis.  94  and  132.  The  practice 
was  so  usual  that,  instead  of  saying  "I 
killed  one  of  the  enemy,''''  a  man  com- 
monly said  "I carried  off  a  hand."  (See 
Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  pp.  7-8,  and 
compare  vol.  iv,  p.  7.) 

193  Wilkinson,  l.s.c.  Compare  Records 
of  the  Past,  vol.  vi,  p.  19,  line  8. 

i*4  Records  of  the  Past,   vol.  vi,   p.  8. 

iss  of.  Herod,  iii,  12. 

j»6  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  395. 
Compare  Lepsius,  Denkmaler,  vol.  vi, 
pt.  iii,  pi.  128. 

187  Rosellini,    Mon    Storici,    pi.    cvii. 

188  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  p. 
229.  See  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pi.  xcviii. 

189  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pi.  xcix. 

190  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  pp.  6, 
82,  85 :  vol.  vi,  pp.  7,  10,  etc. 

i9i  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  361.  For 
an  illustration,  see  Rosellini,  Mon. 
Storici,  pi.  cxxxvii. 

192  Wilkinson,  l.s.c.  vol.  ii,  p.  2G0. 

193  See  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pi. 
xliv,  ter. 

i»4  Wilkinson,  l.s.c.  ;  vol.  ii,  p.  260. 
Compare  p.  264. 

185  ibid.  vol.  i,  pp.  400-1. 

198  See  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pis.  1, 
lviii,  and  cxxxvii, 

197  Lepsius,  Denkmaler,  vol.  vi,  pt.  iii, 
pi.  128.  Compare  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol. 
1,  p.  399. 

198  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pis.  xlviii, 
Iii,  and  lvi. 

199  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  400. 

200  See  above,  p.  80. 

201  Brugsch,  Geschichle  Aegyptens,  p. 
23. 

202  see  Mons.  St.  Leon's  "Egypt  of  the 
Khedive11  (London  1877),  whence  the 
subjoined  passage  is  taken. 

203  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  p. 
149.  We  may  suspect  that  the  picture  is 
somewhat  over-colored,  since  the  writer 
is  bent  on  finding  fault  with  every  occu- 
pation but  that  of  a  scribe,  and  abuses 
not  only  the  life  of  the  "little  laborer,11 
but  those  of  the  blacksmith,  carpenter, 
mason,  barber,  boatman,  gardener,  wea- 
ver, armorer,  courier,  dyer,  shoemaker, 
washerman,  fowler,  and  fisherman,  which 
he  represents  as  all  equally  detestable. 

204  Brugsch,  Geschichte  Aegyptens,  p. 
23. 

208  Mr.  Kenrick  {Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i, 
pp.  212-13)  has  some  good  remarks  on 
this  subject. 

206  See  Gen.  xxxvii,  25 ;  Herod,  i,  1 ;  ii, 
178 :  iii,  6. 

207  1  Kings  x,  29  ;  2  Chr.  i,  17.  On  the 
numerous  chariots  of  the  Syrians,  see 
Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  69,  and 
Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii,  p.  103,  note  7, 
2d  edit. 

208  Ezek.  xxvii,  7. 

209  Herod,  v,  58. 

2'o  PI  in.  N.  H.  xix,  1,  §  2. 
an  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  111. 
912  See    the    author's    Ancient    Mon- 
archies, vol.  1,  pp.  373-5. 


213  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  pp.  102, 
103,  120.  etc.:  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt, 
vol.  i,  pp.  214-20. 

214  See  above,  pp.  98,  101.  etc. 

215  Vyse,  Pyramids  of  Ghizeh,  vol.  i, 
p.  289 ;  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place,  vol.  ii,  p. 
164  ;  Fergusson,  History  of  Architecture, 
vol.  i,  pp.  91-2  ;  etc. 

216  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  pp.  70^. 
These  are  t  e  materials  ordinarily  used. 
Agate  is  perhaps  to  be  added  to  them. 
(Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii.  p.  376.) 

2i 7  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  pp.  67-80. 

218  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  251,  n. 

218  The  sawing  of  stone  is  not  repre- 
sented on  the  monuments  ;  but  Wilkin- 
son was  of  opinion  that  the  Egyptians 
possessed  the  single-handed  saw  only 
{A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  172). 

220  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  337; 
Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  pp.  218- 
19. 

221  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  pp,  106  and  251. 

222  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  335. 
(See  the  wood  cut  on  the  preceding  page.) 

223  Herod,  ii.  35. 

224  Kenrick,  Ancient  Egypt,  vol.  i,  pp. 
216-17  ;  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  pp.  54-5,  3d  edition. 

225  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  118. 

226  The  Egyptian  linen  corselets  were 
noted  as  most  remarkable  by  the  ancients 
(Herod,  ii,  182 ;  iii,  47  ;  Plin.  H.  N.  xix, 
1 ;  etc.) 

227  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  121. 
22s  Ibid.  p.  119. 

229  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  51. 

230  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  126 ; 
Birch,   l.s.c. 

23i  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  123. 

232  ibid.  p.  125. 

233  ibid.  pp.  156  and  128. 

234  Herod,  iii,  47 ;  Ex.  xxxix,  3 ;  Wil- 
kinson, A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  128. 

235  The  transparency  of  the  Egyptian 
fabrics  is  strikingly  illustrated  Dy  the 
painted  sculptures,  where  the  entire  form, 
especially  of  women,  is  often  made  dis- 
tinctly visible  through  the  outer  garment. 

236  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  iii,  p.  151. 

237  This  is  one  meaning  assigned  to 
the  passage.  (See  the  Records,  vol.  viii, 
p.  151,  note  5.) 

238  The  subject  of  the  Egyptian  furni- 
ture has  been  so  copiously  and  so  excel- 
lently discussed  and  illustrated  by  Sir  G. 
Wilkinson  {Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii, 
pp.  190-222)  that  nothing  new,  which 
should  also  be  true,  can  be  said  about  it. 
I  have  therefore  been  content  with  the 
briefest  possible  summary. 

239  See  Wilkinson,  pi.  xi,  and  compare 
Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pis.  lxxiv,  xc,  and 
xci.  The  close  resemblance  of  the 
Egyptian  arm-chairs  and  of  some  of 
their  couches  and  ottomans  to  modern 
ones  is  very  remarkable.  (See  Wilkin- 
son, vol.  ii,  pp.  195,  199,  201,  etc. ;  Rosel' 
lini,  pis.  xc-xcii.) 

340  Birch  says  "the  Egyptians  sat  on 
chairs  or  on  the  ground 11  {Egypt,  from 
the  Earliest  Times^  •'  Introduction,"  p. 


308 


NOTES   TO   HISTORY   OF    ANCIENT    EGYPT.         [CH.  XI. 


xiv)  ;  but,  except  on  their  first  admission 
and  at  certain  games,  the  guests  in  a 
house  are  almost  always  represented  as 
seated  either  on  chairs  or  stools.  (See 
Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  pp.  191,  214,  390, 
393,  and  pi.  xii.) 
24i  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  203. 

242  ibid.  p.  202. 

243  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  22. 

244  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  pp.  201, 
204,  and  205 ;  Birch,  l.s.c.  ;  Roselliui, 
Mon.  Civ.  pi.  xcii. 

245  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  23. 

246  See  above,  p.  214. 

247  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  i,  p.  335. 

248  Herod,  ii,  63.  For  a  representation, 
gee  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  341. 

249  i  Kings  x,  29. 

260  The  native  Libyans,  who,  accord- 
ing to  Herodotus  (iv,  189),  were  the  first 
to  yoke  four  horses  to  a  chariot,  prob- 
ably obtained  their  vehicles  from  Egypt. 

251  For  full  representations,  see  Wil- 
kinson, A.  E.  vol.  i,  pp.  343,  349,  and  3j0  : 
Rosellini,  Mon.  Civili,  pi.  xliv,  figs.  3 
and  4. 

252  Wilkinson,  vol.  i,  p.  318. 

253  The  "six  hundred  shekels'1'  of  1 
Kings  x,  29,  seem  to  be  rightly  regarded 
as  paid  for  the  chariot  and  pair  of  horses. 
(See  the  Speaker's  Commentary,  vol.  ii, 
p.  545.)  As  the  price  of  each  horse  was 
150  shekels  (1  Kings,  1.  s.  c),  the  sum 
paid  for  the  chariot  would  have  been  300 

aYi  plr  g1  ft 

254  pi'in.  H.  N.  xxxvi,  28. 

255  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  pp.  88- 
92.  The  claim  was  made,  before  Wilkin- 
son's time,  by  M.  Boudet  in  his  essay 
"  Sur  PArt  de  la  Verrerie,  ne  en  Egypte,11 
published  in  the  Description  de  VEgypte, 
s  Antiquites,'"  vol.  ii,  pp  7  et  seqq. 

256  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  119. 

257  Ibid.  Specimens  will  be  found  in 
'he  "  Second  Egyptian  Room  "  of  the 
British  Museum,  Case  t,  Nos^ 4750-3. 

258  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  Iii,  p.  382 ; 
Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times, 
"Introduction,'"  p.  xv. 

259  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  pp.  67,  70, 
etc. 

260  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  101 ; 
Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,,  p.  101. 

26i  Wilkinson,  p.  102 ;  Birch,  p.  120. 

262  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  131. 

263  ibid.  pp.  33-35. 

264  ibid.  p.  33. 

265  Birch,  Ancient  Pottery,  p.  25.  In 
the  representations  given  by  Lepsius  of 
very  early  pottery  (Denkmaler,  vol.  iv, 
pt.  ii,  pi.  153)  there  are  a  few  which,  from 
the  irregularity  of  their  shape,  would 
seem  to  have  been  wholly  modelled  by 
the  hand.  (See  particularly  Nos.  3,  29, 
and  32.)  But  these  are  rare  exceptions; 
and  the  great  majority  of  the  vessels 
found  with  them,  which  belong  to  the 
time  of  the  fourth  and  fifth  dynasties, 
bear  clear  traces  of  the  wheel. 

a*6  At  Athens  it  was  said  to  have  been 
Invented,  i.  e.  introduced  by  Corcebus 
(Plin.  viir  56),  about  b.  &  776.    In  Baby- 


lonia it  was  certainly  not  employed  by 
the  early  potters.  "(See  the  author's 
Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  i,  p.  91.) 

267  Birch  says  with  reason  "  The 
Egyptian  potters  had  not,  it  is  true,  that 
highly  reiined  sense  of  the  beautiful 
which  the  Greeks  possessed  :  but  they 
were  by  no  means  entirely  destitute  of 
it."    (Ancient  Pottery,  p.  33.) 

268  Examples  will  be  found  in  the  First 
Egyptian  Room  at  the  British  Museum, 
Nos.  4860,  5114,  and  5116. 

269  See,  in  the  same  collection,  Nos. 
48150,  4864,  and  5117;  and  compare  Lee- 
mans,  Mon.  Egyptiens,  pi.   Ixiii,  No.  367. 

270  Birch,  Ancient  Pottery,  p.  35. 

27i  Ibid.  p.  'So.  Compare  Rosellini, 
Mon.  Civ'di,  pi.  lvi,  No.  108;  pi.  lx,  2so. 
3;  and  see  above,  p.  231.  ' 

272  See  p.  188,  and  compare  Birch, 
Ancient  Pottery,  pp.  2^—4 ;  Guide  to 
Museum,  pp.  89-94. 

2"  Wilkinson,  ,1.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  398; 
Birch,  Ancient  Pottery,  pp.  18-21 :  Prisse, 
Mon.  Egyptiens,  pis.  21  27,  and  28. 

2?4  Birch,  Ancient  Pottery,  pp.  21-22 ; 
Guide  to  Museum,  p.  89. 

275  British  Museum,  First  Egyptian 
Room,  No.  12915 ;  Second  Room,  Cases  96 
and  97.  These  figures,  and  the  sepulchral 
or  mummied  ones,  are.  however,  regarded 
as  of  late  date.  They  belong  probably 
to  Roman  times. 

2?6  The  vases  for  the  intestines  are 
generally  painted.  (British  Museum, 
Second  Room,  Nos.  9530-5,  9547-50,  9552- 
4,  etc.) 

277  Birch,  Ancient  Pottery,  p.  47. 

278  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  30. 

279  Birch  (Ancient  Pottery,  p.  48)  la- 
ments that  "no  very  recent  analysis  ,1  of 
Egyptian  glazes  "has  been  made  :"  and 
that  consequently  "  we  are  compelled  to 
acquiesce  in  the  conje(  tures  of  archaeolo- 
gists, rather  than  to  juopt  the  tests  of 
chemists/1 

280  Birch,  Guide  to  Mvsevm,  l.s.c. 

28i  British  Museum,  First  Room,- Nos. 
4766  and  4796. 

282  The  Tel-el  Yahovdeh.  or  supp  >sed 
"  Place  of  Oneias."  (See  Birch,  An  ient 
Pottery,?.  49.) 

283  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii,  p.  552. 

284  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  118. 

285  Birch,  Ancient  Pottery,  p.  50. 

286  ibid.  p.  60. 

287  British  Museum,  Second  Room, 
No.  7866. 

288  That  is,  not  cut  away.  On  this 
peculiarity  of  Egyptian  figure-work,  see 
above,  p.  127. 

289  Birch,  Ancient  Pottery,  p.  64. 

290  See  the  woodcut,  fig.  182;  and 
compare  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  1  ;  Wil- 
kinson, A.  E.  vol.  iii.  p.  164. 

29i  So  Bi-ch,  Ancient  Pottery,  p.  37; 
"Potters  iield  a  low  position  in  Egypt  ; 
and  the  occupation  was  pursued  by  ser- 
vants or  slaves. " 

2»2  a  few  plates  of  pure  tin  seem  to 
occur,  among  the  objects  found  with 
mummies.    They  are  placed  as  amuleti 


CH.  XI.] 


MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS. 


30& 


to  guard  the  incisions  on  the  flanks, 
ttirougn  wnich  the  intestines  were  ex- 
tracted, and  commonly  have  on  one  side 
the  right  symbolic  eye,  the  emblen>  of  the 
god  Shu.  (See  Birch  in  his  e^.xtion  of 
Wilkinson's  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii, 
p.  232 ;  and  compare  Guide  to  Museum, 
p.  HI. i 

293  See  above,  p.  46. 

294  The  whole  of  this  description  is 
taken  from  Diodorus  (iii.  12-14),  who  de- 
scribes, no  doubt,  the  process  employed 
in  his  own  day.  It  is  probable,  how- 
ever, that  the  very  simple  method  then 
in  use  had  come  down  from  a  remr„e 
antiquity. 

295  Blowpipes  are  represented  more 
than  once  in  the  tombs.  (See  Rosei- 
liui,  J! 'on.  Civ.  pi.  Ii,  4,  and  pi.  Iii, 
fig.  4.) 

296  ihe  forceps  is  sometimes  repre- 
sented on  the  monuments.  (See  the 
woodcut  on  p.  515).  Both  tongs  and 
forceps  have  been  found  in  the  tombs 
(Birch  in  Wilkinson's  A.  E.  vol.  \.  °35, 
note). 

297  The  existing  gold  objects  show  this. 
Compare  Ex.  xxxii,  4. 

298  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  26; 
Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  11. 

299  British  Museum,  First  Egyptian 
Room,  Nos.  86  and  285. 

ace  ibid.  No.  1422. 

301  Monumenti  Civili,  pis.  lvii  to  lxii. 

302  See  a  spe<  imen  in  Wilkinson,  A.  E. 
vol.  iii,  p.  347,  No.  1. 

303  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  69. 
3«i  Wilkinron,  l.s.c.  (No.  14). 

305  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  pp.  66-7. 
=06  Wilkinson,  l.s.c.  (No.  17). 

307  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  pp.  24, 
26,  and  49:  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  11: 
vol.  iii,  p.  237. 

308  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  81. 

309  British  Museum,  Eirst  Egyptian 
Room,  Nos.  6,  310,  and  1887. 

3*o  ibid.  No.  8412.  Compare  Wilkin- 
son, A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  234 

3ii  Wilkinson,  p.  259. 

3'2  Records,  vol.  ii,  pp.  27,  52,  etc. 

3i3  The  British  Museum  seems  to  pos- 
sess no  more  than  about  seven  or  eight 
specimens  of  Egyptian  iron.  (First 
Room,  Nos.  2435,  2464,  2916,  2918,  2954, 
5410,  5423,  and  6113.)  Of  these  three 
(Nos.  2464,  2954,  and  6113)  are  decidedly 
of  a  late  period. 

3u  This  is  now  in  the  British  Museum, 
and  forms  No.  2435  in  the  Egyptian  col- 
lection. 

a"  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  246. 

3i6  Deut.  iii,  11:  iv.  20  Judg.  i,  19;  iv,  3. 

317  Birch  in  Wilkinson's  .dwcifiwY  Egyp- 
tians (edition  of  1878),  vol.  ii,  pp.  250-1; 
Deveria,  Melanges  d Archiologie  Egyp- 
tienne,  vol.  i,  p.  2. 

318  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  pp.  13-21, 
28-2!),  35-11,  etc. 

3i9  Tbid.  p.  28. 

=2o  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  253,  n. 
iil  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  39. 
322  Specimens  of  most  of  these  may  be 


seen  in  the  British  Mu?eum,  First  Egyp- 
tian Room,  Nos.  5408a  to  5497. 

323  See  above,      ? 

324  See  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  p. 
151:  "The  maker  of  weapons  suffers  ex- 
tremely, going  forth  to  foreign  countries: 
he  gives  a  great  deal  for  his  asses,  more 
than  the  labor  of  his  hands.  He  gives  a 
great  deal  for  their  being  in  a  field;  he 
gives  on  the  road.  He  arrives  at  his  gai- 
den;  he  reaches  his  house  at  night.  He 
must  be  off  [again]." 

325  See  above,  p.  87. 
328  Isaiah  xviii.  2. 

327  See  Herodotus,  ii,  96,  where  this 
comparison  is  made,  and  compare  Rosel- 
lini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  xliv.  1. 

328  Herod,  l.s.c.  ;  and  compare  Wil- 
kinson's illustration  in  the  author's 
Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  132. 

329  See  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p. 
195. 

sso  Ibid,  and  p.  196. 

33i  See  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pis.  cvii, 
cviii,  and  cix,  and  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol. 
iii,  pi.  xvi;oppo.  p.  211. 

332  Diod.  Sic.  i,  91. 

333  See  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  54. 

334  At  the  rates  suggested,  the  exact 
sum  would  be  3,320,000/.  It  may  be 
doubted,  however,  whether  Diodor>i« 
does  not  considerably  exaggerate  the 
mere  cost  of  embalming. 

335  a  considerable  number  of  the  mum- 
mies are  regarded  as  belonging  to  the 
time  of  the  first  dynasties.  These  "have 
been  only  slightly  preserved,  and  drop  to 
pieces  on  exposure  to  the  air."  (Birch, 
Guide  to  Museum,  l.s.  c.) 

336  ]Did. 

337  See  the  specimens  in  the  British 
Museum  (First  Egyptian  Room)  num- 
bered from  6725  to  6728. 

338  Herod,  ii,  86. 

339  Diod.  Sic.  i,  91. 

340  See  above,  p.  189. 
34i  Herod,  ii,  86. 

342  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  53. 

343  Herod,  l.s.c.  ;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol. 
iii,  p.  115;  vol.  v,  p.  463;  Birch,  l.s.c. 

344  Pettigrew,  quoted  by  Wilkinson  {A. 
E.)  vol.  v,  p.  471). 

346  "Cartonnages  "  may  be  seen  in  the 
British  Museum  Coflection,  Nos.  6662, 
6665,  6679,  6680,  etc. 

346  See  above,  p.  95. 

347  Herodotus  speaks  of  a  single  "  mo- 
derately cheap  "  method;  and  so  Diodo- 
rus. But  modern  research  proves  that  no 
sharp  and  decided  line  can  be  drawn, 
either  between  the  "expensive  "  and  the 
"moderate,"  or  between  the  "moder- 
ate," and  the  "cheap"  system.  (See 
Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  pp.  468-473.) 

24s  Herod,  ii,  87.. 

349  Rouger,  Notice  sur  les  Embaume- 
ments  des  anciens  Egyptiens.  quoted  by 
Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  472. 

350  Belzoni,  Researches,  p.  156. 

35i  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  184. 
352  The  story  can  only  be  given  in  the 
author's  own  words  :—  Td?  ywa.lKa<;  twp 


310 


NOTES  TO  HISTORY  OF  ANCIENT  EGYPT.  [CH.  XI. 


aTTiibai'foiv  avSpHov,  eneav  TeXevrrja'iXTL  ov 
irapavTLKa  Sifiouai  rapi\eveiv,  a\\'  ewed^ 
TpiTcucu  f]  TerapTcuou  yevoiVTai,  ovtco  ira- 
paSiSovcrt,  tol<ti  Tapi\evovo~t  '  tovto  Se 
ttol€ov(tl  ovtw  TOuSe  clvsksv,  iva  /u.17  crcit 
oi  Ta.pi\evT<M  p.i<Tyu)VTai.  tjj'oi  yvvat^i. 
Aa^fjtfli'ai  yap  tlvo.  <$>aa<.  fj.Kjy6jj.evov  ve/cpuf 
7rpocr(/)aTcp  yvvcuKos  ■  Kareurai  Se  tov 
o/xorexvoV.  (Herod,  ii,  89.) 
363  ch.  viii,  pp.  261-285. 

354  Representations  of  persons  so  em- 
ployed may  be  seen  in  Rosellini,  Mon. 
Civ.  pi.  xlvii,  Nos.  3  and  4;  and  Wilkin- 
son, A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  336. 

355  vVilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  pp.  251-2. 

356  See  fig.  190. 

357  See  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  xlviii, 
1.  Compare  the  author's  Herodotus,  vol. 
ii,  pi.  opp.  p.  150. 

358  The  usual  representation  consists 
of  a  gigantic  figure  of  the  king,  holding 
a  conquered  king,  or  a  number  of  con- 
quered kings,  by^the  hair  with  one  band, 
while  with  "the  other  he  brandishes  aloft 
a  sword  or  mace.  (See  Rosellini,  Mon. 
Storici,  pis.  lx,  lxiv,  xlvi,  etc.,  Description 
de  VEgypte,  "  Antiquites,"  vol.  ii,  pi. 
xvi,  etc.) 

369  See  fig.  143. 
3«o  See  fig.  95. 

361  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pi.  cxxxi; 
Description,  "Antiquites,  vol.  ii,  pi.  x. 

362  Lepsius,  Denkmdler,  vol.  vi,  pt.  iii, 
pis.  158,  165,  etc.:  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici, 
pis.  ex,  exxxvi,  etc. 

363  See  fig.  99. 

364  Amasis,  b.  c.  540,  sent  a  portrait  of 
himself  as  a  present  to  the  people  of 
Cyrene  (Herod,  ii,  182).  We  may  pre- 
sume that  it  was  painted  by  a  native 
artist. 

365  The  coarse  representations  on  car- 
tonnages  and  mummy-cases  can  scarcely 
be  considered  as  portraits. 

3«6  Wi  .kinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  313. 

367  ibid.  p.  311;  Rosellini,  Mqji.  Civ.  pi. 
xlvi,  3. 

368  Rosellini,  pi.  xlvi,  5,  6,  8,  and  10. 

369  British  Museum,  First  Egyptian 
Room,  Nos.  5515  and  55256. 

370  It  has  been  already  shown  (supra, 
pp.  294-5)  that  the  Egyptian  painters  em- 
ployed about  fourteen  tints. 

37i  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  301. 

372  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  41. 

373  De  Rouse,  Catalogue  des  Monu- 
ments egij-ptiens  de  la  Salle  du  Rez-de- 
chaussee,  1849,  p.  47. 

374  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  x,  p.  2. 
37s  Ibid.  p.  3.        37s  Ibid.  1.  s.  c. 

377  See  Herod,  ii,  48  and  60. 

378  Tbid.  ii,  79. 

379  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  pp.  237, 
210,  316,  etc.  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi. 
xcix,  2. 

380  See  Diod.  Sic.  i,  16.  The  contrary 
statement  of  Plato  in  his  "Laws"  cannot 
be  depended  on  (De  Leg.  ii,  p.  656,  e). 

381  One  flute  in  the  British  Museum 
(No.  6388)  has  six  holes;  but  four  or  five 
were  mo'e  usual  (Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol. 
ii,  p.  304). 


382  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  308 

383  ;por  the  use  of  the  plectrum  see 
Wilkinson.  A.  E.  vol  ii,  p.  291  (woodcut 
No,  217,  fig.  1). 

384  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  p.  48. 

385  Wilkinson,  A.E.  vol.  ii,  p.  283. 

386  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  xcvii;  Wil- 
kinson, A.  E.  frontispiece  to  vol.  ii. 

387  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  pp.  234, 
274  275  etc. 

388  Ibid.  pp.  280,  282,  and  287. 

389  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  (A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p. 
315)  comes  to  an  opposite  conclusion; 
but,  as  it  seems  to  me,  on  insufficient 
grounds. 

390  See  above,  p.  224. 

39i  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p,  254.  A 
third  sort  of  drum;  not  unlike  our  own, 
has  been  found  among  the  Egyptian  re- 
mains (ibid.  p.  268),  but  is  not  represented 
upon  the  monuments,  and  apparently  was 
not  employed  by  musicians.  This  was 
played  with  drumsticks. 

3»2  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  xevi,  2,  3; 
pi.  xcviii,  2,  3,  etc. 

393  See  the  author's  Ancient  Monar- 
chies, vol.  ii,  p.  156. 

394  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  297. 
Birch  says  "from  two  to  four''1  (Guide  to 
Museum,  p.  48). 

385  Birch,  l.s.c;  Wilkinson,  p.  234, 
woodcut  No.  185,  fig.  2. 

s9*  See  Wilkinson,  A.E.  vol.  ii,  p.  235, 
woodcut  No.  167,  fig.  2;  p.  301,  woodcut 
No.  222. 

397  For  examples,  see  the  British  Mu- 
seum Collection,  First  Egyptian  Room, 
Nos.  6355  and  0365. 

398  Wilkinson,  A.  A.  vol.  ii,  p.  323. 

399  Ibid.  pp.  257  and  260. 

4°o  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  237  and 
239,  woodcuts  190  and  193.  Compare 
Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.,  pi.  xciv  and  xevi,  1. 

4°i  Wilkinson,  p.  233. 

4«2  Ibid.  p.  236,  woodcut  189. 

4°3  Ibid.  p.  237,  woodcut  190. 

404  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.;  pi.  xcviii, Nos. 
2  and  3;  Wilkinson,  A.E.  vol.  ii  p.  235. 

405  The  harp  and  the  guitar  are  the  in- 
struments most  frequently  multiplied. 

406  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  lxxix,  line 
6:  pi.  xevi,  1;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p. 
234,  woodcut  185;  p.  237,  woodcut  190,  p. 
238.  woodcut  192. 

407  See  above,  note  396i  chap.  xi. 

4<>8  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pis.  lxxix,  and 
xcix;  Wilkinson,  A.  E.,  vol.  ii,  p.  390. 
4°9  Wilkinson,  p.  333. 

410  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "Introduction,''"'  p.  xvi. 

411  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Ti?nes,  "  Introduction, "  p.  xix. 

412  This  may  be  concluded  from  the 
Egyptian  poem,  which  has  been  called 
"  The  Praise  of  Learning  "  (Records  of 
the  Past,  vol.  viii,  pp.  147-156),  where  the 
occupation  of  scribe  is  compared  with 
these  and  similar  ones. 

<i3  ibid.  p.  147,  line  6:  p.  153  line  189. 
Compare  Brugsch,  Geschichte  Aegyptens, 
p.  24. 

414  The  unremunerativo  nature  o'  tbe 


Vol.  I. 


Plate  LXXV. 


Fig.  190.— Chiselling  a  Statue.— See 
Page  530. 


Fig.  191.— Egyptian  Systrum 
—See  Page  538. 


Fig.  192.— Band  of  Six  Musicians.— See  Page  539. 


Fig.  193  —Boatmen  Quarret  ltxg  —See  Page  546. 


Plate  LXXVI. 


Vol.  I. 


«^^       i  tni  i  in 


Fig.  194.— Egyptian  Drag-net  and  Clap-net.— See  Page  547. 


Fig.  195— Egyptian  Noble  carried  in  a  Litter.— See  Page  550. 


•Vol  I. 


Plate  LXXVII, 


Fig.  196.— Egyptian  Sandals.— See  Page  551. 


Fig.  197.— Spearing  Fish.— See  Page  555. 


Fig.  198.— Spearing  the  Crocodile.— See  Page  £60. 


r' 


CH.  XI.] 


MAKERS   AND    CUSTOMS. 


311 


scribe's  office  is  thought  to  be  alluded  to 
in  hnes  228-237  of  the  poem.  (See  Records 
of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  p.  155,  note  4.) 

4i5  Ibid.  p.  148,  line  31. 

♦I6  Ibid.  vol.  ii,  p.  3.  417  Ibid. 

4i8  ibid.  p.  4.      4i9  ibid.  vol.  viii,  57. 

430  ibid.  pp.  62  and  63. 

42i  Ibid.  pp.  57-65. 

422  Ibid.  p.  153;  "Consider,  there  is  not 
an  employment  destitute  of  superior  ones 
except  the  scribe's,  which  is  the  first.11 

423  Herod,  ii,  84.  424  Ex.  i,  15-19. 
425  Manetho  ap.  Euseb.   Chron.   Can. 

i,  20,  §  4. 

428  Horn.  Od.  iv,  231-2;  Herod,  iii,  1, 
129:  Jer.  xlvi,  11. 

427  Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herod- 
otus, vol.  ii,  p.  117. 

428  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  vi,  4,  p.  758. 

429  Geschichte  Aegyptens,  ch.  v,  p.  50. 

430  Brugsch,  Geschichte  Aegyptens,  ch. 
vii,  p.  89. 

431  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  p.  149: 
"  I  tell  you  also  of  the  builder  of  pre- 
cincts. Disease  tastes  him;  for  he  is  in 
draughts  of  air;  he  builds  in  slings,  tied 
as  a  lotus  to  the  houses.11 

432  See  the  passage  placed  as  a  heading 
to  ch.  vii,  (supra,  p.  187). 

433  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  pp. 
148-53. 

434  Brugsch,  Geschichte  Aegyptens,  p. 
22. 

435  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  viii,  pp. 
149,  1.  56. 

436  See  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  civ,  9. 

437  See  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  xxiv, 
1;  Wilkinson,^..  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  20;  vol. 
iii,  p.  37,  etc. 

438  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  37.  Com- 
pare vol.  ii,  p.  19,  and  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ. 
pis.  iv  and  v. 

439  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  57,  fig.  3. 
Compare  p.  56,  figs.  3  and  4. 

440  Herod,  ii,  92,  ad.  fin.  ;  Diod.  Sic. 
i,  36  ;  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.,  pi.  xxv.  3 ; 
Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  pp.  37  and  56. 

44i  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  iv ;  Wil- 
kinson, vol.  ii,  p.  19 ;  Herod,  ii,  77. 

442  Herod,  ii,  47. 

443  The  unclean  habits  of  the  pig  are 
no  doubt  the  chief  cause  of  this  notion  ; 
but  it  is  also  said  that  the  flesh  is  un- 
wholesome in  Eastern  countries  (Wilkin- 
son in  the  author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p. 
72;  Houghton  in  Smith's  Dictionary  of 
the  Bible,  vol.  iii,  p.  1393. 

444  Supra,  pp.  159,  455,  etc. 

445  Brugsch,  Geschichte  Aegyptens,  p. 
24.  446  ibid. 

447  "  Fruges  consumere  uati  "  (Hor. 
Epist,  1,  2,  1,  27). 

448  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  44. 

449  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  200; 
vol.  iii,  pp.  141-2;  Records  of  the  Past, 
vol.  ii,  p.  12. 

450  See  above,  pp.  229. 

461  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  pp.  44. 

452    Ibid. 

4.63  WUkinson,.  A.   E.   voL   ii,  p.    388, 


woodcut  No.  278.     Compare    Rosellini, 
Mon.  Civ.  pis.  lxxxiii  to  lxxxv. 
454  Birch,  l.s.c. 

456  Wilkinson,  A.  E.,  vol.  i,  p.  335  ;  vol. 
ii,  p,  211. 

466  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  xciii,  2 ; 
Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  208. 

457  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "Introduction,"  p.  xv.  Wilkin- 
son thought  the  beard,  when  worn,  was 
artificial  (A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  362).  Some 
beards  certainly  seem  to  be  tied  on. 

458  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  pi.  355-6. 
469  Birch,  "Introduction,11  p.  xv. 

460  Birch,  Guide  to  Museum,  pp.  26-7 ; 
Rosellini.  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  lxv,  figs.  1-8. 

46i  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "Introduction,11  p.  xv.    462  Ibid. 

463  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  pp.  369- 
70. 

464  Egyptian  combs  may  be  seen  in  the 
British  Museum  (First  Egyptian  Room, 
Nos.  2678  and  2883).  They  are  either  of 
wood  or  bone,  and  generally  have  two 
rows  of  teeth,  one  row  of  larger  teeth  at 
widish  intervals,  the  other  with  small 
teeth,  very  close  together.  (See  Wilkin- 
son, A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  381.) 

465  See  plate  xxxvi,  fig.  91, and  com- 
pare the  vulture  headdress  of  certain  god- 
desses, as  Maut  (p.  348),  Athor  (p.  377), 
Isis  (p.  379),  and  Nephthys  (p.  395). 

466  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "Introduction,11  p.  xv.  Com- 
pare Herod,  ii,  36. 

487  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  368. 

468  Ibid.  p.  374. 

469  Birch,  l.s.c:  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol. 
iii,  p.  380.  Birch  adds  that  the  nails 
were  often  dyed  with  henna,  and  the 
breath  sweetened  with  pastilles. 

470  It  may  be  suspected  that  like  the 
early  Greeks  and  Romans,  the  Egyptians 
took  but  two  regular  meals  in  the  day  ; 
one  about  ten  or  eleven  o'clock,  and  the 
other  in  the  evening.  (See  for  the  for- 
mer of  these,  Herod,  ii,  193,  and  for  the 
latter,  Herod,  ii,  78).  Bread,  meat,  and 
wine  or  beer,  were  probably  taken  at 
both. 

47i  One  amusement  in  which  ladies  in- 
dulged was  certainly  archery  (Wilkin- 
son, A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  189).  Another  was 
boating  (Rosellini  Mon.  Civ.  pis.  cvv  1, 
and  cix).  They  also  accompanied  their 
husbands  or  brothers  in  some  of  their 
sporting  expeditions. 

472  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  lxix  :  Wil- 
kinson,  A.  E.   vol.   iji,   pp.  129,  143,  etc. 

473  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  52. 

474  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  p.  53. 

475  Ibid.  p.  41,  woodcut,  fies.  18,  19,  and 
20.  Compare  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi. 
xxv,  1,  and  Lepsius,  Denkmaler,  vol.  iv, 
pi.  130. 

47«  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  pp.  60-1. 

477  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  38. 

478  For  representations,  see  Ibid.rpp. 
39,  41  and  42. 

47»  Wilkinson,  woodcut  No.  335  (vol. 
iii,  p.  39).  Sportsmen  pre  sometimes  ac- 
companied by  a  cat,  which  is  represented 


312 


NOTES   TO   HISTORY   OF   ANCIENT   EGYPT.         [CH.  XI. 


as  taking  an  interest  in  the  sport,  and 
sometimes  as  even  springing  into  the  air 
and  catching  one  of  the  wild  fowl  (Wil- 
kinson, woodcut  No.  337).  But  this  can 
scarcely  have  been  a  usual  incident. 

480  See  this  scene  represented  in  Ro- 
sellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  xv,  and  compare 
Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  22.  For  a  por- 
tion of  the  scene,  see  above,  p.  284. 

*»i  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  18. 

482  Ibid.  p.  15,  woodcut  No.  325. 

483  Ibid.  p.  16. 

484  Rosellini,  Mon.  Storici,  pis.  lxvi, 
lxxxiv,  and  cvii.  Compare  above,  p. 
466.  485  Diod.  Sic.  i,  48. 

486  Amenemhat  I.  in  his  instructions 
to  his  eon  Osertasen  says,  "I  hunted  the 
lion11  {Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  14), 
referring  apparently  to  an  occasion  when 
he  had  gone  into  Nubia.  Rameses  III. 
represents  himself  as  engaged  in  the 
chase  of  the  lion  on  the  walls  of  his 
palace  at  Medinet-Abou.  (See  above, 
fig.  99.)  The  scene  of  this  chase  is 
thought  to  have  been  Southern  Palestine 
(Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest  Times, 
p.  140). 

487  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iii,  p.  29. 

488  Records  of  the  Past,  vol.  ii,  p.  62. 

489  Plin.  H.  N.  vin,  25. 

490  Diod.  Sic.  i,  35 ;  Herod,  ii,  71 ; 
Pliny,  l.s.c. 

4»i  See  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  iit,  p.  70, 
and  pi.  xv. 

492  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii,  pp.  71-3. 

493  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  xxiv,  4 ; 
Lepsius,  Denkmaler,  vol.  iv,  pi.  105. 

494  Herod,  ii,  70. 

495  Wilkinson  says:  "One mode,  which 
is  now  adopted,  is  to  fasten  a  little  puppy 
on  a  log  of  wood,  to  the  middle  of  which 
a  strong  rope  is  tied,  protected  to  a  cer- 
tain distance  by  iron  wire ;  and  this, 
when  swallowed  by  the  crocodile:  turns, 
on  being  pulled,  across  the  throat.  It  is 
then  dragged  ashore,  and  soon  killed  by 
blows  on  the  head  from  poles  and 
hatchets.  They  have  also  another  mode 
of  catching  it.  A  man  swims,  having 
his  head  covered  by  a  gourd  with  two 
holes  for  his  eyes,  to  a  sandbank,  where 
the  crocodile  is  sleeping  ;  and  when  he 
has  reached  it,  he  rises  from  the  water 
with  a  shout,  and  throws  a  spear  into  its 
side  or  armpit  if  possible,  when  feeling 
itself  wounded  it  rushes  into  the  water. 
The  head  of  the  barbed  spear  having  a 
rope    attached    to    it,    the    crocodile    is 

r  hereby  pulled  in,  and  wounded  again  by 
the  man,  and  his  companions  who  join 
him,  until  it  is  exhausted  and  killed.1'' 
(See  the  author's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii,  p.  99, 
note  4.) 

496  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  44 :  "  The  chief  occupation  of 
the  period,  or  at  all  events  that  most 
often  represented  in  the  tombs,  was  the 
inspection  of  the  farm.11  Compare  Lep- 
sius, Denkmaler,  vols,  ii  and  iii,  passim. 

497  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  Ixxxii  ; 
Lepsius,  Denkmaler,  vol.  iii,  pt.  ii,  pis. 
19,  21,  etc. 


498  See  above,  pp.  67-78. 
4s,y  See  above,  p.  200. 

500  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  43. 

501  This  is  often  represented,  (Rosel- 
lini, Mon.  Civ.  pis.  lxxxiii  to  lxxxvi, 
Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  pp.  383,  385, 
388.  etc.) 

502  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  385; 
woodcut,  No.  277,  I.  n. 

503  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pi.  lxrix ; 
W'ilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  215,  etc. 

504  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  pi.  xii, 
and  pp.  367,  390,  and  393. 

605  See  above,  p.  245. 

606  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  voi.^ii,  pi.  xii. 

607  Ibid,  and  p.  389.  Compare  Herod, 
ii,  36.  The  fondness  of  the  Egyptians 
for  such  pets,  especially  monkeys,"is  very 
observable. 

608  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  "  Introduction,11  pp.  xiv-xv. 

s«9  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  393. 

510  Egyptian  spoons  exist.  (See  in  the 
British  Museum  Collection,  Nos.  59^1  to 
5976  ;  and  compare  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol 
ii,  p.  403-4.)  But  there  is  no  evidence  of 
their  being  used  to  eat  with. 

511  The  attendants  often  carry  napkins 
in  their  left  hands. 

512  See  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p 
400 ;  and  compare  Birch,  Egypt  froin  In. 
Earliest  Times,  p.  45. 

sis  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  pp.  170-3 
si4  Herod,  ii,  78. 

515  So  Wilkinson  (A.  E.  vol.  ii,  pp 
410-11),  whose  remarks  appear  to  be 
reasonable. 

516  WTilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  pp.  167-8. 
Ladies  are  represented  as  sick  from  ex- 
cessive drinking,  and  gentlemen  as  car- 
ried home  dead  drunk  by  their  attend- 
ants. 

si7  Pint.  Be  Isid.  et  Osir.  ?  15. 

618  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  414. 

519  Rosellini,  Mon.  Civ.  pis.  xcix  to  civ; 
Wilkinson  in  the  author's  Herodotus,  vol. 
ii,  pp.  272-7. 

52°  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  p.  335. 

521  See  the  authors  Herodotus,  vol.  il, 
p.  277. 

s22  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  pp.  430-1, 

623  Ibid.  pp.  417-435;  Rosellini,  Mon. 
Civ.,  pis.  ciii  and  civ. 

624  Dollinger,  Jew  and  Gentile,  vol.  ii, 
p.  239,  E.  T. 

s25  Herod,  ii,  135. 

626  On  the  concubinage  of  some  of  the 
kings,  see  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  ii,  pp. 
420-1 ;  Birch,  Egypt  from  the  Earliest 
Times,  p.  160,  etc. 

527  Birch,  "  Introduction,11  p.  xiv. 

628  Herod,  ii,  &5. 

529  Rosellini,  Mon.  del  Cvlto,  pis.  v,  2, 
xxxi,  1 :  Lepsius,  Denkmaler ;  vol.  vi, 
pis  91,  97<?,  106  b,  etc. 

sso  Wilkinson,  A.  E.  vol.  v,  p.  383, 
woodcut,  No.  492;  "  Supplement,"  pis. 
83-5. 

53i  Herod,  ii,  80. 

632  See  Brugsch,  Geschichte  Aegyptens, 
p.  24. 


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History  of  ancient.  Egypt. 

Rawlinson.  George.  1812-1902. 


iiiiii  i  nil  iii inn 

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