DR. K.M. KHANTAMOUR
ARMENIAN COLLECTION
mm
U-
University of California Library/ Los Angeles
.^'y
^ '^
EDITION D E LUXE
The Works of
George Rawlinson, M.A.
A HISTOR Y OF
ANCIENT EGYPT
Volume One
VOLUME IV.
Maps, Diagrams and Illustrations
THE NOTTINGHAM SOCIETY
New York Philadelphia Chicago
EDITION DE LUXE
Limited to One Thousand Sets
Printed for Subscribers Only
4>T
PREFACE. V>\
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
Eg3-pt " 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-
lisli 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
fv 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 I'Egypte," published by the French savants
who accompanied the expedition of the great Napoleon; the
" Monument! dell' Egitto e della Nubia " of Ippolito Rosel-
lini; and the " Denkmaler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien "
of Professor Lepsius. M. Mariette's " Monuments Divers
recueillis en Egypte et en Nubie " 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, where 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
pointy \sx which French and German scholars subject to the
PREFACE. V
keenest scrutiny the entire evidence upon this or that subject
or period. Such books as De Kouge's ** Kecherches sur les
Monuments qu'on pent attribuer aux six premieres dynasties
de Manethon," Chabas' "Pasteurs en Egypte," "Melanges
Egyptologiques," and "Recherches pour servir a I'histoire de
la XlXme Dynastie et specialement a celle des temps de FEx-
ode/' Lepsins^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," Diimichen's " Flotte einer agyptisclien
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 Colonel 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 andjmanners; 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 Archeologique," and the " Transactions
of the Society of Biblical Archgeology." 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.
Cantebbxjey, December 31, 1880.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. A
THE LAND.
PAQE.
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 n.
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 — Imraigrants 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
Pow^ers. Theirl^Iorality, 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 A7nu (Shemites) and Shasu
(Arabs) on the East. Nascent Empu-es in this quarter. . 48
Tiu 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 Irrigation
employed. Use of the Shadoof. Hydraulic Works of the
Fayoum. Cultivation of the Olive. Cultivation of the Vine.
Care of Cattle 79
CHAPTER VII.
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
PecuUarities 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. Rehgious; 2. Processional: 8. 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
COTTTENTS.
PAG&
Polytheism. Egyptian Pantheon — Amnion — Kn^pli — Khem
— Phthah — Maut — Sati — Neith — the Sun-Gods, Ra, Osiris, &c.
Osirid Myths. Minor Deities — Atlior, 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
I 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 — tlije Physi-
cian's — the Architect's. Lower Grades of Population — Boat-
men — Fowlers — Fishermen — Swineherds. Life of the Upper
Classes. Sports — Entertainments — Games. Conclusion. 203
Notes. • • * • • • • . • 261
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
na. t>LATx.
1. Date and Dom Palms (from the "Description deTEgypte") 1
2. Ichneumon (from the '•Description de I'Egypte ") 1
3. Egyptian Hare (from the same) 2
4. Ibex, Oryx, and Gazelle (from the monuments) 2
4}^. Gazelles (from Rosellinis " Monumenti Civili ") Page 36
5. The Smaller Monitor (from the '" Description de I'Egypte") 2
61^. Egyptian Horses (from Rosellini's "Monumenti Storici") Page 37
6. The Great Monitor (from the same) 3
7. Fruit of the Nymjjhcea Nelumbo 3
8. Egyptian Ass (from Ro8<"llini's " Monumenti Civili ") 3
€J4. 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 I'Egypte ") 4
13. The Oxyrhynchus or Mizdeh (from the " Description de I'Egypte ") 4
14. The Sic-sac or Trochilus (after Wilkinson) 5
15. Egyptian Child (from the monuments) 5
16. The Egyptian Asp (from the " Description de I'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 "VNTieat in Sheaves (from Rosellini's "Monumenti Civili") 8
24. Oxen treadmg out Corn (from the same) 8
25. Winnowing Grain (from the same) 8
26. Doora Harvest (after Wilkinson) 9
27. Yines grown in Bowers (from Lepsius's " Denkmaler ") 9
28. Vines trained on Posts (after Wilkinson) 9
29. Egyptian Vase and Amphoras (from Lepsius's "Denkmaler ") 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) H
33. Egyptian Sheep (from Lepsius's "Denkmaler") U
34. Egyptian Pigs, Hog and Sow (after Wilkinson) U
S5. Egyptian Goats (from Lepsius's "Denkmaler") 12
86. Doorway of Tomb near the Pyramids (from Lepsius's " DenkmSler ") 12
37. Section of Pyramid, showing modes of completion (by the Author) 12
38. Pyramid of Meydoun (from Vyse's " Pyramids of Ghizeh ") 13
xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIG. PLITB.
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 Ghizeh ") 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) 16
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 I'Egypte "). 18
50. Rock-tomb near Thebes (after Fergusson) 18
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
I'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 T 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, Kamak (from the same) 24
64. Ground-plan of the Rameseum(f rom the same) 25
65. Internal view of the Hall of Columns in the Great Temple of Karnak (from
the •• Description de I'Egypte ") 26
66. Ground-plan of Great Temple at Karnak (from the same) 27o
67. Internal view of the Small Temple at Karnak (from the " Description de
I'Egypte") 276
68. Section of smaller Pillared HaU (from the same) 28
69. Ground-plau 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 same) 29
72. 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 DwelUng-house, outside view (from Rosellini's " Monumenti
Civili") 31
78. Egyptian DwelUng-house, viewed from Internal Court (from the same) 31
;9. 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 EH., (from the " Descrip-
tion de 1" Egypte.") S3
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' Egypt©"). 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 tlie same) 36
91. Head of Female, in a good Style (from the " Description de 1' Egypte ") . 36
92. Colossal Figure of Ramese.s II. (from the "Description de 1' Egypte ") 36
93. Sphinx of the Pyramids (from the same) 37
94. Hunting the Gazelle and Hare (from Rosellini's " Monument! Civili ") 3?
95. An EgyiJtian King destroying his Enemies (from the " Description de
I'Egypte") 3a
96. Female Tumbler in an impossible Attitude (from Rosellini's "Monumenti
Civili") 39
97. Figure of an Egyptian Priest (from Lepsius's ' ' Denkmaler ") 3&
98. Animals foreshortened (from the " Description de 1' Egypte ") 39
99. Rameses III. hunting the Lion (from the " Description de I'Egypte ") 40
00. Forms of Neith 41
01. Ammon-Khemand Ammon-Kneph. 41
02. Formof Sati 4]
03. FormsofKneph 42
04. Ordinary forms of Phthah 4'i
05. Ammon, ordinary form 43a
06. Forms of Khem 43a
07. Form of Maut 43a
08. Egyptian representations of the Gods Taourt, Savak, and Osiris (from the
monuments) 43&
09. Egyptian drawing Water from a Reservoir (from Rosellini's " Monumenti
Civili") 44
10. Forms of Ra 44
11. Formsof Turn 45
12. Form of Nef er-Tum 45
13. Form of Mentu 46
14. Formsof Shu 46
15. Forms of Osiris 46
16. Horus destroying the Great Serpent, Apap (after Wilkinson) 47
17. Forms of Horus 47
18. Forms of Athor 48
19. Forms of Isis 49
20. Forms of Khons 49
21. Forms of Thoth 50
22. Forms of Seb 50
23. Forms of Merula 51
24. Form of Netpe 51
25. Form of Aemhetp . . 51
26. Formsof Pasht 51
27. Forms of Nephthys 52
28. Formof Anuka 52
29. Formsof Ma 52
30. Forms of Taourt 53
31. FormofBes 53
32. Apophis and Turn (after Wilkinson) 53
33. SepulchralJirs with Heads of the four Genii 63
34. FormofTafn6 54
35. Form of Merseker 54
36. Form of Heka 54
37. Forms of Set 54
38. An Egyptian Priest 54
39. Egyptian Helmets (from Rosellini's ' ' Monumenti Civili ") 55
40. Ordinary Egyptian Shields (after Wilkinson) 55
41. Egyptian Coat of Mail (from Rosellini's "Monumenti Civili") , 55
42. Warrior with Shield of unusual size (after Wilkinson) 55
xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FIG. PLATt
43. Infantry drilled by a Sergeant (from Rosellinis " Monumenti Cirili ") 55
44. Light-armed Troops marching (from Rosellini's " Monumenti Storici ") 56
45. Egyptian Slinger (from Rosellini's '" Monumenti Civili ") 56
46. Spearmen and Archers (from Rosellini's " Monumenti Storici ") 56
47. Egyptian Spear, Straight Sword, and Falchion (from the same) 56
48. Chariots in Battle (from the same) 57
49. Egyptian War Chariot, Warrior, and Horses (from the same) 58
50. War Chariot, with Bow-case, Quivers, and Javelins (from the same) 59
51. Egyptian Battle-axes and Pole-axe (from Rosellini's " Monumenti Civili"). . 69
52. Egyptian Clubs and Mace (from the same) 60
53. Egyptian Daggers (from the same) 60
54. Egyptian Bows (from the same) 60
55. Archer taking aim (from the same) 60
56. Archers stringing their Bows (from the same) 61
57. Egyptian Quivers (from the same) 61
58. Egyptian Trumpeters (from the same) 61
59. Egyptian Standards (from RoselUni's " Monumenti Civili ") 62
60. Siege of a Fort (after Wilkinson) 62
61. A Syrian Fort (from Rosellini's " Monumenti Storici ") 63
62. Egyptian War-galley (from Rosellini's" Monumenti Storici") 63
63. Escalading a Fort (f rom Lepsius's " Denkmaler") 64
64. Attack on a Fort (from Lepsius's •' Denkmaler") 65
65. Interior of an Egyptian camp (from Rosellini's " Monumenti Storici) 66
66. Egyptian Javelins (from the same) 67
67. Head-rest (after Wilkinson) 67
68. Egyptian Military Drum (after Wilkinson) 67
69. Egyptian Captive (from Rosellini's" Monumenti Storici") 67
TO. Prisoners of War escorted by their Captor (from the same) 67
71 . Egyptian undergoing the Bastinado (from tlie " Description de 1' Egypte ") 67
72. Egyptian Saw (from Rosellini's "Monumenti Civili") 68
73. Egyptian Porcelain Vase (from the same) 68
74. Process of smoothing Stone (from the same) 68
75. Women weaving (from the same) . 68
76 . Furniture-maldng (from the same) 69
77. Chariot-making (from the same) 69
78. Glass-blowing (from the same) 69
79. Specimens of ordinary Egyptian Pottery (from Lepsius's ' Denkmaler") . . 70
80. Elegant Vases and Amphorae (from Rosellini's " Monumenti Civili ") 70
81 . Specimens of Egyptian Glass (from various sources) 71
82. Potters at Work (from RoseUini's "Monumenti Civili" ) 71
83- Goldsmith at Work (from the same) 71
84. Egyptian Gold Vases (from the same) 72
85. Hai-poon and Fish-hooks (the harpoon from Rosellini, the hooks drawn by
the Author from originals in the British Museum) 72
86. Building a Boat (from Rosellini's " Monumenti CiviH"). .' 73
87 . An Egyptian Gentleman's Pleasure Boat (from the same) 78
88. Ordinary Nile Boat in full sail (from the same) 74
89. Nile Boat (from Lepsius's "Denkmaler") 74
90. Chiselling a Statue (from Rosellini's "Monumenti Civili") 75
91 . Egyptian Sistrum 75
92. Bandof six Musicians (from RoseUini's "Monumenti Civili") 75
93. Boatmen quarrelling (from the same) 75
94. Egyptian Drag-net and Clap-net (from the same) 76
95. Egyptian Noble carried in a Litter (from the same) 76
96. Egyptian Sandals (from the same) T7
97. Spearing Fish (from the same) 77
Spearing the Crocodile (from the same) 77
HISTORY
OF
ANCIENT EGYPT.
CHAPTER I.
THE LAND.
ifeography of Egypt. Boundaries, Dimensions, and Character of the Country.
Proportion of cultivable Territory. Dependence on the Nile. Course of
the Nile — its Tiibutaries— Time and Causes of the Inimdation. 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.
AiyvnTOf . . . eniKTriTog te y^ /cat dupov tov norafiov. — 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
^lace 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,* and from which it took name,' or, at any
rate, that laud 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 usual * and it is right to include under the
name of "Egypt" 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 Eed Sea, and a
line drawn from the head of the Gulf of Suez to the Wady-el-
Arish, or "River of Egypt" of the Hebrews ;* on the south
the first cataract (lat. 24° 5'), and a line drawn thence to the
lied Sea at tlie 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. W.
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 ;* 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.'
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 a scant but welcome vegetation. Towards
the north the sandy region, interrupted by the Nile 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. ^ From Cairo to
the Mediterranean it is not so much a real valley as a vast plain,
from seventy to a hundred miles wide," with a superficies of at
least 7,000 square miles.'" 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." This would appear to give an additional cultivable
territory of above 4,000 square miles. Further, the district of
Vol. I.
Plate I.
Fig. 1.— DoM Mio Date Paujis (from tiic Vc^,crLijtion).Se& Papre 25.
Fig. 2.— IcaNKOUON (from the D^ciipliQn).—^^ Page 35.
Plate IL
Vol. I.
Fig. 3.— Egyptian Hare (from the Description).— See Page 35.
Ifig. 4.— Ibex, Oryx, amd Gazelle (.from the Monuuiftjts).— See Page 36.
Fig. 5.— The Smaller Monitor (from the Description).—Se)Pi Page 37.
THE LAND. 8
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.'*
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,'^ or 4,714,543 acres. But
tliey 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,'* which is equivalent to 1,151,390 acres; so that the
total cultivable land at the time of their observations was
5,865,833 acres. Another estimate,'* 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.'* Sands also occur
within the actual limits of the cultivated region." 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,'* the entire
water surface is manifestly considerable, being probably not
far short of 850 square miles,'* or 542,000 acres. The sands
caiuiot be reckoned at much less than 1,500 square miles, or
960,000 acres.'"
It is argued by M. Jomard that the occupation of the Nile
valley by sands is wholly and entirely an encroachment, due \o
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 onl-
tivable iirea. This calculation is probably in excess; but we
4 HISTORY OF ANCIENT 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 Wadys of Arabia Petraea or even
than the Sahara itself. The land, if not "the gift of the
river" in the sense which Herodotus intended,^' is at any rate,
as a country, created by the river^'^ 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, '^ 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 S3'stem 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.
Tbe profound ignorance of seventeen centuries was succeededi
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 speculation ^'^ has gone by. The areas
occupied by the basins of the Xile, 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,^* 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', tbe
latter in long. 32° to 36°, E. from Greenwich.''* The Victoria
Nyanza is a pear-shaped lake, w'itli 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 rapidly, and is
rounded off towards the north at the distance of about ten or
fifteen miles above the Equator. From 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 2T0 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. ^' 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 luindred 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 about 25,000 square
miles. Its elevation above the ocean is about 3,000 feet.*"
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. *' 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 Eiver
Somerset or Victoria Nile, wliich 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
t» in some sense the Nile, or not so regarded, according as we
l^lease ; 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 Nile^" — 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 Nyanza ^' in about N. lat. 2° 45',
and runs with a course that is very nearly northeast to the first
cataract^" (lat. 3° 36', long. 32° 2'), receiving on its way a
small tributary, the tln-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, ^^ which expands to 1,200
a little lower,** where its course is obstructed by numerous
islands. A rocky defile is then entered, through which tlie
stream chafes and roars, reduced to a width of 120 yards, and
forming a series of falls and rapids.^* 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', w'hen 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,^* as
the volume of water is increased by numerous tributaries flow-
ing in from the eastern mountains, one of which, the Asua, or
Ashua," 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.^* 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 LAKt). 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.^* 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, ^^ — 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.*'
After receiving the Sobat, the Nile, which has now about 700
yards of clear water,** runs through a flat and marshy country,
with a slow stream and a course that is a very little east of
north to Khartoum,'" 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 Blue Nile rises in the highlands of Abyssinia, in lat.
11°, long. 37° nearly,** at an elevation of above 6,000 feet.*'
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, when 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.*'' It receives on its
way the waters of numerous tributaries, whereof the chief are
the Rahad, the Binder, and the Tumet. In the dry season
the stream is small ; *' 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.*^
The White (or true) Nile at its junction with the Blue is
about two miles in width, when the water is at a medium
lieight.*' 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.'" Here
— 1,100 miles from its mouth — the river has its greatest
8 fiiSl'ORY OP ANCIENT EGYPT.
volume. Between tlie 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/'
yet still pouring into the Mediterranean a volume of water
which has been estimated at 150,566 millions of cubic metres
a day in the low, and at 705,514 millions of cubic metres a
day in the high season.*^ 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. 23° 44', Cataracts are frequent in this portion
of the river, ''^ 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," leaving the Nile at
Abu Hamed and reaching it again at Korosko in about seven
or eight days." 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 " — 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." The course is north, witli slight deflec-
tions to east and west, past Ombos (Koum-Ombos) to Silsilis,^
where the sandstone rocks close in and skirt the river for a dis-
tance of three-quarters of a mile.^' The valley then expands a
little ; there is a broadish plain on the left, in which stand the
ruins of important cities f the stream bends somewhat to the
west, until a little below Esn6 (Latopolis), the hills again ap-
proach, the defile called the Gibelein, or "the two mountains,"
is passed, the sandstone ends, and is succeeded by limestone
ranges ; " and the Nile, turning to the northeast, flows through
the plains of Hermonthisand 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 tlie 27th parallel to Cusjb (Qousyeh)
in lat. 27° 27'. The valley between Abydos and Cukb is from
six to ten miles wide,®* and the left bank is watered by canals
derived from the main stream. Beyond Cusse the course of the
THE LAIfD. 9
Nile is once more nearly due north to Cynopolis (Samallout),
in lat. 28° 18', after which it is N.N.E. to the Convent of St.
Antony (lat. 39° 14'). A little below Cusas^' the Great Canal
of Egypt, known as the Bahr-Yousuf, or " liiver 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
Zaouy ^ or 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. ^^ 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 thq
point of separation was somewhat higher up the stream,^* and
the water passed by three main channels : *' the Canopic
branch, which corresponded closely with the present Rosetta
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-
Jos, in long. 30° 55' ; and the Pelusiac, which skirting the
Arabian hills, ran by Babastis 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 tlie 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-fourtb for
main windings, we must assign to the river a further length
of 500 miles, and make its entire course 2,500 miles. *^ 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 Granges.
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,'^* which is said to
give "little or no water," the Ye, which is described as a
third-class stream,™ and another unnamed river of the same
character." The important affluents are thus only the Sobat,
the Bahr-el-Azrek, and the Atbara.
10 HISTORY OF AKCIENT EGYPT.
Of these, the Bahr-el-Azrek has been described already.'*
The Sobat is known only in its lower course. It is "the most
powerful affluent of the White Nile,"" and is said to be fed
by numerous tributaries from the Galla countr\' about Kaffa,
as well as by several from the Berri and Latooka countries.
The course of the main stream " 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 wide" and
nearly thirty feet deep.'*
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." 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.'* This change occurs about the
middle of June, from which time until the middle of Septem-
ber the storms are incessaiit, and the Atbara becomes a raging
torrent, bringing down with it in wild confusion forest trees,
masses of bamboo and driftwood, bodies of elepiiants 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 Royan, the Salaam, and the Angrab — all of
them large rivers in the wet season, and never without water
even at the driest time." Increased by these streams, the At-
bara is, from June to September, a great river, being 450
yards in average width and from tAventy-five to thirty feet
deep *° 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;®' but it is sometimes as
much as twenty-six, and sometimes as little as twenty-two
feet.*' In Upper Egypt, where the valley is narrower, the
rise of course is greater. At 'i'hebes the average increase is
reckoned at thirty-six feet, while at Syene (Assouan) it is
about forty feet.*' On the other hand, in the open plain of
the Delta the height to which the water rises is very much
THE INUNDATIOK OP THE KILE. 11
less, being about twenty feet near Heliopolis, eleven at Xois
and Mendes, and no more than four at tlie Rosetta and Dam-
ietta embouchures.'** 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 ;**
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 declares"* that
less than nine hundred years before his visit to Egypt, or in
the fourteenth century B.C.,*' 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,'*'* 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 ; *' and that, though the land is
upraised, there is no need of any greater rise of the river to
overflow it. The explanation is,*"* 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 BISTOHY OP ANCIENT EQYW.
becomes greater." If tlie 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, havirig 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 Nile south of that point stood at a much higher level.'*
Broad tracks were overflowed at that period which the inunda-
tion now never reaches.'^ But these tracts belonged to Ethiopia
rather than to Egypt ; and within the latter country it was
only the small portion of the Nile 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;^'* 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 known ''^ that the annual inundation of the
Nile is caused, at any rate mainly,'"' by the rains which fall in
Abyssinia between May and September ; " but it is only re-
cently that the entire Nile system, and the part pla3'ed in its
economy by the Abyssinian and Equatorial basins, have come
to be clearly understood and appreciated. The White Nile 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 November,''* this mighty and unfailing stream
carries down to the Mediterranean a vast and only slightly
varying'*' body of water, the amount of which may be esti-
mated by considering the volume poured into the sea, eveii
when the Nile is lowest, which is said to be above 150,000
millions of cubic metres daily.'"" The contribution of the Blue
Nile at this season is so small,'"' 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 the whole of the
150,000 millions of metres may be put to the account of the
White Nile. Were the AVhite Nile 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 KILE YALLEY — THE DELTA. 15
appear long before it had passed tlie Nubian desert,'"* 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. '"^ The
Atbara and Blue Nile bring down the whole of that red argil-
laceous mud,'"* which being spread annually over the land
forms a dressing of such richness that no further 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 Syen^ 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 bring 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 ; "" 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 tiie
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 j but during the greater
14 HISTORY OP AKCIENT 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 clue 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 oSO
miles of the British statute measure. The valley is extremely
narrow from Syene to near Thebes,""^ where it expands ; "" but it
contracts again below the Theban plain, and continues narrow-
ish until How or Diospolis Parva, whence it is, comparatively
speaking, broad '"** to about Atfieh. It is then again narrow '"'
till it expands into the Delta below Cairo. The greatest width
of the valley is about fifteen, the least about two miles."" In
many parts, on the western side especially, a sandy tract in-
tervenes between the foot of the hills and the cultivated terri-
tory,'" 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 has 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 Tlinthine (long. 29°
nearly); on the east by one which has a general northeasterly
direction from Cairo to Lake Serbonis and Mount Casius."'
The distance along the coast-line from Plinthine to Mount
Casius is about 300 miles ; "* that from the apex of the Delta
to the sea about a hundred miles."" It is believed that the old
apex was about six miles higher up the stream than the
present point of separation,"' 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."^ The general tendency has been for the water to
run ofE more and more towards the west. The Pelusiac
branch, which was originally a principal one,"' is now almost
entirely dried up ; the Tanitic and Mendesian branches have
similarly disappeared ; the present most easterly mouth of the
J^iie is the Daraietta 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 watei*, and tends to
silt up. At Eosetta 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 Avest 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,"^ 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 limestone range,"* 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.'"" South of Aboukir 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 Eosetta 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,"" and is divided
from the Mediterranean by a thin tongue of sand extending
from the Eosetta 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 Menzaleh, 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, "''^ containing only occasional dry spots, but the resort
in all times of a numerous and hardy population,'^' Still fur-
ther to the east, beyond the Pelusiac mouth, and beyond the
limits o| the Delta proper, is Lake Serbonis, which has a
16 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
length of fifty miles, but a width varying from one mile
only to six or seven. A low and narrow sand-bank, '°* 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 constantly, '^'^ 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 '^® 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 Canopus
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 '" "the Nile now enters the sea
at the same distance north of the Lake Moeris 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 Moeris as formerly, which implies
that the sea has not encroached. It may further be remarked
that he gives no proof of the subsidence of tlie 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 ciirrent, 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,"'* and in modern
tijiies has been carefully examined and described by M.
FAYOUM BASIN — EASTERN DESERT. 17
Jomard'^ and M. Linant de Belief onds."" It is a natural
depression in the Libyan chain of hills, having an area of
about 400 square miles, '^' of which 150 are occupied by a long
and narrow lake,'"'- 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 loAver level than that
of the Nile valley, with which it is connected by a rocky ra-
vine about eight miles in length, '^^ having a direction from
N.W. to S.E., and lying in about lat. 29° 20'. Originally the
basin was most })robably 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-Yoiisuf — still
in use — was cotulucted in ancient times through the gorge ;
and an elaborate system of irrigation,'^ 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, '^^ and the Arsenoite nome, as the Avhole
tract was called, took rank among the chief wonders of a most
wonderful country.'^*
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. '^' 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.'^
On the side of the Nile, the ridge rises in terraces,'^' 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,'*" and is
greatest about half way between the Nile and the Red 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,"' 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 ]\ed Sea ; '^^ of those the most remarkable
are, one about lat. 30°, connecting Cairo with the Gulf of
Suez ; '■'^ a second, in lat. 26°, uniting Coptos and Thebes
with Cosseir j '^ and a tliird^ branching off from the Nile \n
IS HISTORY OF ANCIEKT EGYPT.
lat. 25°, and Joining Edfou (Apollinopolis Magna) with Bere-
nice,"* 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 ; '^' and
they produce in abundance a thorny plant, called basillah,^*''
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,'^ while near the Ked Sea, in lat. 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." '"'* 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.'*" The only really valuable
portion of the Eastern desert is that of Mount Zabara,'*' the
region of the emerald mines, in lat. 24° 25', long. 35° nearly.
The valley of the Natron Lakes '" 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
Gizeh 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 length of the valley from the point
where it quits the Nile to the place Avhere it is lost in the
sands south of Marea a little exceeds ninety miles. Tlie 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,'*^ or about sixteen and a half English miles. Their
ordinary width is from 100 to 150 yards. The water 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.'*'* During the time of their failure some
of the lakes become dry. Though the water of the springs
which 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,'" or natron, and the
sulphate of soda ; and these salts, continually accumulating in
the lakes, which have no outlet, crystallize on their surf3,gp
Vol. I.
Plate III.
Fig. 6.— The Great Monitor.— See Page 37.
Fig. 7. — Fruit of the Nymphaa nelumbo.
—See Page 30.
¥ig. 8.— Egyptian Ass (from the
Monuments),— See Page 38.
Fig. 9.— Egyptian Dogs Cfroiii the- — ^-^uients).- See Page 39.
Plate IV.
Vol. L
Fig. 10.— Hyena caught in a Trap (from the Monu- Fig. 11. — Head of Egyptian
ments.— See Page 34. Man.— See Page 50.
Fig. 12.— 1. The Glossy Ibis; 2. The Ibis Religiosa (from the Description).— Page 4a
Fia. 13.— The OmtHY>cur8 on JIizdeh.— See Page 43.
BORDER COUNTRIES — ETHIOPIA, LIBYA. 19
in large quantities, and become valuable objects of com-
merce. '°'* Excepting immediately round the lakes, there is
little vegetation ; ^" 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,'^* and
supposed to have a connection with the Birket-el-Keroun ; '^'
but this latter supposition is entirely erroneous,'*" and it may
be doubted whether the presumed connection with the Nile
is not equally without foundation. '"
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 Avhole 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.'** 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 Avas 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,'*^
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,"^ compre-
hending all North Africa west of Egypt, excepting the small
Greek settlements of Cyrene and Barca, and the Phoenician
ones of Carthage, 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 oascs^,'" rendered it in th^
20 HISTORY OF AXCIEXT 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, Avhich were individually weak,'**
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 impassable '*'
moat, the Eed Sea and its western prolongation, the Gulf of
Suez. It Avas 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 Sp'ia 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 ; armaes have
at all times traversed it without much difficult}^ ; '^^ and with
the support of a fleet, it 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, Kophaim, Philistines, Canaanites, Israelites, llittites,
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.'*' 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
SYTt£/t AND 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
Egyjatian history is vitally connected. Its main features are
simple and easily intelligible. A spur from Taurus "° detaches
itself in E. long. 37°, and, skirting the Gulf of Issus, 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 "' 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 Coelesp-ia, 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, Coelesyria furnishes the most
convenient line of passage between Africa and Asia, alike for
the journeys of merchants and the march of armies. '" 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 Bukaa ''*
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 coast through the
plain of Sharon and the Shephelah to the Egj^ptian frontier at
the Wady-el-Arisli. 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 Coelesyrian 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 no 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 "* 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 Ammon, 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 freedom-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 Avere 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. We 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 that
consequently to all who understand Egyptian liistory, 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 tlie Eastern Highland. Vegetable
Productions— Indigenous Trees and Plants— Plants anciently cultivated.
Indigenous Wild Animals— Domesticated Animals. Birds, Tish, Reptilea,
and Insects. Mineral Products.
" Provincia . . vmni graiujrum ac leouwnum genere ferf i?is."
Leo Afkic. viil, 1.
In considering the climate of Egypt, Ave 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." Tlie difference between the chmates
of the two regions is considerable ; and no description Avhich
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 Cancel*, the
heat during the summer time is excessive, being scarcely sur-
passed even by tjjat of Central Bengal, which lies under the
same parallel. iThe range of the thermometer throughout this
portion of the year is from 100° to 112° in the shade during
the daytime.* 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,^ produces a general absorption, instead of a re-
flection of the sun's rays ; while the prevalence of northerly
and northwesterly Avinids, noted by Herodotus * as Avell as by
modern observers,^ brings into the valley a continual current
of air, coming from a cool quarter, and still further cooled by
its passage over tlie 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 Avith little change
throughout the remainder of the year, until summer comes
round again. Hence, Egypt has been said to have but two
24 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
seasons, spring and summer.* Snow and frost are wholly un-
known, and the temperature rarely falls below 40° of Fahren-
heit.'
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. Mela* calls Egypt "a land devoid of show-
ers;" and Herodotus regards even a slight drizzle Mn 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 oidy on about five or six
days in the year,'" 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-
lieard of," 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
^* supplied with a fair degree of humidity.
in the desert tract between the Nile valley and the Eed 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 in 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
w\ater, 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."
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 hue ; 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
ftir, 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."'* 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 ; " 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 ; '* and
thus upon the whole the Khamseen winds must be regarded
rather as an annoyance and discomfort than as an actual peril
to life.'*
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 mokkai/t or myxa, the su?it 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 Manfaloot" (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
snitable for beams and rafters, as well as for boats, rafts, and
other purposes which necessitate contact Avith 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.'* The wood of the dom palm was used by the
ancient Egyptians for the handles of their tools," and for all
26 HISTORY OP 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 ; ^ 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.^'
The do7)i 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 do?n 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. '■''^ The bifurcation begins generally about five feet from
the ground, ^^ 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,^'' from the latter
of which the fruit is developed. This grows 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.-*
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 ; "^ 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,^' 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 Avere of first-rate quality ; '^^ 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,*^ and though
not a hard wood, is a sufficiently good material, being tough
and elastic. Tlie leaves, branches, and indeed every part of
the tree, serve some useful purpose or other ; ^" the dates have
always constituted a main element in the food of the people ;
from the siip is derived an exhilarating drink ; from the fruit
may be made, without much difficulty, wine, brand}'', and
vinegar.
The Egyptian sycamore (Ficus s//camorus) is another tree
of considerable value. The fruit, indeed, which ripens in the
beginning of June, is not greatly esteemed, being insipid,
though juicy ; ^' but the shade is welcome, and the wood is of
Vol. I.
Plate V.
Fig. 14.— The sic-sac or Troohilus.— See
Page 41.
Fig. l."!.— Egyptiax
Child.— Page 50.
Fig. 16.— The Egyptian Asp {Coluber }iaje).—See Page 44.
Fig. 17.— Egyptian Plough.— See Page 81.
Plate VI.
Vol. I.
Signs in common use.
Signs employed more
rarely.
Equivalent in English.
a--
—
A. (as in father).
M^^
± (sounded as ee in see).
S*
—
U (sounded as oo in food)
J
^*
B
■
"^K*^
P
.
-
F
G
«
(jr (deep guttural).
u
K
•
•
'K'TT (sounded like the
■*»--"- Hebrew .-j).
—
—
D
^ ^ ,
1
T
%.-
-^T
M
i
N
L
S
]£
1
SH
|B
H
•^l
3i-
J
Fig. 18.-SeoPi\goG2.
Vol. I.
Plate VIL
Fig. 19.— Mode of Plodghikg.— See Page 81.
Fig. 20.— Egyptian Hoe.— See Page 82.
Fig. 21.— Eg\ttiak8 Hoeing.— See Page 82.
Plate VIII.
Vol.1
Fig. £2.— Egyptian Man and 'Woman
(from the MonumentSj.— Page 50.
Fig. :i3.— BiNDLNG Wheat.— See Page 83.
Fig. 34.— Oxen treading out Corn.- See Page 83.
FJg. 35.— WiUNOwiNo —bee Page 5o.
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/'* for figures or images/^ for coffins,*' and probably
for many other purposes. Its superiority to most woods is
shown in the fact, that the existing mummy-cases, which 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 moJchayt {Cardia myxa) grows to the height of about
thirty feet, and has a diameter of three feet at the base.^' The
stem is straight, and rises without brandies 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."* 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, Avith 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, which was regarded as a species of
wine.^'
The sont or acantha {Mimosa Nilotica) is a tree of 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 arable ; ^^ but anciently it would appear to have
been largely used in the construction of the boats engaged
in the navigation of the Nile.^^ This is a purpose to winch
it is still applied to some extent ;'"' 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 is quite
unsuited for that purpose.
The other acacias which grow in Egypt are the lebbekh
(Mimosa Lehheck of Linnaeus), the tiiM {Acacia gummifera),
the fitneh {Acacia Farnesiana), the harras {Acacia alhida),
and the scyal {Acacia Sei/al). Of these the last is the most
important, since it furnishes the great bulk of the gum arable
of commerce,'" while at the same time its wood is valuable,
being both by color and textu i-e well adapted for cabinet work.
The jenovaJ huu ii oiange with a daiker lieaft • the graiu i.^
28 HISTOtlY 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.*^ The seyal is "a gnarled and thorny tree, somewhat
like a solitary hawthorn in its habit and manner of growth,
but much larger." "* Its height, when full grown, is from fif-
teen to twenty feet.** 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 commwiis), the nehk {Rhamnus nabeca), and
the prickly pear or shoJc {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 ^gyptiaca), which is now rare
in the Nile valley,** but is met with in the Ababdeh desert,
and grows in great profusion on the road from Coptos to
Berenice,*® is a bushy tree or shrub, which attains the height
of eighteen or twenty feet under favorable circumstances.*'
The bark 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.*' Its exterior is "a pulpy substance of a subacid
flavor ;"*° 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." Both the external envelope and the kernel are
eaten by the natives.
The sillicyprium, or castor-oil tree {Ricinus communis),
grows abundantly in Egypt." It is a plant of a considerable
size, with leaves like those of the vine,** and bears a berry from
which the oil is extracted. This has medicinal qualities, and
was used anciently for medical purposes ; ** but its main em-
ESCULENT PLANTS — THE PAPYETJS. 29
ployment has always been as a lamp-oil of a coarse kind.
According to Strabo, the common people in Egypt apphed it
also to the anointment of their persons.^*
The Jiebk or sidr {Rliamnus nabeca) is a fruit-tree common in
Egypt, and in the interior of Africa/"' but not found in many
other places. The fruit, whicli ri[)tMis very early in the year,
usually in March or April/' is a lleshy substance of a texture
not unlike tbat 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. ^^
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.'' The fruit, called by the Romans
"cottana,"*" 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 byblus, or papyrus, the KymphcB
lotus, the Lotus ccendea and the Nymphwa nelumbo.
The byblus, or papyrus {Cyper-us impijrus), 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," inside of whicli 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.*'^ 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.*^ 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 Cypents dives of botanists ^ — which was employed
in the construction of boats," of sails, "^^ of mats, baskets, sandals,
and the like."
The Nymphcea lotus, which nearly resembles our white water-
lily,^ grows freely in the lowlands of tlie Delta during the
time of the inundations, being found at that period in ponds
and channels which are ordinarily dry.** 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,™
30 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
They also ate the rest of the phmt, which was considered to
have " a pleasant sweet taste," " 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 ;" " but it seems to have commended itself to the
Egyptian palate, which was probably less fastidious than that
of modern Europeans.
The Lotus ccendea is scarcely more than a variety of the
Nymphffia." Its blossoms, which are of a pale bine 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'rahy, "the
lotus of Arabs," while they term the white beshnin el-khanzi/r,
"the lotus of pigs." '* Both the ordinary lotus and the ccsrulea
were valued on account of their flowers, which were employed
at banquets and woven into garlands for the guests."
The Nelumbium, or Nymphcea nelumbo (Fig. 7), though
not now found in Egypt, nor indeed in Africa,'* was beyond
all doubt a denizen of the country in ancient times, though it
may not have been indigenous." The Greeks and Romans
knew it as "the Egyptian bean ;"''^ and the latter people re-
garded it as so characteristic of Egypt that they used it con-
stantly where they wanted an Egyptian emblem." 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.*" The peculiarities of the nslumbo
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. Tliey 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 ; *' 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.^" They ara
about the size of a small acorn, and contain inside their shell a
white sweet-flavored nut or ahnond, 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.***
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 loobieh (a sort of French
bean), the endive, leeks, garlic, onions, melons, cucumbers,
radishes, lettuce, capers, cumin, mustard, coriander, aniseed,
and various others.*** 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,*^ and the fruit growing to a great size. The lentils,
which form the chief food of the lower classes,** are of good
quality. The mustard, aniseed, and coriander seed were an-
ciently in especial repute.*' The caper plant (Capparls spi-
nosaj bears a fruit called lussuf by the Arabs, which is shaped
like a small cucumber, and is two and a half inches long.**
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.^^ Of wheat, there are now
produced in Egypt six varieties ; '° and it is supposed that the
same sorts existed in ancient as in modern times.'' 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.*' 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.**
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.*'* There are five
varieties of the door a ;'^^ 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 "o/_?/ra" or "2;ea" of Herodotus, which (ac-
cording to him) was the grain whereon the Egyptians mainly
subsisted.'*
Of artificial grasses, or plants cultivated as fodder for cattle,
there were produced in ancient Egypt these four " — clover,
vetches, lupins, and a plant called gxlhdn by the Arabs, and
known to Pliny as the Lathyrus satwusJ^ The clover is
thought to have been either the Trifolium Alexandrinum or
the Trigo7iella fmnumgrcBcum, both of which are now common
32 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
in Egypt.'' The vetch was the Cicer arietinum of Linnseua
and Pliny ; '°° the lupin was the Lupinus tennis, which is still
known as termes to the Arabs.'"' These plants were, all ol
them, of rapid growth, and some were capable of yielding
three and even four crops in a year.'"* They were eaten
green, and also made into hay, and stored up for the uso of
the cattle during the time of the inundation.'"^
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 (Raphaiius oleifer-), and the simsi7n or
sesame. The castor-oil plant has been already described : "^ it
gives out an oil with an unpleasant smell, but one which is well
suited for burning."'* The Egyptians obtained it either by
pressing the berries, or by boiling them down and then skim-
ming the oil from the surface.""^ The seemga, which now
grows only in Nubia and the adjoining parts of Upper Egypt,""
was largely cultivated in ancient Egypt ; and, in Eoman times
at any rate, its seeds furnished the great bulk of the oil con-
sumed.'"* The sesame plant was also largely cultivated,^"' as
it is at the present day, the oil extracted from its seeds being
now reckoned the best lamp-oil in the country.""
For anointing the body a greater number of oils were used.
The poorer classes applied to the purpose even the unpleasant
smelling "kiki;"'" and the sesame oil was used largely for
adulterating the oils and unguents regarded as appropriate to
the person."* But the richer classes employed either olive o\\
or unguents of a more expensive kind, such as were the
"metopiom" or bitter-almond oil (amygdalinum),"^ the"cypri-
num," "■* which was derived from the cypros, "a tree rcsem.
bling the ziziphus in its foliage, with seeds like the corian.
der," '" the "oenanthinum," "^ the "amaracum " or " samp-
suchum," "^ the "cnidinum," yielded by a kind of urtica, oi
nettle,"' and an oil derived from a species of grass called
"chorticon."'" Altogether, Egypt was considered to be better
adapted for the manufacture of unguents than any other coun-
try,'*" and by a mixture of various ingredients recondite oint-
ments were produced, which were regarded as of very superior
quality.'*'
For manufacturing purposes the plants chiefly cultivated by
the Egyptians were flax, which was very largely grown, cotton,
indigo, and the safflower or Carthamus tinctorins. Linen was
the ordinary material of the undergarment with all classes in
MEDICINAL PLANTS — WILD ANIMALS. 33'
Egypt ; ''■''^ the priests could wear nothing else when officiat-
ing ; ''^ all dead bodies were wrapped in it previous to inter-
ment ; ^'^* and it was employed also for ropes,'" corselets,'*® and
various other purposes. The representation of the flax harvest
is frequent upon the monuments.'^' The kind chiefly culti-
vated is believed to have been the Liiium usitatissimum,^'^
Avhich 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.'^" Cotton {Gossy-
jnum lierbaceum) was a product of the more southern parts of
Egypt ; '^' it was in almost equal repute with linen as a material
for dress,''^'^ 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 ; '^'^ while indigo was used to color textile
fabrics of all kinds, '^^ and also for the ornamental painting of
walls. '2»
The number of medicinal plants and herbs produced in
Egypt was matter of comment as early as the time of Homer. '^
Some of these grew naturally, while others were carefully
cultivated. Among the former may be mentioned the colo-
cinth,'" the cassia senna, '^ the Origanum ^■Egyptiacum,^^^
the myrobalanus '■*" or Moringa aptera,^^^ the Clematis JEgyptia
( Dajjhnoeides or Polygonoeides) ''** and two arums, '^^ probably
the Arum arisarum and the Arum colocasia.^^ Among the
latter, the most important were the anise '■** ( Pimjnnella
aniswnj, an endive called "seris"'*"^ ( CicJioriu7n endiviaf),
the coriander-plant '*' ( Coi'iandrujii sativum), the Corcho-
rum '^ f 6'orcAor?i!5 olitorius), and the"cnecum" or "atrac-
tilis," '■'^ which is thought to be the Carthamus Creticus.^^"
Besides these, we find mentioned as medicinal plants produced
in Egypt, the ''*' Apsinthius marinus,'''' ^^^ the balsam,'" the
"acacalis," '^^ the " Cyprus," '" the " helenium,** '" the "myo-
sotis," '°* and the "stratiotes,"'" There was also a medicinal
use of the tamarisk,'^* the papyrus,'^' the Mimosa Nilotica,^^
the dom and date palm,'*' the pomegranate, '^'^ the myrtle,'"
the locust-tree,'*^ the "persea," '*^ and many other plants.
Among the Avild 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
34 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
Monitor Nlloticus, and the wild-cat or Felis Cliaiis. The hip-
popotamus seems in ancient times to have been common, even
in the more nortliern parts of Egypt,''* and to chase it was a
favorite amusement. By degrees it was driven southwards,
and it is now uncommon even in Nubia,'" although occasion-
ally it has been known to descend the river beyond the First
Cataract, and to pass Syene or Assouan.'*^*
The crocodile is still very common in Upper Egypt, but at
present seldom descends below Manfaloot (lat. 27° 10').'*'
Anciently, however, it was found along the whole lower course
of the Nile, even to the close vicinity of the sea,'™ as well as
in the Fayoum or Arsinoite canton.'" Notwithstanding its
great size and strength, it is a timid animal, "flying on the
approach of man, and, generally speaking, only venturing to
attack its prey on a sudden." '" 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.'" 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.""*
Lions are not now found in any part of Egypt, nor anywhere
in the Nile valley lower down than the junction with the
Atbara.'" It is believed, however, that anciently they inhab-
ited the Egyptian deserts on either side of the river ; "'^ and
the monuments show us that they were tamed and used by
the upper classes in the chase of gazelles and ibexes.'"
Hyenas, wolves, jackals, and foxes are among the most com-
mon of Egyptian wild animals.'"* The hyena of the country
is the ordinary or striped hyena {IJy(Bna vulgaris) (Fig. 10).
It is both carnivorous and graminivorous, feeding in part
upon wheat and cloora, and doing great mischief to the stand-
ing crops,'" while it will also attack cattle, and, on occasions,
even man. In these cases, "it is a rude and dangerous an-
tagonist." '^" It attacks by rushing furiously forward and
throwing its adversary down by a blow of its large bony liead,
after whicli it uses its fangs and claws. In a sandy place it
will even (we are told) "" begin by throwing up a cloud of
Vol. I.
Plat»iX
Fig. 26.— DooRA Harvest.— See Page 83.
Fig. 27.— Vines Grown in Bowers.— See Page 8G.
Fig. 28.— Vines Trained on Posts.— See Page 86.
Plate X.
Vol. I.
Fig. 30.— Rescuing Cattle from the Inundation.— See Page 87.
Fig. 31.— Medicine Administered to Cattle.— See Page 88.
HYENAS AND 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 Egj'ptian peasants, who lost
no opportunity of checking its ravages, by hunting it or catch-
ing it in traps.'** There is nothing that is remarkable in the
jackals or foxes of Egypt ; but the wolves are peculiar. They
are small in size,'*^ inactive in their habits,'*^ 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.'**
The ichneumon ( Viverra ichneumon) (Fig. 2) is a species of
mangoust.'**^ It lives principally in Lower Egypt and the
Fayoum,'*' and haunts the borders of the Nile and the culti-
vated fields, where it conceals itself in the shallow ditches con-
Etructed for the irrigation of the crops.'** 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.'*^ In a state of nature, it sub-
sists chiefly upon eggs, and is said '^° 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."' 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."* 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. "^ Many extraor-
dinary tales were told of the ichneumon by the ancient nat-
uralists,"'* who, like the early historians,'" 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.'^® The Jerboa {Dipus jaculus), which is common both
in the upper and the lower country, presents (it is said "') 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,"* is also too well known to need any comment.
38
HISTORY OF AKCIENT EGYPT.
It is a disputed point wliether bears were ever indigenous in
Egypt. On the one hand, we have the positive statement of
Herodotus, '''^ 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,^"" 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.^"' Yet representations of it are entirely
absent from the monuments.^"' We may perhaps conjecture
that the impurity, which attached to the domestic animal,'"*
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 was 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/*** and were
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 with 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 fetill to
be met with in the Eas-
tern Desert, especial-
ly in the more south-
ern part of it,*^"'' and the
stag, according to some
accounts, is occasionally
to be seen in the vicin-
•""' ity of the Natron
GazeUes (from the monnmonts). Lakes. ^"^ The oryX, the
antelope heisa, and the antelope addax inhabit Abyssinia ; *"'
while the antelope dcfasm, which seems to be one of those
most frequently hunted by the Egyptians, is found in the
Western Desert.""^ This last is a large animal, standing about
MONITORS — EGYPTTAIf H0RSE2. S"?
four feet high at the shoulder, of a reddish sandy color, with a
black tuft at the end of its tail. It 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 Felis cliaiis of Linnagus, is now common in
the vicinity of the Pyramids and of Heliopolis,*^ but is neither
depicted on the monuments*'" 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,*" 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,*'* which passes its
time mainly in the water, and is therefore called wurran-el-
hahr, "the wurran of the river," by the Arabs. There is also
another and even larger *'Mizard (the Lacerta scincus) (Fig.
6), which is a native of Egypt, a land animal, frequenting dry
places, and called by the Arabs imirran-e'-gebd, "wurran of
the mountains," or ?<?wrra«-c/-flrrf, "wurran of the earth."*'*
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.*'*
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 knovni
in the early times*'*
and were probably.
mtrOQUCea from Esyptian Horses (from the monuments).
38 HISTORY OF AKCTENT EGYPT.'
Arabia, bringing with them th(3ir Semitic name.*" From the
time, liowever, of tlieir introduction great pains were bestowed
upon the breed,'*'* wliich 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.*"
The ass (Fig. 8) was known in Egypt much earlier than the
horse,*'" 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,*'* 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.***
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). si(]erable numbers,
the flesh of the males being freely eaten,*** and the oxen em-
ployed for various purposes connected with husbandry.*** Sheep
and goats were numerous in all parts of the country.*** Sheep
were kept chiefly for the sake of their wool,**' since it was un-
lawful to eat them in most parts of Egypt. They were usually
sheared twice in the year, and bred twice.*** Pigs, although
reckoned unclean,**^ formed a portion of the stock on most
farms ; according to Herodotus, they were universally em-
ployed to tread in the corn ; *™ 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.**'
Cats were great favorites with the ancient Egyptians.*^*
Herodotus assures us*'Hhat, when a fire occurred in an Egyp-
DOGS — BIEDS. 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.^** Cats
were favored when living and mourned when dead.^^* Num-
erous mummies of cats liave been found ; and the care be-
stowed on them must have been almost equal to that which
was given to the bodies of men.'^^'^
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 '*'*' 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. 1), is a hound, tall and
with a long straight tail ; which was used to hunt the ante-
lope ''^ and other wild animals.''^* There was also a short-legged
dog (No. 4), not unlike our turnspit,**" with a pointed nose,
erect ears, and a moderately long tail ; which is said to have
been fashionable about the time of Osirtasen I.^*' 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.'-'-
Tlie most remarkable among the existing birds of Egypt are
the eagle, which is of four kinds, '''*^ the falcon (three varie-
ties),'** the ^tolian kite, the black vulture, the bearded vuU
ture, the Vultur perciiopterus, 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 {Ujnipa epops), the sea-swallow {Sterna Nilotica), the
Egyptian kingfisher {Alcedo JEgyptiacus), the quail, the ori-
ental dotterel, the benno {Ardea bubulcus), and the sicsac
{(Jharadrius mdanocephalus). 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.''^
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 Egypt, or may be pre-
sumed to be unfamiliar to most readers.
The /Etolian kite iMilvus .■Stolius) is of a grayish-brown hue^
40 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
smaller and with the tail less forked than the ordinary kite.***
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.''" The bearded vulture {Phene gigantea of St. Hilaire)
is a huge bird, blackish brown witli patches of gray. One
shot in the desert between Cairo and the Eed Sea during the
French occupation of Egypt measured about fifteen feet from
tip to tip of the wings. ^^^ A bearded vulture of a smaller kind
is described and figured by Bruce as a "golden eagle ;" ^*^ but
there can be no doubt that it is rightly assigned to the vulture
tribe. The Vultur peroiopterus is a small white variety,"'"
known to the Arabs by the name of rokliama, and to the
modern Egyptians as "Pharaoh's hen." "' 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.***
Two varieties of the ibis existed in ancient Egypt."' One
was probably i\\Q Ibis f ale Inella, or "glossy ibis" (Eig. 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. "•'**
The other was the Ibis religiosa or Ibis Numenia, the abou
hannes of Bruce (Fig. 13). 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 the 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."*" 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 jEgyptius) was a wild
goose of no very peculiar character.*'^ It is said by Herodotus
to have been sacred ; '"' but this is questioned/'" since it was
certainly used freely for food by the natives.*'" The Egyptian
duck {Anas Nilotica) has a more distinctive character. "The
neck and inferior part of the head are white, with black spots,
u-nd a gray lino runs lengthways behind the eyes ; the under
BIRDS — FISH. 41
part of the body, and the thighs, are of fehe same color." **" It
occurs wild in Upper Egypt, and in the lower country is seen
not unfrequently domesticated among the occupants of ths
farmyard.
The sea-swallow {Stei'ua 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 rod, and the claws black. "'^^ The oriental dot-
terel, a species of Char ad r ins, '^'^ is said to be about tlie size of
a crow, and to have a shrill but pleasing note, like that of the
black woodpecker. '^•^^ It feeds chiefly on rats and mice, with
Avhich 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
buhulcus) 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.^" It is often represented in the Egyptian sculptures. ^^^
The sic-sac {Oharadrius tyielanoceplialus) (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.'"'* 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 ; -" whence the bird has been
supposed to be the crocodile's friend, and to give him warn-
ing, intentionally, of the advent of danger. *^^
The "river of Egypt" was celebrated for its fish, and not
only produced a most abundant supply ^^^ 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.*'"
Among these, those most liiglily regarded were the oxyrhyn-
^lus, the lepidotus, and the latus. The oxyrhynchus is hqw
42 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
generally considered to be the Mormyrus oxyi'hynchus,^''^ th«
mizdeh of tlie modern Arabs (Fig. 13), which has a long
pointed nose curving downwards. It is a smooth-skinned
fish, apparently of the barbel class, and is at the present day
not much esteemed for food."" Anciently it was sacred to
Athor, and in some places might not be eaten.''" The lepido-
tus has been identified with the Sahno dentex, the Perca
Nilotica, and the binny,"* all of them fish with large scales,
which is what the word "lepidotus" signifies. On the whole,
the binny {Cyprinus le2)idotns)\s thought to have a claim supe-
rior to that of the other two, though the question cannot be
considered to be as yet decided.^" 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
{Esneh), 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 hulti, or Labrns Niloticus, now the most highly
esteemed of all ; "'"' the nefareh, or Nile salmon {Sahno 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 ;'*"« the
saghosa {Clupea alosa), a kind of herring ; "' the spar {Sparus
Niloticns);^^^ the mullet {Mugil cephalus)',^^^ and the garmoot
{Silurns carmi(fh).'^^ The eels of the Nile are reckoned un-
wholesome, more especially in the summer months ; **^ and the
tetraodon is said to be actually poisonous.^*'* 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 {Sihi7'us shall), the shilbeh {Silurus scliilbe Niloticus),
the byad (Silurus hajad), the arabrab, tlie kelb-el-bahr, or
Nile dog-fish {Sahno dentex), and a species of carp {Cyprimis
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
, there 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,'** crea-
tures which, from their size and their habits, are naturally
classed with the larger animals. We have now to notice tl^e
REPTILES. 43
chief remaining reptiles, wliicli were the turtle {Trionyx Ni-
loticus), two s])ecies of iguana (Siellio vulgaris and SteUio
spinipes), two geckos, the chameleon, several snakes, more
especially the horned snake {Coluber cerastes) and the asp
{Coluber Jiaje), 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.-" The common iguana
[Siellio vulgaris) is a creature shaped like a lizard, of a dark
olive-green color shaded with black. It seldom exceeds a foot
in length.'^* The Mohammedans dislike it and persecute it,
since they regard its favorite attitude as a derisive imitation
of their own posture in prayer. •'*^ 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.'*
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 remarkal)le 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 nnder
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 walk on ceilings, like house-
flies, or adhere to the underside of leaves. °^' 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, bat they have a prejudice that it is poisonous, and
communicates a species of leprosy to persons over whom it
walks,'-'"* whence they term it ahii burs, "the father of lep-
rosy." ^'^ 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.^'* 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,™"* and its habits are
quite 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
i4 BISTORT Of- AITCIEXT EGYPT.
"click" used to urge a horse on in riding ; and it is said to be
from this circumstance that they derive their name.''*
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. '^" Herodotus remarks that it
is of small size ; ''^** and modern specimens vary between one foot
five inches and about two feet and a half in length.'^''' The
cerastes is exceedingly poisonous,^"" and, having the habit of
partially burying itself in the sand,^"' wliich 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.^"'
The asp (Fig. 16), or Coluber haje, "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,^"*
and has an extraordinary power of dilating its breast when
angry. Torpid during the winter,^"'' it appears on the approach
of spring iii 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.^"*
The cliameleon is the 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,^'* and their combination
produces a most grotesque creature. The change of color
under certain circumstances, which the ancients thought so
extraordinary,''"' is a subordinate and secondary feature, and
has been greatly exaggerated. One of the small Egyptian
lizards, the agame varmble of St. Hilaire, which has never at-
tracted much attention, varies its line to a much greater ex-
tent.*'* 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/"* 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
crass icauda), though classed with the ArachnidcB,^^'^ 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.^" 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 the tail with the other. The
creature is then easily killed, and the cat not unfrequently
eats it.^^'^
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."'^ 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. ^'^ But the deadliest inroads
are made by the Acrid iu7n peregri7iujn and the (Edipoda mi-
gratoria, the two most destructive specimens of the locust
tribe,^^^ the latter of which has been known to visit our own
country."'* 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."'''
The solpuga is a strong and active spider, possessing veno-
mous qualities, and esteemed by the modern Egyptians on
46 HISTOBY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
account of its enmity to tlie 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/'*
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,^'^ 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,^'° 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,^"' the latter from
quarries between Malawi and IManfaloot. Finally, there was
an inexhaustible supply of the best possible granite in the
vicinity of the First Cataract and of Syene,^'"' 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 Tliebes and
Kosseir. S3^enite was likewise obtainable in the neighbor-
hood of Syene,^^^ 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, ^^^ and to
use each over the whole country for the purposes for wdiich 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,^'^° 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, '^"'^ 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,^" 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
JfETALS — MINEKALS. 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/'* and one iron mine shows signs
of having been anciently worked. ^^' 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
to them for their arms, tools, and implements, was procured
chiefly from the mines of Wady Maghara in the Sinaitic penin-
sula,^*" which was beyond the limits of Egypt ; and it is most
likely that lead, iron, and tin were supplied to them by the
Phoenicians.^^'
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,^^- and is also found in
Upper Egypt near Eilethyias, and again near the village of
El Helleh.^^^ It was greatly prized by the ancient Egyptians,
since it was the chief antiseptic material made use of in the
process of embalming. ^^ Salt is also furnished by the Natron
Lakes in considerable quantity. ^^ The Gebel-el-Zayt, at the
southwestern extremity of the Suez inlet (lat. 27° 50' to 28° 3'),
abounds in petroleum ;^^^ and at El Gimsheh, near the south-
western extremity of the Zayt inlet, are sulphur mines. ^" Chal-
cedonies have been found in the range of Gebel Mokuttam near
Cairo, ^'* jaspers and carnelians in the granite rocks near Syene,'**
and jaspers again in the dry valley called by the Arabs Balir-
bela-ma, or "the river without water.""" Breccia verde was
obtained by the ancient Egyptians from quarries in the Eastern
Desert,"' and the emerald mines of Gehel Zabara were dili-
gently worked by them."^ 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."*
48 HISTORY 0¥ AKCIEKT EGYl'T.
CHAPTER III.
THE PEOPLE AND THEIR NEIGHBORS.
The Egyptians of Asiatic Origin— Immigrants from the East — Not a Colony
from Kthiopia— Proof of this— So far peculiar as to constitute a distinct
Race— Their Complexion durlc, but not black- Their Hair not woolly —
Description of tlieir Features— Of their Form— Their subdivisions, original
and later — Their bitellectual Cliaraeteristics— Their Artistic Powers—
Their Morality, theoretic and practical— Tlieir XumbtT— Nations border-
ing upon Egypt — The Libu (Libyans), or Tahoinu on tlie West — the Nahsi
(Negroes) and Cush (Ethiopians) on the Soutli— The Amu (Shemites) and
Shasu (Arabs) on the East — Nascent Empires in this quarter.
" Die Aeyypter ein von alien angrenzenden Menschenracen tvcsentUch verschie-
dener Stamm it>aren."— Niebuhk, " Vortrage uber alte Geschiclite, vol. i, p. 57.
It is generally allowed by modern ethnologists that the ancient
Eg3rptians, although located in Africa, were not an African
people.^ 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.^ The skull and facial outline, both
of the ancient Egyptian and of the modern Copt, his existing
representative, are Caucasian ; ^ and the Egyptian language,
while 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.'* 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 some ^ 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,® 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/ "furnishes
PHYSICAL CHARACTEKISTICS. 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 antiquit}^ 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 ;** 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 Avhich 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.^
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;"'" 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, witli a tinge of red — a hue not very
different from tliat 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 ANCIEXT EGYPT.
The hair was usually black and straight. lu no case was it
"woolly,"" though sometimes it grew in sliort 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.'- Women always wore their own hair, and
plaited it in long tresses sometimes reaching to the waist. '^
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 (Eig. 11) had features not altogether unlike
those of their neighbors, the Syrians, but with distinguisliing
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 Avas well
placed upon his shoulders ; his movements were graceful ; liis
carriage dignified. In general, however, his frame was too
spare ; and his hands and feet were unduly large. 1'he 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 Caphtorim " as distinct "sons of Mizruim," v'.e., as
separate tribes of the powerful people which inhabited the
"two Egypts."'* It is suggested '^ that the Ludim were the
"dominant race, or Egyptians proper, who were called in Egyp-
tian hit or rut, i.e., men par excellence ;^'' that the Anamim
were the Ann of the monuments, who were dispersed widely
over the Nile valley, and gave name to On (Heliopolis) and
other cities ; that the Naphtuhim {Xa-Phtah) were "the do-
main of Phtah," or peo])le of ilomphis ; Pathrusim {P-tO'
res) '' the people of the Souths" or inhabitants of the Thebaid,
Vol. I.
Plate XI
Fig. 33.— Marking of Cattle.— See Page 8S.
Fig. 33.— Egyptian-Sheep.— See Page 88.
Fig. 34.— Egyptian Pigs, Hog, and Sow.— See Page I
Plate XII.
VoLt
Fig. 35.— EayPTiAN Goats.— See Page 88.
Fig. 37.— Section of Pyramid, showing
MODES OF COMPLETION.— See
Page 94.
Fig. 36.— Doorway of Tomb, near thb
Pyramids.— See Page 93.— Mote 6.
IlTTELLECTtrAL CHARACTEEISTlCS. 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." Otherwise the vari-
ous Egyptian tribes had been fused together and moulded into
one compact aud homogeneous people before the time when
history first takes cognizance of them.
Intellectually, the Egyptians must take rank among the
oremost nations of remote antiquity, but cannot compare with
the great European i-aces, whose rise was later, the Greeks
and Komans. 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 '* — 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,'' 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." '"" 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.^' In mimetic art the Egyptians might per-
haps have done better, had they been at liberty to allow their
Tiatural powers free scope. But they worked in shackles ; a
dull dead conventionalism bore sway over the laud; and
52 HISTORY OF AliCIENT EGYPT.
though some exceptions occur/* 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 ^^ that " the forty-two laws of the
Egyptian religion contained in the 135th 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.^* The men practised impurity openly, and boasted of it
in their writings ; "^^ they were industrious, cheerful, nay, even
gay, under hardships,^'* and not wanting in family affection ;
but they were cruel, vindictive, treacherous, avaricious, prone
to superstition, and profoundly servile.
The use of tlie stick was universal. Not only was the bas-
tinado the ordinary legal punishment for minor offences,*' but
superiors of all kinds freely beat their inferiors ; the poor
peasantry were compelled by blows to satisfy the rapacity of
the tax-gatherers ; ^^ and slaves everywhere performed their
work under fear of the rod, which was applied to the backs
of laggards by the taskmaster.''^ 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. Wheii 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 exhibitad equal servility towards the monarch, whom
MOBAL CHARACTER — POPULATION OF EGYPT. 53
they addressed as if he were a god/" and to whose kind favor
they attributed it that they were allowed to continue to live.^'
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 witli 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."^^
Another defect in the Egyptian character Avas softness and
inclination to luxurious living. Drunkenness was a common
vice among the young ; ^' 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 ; ** great banquets were
frequent ; games and sports of a thousand different kinds were
in vogue ; ^* 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 ; ^* 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," when the ]oopulation was probably
less numerous than under the native knigs. 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.^
An English scholar of repute ^^ regards 6,000,000 as the max-
imum of the census of ancient Egypt, while another'*" 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,*' 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,*' it is difficult to resist the conviction that the native
54 HISTORY OF AKCIENT EGYPT.
E^ptians 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 *^ 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 Nile 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, ""• — -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 Avest,
and the south, belonged to three distinct races, and bore in
the Egyptian language three distinct appellations. To the
west were the Ribu or Libit, 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,'** after whom the Greeks called the whole continent
"Libya." 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,'** 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
Kibu, or Lib3^ans, called sometimes Tahennu,'" were numerous
and warlike ; but under ordinary circumstances they were
greatly divided, and the occasions Avere "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 IL (about B.C. 1250), a great invasion of Western
Egypt took place under the conduct of the "chief of the
Ribu,'"** and a doubtful cont(>Rt was waged for some time
between this prince and the Egyptian monarch.
Towards the south, Egypt had for her immediate neighbors
the JVahsi or Nahasu,*'^ wlio were blacks and (it is thought) true
negroes, with out-turned lips and woolly hair, and who were
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 ;"''^ they rejected civilization, wore
scarcely any clothes/' 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 Romans as the Ethiopians, Avho occupied the broad
tract lying between the Nile and Bahr-el-Azrek on the one
hand, and the Atbara on the other, '^'- extending perhaps also
across the Atbara, and at times holding the Nile valley along
its entire course from Khartoum to the borders of Egy])t."
This people Avas not of negro blood, but is to be regarded as
Caucasian.^ 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 G-allas, 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 (Dankalah).^^ 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,"^ and more than common height ;" 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 Afmi, "people," or perhaps
"herdsmen," '*' whom they seem to have regarded with a special
contempt and dislike.^' 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,*" and held all the northeastern
portion of the Delta about the Lake Menzaleh and the cities
known as Zoan (Zan, Tanis) and Rameses.*^' These Amu were.
56 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
of course, Egyptian subjects ; but there were likewise Amu
beyond tlie 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"), the Kharu (Chere-
tliites?), and the Kutennu, who seem to represent the Syrians.
Another enemy of the Egyptians in this quarter was the people
called SJiatiu, perhaps identical with the Hyk-sos,*'^ and seem-
ingly Arabs. Ordinarily the Shasu were not regarded as a
formidable foe ; *^ 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.*^
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. ^* 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
CHAPTEE IV.
LANGUAGE AND WRITING.
Proposed Mode of Treatment. Geneial Character of the Language. Connec-
tion of the Ancient Kgyptian with the Coptic. Three Foi-ms of Egyptian
Writing. The Hicroglypliic Signs Pictorial. The Signs of four sorts, Re-
presentative, Figurative, Determinative, and Phonetic. Table of the most
common Phonetics: otlier Phonetics. Number of the Signs. Arrangement
of the Writing. Signs for Numerals— for Gods— for Months. Egyptian
Grammar.
AiyuiTTiot . . . SL<t>a<Tioi(Ti ypa.niJ.aai \p(u>vTai. — HeROD. 11, 36.
It is not proposed in tlie 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 Kouge, on the writing, the grammar,
and the vocabulary of the ancient Egyptians ' — works whicli
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 suffi.\-es 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 I'nranian tongues. As is generally the
58 HISTORY 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,'* 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.^ 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 wi'iting 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 ;"^ but this is scarcely correct, for they occupy more
space than the corresponding liieroglyphics ; 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 ; ' it preserved the hieroglyphic forms
to a certain extent. These are nearly lost in the demotic,
Avhich appears to have been introduced about the seventh cen-
tury B.C.,* 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. I.
Plate XIII.
Fig. oS. — PYHAiUD OF Meydoun.— See Page 93.
^^
Fig. 39.— Great Pyramid of Saccarah.— See Page 192,
miuHiiii
X .\\V
^ — \\ v.\ .v,\ 1.1 ..,. .. .V,.r>:
Fig. 40.— Section of same, soowing Original Construction.— See Page 93,
I'late XIV.
Vol. I.
Fig. 41.— General View of the Tomb-Chamber of the Third Pyramid.— Page 94.
TiV~ -^o _ A DTj * x!mr\nrKT nv th k I {locks FORMINfi THE KOOF . — See Page 95.
Vol. t
Plate XV.
Fig. 43.— Section or the Third Pyramid, Showing Passages.— See Page !
Fig. «.— Sarcophagus oj: Bi>;wwa.u's.-See Page 95.
Mate Xf t.
Vol. I
Fig. 45.~Genbral Plan of the Pyramids of GHiZEH.~See Page 96.
/r
.#¥'
Fig. 46.-SECTION OF THE SECOND PYRAMID .-bee Pug« %.
VARIOUS USES OP THE HIEROGLYPHICS. 59
It is the essential characteristic of the hieroglyphic. writing,
that all the forms used, if we except those expi-essive of num-
ber, are pictures of objects. At the tirst 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 Avhich w^e 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 e represents the sun ; the curved line,
placed either way, ( or ^'~^, the moon ; the oval C^, an egg ,'
the square, with an opening, n a house ; the pointed oval,
CI> 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
Bee.
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 m the old way, to desig-
nate the object represented, which have been called "ikono-
graphic, representational, or imitative hieroglyphics." ' 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 i?«, '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 ' horse,'
and place after it a figure of that animal, so did they after their
word Mr or htor, ' horse ' J ^^^' ^^ *^® *^^^ ^^^^ ^^'^
or Joh, * moon,' was followed by the crescent !'«+-' ^•v^
and rot, ' mankind,' by a figure of a man and woman ^ J." "*
In these cases it is evident that the ikonograph was mere sur-
60 HISTOftY OF ANCIENT EQYKT.
pliisage ; but perhaps it facilitated the rapid reading of the
word preceding it.
Secondly, the characters were used figuratively, or symbol-
ically. Thus a circle Q 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 na stood for "writing," "to write," "a
scribe ; " a man pouring out a libation from a vase/^, or a
vase with liquid pouring from it /^, or even a simple vase in-
verted j[ , 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 Vj/ stood for "king,"" a vul-
ture '*1k for "mother," ^"^ a serpent for "god " /[) > a palm-
branch \ for "year," a "goose" "^^ for "son," two water-
plants of different kinds for "the Upper and the Lower
Egypt." Again, the fore-part of a lion «2» meant "the begin-
ning " of anything, and the hind-quarters ^ " the end ; " a
leg within a trap jC meant "deceit ;" the head and neck of a
lion erect 6^ meant " vigilance ; " and, with a symbolism that
was obscurer and more recondite, a beetle (scarabaeus) ^i^
meant the "world," an ostrich feather ^ "justice," and a
man killing himself ii "wickedness" or "atrocity.""
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 ;'■* one followed by the figure of
a man VK is the designation of a man ; one accompanied by a
PHONE*ncs. 61
circle with a cross inside it © is the name of a place in Egypt ;
one followed by a sign intended to represent mountains ^ ^ ^
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," mau, "cat," etc., has a determinative after it
resembling a short mallet W , which is supposed to represent
the skin and tail of an animal,'^ 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'Sk,, of
reptiles by a snake "^"^j of plants by a water-plant , of flowers
by three blossoms «S3«, of buildings by the sign for house n.'*
Finally, the great bulk of the hieroglyphics in all inscrip-
tions are phonetic, standing either for letters or for syllables,"
most commonly the former.'* 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 out for some common ob-
ject, with a name of which the initial element was identical
with the sound they wanted to express. Thus, alclidm 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.'* 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. '"^
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,*' 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
U, 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,"
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 ;-■' but the subsequent course of
research has added largely to them. There are probably not
less than lOU 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 Avords, as the crux ansata 9, in anhh, "life,"
"living," "flower," •■* — the outstretched arms with palms
downwards, *-n— , in nen, the negative particle. ^^ — the croco-
dile's tail, ■:3Hii , \\\ Kem, Kemi, "Egyj^t" or " black ;" *^ 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 ; '" 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 superinscrip-
tion of one sign over that which in pronunciation follows it.
Tijey are read, when written in line, from left to right, or from
right to left, according to the direction in which the characters
face.^* 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 hieroglyph ical 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
til
II
III
III
lill
III
MM
III!
riMi
nil
HIEROGLYPHIC SIGNS— EGYPTIAN- GRAMMAR. 63
12 3
I II III
Ten is expressed by a sort of arch or doorway n ; twenty by
two such arches n n ; thirty by three n fl fi ; and so on. For
the hundreds the sign is the same as one of those employed to
express ?/, ® ; for the thousands, it is the same as one of those
employed to express kJi, j ; and for ten of thousands, it is a
form used also to express 7i, \. Thenumber 21,553 would be
expressed in a hieroglyphical inscription thus: — | ] T ^5 ^^^
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 (Ammon) by
I z"-*^, Phthah or Ptah by ' f, and the like. Signs which
cannot be regarded as phonetic designate the several months, as
""T^ I|I^, which designates Thoth, the first month, corre-
sponding to our September: V' iitm, which designates Paopi,
thesecond month ; '~—^ ^ .which designates Phamenoph, the
seventh month ; ' ' i i g^ , which is the sign for Mesore,
the twelfth month. ^*
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 jo^jl^'W^ in the masculine singular,^" td
^ Jfcsiii the feminine singular,^' and nd 1^^ in the plural of
both genders.'*
Substantives form the plural by adding u, as neter, "a god,"
we^em,^^"gods," ta, "a land," tau, "lands," uar, "a prince,"
uarUy "princes," etc. Adjectives, participles, and possessive
pronouns do the same. The feminine is made by adding t
64 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGTPT-
(^\ as sa or se, "a son," set, "a daughter ;" j9a neter aa,
"the great god ;" td asbutu aat, "the great throne ; " sa neb,
"every man;" hat nebt, "every building;" and the like.
There is said to be no dual ; ^^ but we find the form ta ( J^ ),
"land;" doubled for two lands, ^;s=-, and tripled for more
than two, thus, "tt^ . Tripling a sign is a common mode of
expressing the plural, which is otherwise signified by the addi-
tion of three vertical lines Neither 1 1 1 or IV
Pronouns were either used independently or suffixed. Tlie
independent form for "I" was anak or anuk, which is plainly
identical with the Hebrew '33X, the Assyrian anaku, and the
Moabite anak. The form for " thou " was ntek (fern, net) ;
for "he," ntef, or su ; for "she," 7ites ; for "we," nenanen ;
for "ye," fituten ; for "they," ntesen {jiatsen), or sen. The
forms su and sen may compare with the Hebrew ^^Ti and jn ;
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 - ^ (expressed by "^^^ F ^^ rP)^ ^^ *^® ^^^'
inine -^ (expressed by either s=> or •) ; the ordinary suffix
of the third person masculine was ■/ (expressed by * — )j of
the third person feminine -s (expressed by either -— or I' ) ',
but there was also a masculine form -su ( 1^ or 1 © ) to
express "him," and a feminine form -st ("^ or U^ or
n c=3) to express "slae," "her," etc. In the plural the suffix
of the first person was -n (a«««^) or -nu (TTT ^^ Si *^' ^^ ^^^^
second -ten (^^) or -tenu (^^ or "^ or ^ •); of the
III ^
third -w(\ i)-««^(TT7)' or (most commonly) -senu (ex-
pressed variously).^ The form -stu (p jT.) is likewise found.
EGYPTIAN GRAMMAR. 65
Tliere were also in Egyptian a set of independent possessive
pronouns, produced by combining the article in its three
forms {pa, ta, and no) 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 (itef, "thy father" by pa-i-k atef, "his father" by pa-
i-f atef, "our father" by pa-i-nu atef, "your father" hy pa-i-
te nil atef, and "their i-^tliev'''' hy pa-i-u ox 2)(i-i-senu atef. If
"mother" be substituted for "father," the pronouns become
ta-i-a, ta-i-k, ta-if, ta-i-nu, ta-i-tenu, and ta-i-u or ta-i-senu.
If the noun which follows the pronoun be in tlie plural num-
ber, the initial syllable becomes ?ia. Thus for "my enemies"
we must say, na-i-a klieftu, for "thy enemies" na-i-k kheftii,
"his enemies" naif klieftu, "her enemies" nais klieftu, "our
enemies" naimt klieftu, "your enemies" naitenu klieftu, and
"their enemies" 7iaisenu klieftu.
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, f, or s in
case of a female ; in the plural, the ordinary terminations ^*
were nenu, term, and senu, for "we," "you," "they ; " as will
be best seen by an example.
^^ Singular. jTT. Plural.
yj^ jet-a, "I say." ;;;;;:;;^ jet-nenu, "we say."
% III
"^ "^^ 3^^-^y J^^-iy "thou ^ jet-tenu, "ye say."
.^i wa^ say est." ,JZ^
^— ^ -^ . ^^ "^
.A. ^ J^i-f' .l^{'f' ^^ . -"^ jet-senu, "they say.**
•.^. ..»*- says," "she says." ZTZ.
Ill
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 V, au, "to be," together with
the pronoun, and then placing r before the verb,^* as ^ , ara,
" I make," I ^ ^^^ > auarar, " I am for making " or " I will
make."
66 HISTORi: OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
To form the passive, tu was added to the root of the verb,
the pronominal suffix following. Thus from |U fl, mes,
"born," we have jk p ^ j^, viestu-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 ;" "
and feminine forms are also not uncommon. Eor instance,
the preposition <»»**^, en, "of," becomes frequently ""''**, ent,
after feminine nouns ; and ^ or !^ , 7ia or nu, after plural
©nes. Am, "in," "into," has the plural form ^^ ^jk \k. ■>
a7nu; er or art, "to," "on," has a plural arii (I "fff"); and so
on. Egyptian prepositions are very numerous ; but their sense
is somewhat indeterminate : her (<^), for example, has the
nine meanings of "above," "up," "upon," "for," "by,"
"from," "out of," "in," and "about" or "in the act of." Ur
commonly means "to," or "for ;" but it is found also in the
senses "with," "by," "than," "as," "as far as," "in," and
"at," Fin also is said ^ 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.^' The original language possessed no word corre-
sponding to the ordinary copulative "and ;" nor was it until
the Ptolemaic age that a real "and " (hM, ha) was invented.*"
Previously the usual practice was to let the connective be sup-
plied by inference, as — ■
{
*«* ^-^ W ^
ytiK:
\i
Ameji ar pet, ta, mau, tuu.
" Ammon has made heaven, earth, waters, (and) hills."
But sometimes the preposition h'na (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
Plate XVni.
Voi. i.
-^^^■^^^^s^^m^i^i^^^r*&-^^s.-
PECULIARITIES OF SYNTAX. 67
"Horus with Set" for "Horusand Set;" j9e^ 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.*' 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 jB)? equivalent to our "Ah!" or
"Oh !" Mi! ) m W^ I | ^)j a stronger form of the same, and
ask ! or ast / (1 U c==> or i m 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.*^ 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.*^ 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 Ra ;"and the like.
8. There are several forms of the substantive verb, two of
which («w, I ^, and (7;?,-^^) are used as auxiliaries. 9. The
negative is commonly placed at the beginning of a sentence.
68 HISTOEY OF AlfCIENT 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
Keligions Siibiects— " 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. Scientiflc Trea-
tises. Works on Magic.
[" La Ittterature egyptienne etait nombreuse et eilehre." — Lenokmant, "
d'Histoire Ancienne de TOrient," vol. i, p. 306.
Manuel
The literature of the Egyptians, altbougli 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 l\ome, 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 st3^1e.' 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.* Other
branches of literature, as romance, travels, letters, are chiefly
remarkable for an extreme and almost childish simplicity ;
Avhile the characteristic of some classes of composition is ob-
scurity and confusion.* 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.* It is supposed tliat 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."* 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 LITERATUEE. 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 ns 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 tlie 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 ;"* 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,* which, even if it stood alone, legitimate criticism could
not safely set aside,' 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.® Four volumes of Egyptian texts have been already
published in English;' whil? in France and Germany tlie
number of the translations made is far greater.'" 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 correspoudence ; reports.
70 HISTORY OF 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.'^ The
first place in the literature is occupied undoubtedly by the re-
ligious books, '^ 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 Vedas 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,"'* or "The
Ritual of the Dead," '* but of which the Egyptian title was
"U'lie 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.'* 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." " 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,'* more
especially in the later Pharaonic times, Avhen the book had
taken its definitive form through an authoritative revision
made under the twenty-sixth dynasty.
The "Ritual " has been divided into three," and again into
twenty-three ^" 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. '•^' The second part opens with a long
chapter which has been considered to contain "the Egyptian
faith." *** It is mystical in the highest degree, and quite unin-
telligible to a modern, after all the explanations which it has
received.'^ 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.''' I'hen come prayers or spells
in six chapters, for the reconstruction of the deceased in Hades ;
MTUAL 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." ^*
The third part of the "Ritual" opens with the famous
chapter (ch. cxxv.) known as the "Hall of the Two Truths."**
Here the deceased is represented as brought before the judg-
ment seat of Osiris, in order tliat 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 ; *' "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." ^* The justification of the
deceased is allowed, and he passes from the Hall of Truth into
Elyeium. The remainder of the " Ritual " consists of about
forty chapters,''' and is still more mystical and obscure than
72 HISTORY OF AKCIENT 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.'*"
Among other religious books are "The Tears of Isis,*' of
which a translation will be found in the "Eecords of the
Past;"^' the "Book of the Respirations" (>S'rt/"-a,n-/S'msm) or
"of the Breaths of Life," which appears in an English dress in
the same work ; ^^ the legend of the "Destruction of Mankind
by Ra ;"^^ 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. ^'*
Hail to the Osiris, ...!«>
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 tbine ears ;
Thou speakest with thy mouth ;
Thou walkest with thy legs ;
Thy soul is made divine in heaven,
And can effect the transformations it desiretb.
Thou formest the joy of the sacred persea-tree* in On."
Thou awakest each day ;
Thou seest the rays of the sun ;
Ammon comeith to thee with the breath of life ;
He granteth thee to breathe in thy cofl&n.
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 tliy soul ;
The soul of Sho fiUeth 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 "^^ do not fill, at the utmost, more
tliau ten or a dozen pages, or extend to much above a hundred
EPIC POEMS — LYEICS. 73
and twenty lines. Their style will be sufficiently indicated by
a couple of extracts. The first shall be from tlje composition
of Penta-our on an exploit of Rameses II. in one of his cam-
paigns against the Hittites.^**
*' 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 tliy soldiers.
No gainsayer [doubts thy glories]. Thou art Egj^pt'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 Itft me [unsupported] singly with the fue 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 tliey only]
Gave me succor in my danger, when I singly fouglit the foenien.
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 monarclis 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.'*" 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,'*' 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 HISTOKY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
Yea, e'eu the migbty nation of Nine Bows
I have made to fear the echoes of thy voice.
The chiefs of lauds are clutched witliiu thy fist.
Extending mine own hands, I tie for thee
In buudles the fierce Auiu — thousauds, ay,
And tens of thousands — with the Northern hordes,
In myriads upon myriads — that tliey yield
To be thy captives; underneath thy shoes
I have thrown down thy foenien; 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.'**
This song belongs to the class of poems which "delight in
parallelisms and antitheses, and in the ornament of a bur-
den."** 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 TuM** every eveuing 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 j
And let cares behind thee be laid.
Take thy pleasure to-day :
Mind thee of joy and delight 1
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 witli the blessed ones now.
Men pass to the silent shore,
Aad their place doth know them uo more.
TRAVELS — ROMANCES. 115
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, ''Mn 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,''* dost thou not know
it? Ikatai, likewise, how great it is? The Tsor^' of Kameses,
the city of Khaleb (Aleppo) in its neighborhood — how goes it
with its ford ? Hast thou not journeyed to Qodesh *' and Tu-
bakhi ? Hast thou not gone with bowmen to the Shasu ? *"
Hast thou not trodden the road to the Mountain of Heaven,^"
where flourish the cjrpresses, the oaks, and the cedars which
pierce the sky? There ai-e 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 " Tale
76 filSTOHY OP AKCIENT EGYPT.
of the Two Brothers," the "Possessed Princess,*' and "The
Doomed Prince" are well-known in nvdny quarters," 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 Anmiu-anshi,
King of the Tennu, by whom he is kindly treated, given his
daughter in mariiage, 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-
{)roaches 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 ; " *^ he therefore
addresses a humble petition to Osirtasen, beseeching his per-
mission to return. ^^ The King of Egypt grants his request,
accords liim 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 ; " 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 oft' 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." *^ 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],'® my
heart was troubled ; my liands 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." 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.** 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 : ' 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," since they have every appearance of being what
•/8 HISTORY OF ANCIENT 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- AVriters." 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 difl'erent complaints, which are commonly of the most
a])surd character.^" The geometry is said to be respectable,"
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.'''' 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.
FEKTILITY OF EGYPT. 79
CHAPTER VI.
AGRICULTURE.
Extraordinary Productiveness of Egypt in Ancient Times. Tenui-e of Land
under the Pharaolis— 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 Uolcus
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.
'ATTOKTiTOTaTa Kapirhv Kofxifoi'Tat tK yyi<:. — 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 the annual inundation, has been noted in a former chapter ; '
where some notion has been also given of the great abundance
and variety of its vegetable prodvictions — natural and artificial
— during the period with which we are here especially con-
cerned^ — 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.* 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 nearly
170,000?. sterling.'* In Roman times its cereal exports were
of such importance to Italy that the trade enjoyed the peculiar
protection of the State,^ 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.* 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 ANCIENT EGYPT.
ries to making the most of the capabilities of tlieir 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 were* the kings, the priestly communities attached to
the different temples, and the "territorial aristocracy"^ or
wealthy upper class, which was numerous and had considera-
ble political influence. These last cultivated their estates
chiefly by means of slave-labor,'" which is naturally a wasteful
and extravagant mode, thougli doubtless strict and severe su-
perintendence may, where the work required is of a simple
kind, obtain from those emplo^'ed 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.'* It is un-
fortunate that we do not know what proportion the ordinary
rent bore to the annual produce or profit.'* 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.'^ 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 " 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 lias taken his share. If the
Egyptian peasant under the Pharaohs was reallf 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 wliich lie 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,^- 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," 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, goPots, or pigs,'** — after which the husbandman liad
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 gi'ound ;
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 Avhether the share was ever shod with metal.'' Ap-
parently it was simply of wood, which may have been sufficient
with a soil so light and friable as the Egyptian.^" 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." Its chief peculiarity was the rounded sweep of
the stilt and handles, which (to judge by the monuments) wag
nearly, thohgli not quite, universal.**
82 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
The plough was commonly drawn by two oxen or two cows "
(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 ; ^ 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,*** and sufficiently prepared the surface by a slight
"scarification."" The hoe, like the plough, was of wood."
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.''* 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,^^ seems to have been unknown in Egypt ;
and the sower, carrying Avith 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.'* 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 doora, which Herodotus called zea or
oli/ra,*^ and which is a kind of spelt. This grain takes from
three to four months to ripen, and, if sown in October, migh-t
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-
Vol. 1.
Plate XIX.
v^*^
Fig. 51.— King's Chamber and Chambers of Construction, Great Pyramid. — Page 98.
Fig. 63.— Section of Brick Pyramid at Illahoun.— See Page 102.— Note 97.
Plate XX.
Vol.1.
Fig. 53.— Southern Stone Ptramid of DASHooR.-See Page 104.
fig. 54.— Outer Casino Stones of the Qb^at Pyramid.— See Page 101,
CULTIVATION OF WHEAT. 88
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/^ which, under ordinary circumstances, would
ripen the barley in four and the wheat in five months. No
hoeing of Aveeds, no frightening of birds, ^^ no calling upon
heaven for rain,** seems to have been required. The husband-
man might safely trust to nature for an ample return. Boun-
teous Motlier 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."^*
The wheat grown was always bearded,^*' and comprised nu-
merous varieties, one of which bore several ears upon a single
stalk." It was cut with a toothed sickle, a little below the
ear, and was either put mto 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 was 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. ^* Threshing was effected by the tread of
cattle^' (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,"" 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.
'J'he 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.'" 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.*'
The doo)'a 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 ;■" and the ancient practice may have been similar. The
84 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
doora was not cut with the sickle, but pulled up by the roots,
which were then freed from earth by means of the hand.** 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.** These were then, it is probable, threshed and win-
nowed in the usual way.
When tlie 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,*' peas,
and lentils of two distinct varieties.** Artificial grasses, as
clover, lupins, and vetches, were grown to furnish provender
for the cattle during the time of the inundation.*' 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, cucu-mbers, 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
Avhat were in fact vast reservoirs, 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 admis-.
sion would have been injurious, watering these in some other
way, as from wells or tanks. ^" 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. ICach 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 diniinisliing 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," 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 ^'^)
were more elevated than the rest of the land, and in gardens,
and other places occasionally, the shadoof, or hand-swipe, was
used,*^ and water raised from the river or from wells to the
height of the soil, over which it was then spread m the usual
way. Ground thus cultivated was commonly portioned out
into square beds, "like salt-pans," ^ 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.^* 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,^^ within which the water introduced
by the canal accumulated, and which formed the artificial
"Lake Moeris" of Herodotus." 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,** 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,*^ only in the
Arsinoite nome (the Fayoum), and in some of the gardens of
Alexandria. It produced a fruit which was remarkably fleshy,*"
but which did not yield much oil," nor that of a very good
quality. ^^ 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."
§6 HISTORY OF ANCIEKT EGYPf.
A more important and far more widely-spread cultivation
was that of the vine.*^ 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, *^° 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,^' and towards the w^estern skirt of tlie
Delta, at Anthylla," in the Mareotis/® and at Plinthine,"' still
further to the westward. The alluvial soil, which constituted
jiine-tenths of cultivable Egypt, was ill suited for it; but still
there were places within the aUuvium where vines were grown,
as about Sebennytus, the produce of which tract is celebrated
by Pliny. '•
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 ; " 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 allej's
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, yjainted 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 ; '" 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 maturity, it M'as 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." 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, where
the pressing was accomplished either by treading or by squeez-
ing in a bag. The juice seems sometimes to liave been drunk
unfermented ; " but more commonly fermentation was awaited,
after which the wine was stored away in vases or amphorae
REARIKQ OF CATTLE. 87
(Fig. 29) of an elegant shape, which were closed with a stop-
per, and then hermetically sealed with moist clay, pitch, gyi)-
sum, or other suitable substance." The wines in best repute
were those made at Anthylla,"^ and in the Mareotis," or tract
about Lake Marea, now Mariont ; the Sebennytic wine was
also highly esteemed,'* while that made in the Thebaid, and
especially about Coptos, Avas regarded as peculiarly light and
wholesome."
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,*" a hardy but rude and lawless race *' 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 ; *'■' partly for draught ; and partly also for the
table, beef and veal being common articles of food.*^ Three
distinct varieties of cattle were affected, the long-horned, the
short-horned, and the hornless.*^ 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.*' At times, when there \vas a sudden rise of the
water, much diflficulty was experienced in the removal of the
cattle from their summer to their autumn quarters ; and
the monuments give fi'equent representations of the scenes
which occurred on such occasions — scenes of a most exciting
character.*^ 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 ; "*' 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,** partly on
wheaten straw, partly upon artificial grasses, cut previously
ftud dried for the purpose. They passed the night iu sheds,
8S HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
and were tethered during the day in straw-yards, where their
wants were carefully attended to.*** 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.'°
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 etfected 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. ^' Mutton was not held in much esteem,'*
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,"^ for carpets and rugs,^'* 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, ''^ which would cause the increase of the
nock to be rapid. It is uncertain for what purpose goats were
kept. They were occasionally sacrificed,'* 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," or their hair may have been used,
as it was by the Israelites when they quitted Egypt,'* 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."
According to Herodotus,'"" there Avere 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
»ad disliked ; and pork was a forbidden food. Still swino
DOMESTIC A^fD WILD ANIMALS. 89
"frequently formed part of the stock of the farmyard,"' either
on account of their usefulness in treading in the grain after
it was sown,'"* or perhaps because they cleared land rapidly
of roots and weeds, whose growth was greatly favored by
the inundation."** 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 Egjrpt, if we may trust the monuments,'** was a
hideous-looking animal, long-legged and long-necked, cov-
ered with rough hair, and with a crest of bristles along the
whole 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 ; '"^ 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,'"® were
offei-ed to the gods,"" 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.'"'' 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.'"" Ducks, though less common
than geese, were likewise among the produce of the farm-
yard;"" and pigeons, which were a favorite article of food,'"
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,"'^ 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."* Probably no sharp line of distinction had been as yet
drawn between domestic and wild animals ; it was not knowa
90 HISTORY OP ANCIENT EGYPT.
liow far domestication might be successfully carried ; experi-
ments,, in fact, were in progress wliicli ultimately proved fail-
ures, the birds and beasts either not being capable of being
thoroughly tamed, or not flourishing under human control
sufficiently to make it worth the breeder's while to keep on
with them.
Another curious feature of Egyptian husbandry was the
entire absence of wagons "'' and the very rare use of carts."*
Agricultural produce was transported from the field to the
barn or farm-yard mainly by human labor, "^ 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.'" In conveying grain, or pro-
vender, or cattle even, to a distant market, it is probable that
boats were largely used,"* 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."^
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,"'"
were regarded as too noble, and perliaps too valuable, for such
a purpose. They were commonly either ridden '"' or employed
to draw curricles and chariots, ''^'^ chiefly by men of the upper
classes. Farmers are said to have made use of tliem occasion-
ally to draw the plough; '-^ 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 ; '•'* a brisk
trade in them was also ciirried on with Syria and Palestine,
where they were in great request, and fetched high prices.'"
Tiiey 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. '^^ On the whole, it is clear that their connection with
agriculture was but slight ; and this brief notice of tliem will
therefore suffice for the purposes of the present chapter.
Vol. I.
Plate XXI.
Plate XXIT.
Vol.1
Fig. 5G.— Doric Pillar and Sectios
OP Base.— See Page 103.
Fig. 57.— Egyptian Pillar and Sec
TioN OF Base.— See Page 103.
Fig. 58.-See Page 103.
Fig. 59.— Plan of Temple.— Page 101
Vol. I.
Plate XXlli.
y^T;" " ^"'^
'■W.liWVlkWS'MilJ!!'"*!'
3 «£, pi!= c::^^^
1^
o
a Q
o
■•I
]? a
goo
a n
L_§[Z
Fig. 60.— Ground-Flan of Temple at Medinet-Abou.— See Page 106«
Plate XXIV.
Vol. I.
hs^. U.— bECXiu.N vF Temi'le at 31ejji>et-Abul'.— Ste I'age 105.
Fig. G2.— Section of HAii, Rameseum, Thebes.— See Page 106.
r"
Ah
4 h >
kw^W mtl,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Ji.A^V ^^\^ ^*\
:ll
Fig. 63. -Stbl^ in front of Guanitk Cell, Great Temple, Karnak.— See Page 109.
BGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE. 91
CHAPTER VII.
ARCHITECTURE.
Earlieet Egyptian Architecture, sepulchral. Most ancient Tombs. Primitive
steppea Pyramids— Pyraniici of Meydoun— of Saccarah. Great Pyramids
of Ghizeh. Intention of tlie Pyramids. Their technic excellence. Their
festhetic merit. Pyramid.s of two elevations. Kock Tombs. Primitive
Temples. Later ones— Temple atMedinet Abou—Kameseiim— Great Tem-
ple of Karnak. Obelisks. Southern Karnak Temple. Manimcisi. Beau-
ties of the Architecture— Massivenes.s—Klegance of Columns and Capitals
— Caryatide Piers— Kmployment of Color. Egyptian domestic Archi-
tecture. Pavilion of Kameses III. Houses of Private Persons. Chief
Peculiarities of Egyptian Construction. Non-employment of the Arch—
Symmetrophobia— Contrivances for increasing apparent Size of Buildings.
♦atrii' [AtyvTTTtoi] Bflv 0avfia^ii.v fxaWov Tou? apxiTeicToi'as tuh' epXiav fi Toiis PaaAeis.
— DioD. Sic. i, 64.
The origin of Architecture in the proper sense of the term,'
is different in different countries. In most it springs from the
need which man has of shelter, and the desire whicli 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,*^ 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,* 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 which he assigns, in
speaking of Egyptian architecture, to the Tomb, "The inhab-
itants of this region," says the learned Siceliot, "consider th
term of man's present life to be utterly insignificant, and d(
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 ' 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,"*
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.'
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 ; * but the best
Egyptologists are of a different opinion, and regard it as among
the most ancient of existing edifices.' 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."* 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 ; ' but the interior is in almost
every instance elaborately 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 siHi'
GEEAT 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," '" of which Fig. 38 is a representation.
Tliis monument, wliich 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." The material is a compact limestone, and
must iiave 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." " No interior passages or chambers have as yet been
discovered in this edifice, which has, 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 tlie architect of the Pyramid of Meydoun
(Fig. 38). Accordingly we find at Saccarah an edifice similar
in general cliaracter to the Meydoun pile, but built in six in-
stead of three stages.'^ 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.'"
'J'he 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. 7'i'' 30' instead' of 74° 10'. The core of the
Saccarah pyramid (Fig. 39) is of rubble ; '^ but this poor nu-
cleus is covei'ed 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,'" is a sepulchral chamber paved with granite
l)locks, which, when discovered, contained a sarcophagus,"
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.'*
Among other peculiarities of this pyramid are its departure
from correct orientation, and its oblong-squave shape. It is
said to be "the only pyramid in Egypt the sides of which do
not exactly face the cardinal points." " 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),^ 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 thf
length of the shorter sides."
AVhen 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 ^/wasi-pyramid was in this
way produced, it Avould 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, ^
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 Egypt''
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 works, and as it has been usual from tlie
most ancient times to distinguish three above all the rest,** we
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), which 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. -^ The perpendicular height was 218 feet,
and the angle of the slope tifty-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.'-'' Originally
it was built in steps or stages,*^ 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,-^ bev-
elled at the joints,^' 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.^" 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,*'
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 ; Avhile
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.'* The ends almost exactly reproduced those
doorways of ancient tombs which have been already mentioned
as imitations of woodwork,** while the sides showed a continu-
Ation of the same carving, and are thought to represent the
iai;ade of a palace.** Externally the sarcophagus was eight
96 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
feet long, three feet liigli, and tliree broad ; internally the
dimensions were six feet by two.^^ The weight was nearly
three tons.^'
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 ; ^ 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,^' It is conjectured that this was the original
entrance, and that the monument, as first designed, was 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.^"
The Second Pyramid of Ghizeh (Fig. 45), situated N.N.E.
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 w^as 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.'" The area covered amounted to almost eleven acres and
a half ;^* the cubic contents are estimated at 71,670,000 feet ;
and the weight of the entire mass is calculated at 5,309,000
tons.'*' 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.'" The
length of the chamber from east to west was forty-six feet, its
breadth from north to south a little more than sixteen feet, its
greatest height twenty-two feet.'** It contained a plain granite
sarcophagus, without inscription of any kind, which was sunk
into the floor,** and measured in length eight feet seven inches,
in breadth three feet six inches, and in depth three feet.'*' 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
SfiCOKt) 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.**
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 tliirty-four feet by ten.'** 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 ; ^" and granite seems to
have been used for the outer casing of the two lower tiers of
the pyramid,*' 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, *'^ 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," 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." 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." The length of its side was 764 feet,** 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."" 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.** The basement stones are many of
them thirty feet in length *' and nearly five feet high. Alto-
gether, the edifice is the largest and most massive building in
the world,*" and not only so, but hy 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 AKCIEKT 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."' 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
otf the pressure of the superincumbent masonry. It is sup-
posed that the same construction has been employed along
the whole passage until it enters the rock.*^* This it does at
the distance of about forty yards from the outer air, after
which it is carried tlirough the rock in the same line for about
seventy yards, nearly to the subterranean chamber, Avithwdiich
it is joined by a horizontal passage nine yards in length. No
sarcophagus was found in this chamber, which must, however,
it is thought, have originally contained one."^
At the distance of tw^enty-one yards from the entrance to
the pyramid an ascending passage goes oif from the descend-
ing one, at an angle which is nearly similar," and this passage
js 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. "^^ A low horizontal gallery, 110 feet
long, conducts to a chamber, which has been called "the
Queen's," *^ a room about nineteen feet long by seventeen feet
broad, roofed in with sloping blocks, and having a height of
twenty feet in the centre." 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 Klinfu.^ The great gallery is of
very curious construction (Fig. 49). It is five feet two inches
wide 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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viy. 64. — Gkocnd-plan of the Kamksedm.— bee Page 106.
Plate XXVI.
Vo' L
Fig. G5.— Hall of Columns in the UxuiAX TiiiU'LE of Kaunak.— 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.^* It is composed
wholly of granite, beautifully polished,'" and is roofed in a
manner which shows great ingenuity and extreme care. lu
the first place, nine enormous granite blocks, each of them
measuring nearly nineteen feet long," 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." 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 horizoutul, and
extends a distance of fifty-three feet, where it abruptly termi-
nates without leading to anything."
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.'* 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." But the fact seems
to be, as remarked by the first of living English Egyptologers,'*
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," 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.'* 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 AKCIENT EGYPT.
decay, they desired to secure tliein also against accidents and
against the malice of enemies. Witli 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 whicli governed the forms of their
constructions was that of durability ; " 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,**" and these so ef-
fectually obstructed the ways that moderns have in several
instances had to leave them whore they were put by the build-
ers, and to quarry a path round them.*' The entrances to the
passages were undoubtedly "intended to be concealed,"^* and
were, we may be sure, concealed in every case, excepting the
rare one of the accession, before the tomb was finislied, of a
new and hostile dynasty.*^ 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.*'' 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 liigher
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
jecondly 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
anotiier, 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 ste}«,
is a process requiring little constructive art and no very re-
ARCHITECTURAL AKD ESTHETIC MERIT. lOl
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." 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,** 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." 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." ** \ .
^sthetically, 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." *' 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 ANCIEXT EGYPT.
ing observation."*" Still, the great pyramids of Egypt, hav.
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, they 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 liave felt and expressed the warmest and strong-
est admiration for them.*" They impressed Herodotus as no
Avorks that he had seen elsewhere, except perhaps the Baby-
lonian.*'' They astonished Germanicus, familiar as he was
with the great constructions of Eome.'^ 'J'bey stirred the spirit
of Napoleon, and furnished him with one of his most telling
phrases.'"' Greece and Eome reckoned them among the Seven
Wonders of the world. *^ Moderns have doubted whether they
could really be the work of human liands,^" If they possess
one only of the elements of architectural excellence, they pos-
sess that element to so great an extent that in respect of it
they are unsurpassed, and probably unsui-passable.
Before quitting altogether the subject of the p^Tamids it
should perhaps be noted — first, that the Egyptians not imfre-
quently built brick pyramids,*' and prided themselves upon
constructing durable monuments with so poor a material;'*
and secondly, that they occasionally built pyramids witli two
distinct inclinations. The soutliern stone pyramid of Dashoor
(Fig. 53), which has a base of nearly 617 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 tlie 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 ; '"*' and there can be little doubt "*' 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 pj'ramids, and have
but few architectural features, being for the most part a mere
ROCK-SEPrLCHRES. 103
succession of chambers and passages,'"^ 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,'"^ 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 "Pi'oto-Doric." '°* 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."*
Another still more elegant and thoroughly Egyptian column
(Fig. 57), 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.'"*
The spaces between the pillars are sometimes occupied by
curvilinear roofs, '"^ 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
10-4 HISTORY 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, '^^ but remains have been actually found which the best
authorities view as edifices of this class, "^^ 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, Avhich 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,'"* 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." '" 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." "*
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 mltimatoly culminated. The dates of many
temples are uncertain ; others, of which portions are ancient.
EARLIEST TEMPLES. 105
liave 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 an adjunct and orna-
ment of the temple,"^ 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 "^ 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-
Avards 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 were 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 Mediiiet-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 Raraeses
II., of the nineteenth dynasty ; and the third, that magnificent
temple at Karnak, the work of at least seven distinct mon-
archs, Avhose reigns cover a space of about five hundred yeai's,
which has been well compared to the greatest mediffival cathe-
drals,'"^ 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-iVbou (Fig. 61) faces to the south-
east."* It is entered by a doorway of no great height, on
either side of which are towers or "pylons" of moderate ele-
vation,"' built (as usual) Avith slightly sloping sides, and
crowned by a projecting cornice. The gateway is ornamented
Avith hieroglyphics and figures of gods ; "* 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 coloniuide 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. "* 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,'^ in-
tended to support the roof. In the rear of the temple, and
in the same line Avith 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. Extei'nally 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,'*' and now commonly called the
Kameseum,''^'' at Thebes (Fig. 63). Still, the general plan of
the two buildings is not 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." ''^* 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.'** From this courtyard a short flight of steps,
and then a broad passage, conducted into an inner peristyle
court,'-* a little smaller,''^* 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,'" most of which are
still standing. The pillars of the two central rows exceed the
others both in height and diameter.''* They are of a different
order from the side pillars, liaving 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 lees
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 the way shown by the section above. All
the columns, together with the walls enclosing them, were
beautifully ornamented with patteriis, hieroglyphics, and bas-
reliefs cut in the stone and then brilliantly colored.'^' Behind
the hall were chambers, probably nine in number,'^" 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.'^' Its original height is estimated at eighteen yards, and
its cubic contents at nearly 13,000 feet,'^* 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.'^^
Tiie 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." '^ It
commences with a long avenue of crio-sphinxes '^' 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.'^* 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 Avail of the right to that of the left
corridor is 329 feet.'^' 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 sanctuar}'. '^ 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,'^* 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,'*" though now they are mere
heaps of ruins. In front of them projected two masses like
the atitce of a portico, between which a flight of seven steps '*'
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,'"* in widtli 170,'-"
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,'" 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 North.'" 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 these
which gave entrance to the hall from the courtyard ; '"* but
their height can scarcely have been less than a hundred or a
hundred and twenty feet.
Passing through these inner propylaea, the visitor found
himself in a long corridor open to the sky, and iav before
THE INKER SANCTUARY. 109
him on either hand a tall tapering obelisk of rose-colored
granite covered with hieroglyphics,'^' and beyond them fresh
propyla^a — of inferior size to any of the others, and absolutely
without ornament — which guarded the entrance into a clois-
tered court,'** 240 feet long by sixty-two broad, running at right
angbs 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,'''^ 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.'*"
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.'" 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,'" 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 stelas or prisms
of pink granite, w^hich 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 stelne before the porch, to
the Temj)le of the Jews — similiarly divided into three parts,
and with " Jachin and Boaz" in front '" — must strike every
student of architecturct
110 > HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
Tlie entire square building here described, whereof the
granite cell was the nucleus or central part, stood at one end
of a vast open court '" 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,'" and running the
whole length of the o&urt, 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,''* 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."'
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.'^ 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 naore than half as much again as that
covered by St. Peter's at Rome.'"' 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 P rench engineers observe that the cathedral of
Notre Dame would liave stood entirely within it ; '^'^ and this
is perfectly true so far as area is concerned, though not, of
MAGKITUDE OF THE BtlLDDfG — AESTHETIC MERIT. lU
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." '" 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 ?r since," and that "Saint Peter's with
its colonnades and the iTatican, make up a mass insignificant
in extent . . . compared with this glory of Thebes with its sur-
rounding temples." '*"
With respect to the [esthetic 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," '^^ 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 arrangea
and lighted as to convey an idea of infinite space ; at the
saoie time the beauty and massiveness of the forms, and the
IXt HTSTORY OF ANCIENT EOYPT.
"brilliancy of their colored decorations, all combine to stamp
this as tlie greatest of man's arcliitectural 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.** '"
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.'^' Such specimenis as exist — in Kome, 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
ehowed 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 off 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."'
Architects commonly divide the obelisk into three parts,'"
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 in the 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,'^ with a
width diminishing from nine feet six inches to eight feet
-even inches. '^^ It is estimated to have contained 4,945 cubic
'^et (French), and to have weighed above 450 tons."" An
ordinary height '" for an obelisk was from fifty to seventy feet,
«<,nd an ordinary weight from 200 to 300 tons.'"
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,'" and were specially dedicated to the sun;'" but
both these views have been combated, and must be regarded
as uncertain. Architecturally they served the purpose of the
Boman 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 eartk
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. "* The proportions of the obelisk differed within
certain limits ; but the most satisfactory had an elevation about
eleven times their diameter at the base. "*
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,'" 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." ''^
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.'" This temple is pronounced to
have considerable "intrinsic beauty," '*" 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.'^' 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
t,he beauty of certain forms, which were constantly repeated.
114 HISTORY OF ANCIEITT EaYPT.
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 ; ^^^ but it
is not shown only in these structures — it pervades the entire
style, and meets us everywhere, in pillars, in lintels, in colossi,
iu 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,'*^ while all the layers are
of enormous thickness. Lintels of doorways sometimes exceed
forty feet in length ; "*■* colossi weigh above 800 tons ; '^* mono-
lithic chambers not much less ; '^"^ roofing stones have a length
of thirty feet, and a weight of above sixty tons ; "*' obelisks, as
we have seen,'®^ 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,"** in Egypt the height rarely much
exceeds four diameters, and is '*" 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,'"
are merely fluted like the Greek ; others have a perfectly
smooth surface, but are adorned with painting. '*' In general,
Vol. 1.
Plate XXVlL-ti.
Fig. 66— Ground Plan of Qrkat Tbmplb at Kabnak.— See Page 107.
Vol. I.
Plate XXVII.— ii
eqyptiak^ capitals. 115
however, the surface is more or less scul ptured, 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.'" Or it has the leaves and flowers of
water-plants delicately traced upon it and colored naturally."*
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."*
Capitals are of four principal forms. One, which has been
called the "lotus blossom" or "bell" (Fig. 72) capital,"' 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,"'
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. "* The prin-
cipal varieties are the following (Fig. 73).
A third form, which is very unusual, consists of the boll-capi-
tal reversed, a freak of the architect which is said not to add
either to the beauty or the strength of the building."^ There
is also a compound capital which is decidedly unpleasing,-""
consisting of four human heads placed at the summit of the
ordinary bell-capital, between it and the architrave (Fig.
The proportion of the capital to the shaft was considerably
I beyond that approved by the Greeks,^*" though less than the
proportion which prevailed in Judtea '^'' and in Persia.*'^ In-
stances are found in which the height of the capital is as much
as one-third of the shaft,'^ though it is more commonly one-
fourth, and sometimes even as little as one-fifth,''"* 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
^larrowness of the intercolumniation. Main avenues of pillars
116 HISTORY OF AXCIENT EGYPT.
are, indeed, sometimes of a fair width, extending to nearly two
diameters in some eases,''"* But the spaces left between the
pillars at the sides, instead of being, as in Grecian art, the
game or nearly the same, frequently do not equal a single di-
ameter,'''" 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 oif 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,-''^ 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,'"* 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 i)i front of the piers, entirely distinct
from them, though touching them, and for the most part do
not even quite reach to the architriive which the piers sup-
port'" They are not slaves condemned to an ignominious
punishment,"" 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,*'' 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 ^reat Palace-Temple at Kar-
USE OF COLORED DECORATIOIf. 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 '•^'^ 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.*'*
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 Philae, restored to what is sup-
posed to have been its ancient condition. "^'^ 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. ^'^ Much admiration is expressed
for these paintings by many who have visited the tombs and
described them ; '^" but nothing can well be more disappoint-
ing than to turn from the glowing descriptions that have been
118 HISTORY 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 ; *'^ 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,^'' which
was certainly rich and brilliant, though we may suspect that
it wanted delicacy and would have seemed to moderns over-
glaring.
Before this chapter is brought to a close a few words must
be said, first, with regai'd 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.^'"* It stands in the near vicinity of the
temple at Medinet-Abou, which has already engaged our at-
tention,"''' and is commonly called a "pavilion" ^'^^ (Fig. 83),
having been built for himself as a sort of private residence by
one of the kings. ^" 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.'** 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 PRIVATE PEESONS. 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 ; ^'" 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 ; '^'^'^ 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 ^" we have what seems to rep-
resent the exterior facade of a house, on the side on which it
was ordinarily approaclied. The building divides itself into
three portions, a centre and two wiugs (Fig. 77). The central
part, which is higher than the rest, is crowned by a steep
i"oof,'^'"^ 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 supei'-imposed over those below them. Be-
tween the pillars ax"e 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.'"""^ 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 ANCIENT EGYPT.
ably to the upper apartments."^" The staircase seems to be
carpeted and to have a mat at the foot of the first step. To
tlie 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 ^^' 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. '^^'^ 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
Hot 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,^^^ though one too low to
have been inhabited. Finally, the entire house is crowned by
a cornice painted in stripes of red, blue, 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,''^ 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 Avhich 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
jtories are represented in 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,*^' 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 ; *"* but
they appear to have been as carefully finished and decorated
with equal taste to that displayed in the greater works.**
The peculiarities of P]gyptian construction, whereto, in con-
clusion, it is desired to draw attention, are three in number,
viz. : I. Their aou-employment of the arch as a constructive
EGYPTIAN USE OF THE ARCH. 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 has been entirely left out of
sight by recent writers on Egyptian architecture,*'^' 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.-^* Not only do
coved roofs appear in some of the rock-tombs,'^' 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 ^*^
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 the 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 Egyptians '^' ii a peculiarity
122 HISTORY OF AKCIEITT 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,**'^ 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,*" is very remarkable, as also is
the striking irregularity in the first or entrance court at Kar-
nak, where the temple of Eameses II. breaks the line of the
right-hand colonnade, while the left-hand one is continuous
and complete.*** Other lesser irregularities are such as the
following.'-^' 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; caryatids
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." '"* 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. ^^
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,*** and again at
Edfou,*** the level of the ground rises from column to column,
each columu being placed on a low step a little above the pre-
Plate XXVni.
Vol. I.
Fig. 68.— Section of Smaller Pillared Hall, Great Temple, Karnak..— Page 10&
II III III I IH^BKHH^
— ■::::Hrj^
II III IllliPl"'"^"™™*^"^""
Fig. 69.— Grou.vdPlax of Southern Temple, Karnak.— See Page 113.
Fig. 70,— Mammeisi, or Temple of the " Mothis^ of tre Gods."— Bee Page U^.
V'oL I.
Plate XXIX.
2. 3. 4.
Fig. 71.— Egyptian Columns.— See Page 114.
Fig. 78.— Egtptiwt Bell-Capitais.- See Page 115.
Plate XXX.
Vol. T.
> lo 73 —Egyptian Loti s Capitals.— See Pa^e 115.
t^^i^^J^sMl^SM^i
Fig. 74— See Page 115.
Fig. 76.— Egyptian Arches.— See Page 121.
Tol. I.
Plate XXXI.
Fig. 77.— An Egyptian Dwelling-house, viewed in Front.— See Page 119.
Fig. 78,— An Egyptian Dwelling-house, viewed from Internal Court.— Page 119.
STATUES. 123
ceding one. The effect is similar to that produced in a moil-
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.
Sculptureof Ancient Egypt— Single Stotues of fuU size— pecnliarities. Groups.
Frincipal 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 Perspective. Ugliness. Four classes of Subjects: 1. Religious;
t. Processional; 3. Military; audi. 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 Eyyptiens ont ete, avant les Orecs, celui de tmis les peuples de Vantiquite
qui a porte les arts plastiques au plus hmit degre de perfection et de grandeur." —
Lknokmant, "Manuel d'Histoire Ancienne de I'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,^ whereby the figures are first incised, and then given
a slight relief, which raises them aJmost, 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 witli 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,^ and 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 both 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.^ The mechanical finish is high, a perfectly
smooth surface being produced, however stubborn the mate-
rial.* 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." 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 summarily," * — 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 wlien all statues
were attached to walls, and constituted mere architectural
adornments.'
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. 8(i), 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.* 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.' 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 atti'active — 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,'" 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 enf<emhle from which the
eye instinctively turns away, and on wiiich it can only bring
itself to gaze with difficulty.'^ 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 OP AKCIENT EGYPT.
otherwise, and produce disgust and aversion. Again, the
grotesque figures of the gods, sometimes coarse-feutured and
dwarfish, often mixing together animal and human forms, '^
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,'" we seem to step from one world
to another, from one pole of production to its opposite ; and
'. it is diflBcult 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," "^ and A?as intended simply,
or at any rate mainly, for architectural embellishment. The
Great Colossi (Fig. 93), 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. Tlie grand effect of the
Osiride images in the temple courtyards has been already
noticed.'* Even the private 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." " They had strength and massiveness, majesty and
grandeur, simplicity and digiiity; 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 stataes, but have greater elegance
and grace. '* 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. Tlie Great Sphinx (Fig. 93) of the
Pyramids, though scarcely deserving of all the praises which
have been lavished upon it," 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,*" which are characteristic and fairly good.
It has been urged by many,*" 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.'* 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 ^ — 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,**
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," Lycia,'* 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 OF ANCIENT EaYPT.
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.^'
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. Th€ 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.'^
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 ap{)arent by mere difference of size.
Rameses towers above his soldiers and his enemies, not as Saul
above the children of Israel,** or Ajax above the Argives,^" but
as Gulliver above the people of Lilliput. The colossal figure
of the great king dwarfs all the others, not into subordiuatiou
EXCELLENCE OF ANIMAL FORMS. 129
merely, but into insignificance ; ^' 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. ^^
^stlietically, 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. ^^ The Pharaonic ar-
tists had a happy knack of catching the leading characteristics
of beast ^ and bird,^^ and rendering them effectively though
simply. A purely animal scene, represented by Kosellini in
his great work,^* 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. ^' 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, ^* 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.^'
Their massive forms compare well with the slim and graceful
horses ; their violent action sets off the comparative im.passive-
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 HISTORY OF AKCIENT 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.'" 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 eartli, 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 ■" and is drawn on the same scale." The animal
forms are, on the other hand, frequently too small, cows being
represented as about half the height of a man,*^ and donkeys
as less than half.'" When an elephant is depicted, the top of
his back only just reaches his attendant's waist ; ** and the
head of the giraffe a very little overtops that of the man who
leads him.'** The accessories of a battle scene, towns, forts,
rivers, are on a scale absurdly disproportioned to the men, the
horses, and the chariots ; *' while in domestic scenes the per-
sons represented often exceed in height the doors of the
mansions.^
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."' 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,'" Where a river, pond, or pool has to be indicated,
Plate XXXII.
Vol. L
Fig. 79— t>ee Page 119.— Note 826.
^rrrrrrrrrrrr
1 1 1
1 1 t
,1
i 1
1 i 1
|r=ilr=rilj
1 1 '
II M
1 1
' 1
1 t
' 1
1 11
Fig. 80.— See Page 119.
Fig. 81.— An Egyptian Houbb,
PARTLY IN Section.— See Page ISO.-
Tif. 82.— Ordinary Spuinx,
Crio-Sphinx.— See Page 127.
Vol.
Plate XXXIII.
Fig. 83.— Ground-Plan and View of the Pavilion of Ramesbs III.— See Page 118.
FOUR CLASSES OF DRAWIKQS. 131
the entire surface is presented to view, being lifted up (Fig. 109)
and placed at right angles to the eye of the spectator." Gar-
dens are commonly given in ground-plan, though the buildings
which they contain stand erect," 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,"
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,'^ 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
133 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
goods, or exhibits his skill in the chase, or depicts his house
and its environs, or the processes of tlie 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
gi'ave, 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.''* 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.*® "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 Karaeses 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." "
Souls returning from Hades after judgment in the form of
pigs, under the protection of monkeys, have a crestfallen ex-
pression of countenance which is quaint and ludicrous.**
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." All the exposed parts of a man'3
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.*" Most
large surfaces '^' 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.
Tiie 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,^^ 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."
The black is a bone-black,^ 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." 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 Avitli a certain amount of
yellow ochre.** 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." 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," "* 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.^' 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 Avith a certain rather mod-
erate amount of gum, which rendered the mixture more tena-
cious and adhesive.'" They were applied, as already observed,"
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
EPOCfiS OF EG'ri>TlAN AKf. 135
a warmth that well accorded with their surroundings, and
rendered tJiem 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," and the Italians of the Middle Ages
warm marbles and stone of many different hues in their pal-
aces and churches," 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 ; ''* but, in
their entirety, the paintings had no doubt a pleasing effect,
and "greatly improved " the appearance of the buildings which
they decorated."
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," 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 wholly 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." 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." '* Up to this time Egyptian art is thought to have
been wholly, or at any rate to a great extent," 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
136 HISTORY OF ANCIKNT EGYPT.
being alone exliibited, but tbe rendering is unsatisfactory, the
different representations being wanting in variety, and the
best of tliem deficient in expression and life. A new epoch
introduces itself with the twelfth dynasty, when hieratic canons
were absolutely enforced,**" and art, cramped so far, found
compensation in an increased delicacy of rendering, an elegance
and a harmony never previously realized.*' 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.*' 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,^^ 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 ^ — 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.*^ 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
dynastiesfor their models, imitating them in all their princijial
details, but "with greater smoothness, fineness, and floridity."*^
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.*' Ultimately Egyptian art is debased by intermix-
ture with Greek,** most un pleasing 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.
ilQYPTIAK ARITHMETIC. 137
CHAPTER IX.
SCIENCE.
Egyptian 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.
n«pi XlyvnTov at ^xaflrj/iaTiicai Trpciroi' Tex^ai avviaryiaa.v. — ARISTOT. Mctdph. 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,
aritlimetic, 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 aritlimetic 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 veiy 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; ^ 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 Romans, 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 Roman expressed 7,423 bv
MMMMMMMOCCCXXIII, so an Egyptian rendered it by
I I I I I I X ilnl' ' ^'^^ similarly 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,^ and it is undoubtedly true, that "the Egyptian
13d ttlSTORT Ot.ANCrENT EGYPT.
method must have been very inconvenient for calculation;" but
this difficulty was in practice overcome, and tliere 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,* 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.*
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
eeem to have been mainly in this direction that the Egyptians
pushed their mathematical inquiries. Pythagoras, who studied
mathematics on the banks of the Nile,' and is said to have
"introduced geometrical problems from Egypt into Greece," *
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.* 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."* 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 tlia
native Egyptians beyond mere plane trigonometry, and in re-
garding spherical trigonometry and conic sections as outside
the range of their mathematical science." It is quite possible,
however, that their geometry had a development of a different
kind — that it "led on to geography," and the formation ol
maps," the first employment of which is ascribed by sora*
Greek writers to the Egyptians. '*
ASTRONOMT — OBSERVATION OP ECLIPSES. 139
The early direction of Egyptian thought to the subject of
astronomy is so largely attested '* that the most skeptical of
modern historical critics does not attempt to deny it." 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 occultations 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.'*
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." There can be no reasonable
doubt that the Egyptians from an early date observed eclipses,
both of the sun and moon,'* and entered their occurrence in
the books wherein all important events were registered by
them.'* Whether they knew their causes, whether they reg-
istered them scient ificaUy , 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 ** that Pyth-
agoras derived from Egypt his acquaintance^' 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 ia
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 ; " nor is it easy to see how, with their
loose ideas on the subject of chronology,'^ 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,** is said to have on one occasion predicted
an eclipse of the sun ; " 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 mSTOEY OP ANCIENT EGYPt.
quite conceivable that he derived it from Babylon, where the
cycle of 233 lunations (or eigliteen years and ten days), which
is sufficient for the prediction of lunar, and to some extent of
solar eclipses, was certainly known.'*
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,
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." 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 : ''^ and though the priests
at the various seats of learning — Heliopolis, 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, **' 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, ^^ 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.*' The real times are, re-
epectively : —
Years. Days. Hours.
Saturn 29 174 1
Jupiter 11 315 14
Mars 1 321 23
Venus 234 16
Mercur7 87 28
PERIODIC AKD SYNODIC PERIODS. l4l
So that, with regard to tliree 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 ; ^'■^ 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.^* If the
emendation proposed ^ 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
z\
Jupiter .
390 "
399 "
ISO
Mars
770 "
780 "
—
tV
Venus
570 "
584 "
—
tIz
Mercury .
110 "
116 "
—
A
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.'*' The distribution or grouping of the stars was the
subject of one of the astronomical books assigned to Thoth or
IlerUiSe, and required to be learnt by the horoscopus,^' 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," and which
the later Egyptians borrowed from the Greeks.^ It is said
indeed to have been, like that, duodecimal ; ^' but the names
142 HISTORY OV AKClEJfT EGYPT.
of the groups, and probably the groups tliemselves, were, ^t
any rate for tlie most part,*'^ different. Hence there is much
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.*'
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 days ; after the expiration
of which, at the close of the year, five days were interca-
lated.** 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.*' 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,**
and is believed to be indicated by monuments of the Phara-
onic time.** It was called by the Egyptians Sothiac, because
they fixed its commencement at a date when the Dog Star,
which they called Sothis, rose lieliacally, on the first day of
the ^month Tlioth, which was the beginning of their year.
Now Sirius rose heliacally in Egypt, on the first of Thoth, 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 ;** the year B.C. 1322 was probably so
known ;*' 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 3 65 J 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 Eg}^tians also knew the obliquity of the ecliptic to the
equator,** and found a way of determining an exact meridian
line.*' It has been supposed that they were acquainted with
the precession of the equinoxes ; ^" 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." *'
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 ; " and horo-
scopes were occasionally cast for individuals from the general
aspect of the stars at their birth, *^ or from the supposed influ-
ence of certain ruling constellations.^ But astrology did not
hold in Egypt the place that it held in Babylonia. If not
altogether "an exotic in the country," " it was at any rate of
no great account ; a veiy small proportion of the extant
literature bears upon it ; ** and the references made to its em-
ployment by the Egyptians in the works of the classical
writers are few and scanty."
In medicine, the Egyptians were regarded by their contem-
poraries as remarkably advanced ; ^* 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, '^ while by some
these antique productions were regarded as composed by one
of tlie native deities.*" 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.*' 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 pliysicians ; " and no sooner did the
Persian kings become masters of Western Asia than they ha4
144 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
recourse to Egypt for their medical advisers." If it be true
tliat post-mortem examinations were allowed, and indeed com-
manded by royal authority," 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," 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/^ 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." 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,"
yet beyond dispute there is much in it that is truly deserving
of our warm admiration. 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
Bteam machinery in the quarries of Aberdeen.^* In mechani-
cal skill their great works are as perfect as anything that has
ever been produced since.'" 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 tliirty 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 tons" — 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
tliem 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." 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." 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," 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."
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,'* 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,'* and modern observation con-
firms his statement." 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.
CHAPTER X.
RELIGION.
Lai'ge share oecnpied by Religion in the Life of the Nation— Esoteric and
Exoteric Systems. Nature of the Esoteric Religion. Opinions concerning
Goclj concerning Evil, and concerning the Soul. Exoteric Religion. Local
origin of the Polytheism. Egyptian Pantheon — Aminon — Kneph — Khem
— Phthah— Maut— Sati— Neith— the Sun-Gods, Ra, Osiris, etc. Osirid Myths.
Minor Deities— Athor, Isis, Khona, 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.
"Touteen Egyptevortait Vempriente de la Heligiwi."— Lenormant, "Manuel
d'Histoire Ancienne de rOrient," 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 all its 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 Eg>^tians," be says,' "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.*
We have seen that, in the architectural remains, the Temple
dominates over the Palace, and is itself dominated by the
Tomb,^ both the Temple and the Tomb being the expression
of religious ideas. Everywhere in Eg}'pt 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
Plate XXXIV.
Vol. I.
Fig 87.— 1. Egyptian Walking Fig 86. -rjn-jF^ rt» xwo Statues, Husbaijo Ajrs
Statue.— Sec Tate 1 .J. ■>;'!*«.— See Page 125.
VoLt
Plate XXXV.
Fig. 88.— Egyptian Figures of Phthah and Bes.— See Page 126.
Fig. 89.— Modelled Figi-res or A.mmals.— Se« Page 136.
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 wliom the
ceremonies of their own dear temple, their pride and their joy,
Surnished a perpetual delightful entertainment.* At times the
temple limits were overpassed, and the sacred processions were
carried 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.' 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. Keligion
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 otlier 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 numerous, 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." *
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 j the views of the best authorities with respect to it
148 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
still differ to no small extent ; ' but a certain number of char-
acteristic features, belonging to the inner life, seem to have
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, Avliether 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 : ^ one, that in which it was presented to the
general public or vast mass of the population ; the other, that
wliich 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 ' admit that
"the idea of a single self-existent deity," was involved in the
conceptions which it set forth,'" and is to be found not unfre-
quently in the hymns and prayers of the Ritual." It is im-
possible that this should have been so, unless there were 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
worehip 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." '* This Being seems never to
have been represented by any material, even symbolical, form.'*
It is thought that He had no name, or, if He had, that it must
have been unlawful either to pronounce or write it.'* He was
a pure spirit, perfect in every respect — all- wise, almighty, su-
premely good.
The gods of the popular mythology were underatood, in the
EXOTERIC AND ESOTERIC SYSTEMS. 149
esoteric religion, to be either personified attributes of tlie
Deity, or parts of the nature which He liad created, considered
as informed and inspired by Him. Num or Kneph repre-
sented the creative mind, Phthah tlie creative hand, or act of
creating ; Maut represented matter, Ra the sun, Khons the
moon, Seb tlie earth, Kliem the generative power in nature.
Nut the upper hemisphere of heaven, Athor the lower world
or under hemisphere ; Thoth personified the Divine wisdom ;
Ammon, 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 Sun-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 wovsliipped with all the highest titles of honor,'* as indeed
might any god,'" except the very few which are more properly
called genii, and which corresponded to the angels of the
Cliristian system. Such is Anubis, the conductor of souls in
the lower world," 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.'*
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," 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 Ammou, Khem, Phthah, Ra, Osiris ; but
whether, as among the Persians,'^ 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,"" 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 AKCIENT 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.*'* 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,'^^ 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.*^
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
popular 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"),*^ where it was judged in the pres-
ence of Osiris and the forty-two dfcmones, the "Lords of
Truth "and jndges of the dead. Anubis, "the director of
the weight," ** 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, Avith a tablet in his hand, whereon to record the
result." According to the side on which the balance inclined,
Osiris delivered sentence. If the good deeds preponderated,
the blessed soul was allowed to enter the "boat of the sun," **
and was conducted by good spirits to Aahlu (Elysium), to the
"pools of peace," *' and the dwelling-place of Osiris. If, on
the contrary, the good deeds w'ere 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 ; ^° 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.*' The good soul, having first been freed from its in-
firmities by passing through the basin of purgatorial fire
ATTRIBUTES OF GODS LOCAL. 151
guarded by the four ape-faced genii,''* and then made the com-
panion of Osiris for 3,000 j-ears, 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, Avhen 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.**
Such, in outline, was the general belief of educated Egyp-
tians upon the highest subjects of human thouglit — 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 hierarch3\^ 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. Tlie priests of
one district made one selection, of another another. Even
Avhere the same selection was made, different names were
given. The attributes noticed, and separated off, increased
in number as time went on ; and it Avas not until a compara-
tively late period that graduation and arrangement were at-
tempted. Then, in different parts of the countr}^, 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 Cudworth
strongly supported this view;'* and in modern times it has
been favored by some of those who are opposed to the doctrine
and desirous of tracing it to a merely human origin. But the
grounds upon which Cudworth rested his belief were long ago
examined and refuted by Mosheim,^* who showed, in the first
place, that the authority on whom the English divine relied
152 HISTORY OP ANCIEKT ECxYPT.
was untrustworthy, and, in the second, that he did not make
the assertion which was ascribed to him. JModern investiga-
tion of the rehgious books and inscriptions of Egypt confirms
the view of IMosheim ; for, tliough in the local worships of the
country "triads" were very numerous, there is not the slightest
indication of the Egyptians having possessed any sucli 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 Tliree 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
doctnne ; 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 sliown, underlies the most
ancient portions of the Pentateuch, and is most reasonably
regarded as involved in that primeval revelation which God.
vouclisafed 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 liaving
originated separately in dilferent portions of the country."
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 unity of religious conception" prevailed
througliout the whole country ; l^ut this unity, as has been
well said,^* "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 by 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 always uniform ; and the chief centres at
any rate of religious knowledge in the country liad their sep-
arate and, to some extent, conflicting systems. ^^ 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 tliem in the recognized groups, whether these were
strictly local, or such as obtained more widely. Tlie order
followed in the general description will be based upon that
which, in his later years, was advocated by Wilkinson.*"
AMON" or A:\DI0N". (Egypt. Am-n.)
Amnion (Fig, 105) was the great god of Thebes, the south-
ern Egyptian capital. According to Manetho,'*' his name sig-
nified "concealment" or "that wliich is concealed ;" and this
meaning is confirmed both by the fact, wliich is now certain,
that the root amn, I jJJJJtIJ, in the hieroglyphics has the sig-
nification "to veil," "to hide,""* and also by statements in the
religious poems of the Egyptians.*^ We may therefore safely
adopt tlie view of Plutarch,'" 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. Ammon's most common title is suten-
netei'u, ^ ^ |, "king of the gods," and hence he was nat-
urally identified by the Greeks and Romans with their Zeus
or Jupiter," who alone of their deities had that epithet. ■** He
is also called hek 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
Horns (sun) of the two Egypts."'" To him Avas 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.*® In Lower Egypt, on
the other hand, he at no time obtained any acknowledgment,
Phthah taking his place at Memphis, Neith at Sais, Ra at On
or Ileliopolis, and other gods elsewhere.
The form under which he was worshipped was that of a
man, walking or sitting upon a throne,*^ and crowned with a
head-dress, whereof the distinguishing feature was a pair of
enormously tall stiff feathers,'" standing side by side, some-
154 HISTORY OF A^'CIENT EGYPT.
times plain, sometimes varied by four or five broad black bars."
The color of his body when he is painted, is light blue, a tint
which has been supposed to indicate "liis peculiarly exalted
and heavenly nature." " 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 anl-h and the
sceptre or liooked stick {iias), the symbols of life and purity,"
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 dynasty " 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." This power of amalgamating
deities arose, as already explained,** from the essential mono-
theism that underlay the Egyptian polytheism, whereby any
two or more attributes or aspects of the Divine nature mighb
be worshipped together. Nor was this the only combination
in which Ammon had part. He appears in the sculptures not
iinfrequently as Ammon-Khem, or Ammon-Kamutf," 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 Tum, 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.''* 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
/^mmon, that acteth as a judge, to deliver a man from his
Plate XXXVI.
Vol. I.
Fig. Ul.- Head of Fejiauc.— tjee Tage 133. Fig. M.— Rameses U.- See Page 136,
Vol. 1.
I^late XXXVIL
Fig. 93.— Sphinx of the Pyramids.— See Page 127.
Fig. 94.~HuNTiNO THE Gazeu^k amj Haue— See Page 129.
Pluto xxxviir.
Vol. I.
I}^r' I -'MU
Vol. 1.
Plate XXXIX.
Fig. 96.— Female Tumbler, ik an im-
possible ATTITUDE,— See Page 128,
Fig. 97.— Figure of an Egyptian Pribst.
—See Page 128.
Fig. 98.— Animals foreshobtenbd.— 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." ** " 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." ^" As Ammon-Eii, 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." "
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.** AYe are told that his name Avas identical in
meaning with the Greek Tivev/na, "spirit," or "breath." If
we may accept this statement on the authority of Plutarch and
Diodorus,*' and regard the root num, Jp ^j* , 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.*^ Tliis 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. ''^ He was also regarded as presiding
in some special way over water, which was expressed by wem,
W ^Sl> ^ ^^^^ '^^ ^y '''"' jL T ^^' ^^ Egyptian.** In
156 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
this capacity he was "lord of the inundation." " He had fur-
ther a position among the gods of the lower world, ^ which
does not belong to Ammon, who may be prayed to by the
dead/* but is in no sense an infernal god.
Kneph (Fig. 103) was figured as a man walking, like Am-
mon, 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.™ 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 ura3us, while
occasionally that place is occupied by the vase," which was the
main element in his name. In his two hands he bears, like
Ammon, the sceptre, uas, and the emblem of life, anhh.
His color is a bright green."
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." Occasionally, but very
rarely, he has for distinctive mark simply the ura^us, which is
placed on his head, or a little over it.'*
The Greeks confused Kneph with Ammon," not unnat-
urally ; '* and some moderns so far agree with them as to
consider Kneph "a form of Ammon."" 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 Phtiiah 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 Ammon, 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 ; " but, if tliis 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 earth, 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."" It was
not without some reason that AVilkinson originally placed him
at the head of the Egyptian Pantheon,*" though ultimately he
assigned that place to Ammon.
KHEM. (Egypt. Khem^' or Khemi.)
The full Egyptian idea of Khem (Fig, 106) can scarcely be
presented to the moderji reader, on account of the grossness
of the forms under which it was exhibited. Some modern
Egyptologists *'■' 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 living
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 Rome, 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,^* Khem's
character was marked by the assignment to him of the goat
as his symbol.*^ and by his ordinary title, Ka-miitf, "the Bull
of his Mother," /, 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, Avith the exception of the right arm, which is
upraised and brandishes the flagellum. Another distinguish-
ing mark of Khem is the long bar which descends to the
ground from the back of his head, and seenis intended to
158 HISTORY OF ANCIEKT EGYPT.
prevent hitn from falling. He wears the same head-dress aa
Ammon, and lias very generally a cross, shaped like the letter
X, upon his breast/*
As the god of the vegetable world, Khem is represented
generally with trees or plants about him, and the Egyptian
kings olfer him herbs and flowers, or cut the corn or till the
soil in his presence. **** The special seat of his worship was
Chemmis,*' or more properly Chemmo, 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.*^
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.**^ He is there called
"the God Khem, who raises his lofty plumes,'" king of the
gods, lifter of the hand,'' 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," the
source of warmth and so of all mundane life, and was wor-
shipped as Khem-Ra, or "Khem, the Sun-God." He is even
said in some inscriptions 'Ho 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, J[ 5 (Fig. 104), the Egyptian god whom the
Greeks identified with their Hephaistos,'* 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 {ucis) and the sign of life {ankh), 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 fronj
PHTHAH. 159
the drapery behind the neck there comes out a string to which
is appended a bell-sliaped tassel.^* Another figure is that of
a man walking, dressed in the ordinary tunic {shenti), and
holding the a)ik]i and ^las, 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. '^ The third form is that of a
pigmy, naked,"' 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 "^ — are regarded as representing Phthah
under a special character, as Phthah-Sokari or Phthali-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 fi'ont 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 Phthah's influence.
The principal titles of Phthah are — "the Lord of Truth,'*
" the Lord of the World," and "the beautiful-faced." "^ He is
also called " the father of the beginnings," and " the creator of
all that is in the world." "" 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 7oith truths ""' 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 scarabaeus and the solar disk,
as emblematic of him, without the addition of any human
figure. "^^
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-lm, "to open." '*^ 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 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
their "father." '"^ His temple at Memphis seems to have been
regarded by Herodotus as more magnificent than any other in
Egypt, though it has now almost v/holly disappeared, and the
traveller can with diflBculty trace its site. Monarch after
monarch adorned it with statues and gateways,'"* 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 Barneses is almost
all that remains to attract attention to the place. ""
}
MAUT. (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-Ra) and
Chons. She represented the passive principle in nature, and
corresponded to the classical Rhea or Cybele, rather than to
Latona, with whom she is identified by Herodotus.'*** Among
her titles the chief were, "Lady of Heaven," "Queen of the
gods," "giver of all life for ever," and "mistress of dark-
ness." '"^ 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,"" which the Egyptians
regarded as, in a certain sense, "the one principle of the
universe." '"
Maut is expressed in Egyptian either by *-q or ||JK **■,
both forms being phonetic, and the latter emblematic as well,
since the vulture was the Egyptian type of maternity."* She
is represented by a female figure wearing the pshent 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 j^^^tctit 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,"^ that of Upper Egypt being nearest to the spec-
tator. In lier two hands she bears the ankh and either the
hooked sceptre {tias) 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 wears a collar, bracelets, and
anklets.
In the popular mythology, Maut was the companion and
wife of Amen-Ra, with whom she is constantly associated in
the inscriptions and sculptures."* The shrew-mouse was dedi-
SATI — NEITfl. 161
cated to her/'* probably as a type of fecundity, or perhaps be-
cause it was thought to be bhnd, and was thus a good rep-
resentative of "darkness," "* Besides being worshipped at
Thebes, Maut was honored throughout Nubia, and even in
Ethiopia, wliere her name is often found in the inscriptions."''
If we may identify her with the Buto of Herodotus, we must
add that slie 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."*
SATI. (Egypt. Sat, or Sati.)
Sati (Fig. 102) stood in the same relation to Kneph as Maut
to Ammon-Ea. She was his wife and perpetual companion."'
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,'-* and was therefore compared by the
Greeks to their Hera, and by the Eomans to their Juno.'^'
The special seat of her worship was Elephantine ; and she was
also acknowledged throughout Nubia and in Ethiopia ; "* but
in Lower Egypt she seems to have been scarcely ever either
represented or mentioned. Her name is thought to signify "a
sunbeam," '^^ and is expressed commonly by "^^^ or ^j^'
followed by the form of a goddess.
T'he ordinary representation of Sati is a standing female fig-
ure, clothed in a long tight gOTvn, •V7ith collar, belt or band,
armlets, bracelets, and anklets, as usual, holding in her hands
the ankh and lotus sceptre, and wearing on her head the crown
of Upper Egypt, with cow's horns projecting from it on either
side.''-^ 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.'"
NEITH. (Egypt. Net, or Nat.)
Neith (Fig. 100), according to the Greeks, corresponded to
tlieir Athene,'" and was thus a personification of the wisdom
16'^ HISTORY OF ANCIENT EaYPf.
or intellect of God. She was the especial goddess of Sais, the
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 ('*]IIP), after which follows an
emblem, apparently non-phonetic, >— K, in which most Egyp-
tologists recognize a shuttle.'*^ Iler 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." '^ 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.''^^ Li 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. '*' Occasionally, instead of the crown she wears the
common female head-dress, surmounted by the so-called shut-
tle.*" It is thought that she presided specially over war and
weaving."^
It is difficult to reconcile with this somewhat prosaic view
of Neith the recondite and mystical ideas entertained by the
Greeks and Romans with respect to the Saitic goddess. Plu-
tarch says '** 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." '" Clemens of Alexandria declares that the in-
scription on her shrine at Sais ran as follows: '^^ "I am all that
was, and is, and is to be ; and no mortal iiatli 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, EA, KHEPRA, TUM, SHTT, MENTU,
OSIRIS, IIORUS, 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 io say that their worship was '"''cliiejly solar," '^*
or that ''''most of tlieir gods" represented some aspect of the
sun, or some portion of his passage through the upper or the
lower hemisphere.'^' Still, the nine deities above enumerated
had certainly, all of them, more or less of a solar character.
Plate XI4
Vol. t.
Vol. I.
Plate XLI.
Fig. 101.— Ammon-Khem. Ammon-Kneph.— Fig. 10^',— Sati.— Fage 101,
THE SUK-GODS— RA. 163
though no two in the list can be considered as mere synonyms,
or as duplicates, the one of the other.
Ea (Fig. 110) was the sun 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 world wherein we live, to the planets, and, as the Egyp-
tians thought, to the universe. To the vnlgar he was a
created god, the son of Phthah and Neith ; '^ 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"^^'he is called "the Supreme Power,"
"the oidy one," "the supremely great one," "the great eldest
one," "the great sire that creates the gods," "the master of tlie
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"^ . Ka ;
sometimes symbolically by a circle, with or without the addi-
tion of the asp or urceus ( O or vOv ) ; sometimes by a union
of the two methods ^^7, or with the addition of the figure
of a god i^^f ^. It was proposed originally to pronounce
the name as Re ; '^" but the modern Egyptologists seem to be
agreed that the true sound was Ra,'"' which was also the name
of the Supreme God in Babylon,'*'^ and which probably meant
"swift." '''^
Ra is figured as a man, walking, but commonly has the
head of a hawk, surmounted by the disk of the sun, Avith
the urcBus or asp encircling it.''" He bears in his right hand
the ankh or sign of life, and in his left the uas or sceptre.
From his head depends a long cord, as from the heads of
Kneph and Ammon. He wears the usual slieyiti or tunic,
with armlets, bracelets, and anklets. Occasionally he is found
human-headed, and in that case has the long wig with lap-
pets." '*' 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 tirceus or asp, and the scarabceus 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." '** Another
ground assigned is, that "the hawk is able to look more ia-
164 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
tently towards the solar raj's than any other bird, wherefore
they depicted the sun under the form of a hawk, as the Lord
of Vision." "' The uraeus probably accompanied him as "the
emblem of royalty and dominion." ''*^ Why the beetle was
assigned to him is a subject on which much has been written,'"
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 ; ^'"^ 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
scarabmus sacer of Linnfieus, or common black beetle of
Egypt ; '^' but nothing strange or peculiar has been pointed out
in the habits of that creature.
Ea was Morshipped 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 Ammon, and worshipped as Amun-Ea, at the head of the
local triad." '^* At Memphis he was united with Phthali and
Pasht ; '^'^ at Silsilis with Plithah and the Nile-God, or some-
times with Ammon and Savak.'°'* His worship was more
nearly universal than that of any other Egyptian deity, unless
it were Osiris, avIio 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
Tum or Atum (Atmu), he was the meridian or midday sun.'"
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 lie rises and that where he
sets.''® He is also, as already observed,'" 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 eA^erlasting, 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." '*«
KHEPRA.
Khepra seems to represent the creative energy of the sun,"*
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
TttE SUir-G0D8— KTtEPRA AKD TUM. 165
frequent mention of him both in the historical and the devo-
tional compositions.'^" The scarabaeus {Kheprr) forms the
ehief element in his name, which is written ^ I ^, o
Khepra, followed by the figure of a sitting god.
TUM or ATUM.
Tum (Fig. Ill) is the sun, as he approaches or rests upon
the western horizon, just before and when he sets.'" His
commo!! epithet is nefer, "good," and this is regarded by some
as a part of his name,'" which is expressed by aiK^%k^^
Temu, 1^^ j Atum, or I^^ Nefer-Tum. Among his
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," '" but which appears
from the inscriptions to have pointed rather to some division
of the nome of Heliopolis. '^^ He is also styled "the maker of
men," '«* "the Universal Lord," '" "the Creator God," "=* and
"the great Lord of created beings." "^'' His worship was wide-
spread. It was really Tum, rather than Ra, i.e., it was Ra
under the form of Tum, who was worshipped at Heliopolis ; ''°
and it was Tum who was the third god in the triad of ]Mem-
phis. At Thebes he received frequent acknowledgment,'" and
throughout Egypt he was universally recognized, at any rate
as a god of the lower world, where he is scarcely distinguisli-
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." "'^
Tum's most common form is that of a man walking, dressed
in the ordinary way,'" but bearing on his head either the two
crowns of Egypt, placed side by side, as on Maut,'"'* or else the
wig with lappets, which is worn also by Ra. "* Like Ra, Kneph,
Ammon, and many other gods, he carries the ankh 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 tassels, one on either
side of the shaft. Sometimes his sceptre terminates similarly.
In the British Museum there is a silver figure of Nefer-Tum
(Fig. 113), wearing the lily and also the two feathers."* The
166 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
ordinary color of Turn is, like that of Ra, red ; but he is said
to be sometimes represented of a green hue.'"
The "house of Tum" at Heliopolis was one of the grandest
of the Egyptian temples. In front of it stood a number of
granite obelisks, among tliem that which has been recently
erected on the 'IMiaiiics Kmbauknieiit, and which is the second
Egyptian ol)elisk that lias been brought to England."" 'i"he
temple itself was resplendent with gold, and so celebrated for
its magnificence, tliat to say a buihiing was "like the house of
Tum" came to he regarded as the highest conceivable eulogy.'"'
Large tracts of land were assigned to it by the munificence of
the Egyptian monarchs ; "*" its ,s;icred slaves {Itieroduli) were
reckoned by thousands ; '^' 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 luematite, "*■
The following "Hymn to Turn" will show the feelings
wherewith he was worshipped : —
Conio to me, O tliou Sun ;
Horns of tin- tiorizoii, g-ive me lielp.
Thou art hv that i^jvcth lielp ;
There is no helji without thee.
Come to nie, Turn ; licar me, tiiou great God;
My heart goeth fortii towards On ;
Let my (iesires he fiiltilUil ;
Let my heart rejoice, my iumoht heart rejoice in p^laduess.
Hear my vows, luy humhh' sn]i]ilic.itions every day,
Hear my adorations e\ ei'v niglit —
My cries of terror, cries tliat issue from my mouth,
Tluit couie forth from it one hy one.
O Horns of tlit- horizon, tlii>re is none other beside thee,
Protector of uiillions, deliverer of tens of thousands,
Defender of him tliat 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 lind refreshment.
Anxiety nevertheless returns to me ere the day is done.'^*
SHU.
The word sJm signifies "light," '^^ and it is probable that
Shu (Fig. 114) was originally the light of the sun, as distin-
guished from the solar orb itself ; but this distinction was
known only to the initiated. The name '^* is expressed by an
ostrich feather, followed by the ordinary sign for u, and then
by a figure of a sitting god ^^^* Shu is commonly spokea
THE SUX-GODS — SHU AXD ME^TTU. 167
of as a son of Ra/^* and frequently' connected with Tafne,'*^ a
daughter of Ea, and (according to some) Shu's twin sister.'*^
Turn, Shu, and Tafne are in one place called "the great chiefs
ofOn."'«^
When figured, Shu is either walking or kneeling. In the
former case he has the ordinary form of a male deity, but bears
on his head either a single ostrich feather, or else a fourfold
plume."" 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.''"
Shu, like Tum, was a deity of the lower world, worshipped
by the spirits in Hades, and invoked by them.'^^ It was his
special office to stop the wicked on the steps of heaven, to pre-
vent their entering, and effect their final destruction. '^^ It is
curious that the word slm meant in the Egyptian both "light"
and "shade ;" ''" and thus the god of light might be repre-
sented as plunging the hopelessly wicked into the darkness of
annihilation. ■'*
We do not hear of any temples expressly dedicated to Shu ;
but he was probably worshipped at Ileliopolis (On) in conjunc-
tion with Tum 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.''* He is
often identified with the solar orb, and bears the name of
Mentu-Ra J^ST s= ^ o—f.e., "Mentu the Sun-God."'"
When, however, he was accepted into the general Pantheon,
lie 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 monarclis, a sort of "Mars Ultor," but not
the god of war in a vulgar sense. "' The kings are fond of
comparing themselves to Mentu, especiallv when they are fight-
nig."' They celebrate his "force" and his "victorious arm,"
and speak of him as "verv glorious."-^" The peculiarity of
Ins form is, that to the hawk's head, the disk, and urjeus of
Ra, he joins the tall plumes of Ammon.'"' His hue, when he
is painted, like that of Ra, is red.'"''
The chief seat of the worship of Mentu was Hermonthis, a
city which appears to have derived its name from this god.*"'
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 i%
l68 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
were in the Thebaid, of which he is sometimes said to be "the
lord." '■'" 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 Ammon, Ka,
Phthah, Horus, and Sati, and again with Ammon- Ra, and
Athor.'°*
OSIEIS.
Osiris (Fig. 115) was, practically, the god chiefly worshipped
in Egypt, since, while all other worships were local, his was
universal.^® Originally, perhaps, a personification of the divine
goodness, ^°' 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. ^"^ His office as judge of the souls of men
upon their entrance into Hades has been already mentioned.*'"'
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," ^'^
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." "'^ A peculiar character of mildness, goodness, and
beneficence attaches to him. He is "the manifester of good,"
"full of goodness and truth," ^"^ "the beneficent spirit," "be-
neficent hi will and words," "mild of heart," "fair and beloved
of all who see him." ^'^ 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."^''*
The name of Osiris is expressed, most simply, by two hiero-
glyphs, thus: — l^^") or more commonly ^&-|, followed in
most cases by the determinative for "a god," | ^^ ^' Some-
times, however, the human eye '■Sw 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 Ilas-ar,''^^ which the Greeks, adding a nominatival
ending, converted into Osiris. There is some doubt as to tlie
true meaning of the word; but perhaps "tlie many-eyed,"
which can plead for itself the authority of Plutarch,^'* may
4eserve acceptance as the most probable rendering.
THE SUK-GODS — OSIEIS. 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 (teas) and the cmkh 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 (ura?i) 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.^" His
hue, when he is painted, is sometimes black, but more usually
green. ^'*
Another rare form of Osiris is that which has been already
given ^'^ — a form rightly termed "barbaric," •'^'' with eyebrows
meeting, fat cheeks, and a coarse mouth, clad in a spotted
robe, and wearing "the Nilometer" ^"' underneath the horns
and plumed disk. Osiris likewise appears, but very rarely
indeed,''"^ seated on a throne, mummied, and wearing the disk
of the moon, with which he a})pears then to be identified.
Such figures have been called "figures of Osiris- Aali,"^^^
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,^^^ at other times Shu,^" and
his mother is Isis^'-^ 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,^"' was once upon a time incar-
nate, and reigned as king of Egypt. Having ruled foraAvhile
beneficently, he went upon his travels, leaving Isis to conduct
the government, which she did with vigor and prudence. Set,
hov/ever, 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 liead. Set accused Horus of illegiti-
macy, and the other gods were called iu to judge the causg^
ITO HISTORY OF ANCIENT EG»YPT.
which they decided in favor of Horus. The war between the
two continued, and Horns ultimately slew his enemy, who is
then represented either under a human form,'^^ 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.*^'
Others have seen in Osiris the Xile inundation, in Typho
drought, in Isis the land of Egypt, and in Horus vapors and
exhalations.''^^ But the truth seems to be that little more was
hiimed 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, tiie
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, °^^ 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 him 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,'"'^ and where there
was a great temple specially dedicated to him.*^' Another
Osirid city was Philte, situated on an island in the Nile a little
below Elephantine, Avhere again he had a magnificent temple,
adorned with sculptures illustrative of his life on earth and
mysterious sufferings. ^^* A third such city was Tattu, or
Tbis^ whieh, like Abydos, claimed him as its "lord/'"' and
HORUS. i: 1
worshipped him in the form which is distinguished by the tat
or "emblem of stability."
HORUS, HAEMACHIS.
It has been usual to distinguish two Horuses/'* called re-
spectively "tbe elder" and "the younger;" but the more
Egyptian mythology is studied, the more doubtful does it
appear to be whetber any such distinction was really in-
tended.'''^'* No stress can be laid upon contradictory state-
ments of the relationship borne by llorus 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."" 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-aklm), "Horus in the
horizon." In this capacity he is one of the gods of Heliopo-
lis,''*' and bears the title of Ra-Harmachis, to make his solar
character unmistakable. In connection with the myth of
Osiris he is Harpocrates {]7ar-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 Neplithys and Isis, his aunt and mother.'"
Occasionally his peculiar characteristics are forgotten, and he
is the sun generally, "the sun of the two worlds," ^*^ identified
with Ra and Tum, 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 uraeus
in front, while in his hands he bears, like Ra, the atikh 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."'« He is "beauteous," "blessed," "self-
sprung," "self-existing."-" 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. ■■'^'® The Egyptian kings held
him in peculiar honor, and delighted in identifying them-
selves with him and assuming his name and his titles. **' This
172 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
practice, be^Tn (it would seem) by the monarchs of the fourth
dynasty/^ continued down at least to the time of the twenty-
second dynasty, when we find Pianchi addressed as " the inde-
structible Ilorus," "Horus, lord of the palace," and "Horus,
royal bull." '''
The name Horus is ordinarily represented by the figure of
a hawk, %k > which is sometimes followed by a vertical
stroke i the sign of the masculine gender."" Harmachis is ex-
pressed by \^fi^s^|[|| ; Harpocrates by ^k 'f i?»* 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 pschent.^^^
ATEN.
Aten, written 1/-^*, was, 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.*" 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 was certainly
a time when such an antagonism developed itself, and Aten,
who had previously been only one of the many sun-gods, was
elevated above every other deity, and even worshipped almost
exclusively,"'^ while the adherents of the rest of the gods were
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 ; '^ 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," ''^ and is generally expressed by a hieroglyph in which
the hawk (Horus) is enclosed within the character represent-
ing a house I %W j- A variant mode of writing the word is
[J^<^, "Eit-ha.r " 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 ; hut 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, Nephthys, Anubis, Turn, Thoth, etc., as a goddess
inhabiting the lower region together with them.*** 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 ura^us on her head, and in her two hands the sceptre,
uas, and the ankh 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.'"
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 Avere those of "mother of Ra,"
"eye of Ra," "mistress of Amenti," "celestial mother," "lady
of the dance and mirth," •'^'^ and "mistress of turquoises."*'*
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 Avas a
certain kind of fish,^*" 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.""
ISIS.
Isis (Fig. 119) in original conception did not differ much
from Athor, with whom she was sometimes identified by the
Greeks,'^*- and from whom even in the monuments it is often
difficult to distinguish her.**^ 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 ; ^" and this constitutes the main feature in all tiie
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. -*' 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 membersj that he
174 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
may reach the horizon with his fatlier, 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." ^** A
liymn 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." •" 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 Avorship of the departed.'*®
The name of Isis is expressed by the hieroglyph supposed to
represent a throne, followed by the two feminine signs *^^ of
the half -circle and the egg 1%, to which is added sometimes
the hatchet I , neter, or the form of a sitting goddess ^. 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 Avears the vulture
headdress ; at other times she has the head of a cow ; and she
is even found with the head of a cat.'^'" She has commonly in
her hands the ayiJch 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;""' but she is also called "the goddess mother,"'^*
"the mistress of the two worlds," and "the mistress of
Heaven." '" She was worshipped more or less in every part of
Egypt ; but her most remarkable temples were those at Philae
and Coptos. The Egyptians connected her in some peculiar
way with Sothis, the Dog-Star,'-'* and also with a goddess
called Selk "'^ 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,"* and formed
together with those deities the third god of the Theban triad.
He is frequently called " the god of two names ; " "' and these
names seem to be Khons or Khonsu and Nefer-hetp, both
words being of uncertain meaning.''* Khons's ordinary titles
are, "the great god," "the giver of life/' and "the giver of
KSOiTs— tHofa. l'J'5
oracles." *"' He is also called "the expeller of spirits from the
possessed,"^*" and "the clerk of the divine cycle." '^' He was
generally worshipped in combination with Ammon and
Maut ; *** but Kameses HI. built him a special temple in
Thebes "of good hewn sandstone and black basalt, having
gates whose folding doors were ])lated with gold, and itself
overlaid with electrum like the horizon of heaven." ^^^ It was
probably from this temple that, in the time of Kameses 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." '^* 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
JJ^ ^ ^ or ® \®> w^t^^ 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,^* 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 Nilometer," 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. ^"^^ In some few
cases the entire figure is that of a man,'^*' attired as usual,
while, still more rarel}'^, 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.***
The titles most frequently given to him are "lord of Sesen-
nu " ''' and "lord of truth." •■^" He is called also "one of the chief
gods," "the great god" or "the god twice great," "the great
chief in the paths of tlie dead," "the self-created, never born,"
"the lord of the divine words," and "the scribe of Truth."**'
It is his special office to be present in Amenti when souls are
176 HISTORY OF ANCIENT 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 "Ritual of the
Dead," or at any rate its more important portions. '^"^ It is also
he who in the realms below writes for the good souls with his
own fingers "the Book of Kespirations," Avhich protects them,
sustains them, enlightens them, gives them life, causes them
to " breathe with the souls of the gods for ever and ever." '"^
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, lie threw into the
Nile at Coptos. The fact became known, and the book Avas
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 ; -^* but the moral of
the story seems to be the common one, that unlawful knowl-
edge is punished by all khids 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 commonly to express L Birch reads the ^^
name as "Teti," regarding the sign // as having its J^
usual force ; '^'^ but Wilkinson supposes that the two ^"^5
lines in this case "double the T," and reads the name »■ <^
as Tet or Tot.^'«
As a god who took part in the judgment of the dead, Thoth
was an object of universal reverence throughout Egypt. '^"
His main worship, however, was at Sescnnu, or Hermopolis,
where he had a temple, **'* and was adored together with Tum,
Sa, and Nehemao.**^ Oxen, cows, and geese were sacrificed
in his honor, ''"° and the ibis and cynocephalous ape were sa-
cred to him.^' He is often represented in attendance on the
kings of Egypt, either purifying tliem, or inscribing their
names on the sacred tree, or in some other way doing them
honor. ^'"'^
Among the minor divinities of the Egyptians may be men-
tioned the gods Seb, Savak, Haulier, Morula or Malouli, and
SEB AND SAVAK. 177
Aemhept, together with the goddesses Bast or Pasht, Nu or
Nutpe (Netpe), Nebta or Nephthys, Anuka, Ma, Tafne, Mer-
seker, Heka, Meuh, and Neliemao ; 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 ( jfr* 1^ or ^ IJ). He is figured in the form of a
man, walking, dressed in the short tunic or skenti, with col-
lar, girdle, armlets, bracelets, and anklets. In his two hands
he holds the ankli and nas, and sometimes he carries on his
head the figure of a goose. There is not much mention of
him in the inscriptions.^"^
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 ; ^** but it is perhaps
more reasonable to consider that its strength and destructive-
ness made it fi?st feared and then worshipped. Tlie crocodile
is the only animal that attacks man in Egypt ; and many deaths
are caused by crocodiles every year.^°* If we take this view,
we can understand why crocodiles, and the crocodile-headed
god, were eitlier hated, as at Tentyra, Apollinopolis, Herac-
leopolis, Elephantine, and elsewhere, or else honored and rev-
erenced. Savak obtained at a somewhat late date ^"^ recognition
and worship in Thebes and the adjacent parts of Egypt, Just
as Set obtained recognition ; but he was never honored gener-
g^jly. 307 fpjjg Thebans connected him with Kneph and Ra,
representing him with a ram's head, or with a human head
and the headdress appropriate to sun-gods, and sometimes
clianging his name from Sabak into Sabak-Ra. The people
of Ombos gludlv a(lo]ited him, and identified him with their
favorite deity, Umbo or Nubi, who was himself a form of Set,
178 HISTORY OP ANCIENT EGYPT.
as will be shown later. He was also accepted at a few other
places ; but, generally speaking, both Sabak and the croco-
dile, his sacred animal, were held in horror and detestation.
Sabak's name is expressed either phonetically I' I^»^> or
by a crocodile and a sort of shrine or chapel ^^^« . Where
the phonetic characters are used, the others are often added.
His crocodile-headed form has been already given ; ^"* in his
other shapes he is undistinguishable from Kneph and Phthah-
Sokari-Osiris. ^"'*
ONURIS. (Egypt. Han-her.)
Onuris is generally said to be the Egyptian Mars,^'" and his
name would certainly seem to mean "bringer of fear." ^" It
is written either 11 <^ or Ar— ^, but does not occur very
frequently. Rameses III. calls him "son of Ra," identifies
him with Shu, and speaks of him as his own father.^'* He is
noted as a god who wore "tall plumes," ^'^ and distinguished
in the sculptures by four upright feathers. Silsilis appears to
have been the city where he was chiefly worshipped,^'"* and it
would seem to have been the temple of that place which
Rameses III. surrounded with a wall ninety feet high, to pro-
tect it from the attacks of the native Africans.^'*
MERULA.
Morula (Fig. 123) or Malouli is a god who does not appear
until the later sculptures and inscriptions, but who can scarcely
be supposed an invention of the later ages. His name ^"^ is
written .^^'V » ' ' -^^ I • He is represented in the ordinary
form of a god, but with the Osirid headdress placed above a
wig and fillet, or else with a still more complicated head-orna-
ment,*''' placed above a cap resembling one sometimes worn by
the kings.
At Talmis in Nubia, Merula was the third deity of a triad
consisting of Horns, Isis, and liimself.^'* On another Nubian
site he occupied the same subordinate position, together with
Seb and Nut or Netpo.*'^ According to some, he is a mere
form of Osiris ; according to otlicrs, he is the last link in
the long chain of the divine nianifrs'ations, the final member
Plate XLIL
Vol I.
Fig. 103.— Kkeph.— See Page 156.
Fig. 104.— Obdinaby forms of Phthah or Ptah.— See Page 158,
VoLL
PlatoXUII.— a.
Fig. 105.- Ammon (ordinary
fonn).— See Page 153.
lot;.— KnEM.— See
Page 157.
Fig. 107.— Maut.— See
Page 160.
AEMHETP — PASHT Oa BAST. 179
of the final triad of all, the "last of the incarnations of Am-
mon." ^'^" It may be suspected that he was a local (Nubian ?)
deity.
AEMHETP.
Aemhetp (Fig. 125), whom the Greeks compared to their
Asclepius or ^Esculapius, was a god but little acknowledged
and but little worshipped. He seems never to have had a
temple expressly built in his honor. ^'^ 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 a?ikh and
sceptre which he carries, alone show him to be a god. His
name is expressed by IT'^r or "Vj^ -^-•
The monuments state that he was the "son of Phthah,"
but give no account of his attributes. We may conclude,
however, from the notices of the classical writers,^'*'" 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. ^'^^
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 ; ^'-* but this view is scarcely tenable. She was the wife
of Phthah,^'" and was worshipped together with him and their
son. Turn, in the great triad of Memphis. Her common title
is MeTienptah A^Sli^fi "beloved of Phthah ;" she is also called
M7if, "the mother," and ur-heku, which is of uncertain
meaning. ^^®
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 urreus, but sometimes she has the disk
only, sometimes the ursus only, and occasionally neither the
one nor the other. ^" Excepting by iier hieroglypliic name, she
is undistinguishable from Menh and Tafne. This name is ex-
180 filStORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
pressed by three signs, thus : ii® , and is read 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.^'-'' At Memphis, she was not only united with Phthah,
but had a special temple of her own.^'^' Her great city was,
however, Bubastis (now 1'el-Basta) in the Delta, which was
wholly dedicated to her,^° and contained her principal shrine,
an edifice pronounced by Herodotus to be " the most pleasing of
all the temples of Egypt." ^•*' Once a year a great festival was
held at this place, accompanied by indecent ceremonies, which
was frequented by vast numbers of the Egyptians. ^^'^ It does
not appear that her worship was very ancient ; but from the
time of Rameses HI., at any rate, she was held in high repute,
and received the frequent homage of the kings, who even
sometimes called her their "mother." ^^
NUT or NETPE.
Nu, Nut, Nuhar, or Netpe (Fig. 124) is the rendering of a
name expressed in hieroglyphics by the three characters ^^,
which are sometimes followed by the feminine signs of the
half-circle and egg ^. 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 ha?' 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 daughtar
of Ea.^ She was represented in the common form of a god-
dess, with the a?ikh 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.^^* 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. {Egjvt Nehta.)
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,^^*
ANUKA. 181
Her common titles are "the sister," "the benevolent saving
sister," "the sister goddess," and "the great benevolent god-
dess." ^^* She held an important office in the under world,
where she is the constant associate of Osiris and Isis/^' and is
said to "cut away the failings" of deceased persons.*^* Her
name is written with a sign which seems to be a combination
of a house with a basket, |T ^ , 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," ^'
but Birch reads it simply Neb-ta.^*"
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. AnL)
Anuka (Fig. 128) has been regarded by some as a form of
Nephthys,^' by others as a form of Sati.^'*^ 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,*" and
represented together, ^^ and called, in the plural number, "the
ladies of Elephantine." ^** Anuka Avas acknowledged as a god-
dess only at the extreme south of Egypt and in ISTubia. 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. ^"
Her name is written phonetically -» — '^ J , or ank, followed
by the feminine sign ' , and that by the form of a goddess.
She is represented, like other goddesses, in the ordinary fe-
male attii-e, and with the ankh 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."' The Greek conquerors of
Egypt identified her with Hestia or Vesta,*** but on what
grounds is uncertain. She seems to have been really rather ^
war- goddess than a protectress of the hearth.
182 HISTOEY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
MA.
Ma (Fig. 129) was the Egyptian goddess of truth. To the
initiated she was, no doubt, the tn;th 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," L e.,
friends of truth. ^''^ 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.^" 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.^*' Ma was
reckoned a daughter of Ra, and was worshipped together with
him.^^^ She is sometimes called "chief" or "directress of tlie
gods."^'^ No special temples were dedicated to her, nor was
she comprised, so far as is known, in any 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 ankh
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.^'*
TAFN6.
Tafne (Fig. 134), another daughter of Ra, has a faint and
shadowy character, which does not admit of much description.
She ordinarily accompanies Shu,^" whose twin sister and wife
she is, and seems to be a sort of goddess of light.'" Both
Osiris and Horus are called in places "sons of Shu and
Tafne ; " '" but this mytliology is of course exceptional. Her
name is written phonetically x^i* 'sv'iih 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 urseus.^'
Within the limits of Egypt, she was worshipped chiefly at
Thebes ; ^" but her effigy is found also in Nubia, ^^^ where she
was held in honor by the Ethiopians.
MERSEKER.
Merseker (Fig. 135) — whose name is written in two ways
"^P*=>t' ^^ S-P^ t"^^ ^ goddess not very often men-
tioned. AVe may gather from her name, which means "loving
silence," ^®' that she was the "goddess of silence," ^''" 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." ^^^ The form assigned to her is very like that
usually given to Isis and Nephthys, differing only in the head-
dress, which is without lap})ets. She carries the ankli, 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,^" whose name
he identified with hers ; but the resemblance of the two in
character is very sliglit. Hak appears on some of the older
monuments as the wife of Kneph.^*^^ She is there frog-headed
instead of lion-headed, and bears neither the disk nor the
uraeus. Her name is written either «i or flLJ , 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 urc^us, and bearing
the ankh and lotus sceptre in her two hands. ^^® Her name is
written i!;!^^-, or ^Vik- No special office can be as-
signed to her.
184 HISTOKY OF ANCIENT 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." "^' 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 Avorshipped 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,^** 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, Nubi 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 Netpe, and so a brother
of Osiris. According to the myth, he rebelled against his
brother, miirdered 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.^*' 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 IMonarchy he seems to have held a place among
the "great gods," "" but was not the object either of any special
adoration or of any marked aversion. During the rule of the
Hjksos, or shepherd kings, those invaders selected him as
their sole deity, refusing to worship any of the other Egyptian
gods."' 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 tlie chief
element.^" Subsequently, but at what exact time is unknown.
NUBI AND TAOURIS. 185
Set passed wholly out of favor. His worship ceased, and his
very name was obliterated from the monuments.^''*
The name Set is expressed commonly by 1 1 ih or .• ; but
in the latter case the Typhonian animal J^j[, which some-
times stands by itself for Set, is usually added. "When Sutech
is the name used, it is commonly written XV© J"^' "^^^
worshippers of Set call him "the lord of the world," "the most
glorious son of Nut," and "the great ruler of heaven." ^'* His
detractors view him as "wicked," "vile," and "the enemy of
Osiris."'"^ 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,^" and which natur-
ally provokes a laugh. Sometimes, besides this head there is
a second, which is clearly that of a hawk.^"
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,^*
Sutech or Set. The name Nubti, written J , 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," ^'^ and
is said to "shoot his arrows against the enemies of the sun,"
and to "shake the earth and the sky with his storm." ^°
TAOURIS. (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. **'
In one hand she generally bears an implement like a knife,
while in the other she sometimes holds a 3'oung crocodile.^*
Her mouth is commonly furnished with huge teeth, and ha§
186 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
the tongne 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,^^ standing
there, as it seems, at the head of a local triad. Her name is
commonly written phonetically ^ jk "^^ <=> and is some-
times followed by a uraens fc , 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,'^* is thought by some to be a form of Set, by others to
be the Egyptian "god of death." ^** He is sometimes seen
armed with a sword or swords, and is even found in the act
of slaying persons. ^^* His name, which is written |[!' i^ ^^^'
lowed, curiously enough, by the hieroglyph representing a skin
Wi, which occurs commonly as the determinative of animals.
He was worshipped at Thebes, at Tentyris, and in Ethiopia.
Bronze images of Bes are common, and appear sometimes to
connect him with the moon."*'
APOPHIS. (Egypt. Apep.)
Apophis (Fig. 132) is portrayed either as a huge serpent dis-
posed in many folds, or as a water-snake with a human head.^'
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. "*^ 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."**^
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."" The word "Apep" seems to be derived
from ap, "to mount" or "rise." It is expressed in Egyptian
•ather by ^~^> or | \.
Vol.L
Plate XLIII.-l>.
Fig. 108. — Egyptian representations of Taouris, Savak., and Osiris
Plate XLIV.
VoLL
Fig. 109.- Egyptian drawing Watee from a Eeseevoib.— See Page 131 .
fig. llO.-l.
Kit. :i.— See Page 163.
Vol. I.
Plate XLV.
Fig. 11^.— Nefer-Tim.— See Page 100.
t»late XLVl
Fig. 115.— Thhek rou.Ms of Osiris.— Seo Page 108.
THE FOUR GE^'^II OF AMEKTl. 187
Besides gods, the Egyptians recognized a certain numljei- of
daemones or genii, who were not the objects of any worship, but
figured in their rehgious 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 tiie body of one recently deceased,^^^ but more often ap-
pears in the judgment scenes, where he weighs the souls in the
balance,''^ or superintends the execution of the sentence which
has been passed upon them by their judge/^* Anubis is repre-
sented with the head of an animal which the Greeks and
Romans considered to be a dog,^'* 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.^'* He is called " lord of the burying-ground," ^"
and regarded as presiding over coffins, ^°^ tombs, and cemeteries.
In the mythology he was said to be a son of Ra and Nephthys,*"
or of Osiris and Nephthys.*®" His name is written either I '**Jp
"Anep," or Lv "Anepu."
"With Anubis may be joined the "four genii of Amenti,"
Amset, ^5W^^' "^^P^' ImV "^^^"^"^^f- * J^l'*— » and
Kebhsnauf, ^Jg/wl > who are represented either as
mummied figures, or in the ordinary human form,^°' 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 tlien cither 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 tlieir 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.*"- 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. '^^ 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 beliind Osiris." *°* Tlieir 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.*"* 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."*"^
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.'*"' 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.''"^ "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, suflRcentT}^ 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," ■*"' and "devoured their hearts before Horus." ■*'" 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 destro3^ed.'*"
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 ;'"' Hapi, the Nile god ; '"^ Bahu, the lord of the in-
undation ; ■*'■* Repa, the wife of Hapi ; "*'* Uati, the goddess of
Lower Egypt ; *'" Khaft, perhaps the goddess of the upper
country ; *" Sem, the goddess of the West ; '"'* Sefkh, goddess
of writing;'"'' Seneb, goddess presiding over childbirth;*^*'
Rannu, goddess of the harvest ; "'"' Nepra, god of corn ; '''■"■ Hu,
touch J *''^ Sa, taste ; *'^ and the foreign importations, Anta or
Orders of gods. 18&
Anaitis ; *^^ Astaret, Ashtoreth or Astarte ; *^* Bar, or Baal ; *'"
Keshpu, or Reseph ; "'* Ken, or Kiun ; *'"" and Sapt/^ 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,*^' 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,*^* 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," '^^ of "nine gods of the Ta-Mera," '^ and
of "nine gods, the masters of things," *^^ but never of eight or
twelve. Still, as Manetho to some extent confirms Herodo-
tus,'^* 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, ^^' one writer takes, as the general principle of the
grouping, genealogical succession, *^^ 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.*^'
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
ISO fiiStORY OP AJfClENl" 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-Ea; 2. Mentu ;
3. Turn ; 4. Shu (with a^afne) ; 5. Seb ; 6. Osiris ; 7. Set (with
Nephthys) ; and 8. Horus (with Athor).'"" It is reasonable to
suppose that a similar divergence would show itself, were the
inquiry extended to other religious centres.'*'"
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.'*'*' 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 "dse-
mones" or "genii," such as Anubis, Amset, Hapi, Tuamutef,
Kebhsnauf, Am, Astes, Maentfef, Karbukef,^*^ 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. '*'*^ 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 Tum ; at Thebes, of Ammon-Ra, JMaut, and
Chonsu ; at Heliopolis of Ra (or Tum), 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 ]\Iemphis, Neith at Thebes, Nephthys
at Abydos, and Hak at Elephantine ;**^ 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
first god of the three liad 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
^contcmjjlar deities. ^Yorship comprised three things, prayer,
fiYMKS OP PRAISE 151
praise, and sacrifices. Specimens of the first and second have
been already given.'"* But we subjoin one or two more. The
following is an address to Aramon-Ra, considered as the
Supreme God : —
Hail to Thee for all these thingfl,
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 ! **'
The subjoined is part of a "Hymn to the Nile ;""^ 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 I
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 granai-ies ; 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 oflferings ;
He is not adored in sanctuaries ;
His abode is not known ;
No shriae of His is found with painted figures.
192 HISTOKY OP AKClEiJT EGYPT.
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.***
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.'"* 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." *"
"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 ; 1 have taken pleasure in
speaking the truth. . . . Pure is ?)iy soul ; while living, I
bore no malice. There are no errors attributable to me ; no
sins of mine are before the judges. . . , The men of the
future, while they live, will be charmed by my remarkable
merits."*" 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
Bun 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,*** 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 ;*^^ — ^"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."*^
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,*" flour,*** cakes of various kinds,*" oil,
honey, fruit, incense, wine, beer,*'* perhaps spirits, and also
flowers.**' Libations to the gods were of daily occurrence,*'*'
and were certainly both of beer and wine, possibly also of the
spirit which is easily obtained from dates. **^ Incense was con-
tinually offered,**'' and consisted, in part, of frankincense, in
part of various aromatic gums, and sweet scented woods.**'
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.*** The fruits
presented were such as dates, grapes, figs, the produce of the
doum palm, olives, mulberries, etc.*** Flowers were offered in
bouquets, in basketf uls, and in garlands ; the lotus and papyrus
being among the plants in highest favor.***
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 ; **' goats were
offered at Thebes and in most other parts of Egypt, but not
at Mendes, where sheep took their place ; *** pigs, generally
regarded as unclean, formed the necessary sacrifice on certain
special and rare occasions ;**' ducks and pigeons served as con-
venient offerings for the poor ; *"* parts of antelopes seem to
have been occasionally offered by the rich.*" It has been
generally maintained that cows and heifers, being sacred to
Athor, could under no circumstances be employed as victims
in Egypt,*" and this was certainly the belief of Herodotus ; *"
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,*'* but it is distinctly stated ift
194 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
numerous passages that cows were actually offered in sacrifice.*"
Whatever objection, therefore, the Egyptians may have felt
to eating the flesh of cows and female calves/" 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,'*" 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,'*'* 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,'*'' 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.'**" Such
sacrifices were, no doubt, in many cases, thank-offerings, mere
indications of the devotion and gratitude of the worshipper ;
but 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,**' generally lacking in
the devotional utterances of the Egyptians. Herodotus tells
us "** that it was usual, 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.'**' 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 *** — 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. 116.— HoRCs DESTROYING THE GREAT Serpkxt Apap.— See Page 170.
J^g. 117.— 1. HoRi-s. 2. Isis NURSING HoRi-.-^. 3. HoRus THE CHILD (Har-pa-krat ),
See Page 171,
Plate XLVIII.
Vol. L
Fig- 118,— Forms of Athok.— See Page 1
AKIMAL 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,*** which
was sacred to Bast or Sekhet ; the ibis *'^ and cynocephalous
ape,***' which were sacred to Thoth ; the hawk ""^ and beetle,^'
which were sacred to Ra ; the asp, probably ; ■*'° and either
cows as a class, or at any rate white cows, which were sacred
to Athor. Generally but not universally reverenced were
sheep, ^'' which were sacred to Kneph, and dogs,'*''^ 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 Ilorus 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/'^ 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.**'' 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.*** 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,*"* 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 cit}', 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.*" 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 ;'*^* 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 stir-
rounded by Osirid pillars,''^'' was prepared for the accommoda-
tion of a sacred bull, believed to be an incarnation of the god
Phthah,'°" 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 name"" of Apis, S i<^c> a,nd became the occupant
of this building, which thenceforth he never quitted, except
on certain fixed days Avhen 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.*"' 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.'"^ 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,^" 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,^"^ a temple at Memphis expressly devoted to
the burial of these animals. Each Apis, when dead, became
an Osiri-Apis,™' or Serapis, and the object of a special cult,'"'
which in Ptolemaic and Roman times 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.'"*
At Heliopolis, another sacred bull was maintained in the great
temple of the sun,'°' which was viewed as an incarnation of Ka
or Tum,''" 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.'" Though highly reverenced by the Ileliopolites, it
did not enjoy much regard beyond the precincts of its own
city.
A third sacred bull, called Bacis or Pacis, was maintained
at Hermonthis,'"* 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,"*
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."* It was an animal of unusual size.""
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 cow"* tells in favor of
the view that they were considered to be incarnations ; but the
distinction which Strabo draws '" 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."*
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 tlie 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."'
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 liippopotamus, the cynocephalous ape, the
cobra de capello^ the wolf, the jackal, the shrew-mouse, did
198 HISTORY OF 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 sliown 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 "" 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 ; ^'" others that they were those
which Osiris had selected and placed on the standards of his
artny."^'' 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 divi.sion and discord among the natives
of the different nomes, and so making it easier to govern them.^^^
In modern times the Pantheistic nature of the Egyptian relig-
ion has been alleged as the "true reason" of the worship by
one writer,'"^ while another ''^Mias 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 ^"^ 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,^" that their existence is per-
haps not incompatible with the truth of the origin suggested.
'J'he outward aspect of the Egyptian religion was, as already
noticed,*^* 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,"' 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 weary of describing.^'* But all this was
the mere exterior framework or setting within which the re-
ligion displayed itself. Life aud meauiug were imparted to
GRKAT 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 whicli
rose into the air, the perpetual succession of victims which
smoked upon the altars. The Egyptians, as Herodotus notes,"'
"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"''^*
could readily furnish a succession of oflficiating 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 pause or weariness.
The worship culminated in certain festivals, or great gather-
ings of tlie people for special religious services,"* 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.*^ On the fourth
day of each month, a festival was held in honor of the sun.'^
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."* 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."' 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 jnemory 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.'^
Among the most remarkable of the annual festivals were
those of Bast or Pasht at Bubastis, of Neith at Sais, and of
Mentu or Onuris at Papremis. It would be uncritical to at-
'300 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
tach any great value to the details which Plerodotus, in his
lively manner, gives us of the ceremonies on these occasions,"'
or of the numbers by which the festivals were attended."" 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. AYe 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."'
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 Avliich 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."^ The
images were sometimes placed upright upon platforms,"^ 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,^'" richly carved
and adorned at either end with a symbol of the god, which
could either be drawn 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."* 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 Avho offers incense, while another beats
a tambourine."'
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 ; "' and in this apartment, which was or-
WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS — MYSTERIES. 201
nameiited 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 liomage/^** The mummies, which were
kept in a closet within tlie 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, but 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. Tiie relations made obeisance, some-
times embraced the mummy, sometimes tore their hair, or
otherwise iiulicated the sorrow caused by their bereavement.
Prayers were probably offered either to or for tlie deceased ;
his mummied form was adorned with flowers, and after an in-
terval was replaced in the closet from which it had been taken.
Kepresentations 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 tlie table or altar, whereon are deposited tlie
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."" 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 ; "' did not
regard them with absolute disfavor. Moreover, their entire
conception of the condition of the dead was strange, abnormal,
and irrational,"' 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,"^ 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 HISTORY OF AKCIENT 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 tliem quite a different
character from that which they bore to the uninitiated. If
we 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, thougli some points of the
esoteric doctrine have been made sufficiently clear, and can no
longer be questioned,"* 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 imhulwyi 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,'" withheld
by motives of religious reverence. Others "Sippear to have
simply indulged their fancy, and to have given uiB 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.
JfaestJoa of the Pecnliarity of Egyptian Customs— Proposed Mode of treating
the Subject. Division of the People into classes— Niunljer of the Classes.
Account of the Priests— tlie Sacred Women. The Soldiers— Number of
these last — Training— Chief Divisions— The Infantry— the Cavalry— the
Chariot Service— Weajjons — Tactics — Mode of conducting Sieges. Treat-
mentof 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
Gi'ades 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
■fUOst of their manners and customs exactly reversed the corn-
won practice of mankind," is one of those paradoxical remarks
i« which that lively writer indidged 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,^ of China and Japan,^ of Assyria,'* 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 yeaiB
ago and that of persons of the same rank and position in
Europe at the present day.
204 mSTOllY OF AlsrCIEKT 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 lias 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 opns,^ 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 coUahorateur,^ would
be accessible. But, as this is not likely to be the case,' 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 G.
Wilkinson, and give that work 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 conmnsus 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,® of Plato,' of Diodorus Siculus,'" of
Strabo," 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," ''^ where the occupation of
EGYPTIAN CLASSES — SUBDIVISION. ^05
rtrcliitect is found to luive descended from father to son foi-
twenty-two generations, from tlie time of Setil., tlie first king
of the nineteentli dynasty, to tliat of Darius, tlie son of
Hystaspes, tlie 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,'^ 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.'* 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,'® 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," 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.'* 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 ov fellaliin in the
country, who cultivated the estates of the rich proprietors,"
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-
S06 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.'^'
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
tiie 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 ; ^' and the fowlers, who supplied the market with
edible birds of various kinds, as especially wild ducks, wild
geese, and quails. ^'^ 6. The dragomans or interpreters, a small
class and one belonging only to later times, ''^ 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. "Egypt," no doubt,
" swarmed with a bureaucracy," '■'* a bureaucracy which 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. *** Some official posts appear to have been hereditary ; '"
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,''* among whom the high
priest of the great temple of Amnion at Thebes had a species
of primacy. This individual held a rank second only to that
of the king;^' and the time came when, taking advantage of
his position, the Theban high priest actually usurped the
throne. Next in rank to the liigh priests were the prophets,*"
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,^' and directed the
details of ritual and ceremonial according to the prescribed
formulcB. Below the prophets was an order of " divine
fathers," " or ordinary priests, of whom several were attached
THE PRIESTS — THEIR WEALTH. 2C?
to each temple. After these came first the liierostolistoB, who
had the charge of the sacred vestments and the office of attir-
ing in appropriate garments the statues of the gods ; ^ next
the hierogrammateis, or sacred scribes,** wlio 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 jiadopliori, or bearers of the sacred shrines ;^'
the liieropliori, or bearers of sacred emblems ;^* the pterophori,
or bearers of the fans and fly-flappers ;^' the neocori, who were
charged with the sweeping and cleansing of the sacred edi-
fices ;^'* the liierolaotorni, or sacred masons ;^^ the theriotropM,
or guardians of the sacred animals,'*" 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 ; ^' 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 t-he same spirit animates the whole of the
sacerdotal order ; no contest occurs ; no " heresy " shows itself ;
a uniform system prevails from Elephantine to Canopus 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 *^ a
considerable portion of the land of Egypt, perhaps as much
as one third, *^ 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,*^ 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, *
aud they appear to have received continual augmentation
208 HISTOKY OF AXCIEXT EGYPT.
from the piety or superstition of the kings, who constantly
made over to their favorite deities fresh "gardens, orchards,
vineyards, fields," and even "cities."'**
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,'*' Avhich the kings and other donors con-
tinually offered to the various deities, and Avhich became really
the property of the priests, were of a value that cannot be
computed, but that must have been enormous,'** and must
have ultimately made the priestly class by far the richest por-
tion of the communit}'. 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 gradual Iv 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 fr^m head to foot in cold water
twice every day and twice every night.** 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.*" Their garments,
at any rate when they Avere inside the temples, had to be of
linen only ; '"^ and their shoes, or rather sandals, were neces-
sarily of the papyrus plant, ''^ 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 ;" but this sacred
vestment was })laced over the linen clothes, and may have been
lined with linen whore it was liable to touch the priest's arms
or body. Their food was limited to the flesli of oxen and
geeso, with wine, bread, and certain kinds of vegetables.**
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." It has been conjectured that these regula-
tions originated in "dietetic motives," and that "the sanitary
rule grew into a religious prohibition ; " ^^ 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 Egj'ptians 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."
At certain times of the year, even greater abstemiousness
yis 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.^^ 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,^* though not universally, must have been obli-
gatory upon the priests, if it was a necessary preliminary to
initiation into the mysteries."" 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 ;*' and a
general simplicity of living was enjoined, whicli 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."^
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. 'J'his 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 Avaist, and being sup-
ported by a broad strap passing over the left shoulder.** Most
commonly the priests officiate with bare heads ; but some-
times they wear wigs, carefully curled, and descending low ,
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.
'Jlie 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 ** we see borne the cow of Athor, the hawk
of Horus, the ape of Thoth, the jackal of Anubis, 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."
It has been a matter of dispute among Egyptologists'"
whether or no the Egyptians allowed the sacerdotal office to
be held by women. Herodotus distinctly states that they did
not ; " 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
tlie feminine termination." *^ On the other hand, Herodotus
himself speaks of "sacred women" as attached to the temple
of Ammon at Thebes ; *' and the Kosetta stone contains dis-
tinct mention of "priestesses."'" We shall best reconcile the
various statements by supposing that, strictly speaking, women
could not iiold the priestly office, at any rate until Ptolemaic
times ; but that certain functions about the temples wei'e 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 sacredotal
offices. Women could, however, from the first offer for
VoLL
Plate XI.li.
Fig. 119.— Forms of Isis.— See Page 173.
Plate L.
\ol. i.
Fig. l;;^!.— Thkee Forms of Thoxh.— See tage 175.
Fig. 1?2.-SEB.-See Pace 177.
CLASS OF THE SOLDIERS. 211
themselves in the temples," and they played an important
part in the sacred rites accompanying funerals."
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," 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," was settled on rich lands in
various parts of Egypt," 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 dilferent 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 arune, or nine English acres of land," is highly im-
probable, and can only point to a supposed original allotment,
such as Diodorus says was made by Sesostris." 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 ; '* 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."
The military class was divided into two distinct bodies, called
respectively Hermotybies and Calasiries. The Calasiries,
are supposed to have been chiefly, or universally,
archers.*" According to Herodotus,*' 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.
213 HISTOKY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
They inhabited six cantons only ^^ — Busiris, Sais, 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, with 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 *^ and
the two thousand who formed the body-guard of the king,**
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 that at
least as much of it was given to agricultural employments.
The wealthier members of the body indulged also in the sports
of the field. «'*
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,*^ 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 breakfast"
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. ^' When the age for active service
approached, the young soldiers were form.ally 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.*^ These were divided into heavy-armed and light-armed.
The heavy-armed troops Avore helmets (Fig. 139), which were
either of metal '" or of quilted linen, descending in the latter
case over tjie back of tjie neck and the shpulders." Their bodies
COMPOSITION^' OF THE ARMY. 213
Were protected by cuirasses or coats of mail (Fig. 141), which
were sometimes quilted like the linen helmets/'' 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. *^
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.'^ Usually the shield
was of wood or wickerwork, and was covered with an untanned
bull's hide, having the hair outwards ; '^ 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. ^"^ In this case, instead of a circular top, the
form affected was that of the pointed arnh. Tho nfFensive
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
liad three, one carried in either hand, and the third worn as
a side-arm."
The light-armed troops (Fig. 144) were in some cases bare-
headed, but more commonly Avore the quilted cap, sometimes
surmounted with a crescent and ball.'* The upper part of
their person was naked ; and sometimes they wore nothing on
their body but the ordinary shenti or plain tunic,'* 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, was 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.'"" 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.'*"
It is exceedhigly remarkable that on the monuments there
!3i4 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
is no representation of Egyptian cavalry. The few mounted
warriors who occur are foreigners ; '"" and, to jntlge 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 Siculiis assigns
to Sesostris a cavalry force of 24,000.'°* Herodotus represents
Amasis as leading his army on horseback.'" In the historical
books of the Old Testament, the Egyptian horsemen obtain
frequent mention ; '"' and as many as 60,000 are said to have
accompanied Sheshonk (Shishak) when he invaded Pal-
estine.'"* The hieroglyphic texts, moreover, if translated
aright, make frequent mention of Egyptian cavalry ; '*" and
the "command of the cavalry was a very honorable and impor-
tant post, generally held by one of the king's sons." '"^
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.'"*
At any rate, it is clear that they preferred to use tlie 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 co^ij) de grace to a wounded enemy.""
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.'" This is, no doubt, an over-statement ; but the
twelve hundred Avho accompanied Shishak "'^ 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," "* and were supported
by columns of infantry drawn up behind them,"* 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."* More often, when a battle is depicted,
chariots, loose liorses, 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 \w front of
himself and his compauioo* As this double occupation waA a
CONSTRTTCTIOX 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,"* 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.'"
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."^ From this rose in a graceful curve the antiix 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
tiie sides themselves were filled up, either with wood or with
cloth of some kind, which was ordinarily of a bright color.'"
The whole body of the car Avas painted in gay patterns, and
perhaps sometimes ornamented with the precious metals.'^"
The body, thus constructed, was placed upon the axle-tree
and the lower part of the pole, and firmly attached to tliem.
It was not, liowever, balanced evenly upon the axle-tree, but
shifted towards the front, so that but little of the standing-
board extended behind tlie wheels.'"' 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 Avere 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 OP 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,''^'' 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 wifeh elegant housings. '^^
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."" But the arm more commonly used was
the curved sword or falchion,'^* 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, '■^^ 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.''^' 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,''* which was then twisted round the wrist or
hand, to render the hold on the weapon more sure. Clubs
(Fig. 153) were also employed, sometimes of the ordinary
character,''^' sometimes resembling the modern African lissa?i,
which is a curved stick of hard wood, about two feet and a half
in length, with a slight enlargement at the lower end.'^ Dag-
gers (Fig. 153) were very commonly worn ; their place was in
the belt, mto the right side of which they were thrust oblique-
ly. The blade was short, not exceeding eight or ten inches in
EGYPTIAN OFFENSIVE ARMS. 217
length,"' and tapering gradually from end to end, terminating
in an exceedingly sharp point. It was of bronze,'^* but so
skilfully tempered, that the elasticity and spring remain after
three thousand years, and almost equal that of the best steel. '^^
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. '^ Each dagger had its sheath, which
was of leather, sometimes plain, sometimes patterned.
Egyptian bows (Fig. 154), though not perhaps so powerful as
Ethiopian,'^* were formidable weapons, and must have driven the
arrow with great force. In length they were commonly from
five feet to five feet and a half,'^" 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.'^'
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,'^
and appear to have been sufficiently strong.''* 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 ; '*" the shafts were carefully notched at the
lower extremity, and winged with three feathers in the most
approved modern fashion.''*' 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.'*' Two modes of stringing the bow
are here shown (Fig. 156).
Each bowman, unless when riding in a chariot, carried a
quiver slung at his back ; and the king generally carries one
even under such circumstances,'** 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
head.'** The whole of the exterior was painted in gay pat-
terns.
Another offensive arm frequently employed by the Egyptians
was the javelin (Fig. 1G6), 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.'*' At the lower extremity was either a tasselled head,
216 filSTORt Of ANCIENt EQYlPT.
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."^ "i'hey 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.'^' 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 ; '''* but it was
not often that such a result was achieved. Generally the two
chariot forces became intermixed, and the battle was a mere
melc'e, depending on the individual prowess and strength of
the combatants. The Egyptians are ordinarily represented as
greatly outnumbered by their adversaries, Avith 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,''*^ whose weapons seem to
inflict death at every blow.
To counteract the confusion which appears to have been tlie
normal conditien of things in every fig»ht, it was important
that the members of each corps should have a visible rallying-
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, ^^'^ representing either
the liead 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 Roman 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.'"
Eacli company of soldiers was commanded by an officer
called mcnh, whose rank was nearly that of lieutenant in our
Vol. I.
Hate li.
Fig. 123.— Merula.— See Tage 178.
Fig. ]x!-l. — Xktpe. — See
Page ISO.
Fig. 135.— Aemhetp.— See
Page 179.
Fig. IJO. — Bast or Pasht.— See Page 179.
Plate tit.
Vol I
Fig. 137.— Ordinary Forms op Nkphthys.— See
Page 180.
Fig. 138.— ANtTKA.— See
Page 181.
Fig. 139.— Forms op BlA.-See Page 188.
Vol. I.
Plate LIII.
Fig. 130.— Forms of Taouht.— See Page 185.
J^ijj. 133.— yKPULCHBAL JARS. WITH JiKADs OF THE FOUR Gknii.— StiC Page 187,
Plate L.V.
Vol. i
Fig. 134.— Tafne.— See Fig. 135.— Mersekeh.— Fig. 136.— Form of Kak.
Page 183. See Page 183 . See Page 183.
Fig. 137.— FOKMS OF Set.— See Page 18 (.
Fig. 138.— An Eoyptiaw
Priest.— See Page 300.
CONDUCT OF SIEGES. 219
service. Above liim was the aten, or captain ; then the mer,
or major ; and finally the haut, the colonel or general.'" The
conscripts, or young soldiers, neferu, were distinguished from
the rest of the army,'" and probably filled the posts of least
danger. The archers, 7nasa, 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.'^ The monarch usually led the
expeditions, and acted as commander-in-chief, while important
posts were frequently filled by liis sons. '"
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.'^*
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 efEect a breach. Meanwhile, the attention of the
defenders was distracted by archers, who shot at every or#
who showed himself above the battlements. After a bread*
had been effected, no doubt an assault was made, v/hen 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 atteiLpt
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.'"
Fire does not appear tp have been applied, as by the Assyr-
220 HISTORY OF AXCIEJS:T EGYPT.
ians ; "* 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,'^' or catapults and balistcB,^^ like the
same people, and also the Greeks and Eomans. 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.'" 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. ***
Jerusalem was only once taken after David had fortified it, and
then seems to have submitted, and not fallen by assault.'" 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 ; '"
but all soldiers were supposed capable of being sailors, and the
same persons were often employed altvsrnately in the sea and
in the land services.'" The galleys (Fig. 162) used were of no
great size, being impelled by not more than from sixteen to
twenty rowers,'*^ 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 liead 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 tlie 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 stern on a raised seat, and
manages a large paddle or steering o»-r, which is attached to
NAVAL TACTICS. 231
the side of the vessel. The vessel has a single mast, a long
curved 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.
Xaval 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.'" 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 tlian 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 iS^ile, 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 emplo3'ed ; "* 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.'*' 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."" The
Nile boats must have been especially serviceable as transports,
since they were at least 130 feet long,'" 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. '" 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."' On land, those who laid down their weapons
ai id sued for mercy were ordinarily spared ; their arms were
232 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
bound together by a cord passed round them a httle 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."* 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 ; "* but sometimes the monarch was pleased to
reward individual captors by making over to them their own
prisoners,"* 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 ;'" 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."* If it be urged against this that the Assyrians, who
were not much less civilized than the Egyptians, beyond all
doubt, frequently put prisoners to death in cold blood,"' the
reply may be made that the Assyrian monarchs distinctly
acknowledge, and indeed glory in, the practice, whereas no
mention of it appears in the Egyptian records. Nor do the
Greek writers ever tax the Egyptian monarchs with such bar-
barities.'*" It is the Etliiopian, Sabaco (Shabak),, who puts to
death the captive Bocchoris.'*'
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 riglit hand was the part ordinarily
selected ; '*^ but sometimes the tongue was preferred, and occa-
sionally the organ of reproduction.'*' Heaps of each are seen
CAMPS — ORDER OF MARCH. 223
in the 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
each soldier on his presentation of these proofs of his prowess,'**
% 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 ; "** but, while their dominion
lasted, the Egyptians, we may loe 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. '** 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."" 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.'**
There was also within the camp a shrine, or centre for relig-
ious worship "*' — 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 ; '*° 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 ians or flabell a, ^^^
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 ANCIENT EGYPT.
starting and halting the columns."'' 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."^ 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. ''■*
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, '^^ 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. '^* As he approached the various towna
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.'"
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, he 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,'*^ 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."'
The condition of the fellaliin, 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.'"" It
is possible, however, that somewhat too favorable a view has
been there taken. The number of peasants rich enough to
rent farms ^nd cultivf<,te on their own account was probably
TTKPRIVILEGET) CLASSES — LABORERS. 22u
small ; and the great majority of the class had to content
themselves with the position of hired laborers, and to work ou
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.-*" 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,*"'^
"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, * 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. ^'^^ "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)Jwith 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, '*"* not only by the privileged classes, but by
their servants — perhaps even by their slaves — and it will be
226 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, bvit 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,'"' 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 otiier more distant ones, and exchanged
them for the finished productions of the Egyptian manufactur-
ers.'"® Syria took Egyptian chariots by hundreds ; '■^"'' Tyre im-
ported "fine linen with broidered work ; " ^^^ Greece, large quan-
tities of paper ; '"^ India and Arabia, linen fabrics ; *'° Etruria,
glass, porcelain, and alabaster ; '" Assyria, perhaps, ivories.*"*
In 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 Red 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.'"'
The most important trades appear to have been those of
building, stone-cutting, weaving, furniture-making, chariot-
making, glass-blowing, potteiy, metallurgy, boat-building,
and embalming. The builders worked in three materials,
wood, stone, and brick, preferring stone on tlie 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. 143.— Infantry drilled by a SKRaKANT.— See Page 212.
Plate LVI.
Vol. I.
Fig. 144.— Light-armed Troops marching.— See
Page 213.
Fig. 14.").— 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 TRAPES— STONE-CUTTIXG. 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."'*
Stone-cutting inckided 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.*'*
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.*'* 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, liearts, sphinxes, and scarabtei,*" and then
^'sometimes) to inscribe them further with figures of deities or
Hieroglyph ics. There is little delicacy and little grace in these
engravings, Avhich are rough, shallow, and unfinished.
The cutting of blocks was ordinarily effected by the saw,"'
which was single-handed (Fig. 172), and worked by a single
sawyer.*" But sometimes the pick and chisel were employed
to a certain extent, and then wedges of dry wood were inserted,
which ^n being wetted expanded, and split off the required
228 HISTORY OF ANCIEiiT EGYPT.
block from the mass of stone in the quarry, '''" It is supposed'"'
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 M'as effected.
Emery powder was not difficult to obtain, since it is produced
by the islands of the Archipelago. Whether or no the Egyp-
tians em])loyed the lapidary's wheel appears to be doubtful.
Blocks of stone, however obtained from the quarries, were
finally smoothed and prepared for use by means of the chisel
and mallet,*'''^
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 ; ^'■'^ but the native monuments show that
men and women were alike employed both in spinning and
weaving (Fig. ITS), and that the woof was worked indifferently
either up or down,*'^* The Eg}^tian loom was of the most
primitive description,^'^ 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 Avorked 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,^'' The
fineness of some equals that of the best Indian muslin,"" while
of others it is said that "in touch they are comparable to silk,
and in texture to our finest cambric," ^^* Originally the linen
was extremely white ; ^^^ but sometimes it Avas dyed red,'''" and
at other times the edges were colored with indigo, either in a
single line or in several stripes.'^' Patterns were occasionally
inwrought during the weaving,'-'^' Avhile sometimes they were
superadded by a process analogous to that which in modern
times is called printing.''*^ Gold threads were also in some
cases introduced to give additional richness to the fabric,***
which was often as transparent as lawn '^' 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 Aveaver,"
he says,'^* "inside the houses is more wretched 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 — UPHOLSTKRY 229
he is dragged as a lily in a pool. lie 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 handici'afts 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,'^^' 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.''^'* The empty
and bare interiors affected by modern Orientals were not at all
to the Egyptian taste. Elegant chairs,'^* 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.^*"
Tables, moreover, round, square, or oblong, sometimes delicate-
ly inlaid with ivory or with rare woods, '^^^ sometimes supported
on a carved human figure,^*'' were essential to the completeness
of an apartment. Eootstools 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.^** For the sleeping apart-
ments, rich beds or couches, with mattrasses, pillows, and
cushions, were required, together with toilet-tables, chairs,
" wardrobes, and wooden head-rests (Fig. 1G7) of a peculiar
fashion.^" 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 "on the whole, lightly furnished, and not encum-
bered with so many articles as are in use at the present day," ^"
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 filSTOKY OP ANCIENT 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 ; *^^ and every well-
to-do Egyptian gentleman had his own private vehicle, which
constituted his ordinary means of locomotion.'^*' Four-wheeled
cars were required for certain sacred ceremonies.*** The export
of chariots was also probably considerable, °"** and perhaps ex-
tended to other countries besides Syria.''"*' 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.'^" 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.**"
If the price which foreigners paid for a chariot was three
hundred Jewish shekels,*'^ 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,*'* is with reason claimed
for Egypt, *^* where glass-blowing appears to have been prac-
tised, at least from the time of the twelfth dynasty. **' 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.*" 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. No 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 ; *** and also for ornaments of the
person, such as necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and tlie like.**'
Glass was also largely employed for the decoration of mum-
mies by means of a net- work of beads and bugles,**" 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.**' together with artificial pastes.
POTTERY. 231
and such substances as lapis lazuli, agate, etc. Sometimes,
but rarely, small figures of gods and animals were produced in
the material,''"
Egyptian pottery (Fig. 179) embraced the varieties of a coarse
red, black, or yellow earthenware, sviitable for the wants of
the common people, a finer terra-cotta, adapted not only for
vases, diotae, amphorte, 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 ; **' 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.'" 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, '^* which must thus have
been of an extreme antiquity in Egypt, while in other coun-
tries it was a comparativly recent introduction.'*^ 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.'" The glazed vessels were of superior quality
to the unglazed, and sometimes affected human or animal
shapes.'** They were often ornamented with bands, and oc-
casionally inscribed with a few hieroglyphics.'*' The painted
vases and amphone (Fig. 180) were either simply decorated
with "annular bands of a black or purple color, running round
the body or neck," or had a liatching 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." '^'" But
the most reclierche 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-
flcwers.'"
In terra-cotta the Egyptians produced chiefly vases, espe-
cially those intended to receive the intestines of the dead,"'
sepulchral cones,'" mummied figures,"* and statuettes of dei-
ties."' The material used is only of middling quality, and
was frequently concealed by paint.'" It was not much affected,
excepting for sepulchral cones, in the time of the independent
232 HISTORY OV ANCIENT EGYPT.
monarchy, but came into mwre 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,"' was composed of white sand,
slightly fused,"''* and covered with a colored glaze or enamel,
the constituents of which are somewhat doubtful."' Porcelain
was employed for vases of various kinds, for glazed tiles, sepul-
chral figures, pectoral plates, symbolic eyes, beads and bugles,
scarabtei, rings, and statuettes. The vases are usually of a
blue or apple-green color, and have for tlie most part a form re-
sembling somewhat that of a lotus flower, consisting of round
basins, or bowls, or tall cups, superimposed upon a losv stand
or stem.""" 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.''*'
The glazed tiles seem to have been used for mural decora-
tion only. They have been found almost exclusively at one
place,*"** where they belonged to a palace of Eameses III.,
which was composed of unbaked bricks and ornamented with
the tiles in question. Like those which decorated the walls of
some Babylonian palaces,'*^ 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 ; "^^ 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 tlie 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." ^**
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,*** 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 scarabwus and saluted by Isis and Neph-
thys, the worship of Osii'is by the deceased, the human-headed
hawk (Horns), or a train of goddesses. Occasionally, portions
of the design are colored by inlaying with pastes.**'
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, tlie spaces between the limbs "reserved," '** 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."^** 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 Avas 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 pi'oduced the ordinary coarse
ware, and which is seen at work in the sepulchral chambers of
Beni Hassan,^^** was probably composed of persons who were
not held in much account, and may have consisted in part of
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,*'' 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.^* After digging out the quartz they broke it up
by hand into small pieces,^''' 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, imtil 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-
|»osure to the heat of a furnace for five days and nights in
«arthen crucibles, which were allowed to CQol and then broken.
234 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
The ingots having 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,''*
proceeded to work the material into shape with the forceps and
tongs,^'* and finally to fashion it with graving tools. '^" Among
the objects produced, the commonest were solid rings of a
certain size and weight, which seem to have passed current as
money, ^* vases, bowls, baskets, armlets, bracelets, anklets, neck-
laces, earrings, and other ornaments of the person, cups, gob-
lets, rhytons, and otber drinking vessels. Statuettes also were
sometimes made of gold,'^' and figures of the sacred animals
were inlaid with it.^"" 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,^*" 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 taste was also shown by the Egyptian gold-
smiths in their armlets, bracelets, earrings, 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.^"* Bracelets were generally solid bands of metal,
plain, or else ornamented with do ison7i/ work, and sometimes
enamelled and inlaid with lapis lazuli and glass pastes. ^"^
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.'^"* 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,'^"" and occasionally were set with pearls or other jewels.^"*
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,
and, if it revolved, some other engraved figures.
USE OF IRON AND BRONZE. 235
In silver the objects produced were, principally, rings used
for money, ^°' vases, bracelets, plates to be employed as orna-
ments of mummies,^"* figures of gods and sacred animals,**
and finger rings. The forms affected resembled for the most
part those of the same objects in goM, but were on the whole
less elaborate. It is worthy of observation that the silver is
sometimes gilt.^'"
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,'*" 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. ="^
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,^'^ 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.^''' 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,'"
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,''* and
their neighbors of Egypt, whose civilization was 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,'"
though loss appreciated than we should have expected. Iron
spearheads, iron sickles, iron gimlets, iron bracelets, iron keys,
iron Avire, 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 OF 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, such as saws, chisels, hatchets, adzes, drills, and brad-
awls ; are usually, or at any rate frequently, of this material,"*
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,^" a very unusual proportion ; more
often the copper stood to the tin as eighty-eight to twelve ;^*"^
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. ^'^ 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.^" Bronze was also used, as already
observed,^*** 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, who 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,^''* 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-
sarjf to save cattle from au excessive inundation.^'" The stem
BOAT-BUILDING — EMBALMING. 237
#nd stern of these vessels rose considerably above the water ;
they must have been flat-bottomed and broad, like punts, or
they could have possessed no stability. They are probably
the "vessels of bulrushes," spoken of by Isaiah/^* which were
common to the Egyptians with the Ethiopians.
But the ordinary Nile boat (Fig. 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.^" 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. ^'^^ 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. ^■^'
Occasionally the house was of a more solid character, being
formed of boards which were continuous and only pierced by
a few windows. ^^° 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. ^^'
The embalmers of 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 ^^^ 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
tlian 240Z. of our money ; and even for a secondary and far
inferior method, a payment had to be made exceeding 80Z.
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.^^ 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. ^^*
The embalmers' trade was certainly ancient in Egypt, '^^ and
by the time of the eighteenth dynasty the art had attained an
extraordinary pitch of perfection. '^^^ 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. ^^' The
right side was opened by a cut with a flint knife, ^^' and the
whole of the intestines were removed by the hand ^^^ and placed
in sepulchral urns ; ^^ the cavity was then cleansed by an in-
jection of palm-wine, and sometimes by a subsequent infusion
of pounded aromatics ; ^' 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 ; ^'
a plate of tin, inscribed with the symbolic eye, was laid over
the incision in the right side ; the arms were 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 ; ^^ 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 Avherein a single
corpse was swathed exceeded TOO, or, according to one writer,
1,000 yards. ^^ 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 tinctnrms, 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
coatiiig of stucco, and was painted in bright colors with hiero-
EMBALM1N(5. 239
glyphics and figures of deities.*** 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,^" 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 "Ritual 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.**' 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,^" 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 necessary, unless the poot
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 ; ^*
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. ^'" 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.'" Yet, if any credence is to be given to a tale told by
Herodotus,'" 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
evisceratora {parascliistce) and embalmers UaricIieutcB) being
240 mSTORY OF AN-CIEKT 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, ^*^ 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.^" 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 probahly of bronze and not of iron.^**
After the form had been in this way completely rendered,^"
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.^" 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 ; ^'*
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, ^" or
in which the Egyptians are engaged in a hand-to-hand conflict
with their foes by land ^^ or sea,'*" or Avhere the flying foe is
driven from the field in utter rout ; ^^ or, lastly, where the
monarch is employed in the chase of the king of beasts, ^*^ 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, ^^ and figures of men
or animals. Of the portraits we have no specimens ; ^" 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. ^^^ We have also some
representations of painters at work upon animal forms,^" 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 %vay, he painted the
animal. A similar absence of support is observable when
painters are employed in coloring statues. ^'^^ When the artist
was engaged in any complicated work, instead of a single paint-
pot, he made use of a palette. This was 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,^*' which indicate the employment of at least
eleven or twelve different tints.^'" The cakes of paint, which
filled the cavities, were moistened at the time of use, with a
mixture of water and gum arable.^" The painter used slabs
and mullers for grinding his colors.^"
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." *" 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."^'* 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." "* He
also declares tha* he is "an artist, wise in his art — a man
standing above all w?^^ by his learning."^" 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 oX
Vol. I
Plate LYIII.
Vol. I.
MirSlCIANS AND MrsiCAL 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."' There may perhaps have been
some higher and more serious employment of it, as in funeral
lamentations/" in religious processions/" 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.^*" Still, as an amu::3ment 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,**' placed
very near the lower extremity. Pipes, on the other hand,
were short, not exceeding a length of fifteen inches ; ^* 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 ; ^^ 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,*** which were made of
catgut,**' and were always of different lengths. Some harps
were above six feet high,*** 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,*" 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. *^* 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 AKCIENT 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. ^*' Drums
were also of two kinds : one, like the drum of the soldiers,'^^°
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 sbaped
like the rose of a watering-pot.*'" 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, ^'* though not perbapsso small
as that which characterized the guitar of the Assyrians.'*"^ The
neck or handle was at once long and narrow ; the strings were
three onh','^^ 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 liave been passed through
holes in the neck and then tied as tightly as was necessary.*"
The mode of playing was nearly the same as in modern times,
the left hand being employed in shortening or lengthening the
etrings, and the right in striking the notes. These, however,
were produced, not by the actual fingers, but by the plectrum
or short pointed rod. The performer on the guitar usually
played it standing, and sometimes danced to his own melody.*'*
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,*" which some-
times carried two or three rings apiece ; *'* 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,*" 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.*^" 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. ■"*' In another sculpture, two
singers are accompanied by a flute-player and two harpers.***'^
In a third, three sing, while one plays the harp, one the lyre,
and one the double pipe.*"^ 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.'"'* Where the performers are more numerous, the
same instrument is played by two or more of them.*"' Most
commonly all the members of a single band are of one sex ;
but occasionally the two sexes are intermixed.'"*
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,*"' 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,*"* 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,*"' 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 liave 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,*'" and scribes were not there-
fore 80 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 *'Kitual 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."" Most private persons of large
means kept bailiifs or secretaries, who made up their accounts,
paid their laborers, and otherwise acted as managers of their
property. T'here 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.'"'^ It would seem that there were schools"'^ in the
larger towns open to all who desired education. In these
reading, writing, and arithmetic were 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 ; ■*'* 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,*'' superin-
tendent of store-houses,"'^ registrar of the docks,"" clerk of the
closet,"'^ keeper of the royal library,"'* "scribe of the double
house of life." """ 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
were implicated, while two served upon the tribunal before
which the criminals were arraigned."" 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.""
The great number of persons who practised medicine in
Egypt is mentioned by Herodotus/'" who further notices the
PHYSICIAN'S 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.*^
The consideration in which physicians were held is indicated
by the tradition Avhich ascribed the composition of the earliest
medical works to one of the kings,'*-^ as well as by the reputa-
tion for advanced knowledge which the Egyptian practitioners
early obtained in foreign countries.'*'* According to a modern
authority,''" 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. ••'*
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 higliost 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,*^* "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 ns that, almost without exception,
they married either the daughters or the granddaughters of
the reigning sovereigns, who did not refuse the Mnrket this
honor." 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 littld'j
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
Serapeunij and attracts the general attention of travellers.**''
248 HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
Though a position of such eminence as tiiis could belong
only to one man at a time, it is evident tliat the lustre attach-
ing to the head of their profession 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.''*' 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. '*^'' 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 by the scribe, Tuauf-
sakhrat,^^' as well as farmers, laborers, stonecutters, builders,
armorers, and weavers ; and though he does not often point
out any suiferings peculiar to those of his own countrymen
who were 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.^^
If the boatman, for instance, led a laborious life, "doing
beyond the power of his hands to do," *'^^ he had yet s])irit
enough to enter iato rivalry with 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.''^® If the fowler and
the fisherman had sometimes hard work to make a Hving, yet
they had the excitement which attaches to every kind of sport,
and from time to time were rewarded for tlieir 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 fish ■*^' or birds, as many
as twenty-five of the latter being enclosed on some occasions.*^
The fish were often of large size, so that a man could only
just carry one ; ''^^ and though these monsters Avere 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,**" 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,"'
when there was no immediate sale for them.
An occupation held in especial disrepute was that of the
swineherd. According to Herodotus,*^* 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,"^ 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 Avho either belonged to a profession or exeraised a
trade or calling, that upper class of which we have more than
once spoken,**^ 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 adniinstration,'"' connected in many instances
more or less closely with the royal family,**" 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.*" Such persons, as has been said,**'
"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 lar^e
house, amply and elegantly furnished — the floor strewn with
bright-colored carpets ■"' — the rooms generally provided with
abundant sofas and chairs, couches, tables, faldstools, ottomans,
stands for flowers,, footstools, vases, etc/^" — -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/*' 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"'*" — 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,^" 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,*'* 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 indispensable *" 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.*"
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.*" 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.*"' 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.— Wab-chariot, with Bow-case, Qutvbes, and Javelins.— See Page 215.
m — □ — cf
Fig. 151.— EaTPTiAN Battle-axes and Pole-axe.— See Page 216.
Plate LX
Vol. I.
lii^iKJiiKJ^
\5a:
Fig. 152.— EcYPTLi^r Clubs asd Maces.— See Page 216.
Fig. 153.— Egtptian Daggers.— See Page 216
Fig. 155.— Archer taking aim.
See Page 21?.
Vol. I.
Plate LXI.
Fig. 156.— Archers stringing their Bows.— See Page 217.
Vig. 157.— Egyptian Quivers.— See Fig. 158.— Egyptian Trumpetkbs.— See
Page 217. Page 224.
Plate LXII.
Vol. I.
Fig. ICO.— Siege of a Fort.— See Page 230
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 aboat 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. 19G) being unknown ; but they came
into fashion at the beginning of the fifth dynasty,^^* 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.^"" 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.*" Thus attired,
the lord took his baton or stick,"*^'^ and, quitting his dressing-
room, made his appearance in the salon, 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,*" and must have occupied the tirewoman for a con-
siderable period. A double-toothed comb was used for comb-
ing it,*" 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, which 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.**' On their bodies some females wore only a single
garment,*^* 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. '"^
They wore sandals from the same date as the men, and had
252 HISTORY OF ANCIENT 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.''" The
application of kolil or stibinm to the eyes seems to have formed
an ordinary part the toilet."'**
It is unfortunely 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,"™ 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,"" 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,"" 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 seated on a chair,"" 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,"'" 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 were 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 OP WILD BEASTS. 253
wife or a sister/" 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.*'*
This enabled him to recover the spear, even if it sank, or wa3
carried down 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 phxced his whole dependence on a missile, which
has been called a "throw-stick"''" — 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 liis 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.*'* 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 Avater-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.'*" 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-
time, 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 w^ere 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 dogb,
254 filSTORY 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
f each animal as soon as he was entangled, before he could break
his way through the obstacle and make his escape. AVhen 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 thfc
day.'"*" All the wild animals of the region, roused from their
several Inirs, were brought together within a narrow space, —
hyaenas, 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 mrli'e, discharging his arrows right
and left, and bringing down the choicest game. Attendants
continually supplied fresh arrows ; and the Avork 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 this case, too, dogs were used, though scarcely
with much effect."^"*' The cattle were, most likely, either stalked
or laid in wait for, and, when sufficiently near, were either
lassoed,'"'" 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,"*®^ the lion was made use of
in the chase of some animals, being trained to the work, as
the clieeta or hunting-leopard is in Persia and India. That
the Egyptians tamed lions appears from several of the sculpt-
ures,*** and is also attested by at least one ancient writer ;***
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 wild state, were sometimes
hunted by the monarchs ; *®^ but it is doubtful whether any
Egyptian subject, however exalted his rank, ever engaged in
CHASE OP VriLD BEASTS. 2oZ
the exciting occupation. The lion was scarcely to be found
within the limits of Egypt during any period of tlie monarchy ;
and though occasionally to be seen in the deserts upon the
Egyptian borders,**' 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, "liunted a hundred and twenty elephants on account of
their tusks." ''^ 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,**' on which it both fed and trampled by night, while at
the same time it was valued for its hide, which was regarded
as the best possible material for shields, helmets, and javelins.*'"
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 tiiem, 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 ; *" 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.*'**
There were two modes of chasing the crocodile (Fig, 198).
Sometimes it was speared,*'^ like the hippopotamus, and was
then probably killed in much the same way ; but another
method was also adopted, wliich is thus described by Herodo-
tus : *'* — "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
256 HlStOKY OP ANCIENT EGYPT.
tlie 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 t© 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.***
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,''** 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 lie 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.'*" 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 enmii. An exten-
sive literature was open to him, if he cared to read ; **^ 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.'***
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 "to give bread to the hungry, drink to the thirsty,
clothes to the naked, oil to the wounded, and burial to the
dead." '"" It was also incumbent on him, in tiie general opin-
ion of those with whom he lived, that he should show towards
MODE OF EXERCISING HOSPITALITY. 25T
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. AVith 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 chapter.
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 ; *"' confectionery was prepared, spices pounded, maca-
roni made,'"^ 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,'"* 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
guests, generally in pairs, but sometimes in groups, conversed
one with another. '''■* 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. ^"' Sometimes, at the same party, there would
be two bands,*"* who, we may suppose, played alternately. Pet
animals, dogs, gazelles, or monkeys,'*'' 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,'"' 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,*"' 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 with,^'" 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."' The dishes offered him Avould 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 water-fowl ; vegetables in profusion, as especially
lentils, endives, and cucumbers ; pastry, cakes, and fruits of
twenty kinds, particularly grapes and figs."* To quench his
thirst, he would be supplied with frequent draughts of wine or
beer,"^ the wine probably diluted with water.
Herodotus tell us "^ that it was customary, when the feast
was 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 Avill 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."* 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."* The custom mentioned by Herodotus
and alluded to also by Plutarch,"' can only have proceeded
from the priests, who doubtless wished, as guardians of the
public morality, to clieck the intemperance which they were
unable to prevent altogether.
After the banquet was entirely ended, music and singing
were generally resumed,"* and sometimes tumblers or jugglers,
both male and female, were introduced, and feats of agility
were gone through with much dexterity and grace."* The
GAMES — PROVISION" FOR GEN"ERAL 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,"" or stood on their heads, '" 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 houi's did not disdain to
play draughts with their favorites,"" 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 reseinbling draughts, one like the modern morra,
and several which cannot be identified, certainly were ; "^ 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." ^-^ Nor did courtesans, though occa-
sionally they attained to a certain degree of celebrity among
the Egyptians,"* 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 Avas poly-
gamy unknown to the inhabitants of the Nile valley, and even
licensed concubinage confined to the kings,"* but vvoman 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."' Women were free to attend the markets and
shops ; *'^ to visit and receive company, both male and female ;
to join in the most sacred religious services ; '" to follow the
dead to the grave ; and to perform their part in the sepul-
chral sacrifices.""
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 young
men, when they met their elders in the streets," we are told,"'
**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."
In arrangements with respect to education they seem also
to have attained a point not often reached by the nations of
antiquity. If the schools wherein scribes obtained their in-
struction were really open to all,"' and the career of scribe
might be pursued by 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 would seem that the efficient
Bcribe 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.
» Baker's Albert Nyanza, vol. i, p.
xxvii.
» See Herod, ii, 18: Strab. xvii, 1, §
4. Compare the Memnire of M. Jo-
mard in the Description de VEgypte,
"Antiquites," vol. ii, p. 89.
3 The term " Egypt," which was
not known to the Egyptians them-
selves, appeai-s to have been first used
by the Greeks as a name for the Nile
(Hom. O'l iv, 477, xiv, -;57: Strab. i, 2,
§ 22), and thence to have extended it-
self to the country. Its derivation is
uncertain.
* See Jomard in the Dcscnphon de
rEgypte, 1. s. c. ; Kenrick, Ancient
E(iypt, vol. i, p. SI ; Russell, Ancient
and Mfxlern Egypt, p. 419: Smith, Diet,
of Greek and Wjman Gcoyrnphy, vol. i,
p. 36, etc.
* See 1 Kings viii, 6.5: 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 ^n3n, not iniH.
* The ruins of Berenice are placed
by the French savants in lat. 23° 48',
by Mr. Donne i Dictinnary of Gixeh and
Roman Geiiiir(t])hjj, sub voc. Berenice)
in lat. 23° 56'. This latter view is now
generally taken.
' 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
squai'e miles. The real area is cer-
tainly not over,— it is perliaps some-
what under,— 100,000 square miles.
* From the old apex of the Delta,
nearly opposite Heliopolis, to the
Sebennytic mouth is 110 miles (Wil-
kinson in Rawlinsou's Hero<l<jtus, vol.
ii, p. S); 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 Kosetta is given by
Mr. Kenrick (Anciiiit Egypt, vol. i, p.
34, note) as 739 miles; but this is, I
think, an overestimate.
■ By measurement of the large
French map published in the Descrip-
tion dc VEgypte, on wliich there has
been scarcely any improvement in
more recent times, I find the distance
from the present apex of the Delta to
Caiiopus. to Pelusium, to the Daml-
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, about 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.
w 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
(Dcsc7-iption, " Antiguites," vol. ii,
p. 92), or above 11,000 English sq.
miles. He appears, however, to in-
clude in tills 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.
w Dr. Russell (1. s. c.) estimated the
cultivable area at ten millions of
acres.
" Description, " Antiquites," vol.
ii, p. 90. i« Ibid.
" That of M. Girard (Description,
"Hist. Nat." vol. ii, p. 351: " Ainsl
I'Egypte 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.")
w Donne, in Smith's Dictionary of
Greek and Roman Geography, l.s.c.
1' Jomard, Description, "Anti-
quites," vol. ii, p. 92.
'8 See the essay on Lake Mceris
in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. ii, p. 329, e.t.
J' 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 1.50 square miles for the
superficies of Lake Moeris, and the
amount is 840 square milee.
262
N"OTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIETSTT EGYPT.
[CH. 1.
» The estimate of M. Jomard ex-
ceeds this. He speaks (l.s.c.) of the
sands covering 558 square leagues, oi-
between two and three millions of
acres.
" See the passage quoted at the head
of this chapter, llerodotus imagined
that the Nile Valley as far as Sycne
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-
scriptUm de VEyypte, " Hist. Nat."
vol. ii, p. 361).
" Compare Sir S. Baker's remarks
in his Alherl Nyanza, vol. i. Intro-
duction, p. xxvii: "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."
M See Hecatseus, Frag. 278, 279, 295,
296; Herod, ii, 5-34; Diod.Sic. i, 10 19,
32-38; Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, vol. i,
pp. 5-60; Russell, Ancient and Modern
Egypt, pp. 32-53; Sharpe, Kistory of
Egypt, vol. i, pp. 4-7, etc.
2< 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.
26 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.
a« 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".
"" Speke in 1858 made the elevation
3,740 feet, while his observations in
ls62 gave the result of 3,308 feet (so
l^ivingstone in 1873). The mean of
these would be 3,524 feet. Lieut. Cam-
eron, however, in 1875 argues for an
elevation of not more than 2,000 feet!
(See Geographical Journal, vol. xlvi,
p. 222.)
M Baker (4l?)er< Nyanza, vol. ii, p.
].53) made tlie elevation 2,720 feet. So
Livingstone (Last J(mrnaU, map).
|iut Sir H. Rawlinson oq 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).
2» It has been already noticed that
Sir S. Baker extends conjecturally the
basin of the Albert N. to long. 23° (see
above, notch's).
30 See Baker's Albert Nyanza, vol.
ii, pp. 94-103.
'1 The issue of the Nile from the
Albert Nyanza, which until 1876 had
only been seen from a distiince 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).
53 Albert Nyanza, vol. ii, p. 283.
^ Ibid. p. 286.
36 Ibid. p. 287. In fifteen miles, be-
tween Afuddo and the Asua, the fall ia
222 feet, or nearly fifteen feet a mile
{AthencBum, No. 2,551, p. 372).
38 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.
3' Asua is the form used by Sir S.
Baker (Albert Nyanza, vol. ii, pp. 287,
308, etc.), Ashua that preferreciby his
nephew, Lieut. Baker (Geographical
Journal for 1874, p. 46). This river
below its junction with the Atabbi,
was 130 yai'ds 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.
3» Ibid, p. 46.
« Ibid, p. 48.
<' Geograph. Journal for 1876, p. 38.
In this part of its course, where the
water is most dispersed, the Nile ia
often obstructed by great masses of
floating vegetation, wliich 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. Jimrnal for 1874, pp. 38-40;
AU>crt Nyanza, vol. ii, pp. 329-332.)
** Albert Nyanza, vol. i, p. 44.
*3 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).
" So Bruce ( Travels, vol. v, p. 308).
I am not aware that tliere have been
any more recent observations.
♦* Humboldt (('entral .4.ste7i, p. 93)
gives tlie elevation as 955 toises, or
6,106 Knglish feet.
«8 The courses of the Blue Nile and
its affluents were in part explored by
CH. I.]
THE LAND.
263
Sir S. Baker in 1861-2. He descended
the Dinder from about lat. 14° nearly
to its junction with the Blue Nile, and
then the Blue Nile itself to Khartoum
(see his Nile Trihutin-i'f:, pp. 357-375).
«' Baker, Albert yijamn, vol. i. p. 7.
'8 Ibid. p. 8 ; Nile Tributanes., pp. 373
et seq. (4th edition).
** Albert Nyanza, vol. i, p. 33.
^ Nile Tributaries, Preface, p. viii.
" Baker, Albert Nyanza, vol. i, p. 6.
82 See Wilkinson in the author's
Herodotus, vol. ii, p. 8 (3d edit.).
63 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.
M This was tlie route taken by Bruce
in 1772, by Burckhardt in 1814, and by
Baker in 1861. It is now almost in-
vai'iably followed.
^ Baker, Albert Nyanza, vol. i, p. 4 ;
Nile Tributaries, p. 4.
6* See Girard in the Description <ie
VEgypte, ''Hist. Nat." vol. ii, p. 343:
" L'Kgypte semble commencer en
quelque sorte a on flnit le sol grani-
tique." Compare Wilkinson, Topog-
raphy of Thebes, p. 452; Kenrick, An-
cient Egypt, vol. i, pp. 33-5, etc.
6' Description, "Hist. Nat." vol. ii,
p. 344.
* 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.
* Description, " H. N.," l.s.c. Com-
pare Wilkinson, T(jpography, pp. 438-
447. Champollion observes that the
i-iver here " makes a second entrance
into Egypt."
s> Especially Edfou (Apollinopolis
Magna) and Esne (Latopolis), both of
which are on the left bank (Description,
l.s.c. ; Teypography of Thebe.'<, pp. 425 and
435). Kenrick (vol. i, p. 37) wrongly
places Edfou on the right bank.
'1 Strictly speaking, tlie sandstone
ends and the limestone begins before
Gibelein. Tlie exact point of the
cliange IS opposite El Qenan, about
fourteen miles above Esne (Toimgra-
yhy, p. 429.
^ Description, p. 345 and Map.
« At Darout-el-Sherif, in lat. 27° 34'
{Description, p. 345). Mr. Kenrick
regards this canal as branching oil"
more than a hundred miles higher up
the stream, at Chenoboseion, 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 Chenoboseion to Syout (Lyco-
polis), a little north of which it ter-
minates.
•* Zouyieh is the form used by Bel-
zoni, Zaouy that of the French sa-
vants. This place ia probably the
Iseum 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 I'Egypte moyenne."
66 Wilkinson, in the author's Herod-
otits, vol. ii, p. 8, note*, 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.
60 Baker, A/be?t 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).
'"• Baker, Albert Nyanza, vol. ii, p. 308.
'1 Ibid.
" See above, p. 7.
'3 Baker, Albert Nyanza, vol. ii, p. 309.
'* See Baker's small map, Albert
Nyanza, vol. i, opp. p. xxi. (repeated
in his Nile Tribniai-ies and his Ismailia).
'6 Geograph. Journal for 1874, p. 38.
^6 Baker^s Albert Nyanza, vol. 1, p. 47.
" Ibid. p. 8. Compare Nile Tribu-
taries, pp. 22-3.
'8 Albert Nyanza, vol. 1, p. 9 ; NUt
Tributaries, p. 25.
'» Albert Nyanza, vol. 1, p. 10.
w Ibid. p. 5. The *,our8e8 of the Blue
Nile and Atbara, together with their
tiibutaries, are well given by Sir S.
Baker in the mao accompanying his
Nile Tributaries (ff Abyssinia, opp. p. 1.
« The French savants made the
average rise 7,419 metres {Description
" Hist. Nat." vol. ii, p. 352)^which is
23,721 English feet. Sir Q. Wilkinson
says the rise at Old Cairo is sixteen
cubits, or twenty -four feet. (See the
author's Herodotus, vol. ii, p. 297, 3C
ed.)
^ Description, l.s.c.
83 Wilkinson, in the author's Herod
otus, l.s.c.
M Ibid.
88 See the description of an unusual
rise in Belzoni's Operations and Di»
coveries, pp. 299-303. Extraordinary)
inundations in ancient times werl
equally disastrous (Plin. H. N. v, 9).
86 Herod, ii, 13.
8^ 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 euch a height that
264
NOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIEXT EGYPT.
[CH. I.
the river would not be able to over-
flow its banks, and Eg:ypt, conse-
quently, from being the most fertile,
would, for want of the annual inunda-
tion, become one of the most barren
parts of the miiverse" (^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. 460^50).
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
histoi'ian, as the medium between ex-
cess and defect (ab. a.d. 1200); 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.).
» Description de VEgypte, " Hist.
Nat." vol. ii, p. 366: "En effet, si les
depots de limon exhaussent le sol de
I'Egypte, la meme cause exhausse
aussi le fond du Nil, de sortequela
profondeur de ce fleuve au-dessous
de la plaine doit rester a peu pres la
meme."
•1 Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, vol. i, p.
80; Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otuK, vol. ii, p. 15, note ♦.
« See Wilkinson in the author's
Herodotus, vol. Ii, p. 298.
w Especially in the plains of Don-
gola, about lat. 19°.
M Wilkinson, l.s.c.
»* See Agatharcides ap. Diod. Sic. i,
14 ; Plutarch, De Isid. et Oiir. p. 366, C ;
Abd-allatif, quoted by Shaw, Travels,
vol. ii, p. 215; Russell, Ancient and
Modern Egypt, p. 46, etc.
» 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.
<" Baker found the first rains com-
mence in Abyssinia " in the middle
of May " ( Victoria Nyanza, vol. i, p. 9).
The last shower fell on September 15
{Nile Tributaries, p. 142).
»e Albert Nyanza, vol. ii, p. 307.
" This expi-ession is not to be taken
quite strictly. The White Nile rises
at Ismailia, near Gondokoro, a little
more than four feet ( Oeograph. 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 Ni^aiiza, vol.
i, p. 34). But its rise is slight com-
pared with that of the Blue Nile and
the Atbara.
lo" See above, p. 8.
101 Baker, AWert Nyanza, vol. i, p. 7;
Nile Tiihutaries, p. 373.
:w Baker, Albert Nyanza, vol. i, p. 10.
;" Wilkinson in the author's Herodo-
tus, vol. ii, p. 29, note ••
lot 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.
106 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, Mizraiwi, 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 Delta ; Middle Egypt, or the Hep-
tanomis; and Upper Egypt, or the
Thebaid (Strab. xvii. 1 § 3 ; Plin. H. N.
V. 9, § 9; Ptol. Geogr. iv. 5). The Ro-
mans maintained this division, but
subdivided the Deltji 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."
los Description de VEgypte, "Hist. Nat."
vol. ii, p. 344; Wilkinson, Topography
of Thebes, pp. 451-2; Kenrick, Ancient
Egypt, vol. i, p. 35.
w' Description, l.B.c; Kenrick, p. 41.
108 That is, from twelve to fifteen
miles (Wilkinson in the author's He-
rodotus, vol. ii, p. 11, note •).
«» Description, " H. N." vol. ii, p. 346.
Compare Herod, ii, 8, and Scylax,
Peripl. p. 103.
•w Occasionally, as the first cataract
at Silsilis, and at Gibelein, the hills
close in and leave little or no ground
between the clilTs and the river. (See
above, p. 8, and compare the Descrip-
tion, " H. N." vol. ii, p. 436.)
•» Desc?-iption, pp. 345, 395, etc.
>w 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.
lis See Wilkinson in the author's
H'-rodotiis, vol. ii, p. 7, note '.
11* Ibid. p. 9, note «.
116 Description, "Hist. Nat." vol. ii,
p. S.W; Wilkinson, Modern Egyptians,
vol. i, p. 401.
118 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 >.
11' Herod, ii, 17.
118 Description. " Hist. Nat." vol. ii, p.
348. Along this strip runs the line of
the Alexandrian canal.
ii» Ibid. Compare Wilkinson in the
author's Herodotus, vol. ii, p. 6, note *.
1* Descrijition, pp. 3i8-6i.
Cfi. l.'^
THE LAKD.
265
"1 Ibid. p. a49.
122 See the French map, and compare
that given by Dr. Brussch in his pamph-
let on the Exodus of tne Israelites.
123 Herod, ii, 92. 140: Thucyd. i, 109, etc.
Compare Brugsch, VExode et les Morm-
ments Egyptuns, p. 11.
i2< Brugsch supposes the Israelites to
have marched along this sand-bank.
125 Descrrption de VEgypte. "Hist.
Nat." vol. ii, pp. 373-3, .398-104, etc.
i2« Ibid. "Anticiuites," vol. ii, p. 91-,
"Hist. Nat." vol. ii, p. 436.
127 See the author's Herodotus, vol. ii,
J). 6, note * ; and compare Wilkinson,
Ancient Egyptians, vol. i, p. 7.
128 Herod, ii, 149; Strab. xvii, 1-3;
Plin. H. N. V, 9, § 9 ; Diod. Sic. i, 52 ;
Pomp. Mel. i, 9.
i2» See the "Memoire sur le lac Moeris."
in the Descript. de I'Egypte, "Anti-
quites," vol. i, pp. 79-114.
130 Linant's account is given in a Me-
moire which was published at Alcxan-
andria in 1&43 by the " Societe Egypti-
enne." It is entitled ''Memoire sur le
lac Maris, present e et lu a la Societe
Egyptienne le 5 juillet 1S42, par Linant
de Belief onds, etc."
131 Bunsen, EgypVs 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). Dean
Blakesley (Herodotus, vol. i, p. 304) ex-
tends the length to 35 or .30 miles. Other
estimates will be found in Jomard's
Memoire, pp. 83-4. i33 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
iish. (Description, " Etat Moderne,"
vol. ii, p. 213.)
13* Strab. xvii. 1: ofw'to^uiTaTO? rii' oir-
ai'Tui' o ' ApiTi.vo'tTTi'; fofios Kana. re Trfv
btpLV KoX Trj9 KaTa<TKevr^i'.
13' Mr. Kenrick says: "The Red Sea
is no%vhere more than 150 miles from the
valley of the Nile " (Ancient Egypt, vol.
i, p. 61) ; but this is untrue. Sir G. Wil-
kinson estimates the distance in lat. 24°
at 175 miles. (See the author' s Herodo-
tus, vol. ii, p. 11, note ».) The French
map in the Description shows the same.
138 See Belzom's Travels, pp. 30.5-7.
Compare the Description. "Hist. Nat."
vol. li, 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 orientale presente, dans
sa partie septentrionale, des escarpe-
ments semblaoles a de longues murailles
formees d'assises horizontalcs. Le nom
de Gebel el-Mokattani (montagne taillui)
qu'elle porte dans le pays, lui a ete don-
ne sans doute a cause de ces formes es-
carpees."
140 Kenrick, p. 62.
141 Russegger, Geognostiche Karte,
quoted by Kenrick, vol. i, p. 62, note 2.
142 Description, "Hist. Nat." vol. ii, p.
345.
143 This is well marked in Belzoni's
map. The Description also gives it very
clearly in the general "Carte de
TEgypt," at the end of the "Antiqui-
tes," vol. ii.
^** 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 represent«d in
the "Carte de TEgypte " of the Descrip-
tion.
146 Belzoni, Travels, pp. 305, 307, 308,
etc. The trees mentioned are the sont
and sycamore.
147 Ibid. p. 395 and PI. 36.
148 'Rns,&Q\\,Ancient and Modern Egypt,
p. 413. "» Ibid.
150 Belzoni, Travels, pp. 309, 314, 330,
151 Ibid. pp. 313-15. Compare Wilkin-
son, Topography of Thebes, p. 420 ; and
Russell, Ancient and Modern Egypt, pp.
418-19.
162 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," vol. i,
pp. 279-298, and vol. ii, pp. 476-480.
153 Description, "Etat Moderne," vol.
i, p. 281.
154 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 tlow of
the springs is exactly coincident witb
the time of the inundation.
155 Gen. Andreossy says "the carbon-
ate " (p. 282) ; but Wilkinson (in my He-
rodotus, vol. ii, p. 146, note *) "the
subcarbonate. " I am not chemist enough
to know which is right.
i5« 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 ot the
lakes " (ibid. p. 2a5).
158 Andreossy,, p. 208 ; Russell, p. 61,
and map.
159 Russell, l.s.c.
160 The supposed connection has de-
pended very much on the name Bahr-
oela-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 (Bunsen's Egypt,
vol. ii, pp. 340-2) ; another between the
^66
NOfES TO HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT,
[cH. n.
Fayoum and the oasis of Amnion (Belzo-
ni, Travels, p. 401) ; and a third near the
Natron Valley (Description, "Etat Mo-
derne," vol. i, p. 2yS).
■ 81 See the remarks of Mr. Kenrick,
Ancient Egypt, vol. 1, p. 70.
i«* Compare Herod, ix, 126. The war-
like qualities of the modern Abyssinians
are undeniable.
1" Herod, iii, 26. Compare Burckhardt,
Travels in Nubia, p. 171 ; Baker, Albert
Nyanza, vol. i, p. 4 ; Nile Tributaries, p.
'i«4 Herod, iv, 197.
•«* 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 flfth volume of his Travels,
opp. p. 1 and opp. p. 457).
i«« The 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 voc), and take a leading
part in the great Libyan attack on Egypt,
which will De described in a later chap-
ter.
'*' 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.
188 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.
i6» The nation, called Hyksos by Ma-
netho, probably a Semitic race.
no 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 ").
"i This range bears various names.
Towards the south it is known as
Anti-libanus, or the range over against
Lebanon.
i'2 See Ancient Monarchies, vol. iv, p.
291 (Ist ed.).
1" This is the native name of the more
southern part of the Coelesyrian valley
(see Tristram, Land oj Israel, p. fi20 ; and
compare Smith's Diet, of the Bible, vol.
iii, p. 1405).
f* See Hor. Od. ii, 7, 8 ; Sal. i, 2, 1 ;
Propert. Meg. ii, 23, 21 ; iii, 4, 30; Juven.
8at. iii, 6i^-66, etc.
CHAPTER n.
I See above, pp. 34-5.
^ Russell, Anaenl and Modern Egypt.
pp. 53-1.
3 Supra, p. 20.
4 Herod, li, 20. Compare Diod. Sic. i, 39,
and Aristot. Meteor, ii, 6.
6 Wilkinson in the &\ii\xor^s Herodotus^
vol. ii, p. 26, note ' (2d editon); Andrc-
dossy in the Description, e VEgypte-
"Etat Mode<-ne," vol. i, p. 267.
" See Anderson's Geography, p. 152.
The Egyptians themselves spoke or three
seasons, — spring summer, and winter
(Diod. Sic. i, 11).
'' The lowest temperature registered at
Cairo during the French occupation was
2° of Reaumuz, or 36^° of Fahrenheit
which was reached on one night during
January, 1799: 37^2° vvas registered on
one other night. The average tempera-
ture at night was about 46°. (See the
Description de I'Egypte, "Hist. Nat." vol.
ii, p. 332).
8 De situ Orbis, \, 9.
» Herod, iii, 10. (ti'tc vaSy\aa.v ai ©^/3at
i//aKat^i). Mons. Courtelle in the Descr'ip-
tion ("Hist. Nat." 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, Researches, pp. 305,
307, 311, etc.
13 Russell, p. .55.
14 See Herod, iii, 26.
1^ Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otits, vol. ii, p. 427, 3d edition.
1"* Burckhardt's Travels in Nubia, p.
190: Baker, Nile Tributaries, p. 17.
1' Wilkinson's Topography of Thebes,
p. 387.
18 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
ii, p. 179.
1" Ibid. p. 180.
2» Ibid.
21 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. U. P. ii, 7; p. 68.
23 Wilkinson, l.s.c.
24 Description, "Hist. Nat." vol. ii, p.
145.
26 Ibid. Planches, vol. iii, pi. 2.
28 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,(XX) dates (see
Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii,
p. 177, note).
27 A single /(SfWrtw (about 1% acre (is
sometimes plantt^d with as many as 400
trees. (Ibid. p. 178, note).
«» Strab. xvii, 1, g 51.
Vol /.
Plate LXIIL
Fig. 161.— A Syrian Fort.— See Page 219,
Fig. 162.— Egyptian Wak-gallky.— See Page 390.
Plate LXIV.
Vol.1.
Fig. 163.— EacAiiADiNGAFoRT.— See Page 219.
Vol. I.
Plate LXV.
Fig. 164.— Attack on a Fort.— See Page 219.
Plate LXVI.
Vol. i.
CH. n.]
CLIMATE AKt) PRODUCTIONS.
267
»• Description de fEgypte, " Hist. Nat."
vol. ii, p. 318; Wilkinson, l.s.c.
3" 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 aie 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." (Ancient
Egyptians^ vol. ii, p. 178.)
31 Russell, Ancient and Modern Egypt,
p. 47.5.
3* Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
ii, p. 205.
33 Wilkinson's Topography of Thebes,
p. 208, note.
3< Ibid. Compare Jivssell, l.s.c.
3' Description de VEgypte, "Hist.
Nat." vol. ii, p. 191.
3' Description de VEgypte, "Hist.
Nat." vol. U, p. 193.
" Plin. H. N. xiii, 5; "Ex myxis in
.^jrypto et vina fiunt."
3" 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).
36 Herod, ii, 96; Plin. H. N. xiii, 9.
*° Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 154, note ' (3d edition).
■•1 Description, "Hist. Nat." vol. ii, p.
28G.
<2 See the Speaker's Commentary, vol.
i. p. .^59.
■•' Tristram (quoted in the Speaker's
Commentary, l.s.c).
** Description, l.s.c.
<* Wilkinson says it has not now found
in the valley below Ethiopia (Topo-
graphy of Thebes, p. 209): but it was seen
growing near C.-iiro at the time of the
French Expedition (Description, " H.
N." vol. ii, p. :^i). The ancients regarded
it as undoubtedly Egyptian (Thcophrast.
H. P. iii, 3; iv, 2; Plin. //. N. xiii, 9).
■•• Belzoni. Researches, pp. 320-1; Wil-
kinson, Topog. of Thebes, p. 209.
*"< Description de VEgypte, "H. N."
vol. ii, p. 222.
«8 Wilkinson, l.s.c.
<• Abd-allatif says (Relation de VE-
gypte, traduite par M. de Sacy, p. 17):
" Son fruit ressemble a la datte."
•• Wilkinson, ut supra.
6' Description, p. 223.
62 Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 153.
63 Wilkinson, Topography of Thebes,
p. 210.
S'l Plin. H. N. XV. 7.
66 Strab. xvii, 2. '(. 5.
6« Description de VEgypte, "Hist
Nat." vol. ii, p. 2.
6' Wilkinson, Topography of Thebes,
p. 2fi.5.
68 Burckhardt, Travels in Nubia, p.
281.
69 Wilkinson, Topography, p. 208.
'» See Plin. H. N. xiii, 5; and Mar-
tial, Epig. xiii, 28.
«i Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 150; Cowan in the En-
cyclopcedia Brilannica, vol. xvii, pp.
246-8.
62 Plin. //. N. xiii, 13.
63 Herod, ii, 92.
^* Wilkinson, in the author's Herod-
otus, l.s.c.
66 Plin. H. N. vi, 22; vii, 16; xiii, 11;
Theophrast. H. P. iv, 9; Plut. de Isid. et
Osir. § 18: Lucan, Pharsalia, iv, 136;
Isaiah, xviii, 2.
«6 Herod, ii, 96.
6' Theophrastus, l.s.c; Plin. l.s.c.
68 Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 148.
6i* Ibid.
"* Herod, ii, 92. Theophrastus repre-
sents the cakes as formed of the seeds
only (Hist. Plant, iv, 10).
■" Herod, l.s.c.
'2 Wilkinson, Topography of Thebes,
p. 205, note.
'3 Description de VEgypte, "H. N."
vol. ii, p. Wn. '4 Ibid. p. 306.
'6 Wilkinson, Ajicient Egyptians, vol.
ii, p. 183.
'6 Description. "H. N." vol. ii, p. 309.
" Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 149.
'8 The Nelumbo is the /cuojios .\iy1i7rTio?
of Theophrastus (//. P. iv, 10); Diodorus
Siculus (i, 9, 30); Strabo (xvii, 2, ? 4); and
Dioscoiidee (ii, 128); and the /a 6a ^gpy-
tia of Pliny (H. N. xvii, 12), which he also
calls by its Greek name of cyamos. Its
fruit is thought by some to be the
" bean " whicu Pythagoras forbade his
followers to eat.
'" The Nehtmbo is represented as an
Egyptian type on the large statue of the
Nile-God in the Vatican. It appears in
the mosaic of Palestrina with a similar
import (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
vsu Tiumismatum, vol. i, p. 302. Lond.
1706; Zoega, Numism. ^gypt. p. 193, PI.
12, No. 25.3; Morrell, Thesaur. Num. vol.
ii, p. 391, PI. 14, No. 5;.
*" Description, l.s.c.
s' Wilkinson, Topography of Thebes,
p. 206, note.
*2 Description, l.s.c. Wilkinson says
"about twenty -five."
268
NOTES TO HISTORY OF AKCTEKT EGYPT.
[CH. It
8S Herod, ii, 92; Theophrast. HM.
Plant, iv. 10.
8< The subject of Egyptian vegetables
has been carefully elaoorated by Sir
Gardner Wilkinson (Topography of
Thebes, pp. 211-26G; Ancitnt Egyptians.
vol. iv, pp. .M-77); to whose works the
reader is referred for further informa-
tion.
S6 Eleven varieties of the melon and
eiht of the cucumber are mentioned.
(Wilkinson, Topography, p. 2fi2.)
*" Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. Ii, p. 206, note «.
8T See Plin. H. N. xix, 8; xx, 17, 20.
88 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, p. 69.
8" 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.
»» These are: 1. the Towdlee, 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.
the Mogliuz, which has a short, broad
ear; and 6, the Tubbdnee, or white wheat,
the kind most commonly cultivated.
(See Wilkinson's Topography of Thebes,
p. 261. note.)
"1 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, p. 85.
»2 Ibid. p. 53.
"3 Wilkinson, Topography, l.s.c.
»* Ibid. Compare the Speaker's Com-
mentary, vol. i, p. 286; note on Ex. ix.
31.
«» Wilkinson, Topography, pp. 263-4.
»« Herod, ii, 37.
»' Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, pp. 61, 62, 97; Topography, p. 217.
»8 Plin. H. X'. xviii, 12.
»» Wilkinson, Topography, p. 218
'«" Plin. l.s.c.
101 The Coptic name is QmJJULOC
"tharmos" (Wilkinson, Ancient Egyp-
tians, vol. iv, p. 53).
i»* As the Trifolium Alexandrinum,
which gives ordinarily three crops, and
sometimes four. (Wilkinson, l.s.c.)
103 Wilkinson, Topography, p. 218.
lo* Supra, p. .56-7.
loi Pliny calls it "cibis foedum, lucer-
nis utile" (H. JV. xv, 7).
io« Herod, ii, 94; Plin. H. N. 1 s.c
10' Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, p. 55; Topography of Thebes, p. 220.
108 Plin. H. N. XV, 7; xix, 5.
io» Ibid. XV, 7, etc.
no Wilkinson, Topography, p. 219.
Ill Herod, ii, 94; Strab. xvii, 2, g 5.
in Plin. H. N. xiii, 1.
113 The "metopion "contained various
other ingredients, but the Egyptian oil of
bitter almonds predominated. (See Plm.
//. N. xiii, 1—" metopion— oleum hoc est
amygdalis amaris expressum in M)iy\t\.o,
cui addldere omphacium," etc.; and com-
pare XV, 7: "Amygdalinum, quod aliqui
metopium vocant." Compare Dioscorld.
i, 39.)
11* Plin. H. N. xiii, 1; xv, 7.
115 Plin. H. N. xii, 24.
ii« Ibid, xiii, 1. Compare xv, 7 and
xxiii, 4.
11' Ibid, xxi, 11, 22. The "sampsn-
chus" was a plant which grew in Cyprus
and Mitylene (ibid, xiii, 1.)
118 Ibid. x.\, 7; xxii, 24.
119 Ibid. XV, 7.
120 Ibid, xiii, 3: "Terrarum omniiiin
.(Egyptus adcommodati-Bsima ungucii-
tis."
1-1 Especially the "telinou" (Athen.
Deipn. v, p. 195; Plin. xiii, 1), and the
"Mendesium " (Plin. 1 s.c.)
122 Herod, ii, 81, with Wilkinson's
note. (R«iV/\ui»ou^s Herodotus, vol. ii, p.
132. note «.)
123 Herod, ii, 63.
i2'i Ibid. 86. Wilkinson confirms the
statement of Herodotus.
126 Wilkinson in the author's HerodA"^
tus, vol. iv, p. 27, note 8.
12'i Ibid. vol. ii, pp. 271-2.
12' Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, yo\
iii, pp. i;^-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.
131 Ibid.
132 Wilkinson, in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, pp. 63 and 142. Pliny says:
"Vestes inde" (i. e. e gossipio) "sacerdo-
tiljus .-Egypti grafissimai" (l.s.c.)
133 Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 143.
i3'i Ibid. f.lS'Z; Ancient Egyptians, Yo\.
IV, p. 62.
135 Belzoni, Researches, p. 175.
i3« See Odyss, iv, 228-30:
'EcrdKa, to oi Vlo\\jSanva, iropev, Qiavoi
irapaKOiTii;,
AlyvrTTir), t^ TrAeicrra uiepei ^eiSutpoi apovpa
^dptJ.o.Ka, TToAAa fxei' ca&Ad, jmcfifyfieVa, iroA*
Ad St Auypd.
157 "An indigenous plant" (Wilkinson,
Ancient Egyptians, vol. iv, p. 62).
138 Ibid.
i^» Plin. H. N. xix, 8; xx, 16.
110 Ibid, xxiii, 5.
1^1 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, -vo],
iv, p. 64.
I" Plin. //. N. xxiv, 15,
I" Ibid. 16.
11* Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, p. 70.
115 Plin. H. A'. XX, 17.
ii« Ibid. XX, 8.
11' Ibid. XX, 20.
11*- Ibid, xxi, 32.
119 Ibid.
150 Wilkinson, Ancient Egypttant, Tol
IV, p. 74.
isi Plin. H. N. xxvii, 7, ad fin.
152 Hioscorid. Mat. Mtd. 1. 18.
>«» Ibid. 1, 118.
•fi Ibid. 1, 134.
CH. II.]
CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS.
269
156 Ibid, i, 28.
J6« Plin. H. N. xxvii, 12.
157 Ibid, xxiv, 18.
158 Dioscorid. Mat. Med. i, 116.
i6» Ibid, i 115.
I'o Ibid, i, i:i3.
i«i Ibid i. 143, 144.
162 Ibid, i, 151.
i«3 Ibid, i, 1.5.5.
164 Ibid, i, 158. "^ Ibid, i, 187.
166 See Herod, ii, 71; and compare
Diod. Sic. i, 35; and Wilkinson, Ancient
Kgiiptians, vol. iii, p. 75.
1" Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
V, P- 1"8-
i«« Burckhardt, Travels m Nubia, p.
B2; Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iii, p. 74.
169 Wilkinson, l.s.c.
"0 Seneca, Nat. Qticest. iv, 3.
I'l Herod, ii, 69, 148: ^lian, x, 34.
1" Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, -voX.
iii, p. 78; Topography, p. 409. Compare
the remarks of M. Geoflroy St. Hilaire in
the Description, "H. N." vol. ii, p. 144.
i"3 Wilkinson, l.s.c.
"4 Herod, ii, 68: Diod. Sic. i, .3.5. Wil-
kinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol. iii, p. 80.
>" \\'\\^\n%on. Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iii, p. 39.
i'6 Ibid. Athenaeus says that a lion was
hunted and killed by the Emperor Ha-
drian near Alexandria (/>»;(/)/(. xv. 6); and
Amenemhat I. of the 13th dynasty, speaks
of hunting the lion and the crocodile
(JRecords of the Past, vol. ii, p. 14).
1" Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iii, p. 16.
I's Ibid, iii, 34: v, 14.5, 149, etc.
i'» Wilkinson, Topography of Thebes,
p. 343, note.
180 Wilkinson, Andent Egyptians, vol.
V, p. 1.59.
181 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
V, p. 1.59.
182 Ibid. vol. iii, p. 2.
183 Herod, ii, 67; Aristot. Hist. An. viii,
28; Plin. H.N. viii, 32. Compare Wilkin-
Bon, Ancient Egyptians, vol. iii, p. 37.
184 Plin. H. N. l.s.c.
185 Wilkinson, vol. iii, p. 37; vol. v. pp.
14.5-6.
18" Description de VEgypte, "H. N."
vol. ii, p. 138.
187 Wilkinson, vol. iii, p. 30; vol. v, p.
151.
188 Description, p. 141.
189 Wilkinson, vol. v, p. 153, M. St.
Hilaire makes the length twenty French
inches (Description, p. 139), which is less
than two feet.
190 Description, p. 143; Wilkinson, vol.
V, p. 150.
»»i Wilkinson, vol. iii, p. 30; vol. v, p.
1,5.5. Compare Strab. xvii, 1. g 39; Plin.
H. N. viii, 34; ^lian, Nat. An. vi, 38.
'«* Description, p. 141; Wilkinson, vol.
ju, p. 31; vol. V, p. 153. Hence the name
of " Pharaoh's Cat," by which the ichneu-
mon is known to the modern Arabs.
iv3 Wilkinson, Amient Egyptians, vol.
V, p. 153.
i9< According to Diodorus (i, 3.5) the
ichneumon broke the eggs of the croco-
dile, not to eat them, but to benelit 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, g 39),
while Pliny and ^lian stated that, before
attacking the asp, it covered itself with a
coat of mud. The 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 the wound,
therehv rendering the poison harmless!
(See Wilkinson, vol. iii, p. :30.)
195 Thucyd. i, 31 : ' n? AoYoypauoi fiU'e-
9eerav ini to TipoaayiayoTtpov rf) dxpoatrei,
IJ aA7J0€(TTtpOl'.
19B Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iii, p. 38.
197 Ibid. vol. v, p. 17.5.
198 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iii, pp. 9, 14, 19, etc.
i"' Herod, ii, 67.
200 Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 114, note'' .
201 WiXkin^on. Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iii, p. 31; vol. v, p. 183.
202 Ibid.
203 Herod, ii, 47; Horapollo, ii, 37;
^lian, N. A. x, 16.
2r4 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iii, pp. 17-23.
205 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iii, pp. 34-6.
206 Ibid. p. 3.5.
207 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iii, p. 24.
208 Ibid. p. 35. 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 y^W^maon, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iii, p. .31.
210 Ibid. vol. iii, p. 31; vol. v. p. 174.
211 It is probable that Herodotus may
intend the monitor of the Nile by his
ei-uSpis since the otter, which is what
evv5pis ordinarily means, was certainly
not a native of Egypt. (See Wilkinson,
vol. V, p. 137.)
212 Three feet three inches, according
to M. Geoffroy St. Hilaire (Description,
"H. ^^" vol. i, p. 133).
213 Herodotus (iv, 193) 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. ui, p. 167, note ".)
214 W^ilkinson, l.s.c. Compare De-
scriptton, " H. N." vol. i, p. 13.5.
215 See Herod, iv, 193.
216 Wilkinson, in the author's Heroctr
otus, vol. ii, p. 178, no(e.
2:o
SrOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIEXT EGYPT.
[CH. IL
'i' The identity of the Egyptian sus,
"mare," with the Hebrew J'jB is gener-
ally admitted. '
218 Wilkinson, Ancient EgyiMam, vol.
iii, p. 35; iv, p. 20.
2 If See 1 Kings, x, 28, 30.
220 Gen. xii, 16, Wilkinson, Ancient
Egt/ptians, vol. ii, p. 34.
221 Wilkinson, vol. v, p. 118.
222 See the Speaker^s Comnientarij, vol.
i, p. 44.5.
223 Wilkinson, vol. v, p. 199.
224 Herod, ii, 41.
225 Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
civs, 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.e.c. Compare Horn.
Od. iv, 86.
22'> 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, Aiicit nl Egiiptians, vol. v, p. 1.55).
Cicero says that no one ever heard tell of
an Egyptian killing a cat t^De Nat. Deor.
i, 29).
233 Herod, ii, 66. Compare ^Kan, Nat.
An. vii, 27.
234 Wilkinson, vol. iii, p. 42; vol. v, p.
166.
235 Herod, ii, l.s.c; Diod. Sic. i, a3.
23" 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. 33.
238 Ibid. p. 13.
239 See the plate at the end of Wilkin-
son's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i.
24« Ibid. vol. iii, p. 32.
21' Ibid. p. 33.
2« Ibid. p. 32; No. 7.
243 These are given by M. Geoffroy St.
Hilaire as the Agnila heliaca, or "eagle
of Thebes," which is large and of a
blackish color: the fulra, or common
brown eagle; the rn'elameetos, a small
black variety; and the halioietos, or "sea
agle." (Description, "H. N." vol. i, pp.
82-«7.)
244 These are: 1. Falco tinnvnculus, the
"cenchris" of Pliny (//. N. x. 52; xxix,
6); and cresserelle cf Buflon; 2. F. smt-
rillus (the I'nu Villon of liniion). and 3. E.
coTntnii/iin, probably the "sacred hawk"
of llcrodolus (!!, 6,5).
24i .See Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians,
vol. Hi, pp. 51-2; vol. v, pp. 120-122.
24fl JJescription, " H. N.^' vol. i, p. 80.
24' Belon, Nature des Oyseaux, vol. li,
p. 27.
2<8 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.
261 Wilkinson, vol. v, p. 204. The
Arabic rokhama is no doubt identical
with the Hebrew CHTwrongly translated
in the Authorized Version by "gier-
eagle " (Lev. xi, 18).
262 Hasselquist, Voyage dans le Levant,
p. 195.
252 Herod, ii, 76.
254 Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otvs, vol. ii, p. 12,5, note «.
255 Russell, Ancient and Modern Egypt,
p. 466. Compare Wilkinson in the
author's Herodotus, vol. ii, p. 12.5, note ';
and Ancient Egyptians, vol. v, p. 220.
256 Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 171; Ancient Egyptians,
vol. v, pp. 226-7.
257 Herod, ii, 72.
268 See Wilkinson's note on Herodotus,
ii, 72.
259 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
ii, p. .368; vol. iii, p. 47.
260 Russell, Ancient and Modern Egypt,
p. 469.
261 Russell, Ancient and Modern Egypt,
pp. 469, 470.
262 Charadrins adicnemvs, known to
the Arabs as the Kerran, or Karawan.
(Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol. v,
p. 2.5.5.)
263 Russell, Ancient and Modern Egypt,
p. 468.
264 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
V, p. 225.
265 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.
268 Herod, ii, 68; ^lian, 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 wag asleep, and ate the leeches that
were annoying himi (See Herod, l.s.c.)
269 Herodotus reckons the annual sup-
ply taken in one of the Nile canals — that
joining the river to the Lake Moeris — as
equal in value to about 60,(X)0;. of our
money (ii, 149). Diodorus (i, 52) and
Strabo (xvii, 2 g 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 1, 1st edition.
271 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iii, p. .58; vol. v, p. 249; Description de
rEgyptv, "H. N." vol. i, p. 370.
272 Wilkinson, vol. v, p. 251.
273 Herod, ii, 72; Plut. De Is. et Osir
gl8.
274 Wilkinson, vol. v, p. 25a
CH. 11 J
CLIMATE AXD PRODUCTIOXS.
271
S76 WilkinBon in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. lOl, 2d editiou.
27« So De Pauw, Travels, vol. i, p. 136.
2" 'VfiV^ui&on, AiuAtitt Egyptians, vol.
iii, p. 60.
^■i« Russell, p. 471.
279 Hasselquist, Voyage dans le Le-
vant, p. 233.
280 Russell, p. 470.
281 Ibid. p. 471.
262 Wilkinson, Tol. iii, p. 58.
2*3 Ibid. pp. 58-9; vol. V, p. 251.
»64 Russell, p. 471.
«86 Wilkinson, vol. iii, pp. 58-9.
'8» See above, p. U, and 37.
28' Description de I'Egypte, "H. N."
vol. i, pp. 115-120. (Compare "Plan-
ches," vol. i, pi. i.)
28S Ibid. p. 126.
2e» Encyclop<£dia Britannica, vol. xis,
p. 31.
280 Description, "Hist. Nat." vol. i,
pp. 13.5-6.
s"! 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, "H. N." vol. i, pp. 132-3,
and "Planches," vol. i, pi. v, tig. j.
282 Hasselquist, Voyage dans le Le-
vant, p. 220.
293 Description, "H. N." vol. i, p. 134;
Forskal, Dexcripf. Atiimal. 13; Wilkin-
Bon, Ancient Egiiptians, vol. v. p. 134.
2»< So Mr. I'ioutihton (Diet, of the
Bible, vol. ii. pp. 126-7).
29 * Description, p. 130.
2<'« Mr. Houghton In the Diet, of the
Bible, vol. ii, p. 127.
29' Description, pp. 1,55-6.
298 Herod, ii, 74.
299 Description, l.s.c.
3o« Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 104, note 2, 2d edition.
301 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
V, p. ^46.
302 Houghton in Diet, of the Bible,
vol. iij?. 127.
303 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptian^!, vol.
v, p. 241. The French savants made the
length a little short of five feet (Descrip-
tion, "H. N." vol. i, p. 157); but Sir G.
Wilkinson had one in his possession
which measured exactly six feet.
30< Wilkinson, p. 342.
3»s Bruce, Travels, vol. vii, pp. 303-3;
Lane, Modern Egyptians, vol. ii, p. 106.
^0* See the observations of M. Geof-
frov St. Uilaire in the Description, Hist.
Nat. " vol. i, p. 1.34.
30-1 Democrit. ap. Plin. H. JV. xxviii, 8;
Aristot. Eth. Nic. i, 10, g8; Hist. Anini.
Ii, 11, g 1, >dilian, Nat. Anini. iv, 33;
Ovid, Met. xv, 411; Solin. Polyhi.tf. g 43;
Leo African. Desrr. Afric. ix, p. 298, etc.
SOS See the Description, "H. N." vol. i,
pp. 137, 167.
3"'9 Encyclopaedia Britannica, vol. xix,
p. 37. The author had a chameleon in
his own house for some months, about
the years 1846-7, and was convinced that
the changes of color were emotional.
'»» Houghton in the Uut. of the Bibl«,
vol. iii, p. 1161; Wilkinson, Ancient
Egyptians, vol. v, p. 136.
31' See the representation in the
author's Ancie7it Monarchies, vol. iii, p.
65, 1st edition.
312 Wilkinson, vol. v, p. 155. (Com-
pare p. 166).
313 Russell, Ancient and Modern
Egypt, p. 464.
3n Four species are said to be pecul-
iar to Egypt, viz. Truxalis nasuta, Tr.
varidbitis, Tr. procera, and Tr. miniata.
(Houghton in the Diet, of the Bible, vol.
ii, p. 139.)
315 Houghton in the Diet, of the Bible,
vol. ii, p. 133.
3i« See Gentleman^ s Magazine for
July, 1748, pp. 331 and 414.
31' Wilkinson, Ancient Eggytians, yol.
V, p. 149. The ibis also (ib. p. 221), and
no doubt other Egyptian birds, help to
destrov the locusts.
31" Ibid. p. 155.
319 Ibid. vol. iii. p. 332. Compare
Topography of Thebes, p. 319, and the
authors Herodotus, vol. ii, pp. 9 and 170.
320 Ancient Egyptians, vol. iii, pp.
332-:^; Topography, p. 443.
321 There are porphyry quarries at
Gebel e' Dokhan, nearly opposite Man-
fa\oot (Topography, p. 363); 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," p. xlvi; Wilkinson, Topog-
raphy of Thebes, pp. 4.57-8.
323 Topography, p. 4.59.
32'* 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,
17.5). 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),
Diodorus (iii, 13), and others; and the
fact that they were worked under the
Pharaohs is thought to be suHiciently
indicated by the remains which still
exist in the Eastern Desert about Wady
Foakhir and Wady Allaga. (Wilkinson,
Ancient Egyptians, vol. iii, pp. 328-9.)
327 Diod. Sic. i, 49.
328 Wilkinson, vol. i, p. 334.
329 Ibid. vol. iii, p. 346. This mine
"lies in the Eastern Desert, between the
Nile and the Red Sea, at a place called
Hammarai."
330 Briigsch, Hist. d'Egypte. p. 47;
Wilkinson in the authors Herodotus,
vol. ii. pj). •i'.Yi and .350, note i».
331 Iron may also have been imported
from the countries on the Upper Nile,
where it is abundant.
'32 Description de I'Egypte, "fitat Mo-
derne," vol. i, p. 283; KuBseli, Ancient
NOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT. [CH. IIL
and Modern Egypt, p. 60; Wilkinson in
the author's Herodotus, vol. ii, p. 121,
note*.
333 Wilkinson, Topography of Thebes,
pp. 428 and 433.
33< Herod, ii, 86-88: Diod. Sic. i, 91.
S36 Description, "Etat Moderne," vol.
i, p. 282.
336 Wilkinson, Topography, p. 364.
33' Ibid.
338 Ibid. p. 319.
"9 ttiissell, p. 450.
3'"' Ibid. p. 61.
s^i Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
i. p. 45; Topography, p. 421; Russell, p.
451.
3'"' Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
i, p. 231; Topography, p. 420.
2" Kussell, pp. 460-5; Wilkinson,
Topography, p. 419.
CHAPTER ni.
» See Lenormant, Histoire Ancienne
de {^Orient, vol. i, p. .329; Brugsch, 7/i*-
tolre d'Egypte, premieTt^ Y)eLTt'\e, pp. 5-6;
Donne in iiuuih'^ Dirtiouary 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
Egyptians .... n'ofl're aucune an-
alogic avec les langues des pcuples
d'Afrique."
3 Dr. Birch observes, with more refine-
ment than most previous writers, that
"on the earliest monuments the Egyp-
tians appear as a red or duskj- race, with
features neither entirely Caucasian nor
Nigritic : movii resembling at the earli-
est age tlie European " (i. e. the Cauca-
sian), " at the middle period of the em-
pire the Nigritic races, or the offspring
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." (Egypt from the
Earliest Times, Introduction, p. ix.)
* See Bunsen, Egypt^s Place in ZTni-
versal History, voi. v, pp. 74,5-787; Phi-
losophy of History, vol. iii, pp. ia5-9.
* Especiallv He»ren, African Nations,
vol. ii, pp. 101-109, E.T.; Manual of An-
cl:nt History, p. 57, E.T.
» Diod. Sic. lii, 11.
'Brugsch, Histoire d^ Egypte, 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 dift'erent.
* See Donne in Smith's Dictionary of
Greek and Roman Geography, vol. :, p.
>" Herod, ii, 146. It har, been argued
that the term used (^eAdyxpof^) means no
more than "swarthy;" nut its literal
rendering is "black-skinned," and there
is nothing to show that Herodotus did
not intend it literally.
'• As Herodotus represents (ii, 104).
>2 Wilkinson in the author's Herodo-
tus, vol. ii, p. 146, note ■*, and p. 49,
note '.
13 See Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians,
vol. iii, pp. 368-70.
" Gen. X, 13, 14.
15 "Misraim" is a dual form, and
means "the two Misrs," or "Egypts."
The names of the "sons of Mizraim "
are all plural in form, and, it is generally
allowed, represent tribes or races.
16 See Lenormant, Histoire Ancienne
de rtJrient, vol. 1, p. 3:30.
1' 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," 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
Past, vols, ii, iv, and vi. He may also
with advantage cast his eye over the
"List of Further Texts," arranged by
M. Kenouf, and given in vol. vi, pp. 162~.
5 of the same work.
i<* The Greeks themselves always spoke
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 (Corn'ewall Lewis,
Astronomy of the Ancients, pp. 277-287) ;
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 Hecatteus,
Thales, Solon, Pythagoras, Herodotus,
CEnopides, Democritus, Plato, 'ud Eu-
doxus.
20 Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, Introduction, p. xvi.
21 lee 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 Boulaq, described by Dr. Birch
(Egypt from tlie Earliest Times, p. 43),
and the animal forms on several bas-
reliefs (see Wilkinson, Ancient Egyp-
tians, vol. iii, pp. 9, 13, 22; vol. iv, p.
139, etc.).
23 Brugsch, Histoire d^Egypte, p 17.
24 See Gen. xxxix, 16; Herod, ii, 60,
111, 121, ? .5, 126 : Diod. Sic. i, 59 ; Record*
of the Past, vol. ii, p. 140 ; vol. vi, pp.
153-6, etc.
26 Records of the Past. vol. \\ p. 113.
2« See Brugsch, Histoire d'Egypie, p.
en. HI.] THE PEOPLE AND THEIR NEIGHBORS.
273
15: "Rien de plnseai, de plus amupant,
de pluc iiaif que ce Don peuple egyptien,
qui aimait la vie, et qui se rejouissait
profondement de sou existence. . . .
On s'adonnait aux plaisirs de toute es-
pece, on chantait, on buvait, on dansait,
on aimait les excursions a la campagne,
etc. Conforme a ce pencliaut pour le
plaisir lee gais propos. la plaisanterie un
peu libre, les bons-mots, la raillerie et le
tout moqueur etaient en vogue, et les
adinages entraieut jusque dans les tom-
beaux."
27 Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Tifnes, Introduction, p. xvi ; Wilkinson,
Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii, p. 41.
28 Brugsch, p. 18.
29 See Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians,
vol. ii, p. 42; Rosellini, Momiineiiti c/elP
Egitto, vol. ii, p. 349, etc. Compare
Exod. V, 14.
30 Records of the Past, vol. vi, pp. 16,
m^. etc.
31 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 iuhabitants 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.
SI Birch, Egypt jrom the Earliest
Times, Introduction, p. xv.
3' See Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, pp. 271- 277, vthere many of
the games are represented.
'« The "Book of Egyptian Wisdom,'*
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. svii, .52.)
38 Diod. Sic. i, 31.
»9 Mr. Donne. (See Dr. Smith's Dic-
tionary of Greek and Roman Geography,
vol. i, p. ".38.)
*" Mr. Kenrick. (See his Ancient
Egypt, vol. i, p. 181.)
*i Herod, ii. 165-6. Diodorus made the
number fi24,(X)0 in the reign of Sesostris
(i, 54) ; and the Egyptian ))rief;ts told (Jer-
manicus that it had amounted to iOO.fXX)
(Tacit. Ann. ii, 60). « Herod, ii, 164.
*3 The slave class was large and very
Important. See Brugsch (Histoire d E-
(fypte, p. 16), who says: "Les esclaves,
pour la plupart sorlis du nombre des
prisonniers de gnerre, forniaient un
element tres-impbrtant de la popula-
li<.n."
** As Lancashire, Surrey, Stafford-
shire. Warwickshire, and the West Rid-
ing of Yorkshire.
45 Herod, iv, 168-97.
■•« Brugsch, Histoire d''Egypte, p. 8.
47 Records of the Past, vol. ii, p. 83 ;
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' Egypte, p. 8.
50 Birch, l.s.c.
51 " Leur costume etait d'une eimpli
cite toute primitive." (Brugsch, l.s.c.)
Compare the representation in the au-
thors Herod, vol. ii, p. 170.
52 Wilkinson in the author's Herodo-
tus, vol. ii, p. 41, note *.
53 See Ezek. xxix. 10; Herod, ii, 29.
54 Donne in Smith's Dictionary of
Greek and Roman Geography, vol. 1, 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 CT- "people," as that from
which Amu is derived (Pierret in the
Records of the Past,\o\. 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."
59 Brugsch, l.s.c.
50 Birch, Egypt, p. 129.
«i Brugsch, p. 9.
62 According to Manetho, nyk meant
"king," and sos, "shepherd" (Joseph.
c. Apion. i, I 14). It is generally believed
that Shasu is the same word as sos. (See
"Bh-ch, Egypt, p. 75; Wilkinson in the
author's Herodotvs, vol. ii, p. 351 ; Le-
normant. Histoire Ancienne de I'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 *
number of kings (Ancient Monarchies'!,
vol. ii, p. 363, note 2; l Kings x, 29: i
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.
2 a
NOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT. [CH. rv.
CHAPTER rv.
» See Champollion, Grammaire Egyp-
ttenne, Paris, 1836; Dictionnaire Egyp-
imne, Paris, 1&41 ; Lepsius, Lettre a H.
JRosellini sur le gysthne Huroglyphique^
Rome, 1&37; B\vch, Egyptian Grammar
and Dictionary in Bunsen's Egypt, vol.
v; Brussch, Scriptura ^gyptiorum de-
wto^Jco, Berlin, 1&48: Grammaire demo-
tique,YievV\n, 1856; Hieroglyphisch-denw-
tisches Worterbmh, Leipsic, 1868 ; De
Rouge, Grammaire Egypt, Paris, 1867,
» Stuart Poole in Smith's Diet, of the
Bible, vol. i, p. 501.
3 See Max Miiller, Languages of the
Seat of War, p. 88.
* Ttiere appears to have been three va-
rieties of Coptic, the Memphitic, 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" in Smith's
Dictionary of the Bible. )
6 Lepsius 'Lettre a M. Rosellim, p. 17 ;
Lenormant, Histolre Ancienne de I'Ori-
ent, vol. i. pp. 498-.i06 ; Birch in Bunsen's
Egypt, vol. V, p. 590.
« Lenormant, p. 505.
' The "Great Harris Papyrus," which
has been translated by Dr. Birch and Pro-
fessor Eisenlohr in the Records of the
Past, vol. vi. pp. 21-70, vol. viii, pp. 5-52,
is in hieratic, and belongs to the time of
Rameses III, a king of the 10th 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 Empire" (Egypt from the Earliest
Time^, p. 25).
* Lenormant, l.s.c.
» Wilkinson in the author's Herodotus,
vol. ii, p. 258.
i» Ibid. p. 2.59.
" 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 Mesopotamle, vol. ii, p. 68.)
1' The Egyptians, it is said, thought
there were iio male vultures, so that each
vulture was a mother. (Lenormant, His-
toire Ancienne de VOrient, vol. i, p. .504.)
•3 The Egyptians regarded suicide as
the worst of all crimes.
i< See the so-called "Egyptian altar"
at Turin, where this determinative fol-
lows the names of fourteen deities, of
all, in fact, but Horns and Nepthis.
(Transactions of Bibl. Archceology Soci-
tty, vol. i, opp. p. 112.)
'» Wilkinson in the Author's Herodo-
tus, vol. ii, p. 262; Birch in Bunsen's
Egypt, vol. v, p. 597.
»' Some determinatives were merely
grammatical. The papyrus roll _mc—
was added as a tacit sijjn to substantives,
adjectives, and verbs. Two human legs
walking marked activity of any kind.
1' Some signs stand for words of two
syllables, as the flag on the flag-staflf ^
for n«<er, "a god," the guitar ♦ for |
nefer, "good, etc.
!<* 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
lot as hu-bu-
m, but as hebs.
19 Lepsius, Lettre a M. Eosellinl, p. 44;
Wilkinson in the author's Herodotus,
vol. ii, p. 262.
2" Dr. Birch regards this as " a vase of
fire" (Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, p. 599).
iii I follow here Dr. JEisenlohr's render-
ing of the hieroglyphs
(Transactions of Bibl. Arch. Society, vol
i, pp. 358 and 367). Dr. Birch renders
,N-^|^and^
, Arch. Society, vol
Dr. Birch renders
"^n by TH (ibid. vol. iv, p. 172.) And
\
is generally rendered by the same in
the name of Kambath or Kenbuth, for
"Cambyses." But the Persian letter to
which the 1 corresponds in this word it
St
a J undoubtedly. M. Lenormant con-
siders all three forms ^ i and yLr
to represent the
sound TS (Histoire Ancienne de VOrient,
vol. i, p. 501). So Birch with regard to
I and I in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v,
it
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.
2< Wilkinson in the author's Herodo-
tus, vol. ii, p. 260; Lepsius, Lettre a M.
Rosellini, p. 49.
26 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
(Trni) Mictions of Bibl. Arch. Society, vol.
i, p. *;0, line >).
2" Dr. Birch (Dictionary, p. 420) notes
o)ie other word (kamut, " to place" or
" carve") where the crocodile 8 tall is
used.
CH. v.] LANGUAGE AND WRITING. — LITERATURE.
276
" The fount of hieroglyphic type em-
ployed in the 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.
3* There are occasional exceptions to
this rule (Birch in Bunsen's Egypi, vol.
V, p. 595) ; but they are so rare as scarce-
ly to deserve mention.
2» Wilkinson in the author' s jHerotio-
Uis. vol. ii, p. 238.
30 A later form of the masculine article
is lYi P^i ^^^ ^ ^^^^^ later one, ^i^^
pe.
ji The t is sometimes expressed in the
/ater times by 1 .
32 The n was expressed in later times
by \/ ; and a full form iiaiu was some-
times used.
33 Wilkinson in the author's Herodo-
tus, vol. ii, p- 2t)3. Dr. Birch, however,
allows a dual. (See Buusen's Egypt,
vol. V, p. 619.)
3< Compare the Hebrew suffixes :—
1st pers. sing. I". 2d {masc.) Tr
(Jem.) •.•.-. 3d (masc.) ■^-
(fem.) n"
Ist pers. plur. ^y 2d {masc. 32-
(fem.) "i a-. 3d (masc.) cn-
(fem.) Tn-
The 2d pers. sing. masc. and 1st pers. pi.
are identical : the rest show a connec-
tion.
36 Instead of -nenn we sometimes find
'Uu, as in the declension of au, to be,
which is : —
aua, I am aunu, we are
CMfc, thou art (m.) (. a?//^n7/ vp arp
aut, thou art (./.) f ««««»«> ye are
*'/f, he is i ,.
a/^lsheis Ja«««««,theyare
3« The r is no doubt the preposition er,
" for" or "to" and aM-a-r-ar="I am for
making," or " I am to make," i.e. "I will
make.'^ (See Birch, p. 661.)
3' See an article on Egyptian preposi-
tions, by Mr. Le Page Kenouf, in the
Transactions of the Soriefy of Biblical
Archmology, vol. ii, p. 301 et s'eq.
38 Birch in Bunsen's Egypt, vol v, p.
(575.
3» See above, page 63.
■•" In Roman times ha was replaced by
her *;*^, 'which is also used in the sense
of "with."
<' Birch in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, pp.
710-713.
<" Birch in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, p.
714.
<3 This is the case with *— -* ■ ^
rupu, "or," but not with any other con-
junction. (Compare the Latin use of v*
and qu^.)
CHAPTER V.
J Dr. Birch appears to me to speaB
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. vk
p. 127.
3 What, for instance, can be made of
the following, which is given as a trans-
lation of one of the "Magical Texts"
(Records, vol. vi, p. 121)?—
"The burning brazier.
The great lire basin.
Prepared by him who affrights.
The overthrown : he that is headless,
The place of death, the place
Of life ; the great rock
Throwing fire against Set and his com
panions."
« Birch in the Records, vol. ii, preface,
p. ii.
» Ibid.
* Comewall Lewis, Astronomy of tht
Ancients, j>. 340.
» See Herod, ii, 3, 77 ; Plat. Tim. g5 ;
Diod. Sic. i, 44 : Manetho ap. Joseph,
Contr. Ap. i, 12, 26 ; Apollodor. ap. Syn-
cell. Chronograph, vol. i, p. 171, etc.
' 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," 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, toI. ii,
preface, p. ix.
» Records of the Past, vols, ii, iv, vi,
and viii.
'0 See the Recherches stir let Monu-
ments de* sia premieres Dynattie* of the
276
NOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIEXT EGYPT.
^cn. V.
late Vicomte Em. de Ronge; the His-
toire d'Kgyple. and Recuetl de Monu-
mt»/< Kf/yptiots of Dr. Brugsch ; the
J)niknuirfr of Lepsius; the Mi-langes
Egi/ptologiqves and other works of M.
Chabas; the Monnments divers of M.
Mariette ; and numerous articles in the
Zeitgchriff ftir (igypthche Sprache, the
B(ri(f Arclhologiqiie, and the Metnoires
dt rAc(i<l,'in>( dts Inscriptions et Belles-
LeUriii (luriny recent years.
11 Birch '\\\ Records' of the Past, vol. ii,
preface, p. ix.
12 See Lenormant, Manvel d^Histoire
Ancienne de rOrient, vol. i, pp. 50(i-20;
Birch, Egypt from the Earliegt Times,
Introduction, p. xiii : and Records of the
Past, vol. vi, pp. 162-5.
13 Lenormant, p. 50G: "Le premier
runs appartient aux livres religieux."
14" Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, pp. 125-336 ;
Lenormant, l.s.c.
15 Birch's Egypt from the Earliest
Times, l.s.c. ; Records of the Past, vol.
vi, p. 164, etc.
16 Bunsen, p. 133.
1'' Ritual, eh. Ixiv, ad finem (Bunsen,
p. 209).
1* Lenormant, l.s.c.
19 ChampoUion was the first to make
this division (Bunsen, p. 137). It is the
one preferred by M. Lenormant {Manuel,
vol. 1, pp. 507-51.5).
20 Birch in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v,
pp. \m-m.
21 Lenormant, pp. 507-9.
22 Birch in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, pp.
130, 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. liCt him explain it. Yesterday is
Osiris, the Morning the Sun ; the day on
which are strangled the deriders of the
universal Lord, when his son Horns 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."
(ch. xvii, p. 172.)
"TTimhas built thy house; the two
Lion - gods have founded thy abode.
Ptah going round thee, divine Horns puri-
fies thee, the god Set does so in 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
guard thee. It is invisible to the guar-
dians, said by the Osiris. It is Isis whom
thou hast 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 Neph-
thys." (Ibid. p. 179.)
2* See the rubrics at the end of chapters
xviii, xix, and xx ; and compare Lenor-
mant, Manuel, vol. i, p. 509.
2» Ritual, ch. cxvi, ad fin. (Bunsen.
p. 348.)
" Ibid. ch. cxxv, (Bunsen, p. 85?).
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).
28 Lenormant, Manuel, vol. i, p. ,514;
Birch in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, p. 256
2K Bi " "
260-309
2i» Birch in Bunsen's Egypt, vo
?v"
PP-
30 Lenormant, Manuel, vol. i, p. 516.
It is remarkable tliat the "Kitual of the
Dead" like the Ertung of Manes (Seventh
Monarchy, p. 97), is accompanied by pic-
tures, which form an essential portion of
it, and are reproduced in the various
copies.
31 Records, vol. ii, pp. 119-26.
32 Ibid. vol. iv, pp. 121-28.
33 Ibid. vol. vi, pp. 10.5-12.
3* Ibid. vol. iv, pp. 12.3^.
35 Here occurs the name of the de-
ceased person, with whom the copy of
the book is burled. 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 Egvptians an "Osiris."
3« See above, p'p- 27, 28.
3' "On," or "An," is the city called
by the (jreeks, "Heliopolis," or "the
City of the Sun." (See the Speakei-'s
Commentary, vol. i, p. 206.)
38 Goodwin, Cambridge Essays, 1858,
p. 230 ; Lenormant, Manvel d Histoire
Ancienne, vol. i, p. 517; Birch, Egypt
front the Earliest Times, p. 120.
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 parts of the poem was published
by Mr. Goodwin in 1858 {Camhridge Es
says, pp. 240-2). The translation in the
text follows these authorities.
■»» Birch in Records of the Past, vol. ii,
p. 30.
■" The poem is entitled "The Speech
of Ammon-Ra, Lord of the Seats of the
Upper and Lower World."
*2 See Diunichen, Ilislorische Tnsrhrif-
ten, ii, 40; Stern in the Zeitschrift fiir
(igyptische Sprache for 1873, p. .58 ; and
Records of the Past, vol. vi, pp. 129-30.
43 Records, vol. vi, p. 127.
■'■' The Egyptians distinguished the Ri-
sing from the Setting Sun, calling the for-
mer Ra, and the latter Tum.
4a The "Tour" was partially translated
by Mr. Goodwin in 18."hS iCdinliiidge Es-
says, pp. 2<Hi-9). In IKtlti a full transla-
tion in Fieiich was published by M. Clia-
bas uiuler llie title of Voyagi d' un Kgyp-
tien en Syrie it IViem'cie. M. Drarh, of
the British Museum, contributed an Eng-
lish translation to the Records of th»
Past in 1873 (vol. i, pp. 109-16).
■"' Khatuma is perhaps Edom (CTTX^ '■>
Ilnduni in Assyrian.
4' Tsor seems to be the same word as
the Hebrew tsur ("j r, JJ), whicli the Greek
rendered by Tiipo? ( Tyre). The word
means " rock," and was prol)ably applied
to any fort situated on a rocky eminence.
<"* Qodeeh may be one of the many Sy-
ca. n.]
AGRICULTURE.
2t?
rian towns called Kadesh = "holy,"
whence the modern Arabic name for Je-
rusalem, Al-Kods.
■•' On the Shasti, see above, p. 116.
60 Perhaps Mount Lebanon, or else
Hermon.
51 rpijg "Tale of the Two Brothers," was
first noticed by M. de Rouge in the Be-
vue Archiologique vol. ix, p. ^^^ et seq.).
A considerable portion of it was trans-
lated by Mr. Goodwin in 18."i8 (Cambrhlije
Essays, pp. *i:i-38). In 1800 Dr. Birch
published the text. M. Le Page Renouf
translated a part in 18tJ3 (Atlantis, vol.
iv;. Complete translations have since
been made by Dr. Brugsch in 1804 (Ger-
man) ; bv M. Maspero in IStiT (French),
and by M". Renouf in 1873 (English). This
last translation will be found in the Re-
cords of the Fast, vol. ii, pp. 139-52. The
" Possessed Princess" was tirst translated
by Dr. Birch in 18.53 (Transactions of
Moyal Society of Literature, vol. iv, p.
217 et seq.). This translation was review-
ed and another given by Dr. Rouge in
the Revue Asiatiqi/e, 1850-8, 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, pp. 55-00). The story of
the "Doomed Prince" has, so far as i
know, been translated only by Mr. Good-
win, whose version first appeared in the
Transactions of the Society of Biblical
Archceology (vol. iii, pp. 349-56), whence
it has been transferred, almost without
alteration, to the Records of the Past,
vol. ii, pp. 1.55-tiO.
*» Records of the Past, vol. vi, p. 142
(line 230 of the story).
*^ It is not quite clear whether Sane-
ha's prayer is addressed to the 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 containedin lines 220-232 : —
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.
<•■» Records of the Past, vol. vi, p. 144
(line 311 of the tale).
66 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.
6' The Sakti were enemies of Egypt
towards th« east, probably a tribe of
Arabs.
»s According to Brugsch (Geograph-
ische Inschriften, vol. i, pp. 150, 260), Ka.
mur was a town of Lewer Egypt, situated
in the Heliopolite canton.
69 See the account of them given by
Mr. Goodwin in the Cambridge Essays
for 18.58, pp. 24t>-265.
*" See ivenormant, Manvel d'Histoire
Ancienne, vol. i, p. 519; and Brugsch,
Etudes sur un Papyrus Medical de Ber-
lin, Leipsic, 1853.
*■ Lenormant, l.s.c.
^'-i See Records of the Past, vol. vi, pp.
11.5-26 ; 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."
CHAPTER VL
' See above, ch. ii, pp.
2 Ibid. pp. 49-67.
5 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.
* Herod, iii, 91.
6 The Alexandrian corn-fteet 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).
• Tacitus says: "Augustus, inter alia
dominationis arcana, vetitis nisi permis-
su ingredi senatoribus aut equitibus
Romauis inlustribus, seposuit ^Egyptum;
ne fame urgeret Italiam, quisquis eam
provinciam claustraque terrae ac maris,
quamvis levi prsesidio adversum ingen-
tes exercitus msedisset" (Ann. ii, 59).
Again, it is noted that the danger which
would result to Rome from the revolt of
Egypt caused the rule to be made that
its governor should be, not a senator,
but a knight, Pliny says: "Percrebuerat
antiquitus Urbem nostram, nisi opibus
.dSgypti, ali sustentarique non posse"
(Paneg. g.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 (Cien. 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 the monuments show a large class
of rich private proprietors who are not
priests.
78
KOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
[(II. VI
» Birrh, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, "Introductidn,"" p. xviii.
•0 Ibid. p. 44. "In private the Egyp-
tian lord led a charmed life, — his estate
was cultivated by slaves."
" Diod. Sic. i, 74.
1'^ Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
)v, p. 35.
1* 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 JUonarchij, pp. 441-2.) But it is
uncertain whether this continued. Di-
odorus seems to speak of a money rent.
•* There is no positive evidence of
this; but it is the impression of those
most familiar with the monuments. (See
Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol. iv,
p. 34.)
'* On the oppressiveness of this sys-
tem, which still prevails in parts of
Turkey, see the author's Seventh Mon-
archy, p. 441, note *.
>* Wilkinson, vol. iv, p. 106, 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.
'* Herodotus says, "by pigs" (l.s.c);
and though this has been objected to, it
has been regarded as not improbable by
some good modern authorities (see
Larcher's note on Herod, ii, 14 in his
Histoire d'Htrodote; and Wilkinson,
Ancient 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 occasionally employed for the pur-
pose (ib. p. 39).
'» Rosellini believed that metal plough-
Bhares were represented on the monu-
ments (Mon. Civ. vol. i, p. 299). Wil-
kinson questions this.
'■"' St. Hilaire says that even at the
present day the plough used in Egypt is
"seldom furnished with an iron share"
(Egypt and the Suez Canal, p. 100).
2' For representations of these see
Fellows's Asia Minor, p. 71; Lycia, p.
174; C. Niebuhr, Description de f Arable,
opp. p. 137: Smith, Dictionary of the
Bible, vol. 1, p. 29; and compare the
author's Ancient Monarchies, vol. i, p.
567.
*'•* 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, Denkindler,
vol. iii, part ii, pis. 51 and 56.)
^2 Occasionally a cow, when plough-
ing, was accompanied by her calfi which
disported itself in the vicinity of the
mother, but was muzzled to prevent its
sucking. (See Rosellini, Monumenti Ci-
vili, pi. xxxii, 2.)
^* A full description of the arrange-
ment employed will be found in WUkin-
iun (A. E. voL It, pp. 42-3).
'* Three are represented as thus cm
ployed in a tomb at Thebes (Wilkinson,
A. E. vol. iv, p. 46).
2» The Roman scarificatio (Plin. H. iV.
xviii, 17) was a light ploughing ; but the
term seems equally applicable to the
still lighter "scratching" of the soil by
the hoe.
*' 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).
2» Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 45;
Kenrick, vol. i, p. 185.
2« See the author's Ancient Monarch-
ies, vol. i, p. 567.
a» 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 thi'ir 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 >.
3* As in Italy. See Virg. Georg. i, 155-
58.
35 Gen. xli, 49. According to Pliny
(//. N. xviii, 7), the return on the corn
sown was a hundredfold. The grain,
however, was light (ib).
38 It is, at any rate, always represented
as bearded on the monuments.
3' Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 8.5.
3» Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, p. 64.
3» The statement of Herodotus, that
pigs not only trod in the grain on moisi;
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).
<o Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, pp. 86, 89,
and 90.
<i 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 Herodotus, vol. ii, p. 127, note i.)
<* In a harvest song, discovered by
Champollion at Eilethyias, the oxen are
represented as in the main threshing/or
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 sur VEgyptt^
pp. 146 and 196.)
** Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 98.
CH. VI.]
AGRICULTURE.
279
** Ibid. p. 59.
« Ibid. pp. 98 and 99.
«8 Ibid. p. 99.
*' 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 (//. P. vol. ii, p. asJ3).
Diodorus (i, 89), and Pliny (If. N. xviii,
12). Probably only the priests were for-
bidden to eat them. (Wilkinson in the
author's Herod, v. ii, p. 66.)
*8 Plin. H. N. xviii, 12. The lentils
grown near Pelusium were especially
celebrated (Virgil, Georgica, i, 228; Mar-
tial, E[)igramtnata, xiii, 9, 1).
** Tlie wheat straw which was cleared
from the tields after the reaping of the
ears was also used for the same purpose
(Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 95).
60 Ibid. vol. ii, p. 137.
61 Deut. xi, 10.
62 Supra, p. 161.
63 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). Representatioi's of
the ancient Egyptian hand-swipe will be
found in the author's Herodotus, vol. ii,
p. 21; in Wilkinson's AncieiU Egyptians,
vol. ii, p. 4; in Rosellini's Monnmenti
Civili, pi. xi, No. 2; and elsewhere.
64 Wilkinson, vol. ii, p. 141.
66 See the Memoires sur le Lac Mcuris
of M. Jomard in the Description de
VEg-pyte, and of M. Linantde Belief onds,
published at Alexandria in 1&1;J. Com-
pare Bunsen's Egypt, vol. ii, pp. 209-232.
6« 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.
67 Herod, ii, 101 and 149; iii, 91.
•8 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 Jroin
the Earliest Titties, p. 68); but the size of
the reservoir was scarcely sufficient to
make it of much service in these re-
spects.
6" Strab, xvii, 1, ? 35.
eo Plin. H. N. xv, 3.
«i Ibid.
«2 Strab. l.s.c.
"^ See above.
«* Herodotus says the vine 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. i4a-i7i).
•6 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
lv,p. m.
*' See Strabo, l.s.c. The roots are still
found there (Wilkinson, vol. ii, p. 161).
*' Athenaeus, Dei})itosup/i, i, p. 2.5, E.
*8 Athenteus DeiphnoiOph, i, p. 25, R
Compare Plin. H. N. xiv, 3; Virg. Qeorg.
ii, 91; Horat. Od. i, 31, 14; Strab., l.s.c. ;
etc.
«8 Hellanicus, Fr. 1.^,5.
'" Plin. H. A\ xiv, 7.
" See a representation in Wilkinson,
vol. ii, p. 151. ;
'2 Wilkinson, vol. ii, p. 148.
78 Ibid. p. 149.
'4 See Genesis xl, 11: "I took the
grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's
cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's
hand."
76 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p. 158.
76 Athenseus, i, p. 2.5, E.
77 Plin. H. N. XIV, 3; Athensens, l.B.c;
Strab. xviii, 1, § 14.
7» Plin. H. N. xiv, 7.
7>' Athen. l.s.c.
80 Herod, ii, 94; Thucyd. i, 109-10.
«» Diod. Sic. i, 43.
02 See above, p. 81.
83 Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, p. 45.
84 Ibid.
86 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 95.
8' See Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 161; and compare Lepsius,
Denktndler, vol. iii, part ii, pis. 60, 132,
etc.
87 WMlkinson, A. E. vol. iv. p. 101.
88 Ibid. pp. 9.5, 122, etc.
89 See the representation in Wilkinson,
vol. ii, p. 134.
"o Wilkinson, vol. iv, p. 139. Compare
Rosellini, Monumenti Civili, vol. i, p.
270 and pi. xxxi.
»' Rosellini, Monumenti Civili, pi. xxx*,
Wilkinson, vol. iv, p. 1.30; Lepsius, Denk-
mdler, vol. iii, pt. ii, pi. 9.
»2 " Veal and beef, not pork and mut-
ton, were the principal meats that ap-
peared at an Egyptian's table." (Birch,
Egypt from the Earliest Times, p. 45.)
*3 Wilkinson, vol. i, p. 280; vol. iii, p.
146, etc. Compare Herod, ii, 81.
"4 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).
"6 Herod, ii, 42.
•7 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. Goats' milk was
drunk by the Israelites (Prov. xxvii, 27).
»8 Exod. XXV, 4; xxvi, 7; xxxvi, 14.
»» Herod, ii, 47, 164.
>»o Ibid, ii, 47, 48.
1"' W^ilkinson, vol. iii, p. 33.
i»2 See above, p. 81.
los 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.)
••* See Wilkinson's representatioa,
280
NOTES TO HISTOKY OF ANCIENT EGYPT. [CH. VII.
taken from a tomb at Thebes (A. E. vol.
iii, p. 34); and compare Rosellini, Mon.
Civ. vol. i, p. 369, and pi. xxx, 3.
1" So Birch: " The domestic fowl tvas
vnknown to hi//i^" (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
times" (Egypt from the Earliest Times,
p. 4.5). 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 Egypt" (.-1. E. vol. v, p. 214; com-
pare vol. li, 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.
lue Birch, l.s.c; Wilkinson, A. E. vol.
ii, pp. 18, 21, and 380. Compare Herod,
ii, 37.
"" Herod, ii, 4.5; Wilkinson, vol. v. p.
227; Records of the Fast, vol. ii, pp. .57-8,
etc.
loe WWkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, p. 132.
109 Ibid.
>>" Herod, ii, 77.
>" Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 21G;
Birch, Egypt from the Earliest Times, p.
4(j; Horapollo, Uierogl. i, .57.
'12 Wilkinson, vol. iii, p. 7; vol. iv, p.
140.
n3 Ibid. Compare Rosellini, JJ/bft. Ciw.
pi. xx-\, 2; and Lepsius, Denkmdler, vol.
iii, pt. ii, pi. xvii, b.
'!< In our Authorized Version Joseph
is said to have sent "wagons" into Pales-
tine to fetch Jacob and his brothers'
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 "wagon" 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).
116 The 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.
118 See above, p. 83.
»" Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 87.
"8 Ibid. vol. iii, p. 195. Compare
Lepsius, Denkmdler, vol. iii, pt. ii, pi. civ.
6.
ii» See Herod, ii, 108.
120 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. 374
»!" Birch, l.s.c; Herou. ii, 162: Wilkin
6on, A. E. vol.. i, pp. 289 and 406. It is
curious how unfrequently the Egyptians
are represented on horseback.
'*' Rosellini, Monumenti Civili, pis.
cxvi, cxx, cxxii, etc.; Wilkinson, Ancient
Egyptians, vol. i, pp. 336, 338, 354, etc.
123 Bircli. Egypt from the Earliest
Times, p. 82.
124 Diodorus makes the cavalry of
Sesostris amount to 24,000, wheu 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 E.n;. xiv, 9; 2 Kings xviii, 24; Jereiu.
xlvi, 9; Herod, ii, 162: Wilkinson, Ancient
Egyptians, vol. i, pp. 288-292, etc.)
126 See 1 Kings x, 29: 2 Chron. i, 17.
i2« Records of the Past, vol. ii, p. 75;
Diod. Sic. i, 4.5, ad Jin.
CHAPTER VII.
1 By "architecture" I understand not
the mere "technic art" of constructing
buildings for various uses, but the "aes-
thetic" one of constructing buildings
which shall not be merely useful, but
shall likewise affect the mind with the
sense xif beauty, of grandeur, or of both
together. (See Fergusson, Hist, of Ar-
chitecture, vol. i, pp. 10-16, 2d edition.)
2 This was the case in the ancient
Chaldtea or Babylonia. (See the autlior's
Ancient Monarchies, vol. i, p. 71, 2d edi-
tion.)
' Herod, ii, 99, adfln.
* Diod. Sic. i, 51.
* See Howard Vyse's Pyramids ofGhi-
zeh, vol. iii, p. 2, and map.
* Fergusson, Hist, of Architecture, vol.
i, p. 100.
'' Birch ascribes the great pyramid of
Saccarah to Ouennephes, a Manethonian
king of the first dynasty (Egypt from the
Earlii st 'J'/nii .t, p. 2.")). Leiiormant re-
gards its builder as Kekinii (Cechous) of
the second IMaut'lhonian dynasty (Man-
vel d'//i.-<toirr Aiicienne, vol. i, p. 3;J2).
The pyramids of (ihizeh are universally
ascribed to kings of tlie fourth dynasty.
* Fergusson, vol. i, p. 102.
* 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
tlie doorway; an imitation of lattice-
work !ij, pears above ; at the side are al-
ternate pilasters and depressions adorned
with a sent 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.
1" Vyse (Pyramids of Ghizeh, vol. iii,
CH. VII.]
ARCHITECTURE.
281
p. 78), Birch (Egrjpt from the Earliest
Times, p. 28), and others call it a '• pyra-
riid." FergU(*Bon says (Hist, of Archi-
tecture, vol. i, p. 100), that it is not so
much a pyramid as a "tower."
" These are Perring's measiireiuente,
recorded by Vyse in the Appendix to his
work, vol. iii, p. 79.
12 Ibid.
■3 This edifice has been briefly de-
ecribed by Dr. Birch (Egypt, p. 2'i), more
elaborately by Baron Bunsen (Egypt's
PUice, vol. ii, pp. 379-84), and Mr. Fer-
gusson (Hist, of Architn'tnre, 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-r)0.)
1* 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.
16 Vyse, vol, iii, p. 42.
1* 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.
I' 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.
i» Vyse, vol. iii, p. 41 ; Fergusson, vol.
5, p. 100.
*• A second instance of an oblong py-
mmid exists in the Mvstabet-el-Faraoiin
or "Throne of Pharaoh," 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 (F y7'a?mds 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'Egi/pte, p. .52.
2< See Herod, ii, 124-:i4 : Diod. Sic. i,
63, 64; Strabo, xvii, i. | aS. The last-
named writer notices that the three are
only the chief among many — n-oAAat fiey
fieri. nvfia/jiiSei, rpei? Se afioAoyoi.
2» Vyse makes the base 3.M feet 6
inches (Pyramids of Ghizeh, vol. ii, p.
120). Fergusson calls it 354 feet, Heroa-
;ouche —
a- •■ N.
e,f mttm • \
otus (ii, 134), curiously enough, under-
estimates the size of this pyramid, mak-
ing the length of each side no more than
280 feet.
2» Vyse, Pyramids of Ghizeh, vol. ii,
p. 120.
2' Bunsen's Egypt's Place in Univ.
History, vol. ii, p. 166.
28 Vyse, vol. ii, p. 120.
2" W ilkinson in the author's Herodor
tus, vol. ii, p. 208, note i.
30 On the lid of the sarcophagus which
occupied the sepulchral chamber of this
pyramid was the cartouche —
which is read as Men-
ka-re or Men-ker-re,
undoubtedly the orig-
inal of the Meiicheres'
(Manetho), Mecherin-
us (Diod. Sic), or Mycerinus (Herod.), of
the Greek writers.
31 Vyse, vol. ii, p. 122.
3» Vyse, vol. ii, p. 82, and compare pi.
3, figs. 7 and 9 (opp. p. 81).
33 The sarcophagus was, unfortunatelv,
lost on itt way to England, the vessel
which conveyed it having foundered oflE
the coast of Spain (ibid. p. 84, note 3).
3* See above, note **. chapter vii.
3* See Fergusson, Hist, of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 103.
3" Vyse, vol. ii, p. 123.
3' Ibid. p. 84, note 3.
38 Bunsen, Egypt's Place, vol. ii, p. 167.
39 Vyse, vol. ii, p. 79.
<" Bunsen, vol. ii, p. 171 ; Wilkinson
in the author's Herod., vol. ii, p. 2()9.
<i Vyse, vol. ii, p. 117; Bunsen, vol. ii,
p. 154; Fergusson, Hist, of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 95.
■•2 Eleven acres, one rood, and thirty-
eight poles, according to Vvse and Per-
ring (Vyse, vol. ii, p. 119) ; 499, 849 square
feet, according to Fergusson (l.s.c).
<3 Vyse, l.s.c.
** Bunsen, vol. ii, p. 152.
45 Vyse, vol. ii, p. 118.
*' Belzoni, Researches, p. 271.
*'' Vyse, l.s.c.
48 Vyse, vol. ii, pp. 118-9.
<» Bunsen, Egypt's Place, vol. ii, p.
1.53.
»" Ibid. vol. ii. p. 1.52.
»i Herod, ii, 127; Vyse, vol. ii, p. 115;
Wilkinson in the author's Herodotus,
vol. ii, p. 204, note 2.
*2 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 execution" (Egypt fro7n the
Earliest Ti^nes, p. :^).
'3 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 ej^aetly northeast
of the second. But the e.rprrt, Perring,
lays down very positively the contrary
(Vyse, vol. ii, plan of the "pyramids opp.
p. 148).
" The base of the Great Pyramid was
thirty-three feet below that of the Second
Pyramid (Vyse, vol. ii, p. IOC). In verti-
.082
NOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT. [CH. VU
cal height it exceeded the Second Pyra-
mid by twenty-six feet sis iiulies. 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 conimonlv noted.
's At 480 (or rather 4«(%) by Vyse and
Perring (vol. ii, p. 109); at 484 by Mr.
Fergussou (Hist, of Architecture, vol. i,
p. 95); and at 485 by Mr. Piazzi Smyth (As-
h'ono7n. Observ., p. 5). The height de-
pends on the exact angle of the casing
stones, whicli is given as 51* 50' by Vyse
and Perring (vol. i, p. 261), but by Mr. Fer-
gusson as 51* 51' (Hist, of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 95).
6* So Vyse and Perring (l.s.c). Mr.
Fergusson savs 760.
67 Birch, Egijpt from the Earliest
Times, p. 32. Compare Wilkinson, To-
pography of Thebes, p. 323, note, where
the comparison with Lincoln's Inn Fields
was first made.
'*i 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 tin., with Wilkin
son's comment.
6" Lenormant says (Manuel d'Histoire
Aricienrie, vol. i. p. 2;i5) : " La pyramide de
Khoufou est demeuree la plus prodigi-
euse des oeuvres humaines, au moins par
sa masse."
81 Vyse, vol. ii, p. 110.
82 Fergusson, History of Architecture,
vol i, p. 99.
«s Bunsen, Egypt's Place, vol. ii, p. 160.
Compare Herod, ii, 124.
«■» The angle of the descending passage
is 20° 41', that of the ascending one 26° 18'
(Vyse, vol. ii, p. 110).
"5 At first three feet ten inches hio:h
only; after "the step" five feet eignt
inches (ibid. p. 112).
«« Vvse passim; Bunsen. vol. ii, pp.
156, 1.58; Wilkinson; Topography, p. 324.
There is no ground for this appellation.
0' Vyse, vol. ii, p. 113.
** The sarcophagus had no inscription;
but the walls of the chambers had
roughly scrawled upon them in red ochre
the names of
Khufu
(^v-v)
and
Khnum-Khufu
See Lepsius, Dt/ik/nalcr, vol. iii, pt. ii,
pi. 1. Dr. Birch seems to regard these
two cartouches as representing the same
king (Egypt from the Earliest Times,
pp. 32-8).
«» Vyse, vol. ii, p 111.
'" Bunsen, vol. ii, p. 1C4.
'> Ibid. Compare vyse, vol. ii, plau
opp. p. 158.
'2 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.
'■• See the work of Mr. Piazzi Smyth;
entitled Antiquity of Intellectual Man,
Edinburgh, 1865, p. 240, etc.
'6 These ideas, which originated with
Signor Caviglia, were encouraged by
Col. Howard Vyse (Pyiamids 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-
mide have "their sides inclined, or their
entrance passages sloped, at tha same
angle.
'» Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, p. 35.
" 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 waa
not sufficient to enable them to effect
this quite exactly, but they did not misg
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 DEFICIENCT
Great Pyramid 764 723 l-19th.
Second Pyramid 707 673 l-20th.
Third Pyramid 354 330 l-15th.
(See Fergusson'e History of Architectvre,
vol. i, p. 96.)
'8 See Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, pp. 32-41; Lenormant, Manvei
d'Histoire Ancienne, vol. i, pp. 537-8;
Fergusson, History of Architecture, vol.
i. p. 98; Brugsch, Histoire d'Egypte, pp.
51-.59, etc.
'9 Lenormaint, p. 537; Fergus., p. 98.
»» Vyse, vol. i, p. 288; vol. ii, pp. 78, 82,
etc.; Belzoni, Besearches, pp. 269, 274,
etc.
1*1 Fergusson, vol. i, p. 100.
82 Ibid. p. 98.
83 According to Diodorus (i, 64, ?8) the
entrance to the Third Pyramid was not
concealed, but, on the contrary, was
pointed 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 tifth dynasty, who may have
conie into power before the works con-
nected with the closing of the tomb of
Mencheres were completed.
8« This was first proved by Sir Henry
James, of the Koyal Engineers, whose
models and lucid explanations con-
vinced me of the fact, when I waa at
Vol. I.
Plate LXYII.
^'HmiMIIIIIIHii! ^^~T,':^"'.IMinl!ii|:„l,- Ml
Fig. 1C7.— Head-rest.— See Fig. 108.— Egyptian Fig. 1G9.— Egyp-
Page 229. Military Drum.— tian Captive.—
See Page 284. See Page 224.
Fig. 170,— Prisoners of War, escorted by their Captor.— See Page 222.
Fig. 171.— Egyptian undergoing the Bastinado.— See Page 226.
Plate LXVIII.
Vol 1
Kg. 173.— Egyptian Porcelain Vase.— Fig. 174.— Process of Smoothiuo Stonk.
See Page 232. - See Page 227.
Fig. 175.— Women Weavinu.— See Page 228.
Vol.
Plate LX:X.
^%^^
^
Fig. ITC— Fi-RNiTURE-MAKiNG.— See Page 229.
Fig. 177.— Chariot-making.— See Page 229.
Fig. irS.-GLASs BLOWING.— See Page 230.
Plate LXX.
Vol. L
Fig. 179.— Specimens of ordinary Egyptun Pottery.— See Page 231.
Fig. 180.— Elegant Vases and Amphohje.— See Page 331.
CH. VII.J
ARCHITECTUEE.
283
Exeter on the occasion of the meeting of
the British Asgociation in 1869. Mr. Fer-
giisson adopts Sir. H. James's views
(Hist, of Architecture, vol. i, p. 98).
86 Herodotus (iii 135) expressly notices
that the stones were raised in this w^ay,
a step at a time, by machines placed on
the step below. Mr. I'erring 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 polygpaston of Vitruvius (Vys-e,
Pyrainids of OMzeh, vol. i, p. 197, note).
8« 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. 389 : "The masonry
of the [central] chamber is probably the
finest specimen in the world. It con.«ists
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 and 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
(juarry, 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."
89 Fergusson. vol. i, p. 105.
»o Ibid. Compare Vyse, vol. i, p. 176.
*' 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 vniversally acknowledged 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
ekill and science displayed in th(^ir con-
struction, and the imposing majesty of
their simple forms." (Pyramids oj Ghi-
zeh, l.s.c.)
»2 Herod, ii, 124-»4 and 148. Compare
i, 93.
»» Tacit. Ann. ii, fil.
«* "Soldiers, forty centuries look
down upon you from the top of the pyr-
amids." (See Alison, History of Em-ope,
vol. iii, p. 4;W.)
»5 Diod. Sic. i, 63; ii, 11; Strab. xvii, 1,
2.33.
»• Richardson, Travels along the Med-
iterranean and Parts adjacent, vol. i. p.
119, quoted by Dr. Russell in his Egypt,
Ancient and Modern, p. 134. Compare
Diod. Sic. i, 63, sub Jin.
" Vyse (vol. iii, pp. 57-63 and 70-1)
gives a full account of two brick pyra-
mids at Dashoor. They w-ere composed
of crude, not baked, bricks, and were
cased with Mokattam limestone. The
original bases were estimated at .342 feet
6 inches and 3.50 feet, their perpendicular
heights at 267 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).
»8 Herod, ii, 1.36.
"" Vyse, vol. iii, pp. 65-7.
""> Ibid. p. 66.
101 So Wilkinson (Topography of
Thebes, p. .3.38). 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 Menephthah" (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 BeTzoni found the sar-
cophagus of Menephthah (Researches, p.
23()).
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. 6.5, note '>.) It is also noticed by Sir
Gardner Wilkinson (Ancient Egyptians,
vol. i, p. 44), and by Bunsen (Egypt's
Plnce, vol. ii, p. 284).
106 "Tali colonnesonotralepiii eleganti
di quante se ne veggono negli antichi
monumenti d'Egitto." (Rosellini, Man.
Civ. l.s.c.)
108 II j\^ queste colonnc, oltre Teleganza
della forma, aggiungono vaghezzo i
colori, che, disposti con belT armonia,
danno risalto agli steli, ai legami, ed ai
bocciuoli" (Rosellini, p. 70).
K" Ibid. p. 69; Fergusson, vol. i, p.
110.
los Herod, ii, 99; Diod. Sic. i, 4,5, 46, etc.
i"' Donaldson in the Transactions oj
the Society of British Architects for Feb.
1861 : Ferciisson, Hist, of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 104.
I'" Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, p. 38.
284
NOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIEXT EGYPT. [CH. VIL
'" Fergtippon, vol. i. p. 105.
113 Feru;iisson, vol. i, p. 10.5-6.
i'3 Wilkinson, Ancient Emjiians, vol.
i, p. 45 ; Bunsen, Egypt's Place, vol. ii,
p. 283, etc.
114 Ferguseon, Hist, of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 219.
u( Fergusson, Hist, of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 118.
>'« See the plan in the Description de
VEgyple, "Antiquites," "Planches," vol.
ii, pi. 4, flg. 1.
11' According to the French savants
the original height was about twenty-
four feet (Description de VEgypte, l.s.c.
flg. 4).
118 Ibid. "Texte," vol. i, ch. ix. p. 2.5.
11' Description, "Texte," vol. i, ch. te,
p. 26: "On s'etait apercu sans doute q4ie
les pierres du plafona, trop pesantes,
menayoient de se rompre sous leur propre
poids. "
120 Ibid. p. 28.
121 D'Anvillc, Mt'moires svr VEgypte,
p. 205 ; Descnplioit, "Aiitiquites," vol. i,
ch. ix. p. 121; Wilkinson, Ancient Egyp-
tians, vol. i, pp. 114-6.
123 Brugsch. Geschichle Aegyptens
unter den Pharaonen, p. 542 ; Fergusson,
Hist, of Architecture, vol. i. pp. 116-7 ;
Birch, Egypt frofn the Earliest Times, p.
127.
123 Fergusson, p. 117. Diodorus gives
the pylons a height of forty-five cubits,
or sixty -seven and a half feet (i, 47). The
French savants (Description, "Plan-
ches," vol. ii, pi. 27) represent it as some-
what greater (about seventy-three feet).
124 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
i, p. 116; Description, "Texte," vol. i, ch.
ix, pp. 123-^ ; 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.)
127 So Wilkinson (l.s.c.) and Fergusson
|vol. i, p. 116). The French explorers
nupposed that there had been ten rows
of SIX columns, and thus made their num-
ber sixty. {Description, "Antiquites,'"
"Texte," vol. i, ch. ix, p. 132; "Plan-
ches," vol. ii, pi. 27.)
12" 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," l.s.c.)
129 Description de VEgypte, pp. 132-3.
13" 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 plaVi,
"Antiquites," pi. 3.3.)
I'l he script ion, "Texte," vol. i, ch. ix,
pp. 124-5; Wilkinson, Topography of
Thebes, pp. 10-12.
132 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.
138 Description, "Antiquites," vol. i,
ch. ix, p. 208.
1" Wilkinson, l.s.c.
138 Description, "Antiquites," vol. i,
ch. ix, p. 216.
139 Ibid.
140 The bases of the second pylons ex-
ceed in width those of the first by about
six feet {Description, "Planches," vol
iii, A. pi. 21). It is therefore probable
that they had a greater weight to support.
"1 Ibid. "Texte,' vol. i, ch. ix, p. 218.
i<2 Mr. Fergusson says 340 (Hist, of
Architecture, vol. i, p. 118); and I do not
know on what authority. Sir G. Wilkin-
son gives the lengtli as .329 feet ( Topog-
raphy, p. 174); the French explorers at
100 metres, which is 328 feet (Description,
vol. i, ch. ix, p. 220).
!♦» So Wilkinson and Fergusson. The
Description (l.s.c.) makes the width exact-
ly half the length, or 164 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, l.s.c.)
14* See Fergusson, l.s.c.
146 Their width was forty-eight feet,
that of the western pylons fifty-two feet.
14' 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) calls 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.
149 Description, p. 229: " Cet obe-
lisque est le plus eleve des onze que
renferme encore I'Egypte, et il egale
presque en hauteur les plus grands qui se
trouvent a Rome."
160 Description, p. 2.30.
151 Description, p. 2;i4: " Tout semble
indiquer ici un lieu mysterieux et revere,
dans lequel les pretres ou les ministree
du roi avoient seuls la faculte d'entrer."
i»2 Ibid. p. 2:32.
iM 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
Desci'iption, "Planches," a. vol. iii, pi.
21: and compare above, plate x.xvii a.)
1*5 Ibid. Texte, "Antiquites," vol. I,
ch. ix, p. 237.
150 Fergusson, Hist, of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 119. The Description makes tho
length 143 feet.
»" See the plan, plate xxvii a.
CH. VII.]
ARCHITECTURE.
285
i'« Mr. Fiirgnsson says "360 feet"
(I.8.C.), but this is more tiian the extreme
width of the propyltea 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 nturly twice the
area of St. Peter's at Kome." But this
is an over-estimate.
'*" Dtucriptio/t, '• Antiquites, vol. i,
ch. ix. p. 330.
i«i Fergusson, Hist, of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 119.
162 Fergusson, Eiat. of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 119.
■«3 Stanley, Sinai and Palestine, "In-
troduction, ' p. xxxviii.
164 Fergusson, vol. i, pp. 119-30.
1"* 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.
'" 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 time.s, but was the pro-
duction of Egyptian workmen.
167 Fergusson, Bisi. of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 139; Smith, Diet, of Greek and
Boman Antiquities, p. 816.
I 188 Description, "Antiquites," vol. i,
p. 339, note; Fergusson, l.s.c.
169 Description, l.s.c.
J'o Ibid.
1" According to the French savants,
the obelisks nearest in height to that of
St. John Lateral! are the great obelisks of
Karnak, which they imagined to have
measured 39.83 metres, or ninety-seven
feet eight inches, but which are now said
to have a height of onlv ninety-three feet
(Stuart Poole in the £lricyclop(edia Bri-
tawtica, ad voc. Egypt, p. .508; Fergusson,
Hist, of Architecture, vol. i, p. 139). Next
to these comes the one before St. Peter's,
which measures 2.5.135 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
Place 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 Heli-
opolis of sixty-six, and that recently
brought to Eiiijland of sixty-seven feet.
172 The obelisk in front of St. Peter's
is estimated to weigh 694,000 lbs.
(French), or 33.5 tons: that in the Place
d« la Concorde and its fellow at Lux-
or, 525,3:^6 lbs. (French), or 3.54 tons; the
smaller one of those still standing at
Jjuxor, 352,767 lbs. (French), or 170 tons.
(See the Description, "Antiquites," vol.
i, pp. 188, 239 and 230.)
"3 See Zoega, De Oheliscis: and com-
pare PI in. H. N. XXX vi, 8, § 14.
"< Plin. l.s.c.
"s I cannot agree with those who see
in obelisks nothing but "grotesque and
unsiyhtly monuments of Eastern super-
stition"' (Merivale, Boman Empire, vol.
iv, p. 73).
"8 Mr. Fergusson says the average
proportion is ten diameters (Hist, of
Architecture, vol. i, p. 39). 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
3.923 metres, the height as 32.159. Now,
2.923 -+-11 =32.153.)
'" The name was, I beliave, first given
by Sir Gardner Wilkinson (Topography
of Thebes, pp. 28, 31, and "Table of Con-
tents," p. xxiii; Ancient Egyptians, vol.
i, p. .58). It has been adopted by Fergus-
son (Hist, of Architecture, vol. i, p. 118)
and others.
>'* Fergusson, vol. i, p. 13.3.
1" See the plan in the Description,
"Planches," vol. iii, a. pi. 54, which is
reproduced above.
180 Fergusson, l.s.c.
lei 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," vol. i, ch.
ix, p. 209).
i**3 Ibid. p. 321. Wilkinson says that
the usual construction is by layers of tivo
blocks each (Architecture), p. 44).
184 Wilkinson, Topography of Thebes,
p. 174, note; Ancient Egyptians, vol. iii,
p. 3:32.
185 That of Rameses IL at the Rame-
seura 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), mnst be near-
ly as heavy.
i*" See Burton's Excerpta, pi. 41; and
compare Wilkinson in the author's He-
7odotys,\o\ ii, p. 263, note ^. One such
apartment is said to have weighed as
much as 5,000 tons (I) ; but this estimate
depends on the accuracy of Herodotus ik
the measurements which he gives of the
monolithic chamber at Buto (ii, 15.5), and
on acalculation^ounded 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.
18' Description, "Antiquites," vol. i,
ch. ix, p. 321. Wilkinson says, a length
of "above twenty -four feet" ( Architec-
ture of Ancient Egypt, p. 18, note).
188 Supra, p. 112 and note "' chapter
vil.
189 This was the proportion ultimately
286
NOTES TO UISTOllY OF 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
Dicf. of Greek and Boman Antiquities,
p. 325).
i»o See Wilkinson's Architecture of
Ancient Egypt, pp. 3(5, 43, etc.
"" See above, p. 103.
'"^ Wilkinson, Architecture, p. 7.
i»3 See plate xxix, Fig. 71, Nog. 2 and
4.
>»< Description, "Planches," vol, i, a.
pis. 18, 88, etc.
'86 See plate xxix, Fig 71, No. 1.
•»* 2>esc77/>/iow, Antiquites," vol. 1. ch.
ix, p. 35: "Ues chapiteaux a campanes"
—p. 132: "Ce chapiteau a la forme d'une
fleur de lotus epanouie."
19' Chapiteaux a boutons de lotus tron-
ques" {Description, "Antiquites," vol. i.
ch. ix, p. 137); the "bud-capital" of Wil-
kinson (Architecture of Ancient Egypt,
p. 3;j).
198 "II est a remarqucr que cet orare
est proprement celui de Thebes; partout
il y est employe, et on ne le retrouve
(jue rarement ailleurs" (Description, p.
193).
J89 Fergusson, Hist, of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 119; Description, "Antiquites,"
vol. i, ch. ix, p. 105; Wilkinson, Topog-
raphy of Thebes, pp. 175-(i.
200 Fergusson, p. 123. This was com-
moner in the later than in the earlier
times. Numerous specimens exist in
Upper Egypt, as at Koum Ombou, at
Esne, and elsewhere.
201 The Doric capital was from one-
eighth to oi>e-tvvelfth 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-(i).
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.
206 See plate xxix. Fig. 71, Nos. 2 and
3.
209 In the great pillared hall at Kar-
nak the width of the ct-utral avenue is
eighteen feet, the diameter of the col-
umns at their case being eleven feet
eight -nthes, vi'hich 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," A. pis. 21 and 5.5, tig. 3.
207 Description, "Antiquites," vol. i,
ch. ix. p. 212.
ao« Ibid. pp. a5, 127, etc.
aoB "Elles soiit vetues d'unc tunique
longue et ctroite." (Ibid. p. 127.)
J»o 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," vol. iii, pis. 25 and 30, flg. 1.)
211 As the Greek caryatides were said
to be (Vitruv. i, 1, §5; Plin. H. N. xxxtI,
45).
212 See above, p. 113.
213 Herod, ii. 111. Compare Plin. H.
N. xxxvi, 8, §14, where four are ascribed
to Sesothes, iivo to Rhamesis (Rameses),
two to Mesphres, etc.
2i'i See the remarks of the French
engineers, on the two obelisks of Luxor.
(Description, "Antiquites," vol. i, ch. ix,
pp. 188-9.)
216 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 tiioroiighly Egyp-
tian building, and, considerering now
disinclined the Egyptians vere to change
of any kind, might not improbably re-
peat more ancient work.
2i« Belzoni, Researches, pp. 231, 231.
etc.; RosellinI, Monumenti Uivili, vol. i,
pp. 54, lot), etc.; Sharpe, History oj
Egypt, vol. i, p. 73.
21' Belzoni, p. 234; Stanley, Sinai and
Palestine, "Introduction," pp. xxxix-xl.;
Fergusson, Hist, of Architecture, vol. i,
p. 129.
21* See Rosellini, Monumenti Civili,
Plates, vol. ii, pi. 53. figs. 16 and 17; pi.
59, figs. 1 and 2; pi. 71, hg. 11, etc.
210 Wilkinson says: "No one who
understands the harmony of colors will
fail to admit that they (i.e. the Egyp-
tians) perfectly understooi their distri
bution and proper comuinations, and
that an Egyptian temple was greatly im-
proved by the addition of painted sculp-
tures." (Ancient Egyptians, vol. iii, p.
298.)
220 So Fergusson, Hist, of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 131. The point admits of a
doubt.
221 See above, pp. 105, 106.
222 The term was flrsi need by the
French savants in the Description
("Antiquites," vol. i, ch. ix, pp. 30-33).
It has been adopted from them by Sir G.
WiJkinson (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," vol. ii, a. pi. 16.
226 Description, "Antiquites," vol. i,
ch. ix, p. 32.
228 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," vol. ii, a. pi. 17,
flg. 7; and compar« Wilkinson, Anthem
CH. VIII.]
MIMETIC ART.
287
Egyptians, voi. v, pp. 345-(), and ArcM-
iecture, p. 04). This oiiiameut is nowhere
else repeated.
227 See the woodcut, and compare
Rosellini, Monmnenti Civili, vol. ii, pp.
381-3, with the representation given in
vol. ii, of the Plates (pl. (38, tig. 8).
228 Rosellini argues that this repre-
eents a lantern, which acted at once as
a skylight and a ventilator. But there Is
nothing to show this.
22« See Rosellini, Mo)i. Civ. vol. ii, pp.
382-6, and compare the illustration in his
Plates, vol. ii, pl. 68, fig. 3, from which
the woodcut in tlie text is taken.
230 Fergusson, Hist, of Architecture,
vol. i, p. 132.
231 These -'blinds," as I have called
them, may possibly be 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, pl. 69; and
compare the description given in the
text (vol. ii, pp. 386-8).
23» Histo7'y of Architecture, vol. i, p.
131.
23« Rosellini conceives the onl-iuiry
material to have been crude ..nek.
{Mon. Civ. vol. ii, p. 380. Compare Wil-
kinson, Topograph!/, p. 199.)
23' As Sir G. Wilkinson, Mr. Fergus-
Bon, and Mr. R. S. Poole, whose con-
tribution to the EncyclopiediaRritannica
on the subject of Egypt is of great value.
238 See Wilkinson, Architecture of
Ancient Egypt, p. 17; Topography of
Thebes, pp. 81, 20!; Ancient Egyptians,
vol. ii, p. 116; vol. iii, p. 319; Sharpe,
Hist, of Egypt, vol. i, pp. 49, 143, Yyse,
Pyramids of Ghizeh. vol. ii, p, 131, etc.
239 See above, p. 103.
240 Fergusson, Hist, of Architecture,
vol. i, "Introduction," p. 22.
241 Wilkinson, Arctiitecture of Ancient
Egypt, pp. 30 and 103; Topogiajihy of
Thebes, pp. 3 and 54; Fergusson, Hist, oj
Architecture, vol. i, p. 11.5.
242 See the Description, "Planches,"
vol. i, A. pl. 5; vol. iii, a. pl. 5.
243 Hist, of Architecture, vol. i, p. 95,
note.
244 See page 107.
246 See Wilkinson, Architecture of
Ancient Egypt, pp. 29 and 43; 'Topog-
raphy of Thebes, l.s.c; Description,
"Antiqiiites," vol. i, eh. ix, p. 214.
248 Wilkinson, Arcliiiccliire, p. 30.
247 D< scvlption, "Planches." vol. i, a.
pis. 6, 8, etc.; Wilkinson, Architecture,
p. HI.
248 Description, "Planches," vol. ii, A.
pl. 28; and compare the text, "Anti-
quil5s," vol. i, ch. ix, p. 128.
249 Ibid. "Planches,'^ vol. i, a. pl. 50.
CHAPTER Vm.
' Birch, Guide to the Egyptian GaU
leries of the British Museum, p. 16 ; Wil-
kinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol. iii, p.
304.
2 Birch, l.s.c.
3 Lenormant, Manuel d^Histoire An'
cietme, 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.
* "Les muscles, les veines, les plis et
les contractions de la peau n'y sont pas
rendus, ni meme la charpente osseuse."
(Lenormant, Manuel, vol. i, p. 539.)
« Lenormant, Manuel, vol. i, p. 539.
"La figure egyptienne est modelee, non
pasgrossierement, mais sommairement."
' Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, voL i, p.
265.
8 See plate xxxiv. Fig. 86.
9 Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 16.
'" Birch, l.s.c. p. 17. Compare Ken-
rick, vol. i, p. 266.
1' 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 master" (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."
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.
'3 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. pl. 24a), even more hideous.
" Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 15.
1* See above p. 116.
1' Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 17.
18 See the renresentations in the Z>e»
scription de VEgypte, "Antiquites," vol.
V, pl. 61-72.
19 Professor Owen calls it "a sculpture
of e.xquisite art and finish" (Leisure
Hour for May, 1876, p. .324). Ampere
says: "Cette grande figure mutilee est
d'un eflEet prodigieux; c'est comme une
apparition eternelle. Le fant6me da
pierre parait attentif ; on dirait qu'il en-
288
NOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIE^'T EGYPT. [CH. VIII
entend et quMl regarde. Sa grande oreille
semble recueillir les bruits du passe : see
yeux touvnes vers Torient sembleut epier
Tavenir ; le regard a une profondeur et
uue verite qui fascinent le spectateur.
Sur cette figure, moitie statue, moitie
montagne, ou decouvre une majeste siu-
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; Lenormaut,
Manned, vol. i, pp. 35.3-4, etc.
22 Lenorniant, Manuel cfHictoire An-
cietine, vol. 1, pp. .538-541 ; Wilkinson,
Ancient Egyptians, vol. iii, p. 87 ; Ken-
rick, Ancient Egi/pfians, vol. i, pp. 264-5.
23 Birch, Gniil? to Britis/i Mi/S(um, p.
18; Wilkinson in the i\\M\ov'^ H< rodotus,
vol. ii, p. 20tt-27], 3d edition. The main
authorities upon the points are Plato,
Diodorus, and Synesius.
24 Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, pp. 43, 129, 175, etc.; and see be-
low, pp. 299-;301.
25 See the author's Ancient Monarchies,
vol. iii, pp. 296, m\, and 3;J4 (2d edition).
26 See the frontispiece to Sir C!. Fellow's
Lycia, and compare the Lycian sculp-
tures in British Museum.
2' A somewhat high relief is observ-
able in the hideous monster figured by
Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol. vi,
Supplement, pi. 43 A. Also in Lepsius,
Denmuiler, 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:
avrjp r\\)<; Te fie'yas Te,
'E^o^os 'ApyiLiov KtiuaATJi' t« koL (vpeai;
ai/u.0U5.
31 See the Description de VZgypte,
"Antiquites," vol. iii, pis. 3, 6, 38, etc.;
and compare Lepsius, Denkmdler, vol.
vi, pt. iii, pis. 126, 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
of the central building, and probably
represents Amenophis I, destroying his
- enemies (see the Description, "An-
i liquites," vol. iii, pi. 40, fig. 6). Fig. 95.
33 The remark of Madame de Stael is
quite just. "Les sculpteurs egyptiens sai-
sissaient avec bien plus de genie la figure
des animaux que celle des hommes"
(Corinne, vol. i, p. 127).
34 At first the animal forms are weak,
and sometimes absurd, as the tall hare in
the Dnikiniili r (vol. iii, pt. ii, pi. 3), and
the very feeble dogs catching antelojjes
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 dynasty, they leave but
little to be desire^.
35 Compare Roselliui, Moninnenti
Civili, vol. ii, pis. 6 to 13, with Wilkiu.
son, Ancient Egyptians, vol. iii, pp. 3(>-
51.
38 Rosellini, Momimenti Civili, vol. ii,
pi. 15. The scene is taken from a tomb
at Beui Hassan, near Thebes.
3' See the Description, "Antiquites,"
Texte, vol, i, ch. ix, ? i, p. 54, and
Planches, vol. ii, pi. 9, tig. 1.
3S The wall is here interrupted by s
doorway, which renders the composi-
tion imperfect, and can scarcely naye
been part of the original structure.
39 Compare the Description (l.s.c.)^
"Ce bas-relief, precieux sous le rapport
de I'histoire (?), ne Test pas moius sous
le rapport de I'art. On peut remarquer
la franchise et la hardiesse du dessin, la
variete et la fermete des attitudes de
toutes les figures ; Vexpression de la
douleiir estsuTtout rendue avec beaucoup
de verite."
*" See Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians,
vol. iii, pp. 16, 18, 22 ; Lepsius, Denkmd-
ler, vol. ii. pt. ii, pis. 22, 46, etc.
41 Lepsius, Denkmdler, vol. iii, pis. 10,
24, 2.5, 42, 57 a, etc. ■Sometimes both
figures 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. 19. 47, &c.
44 Ibid. vol. iii, pt. ii, pis. 47, 51 ; vol.
vi, pt. iii, pi. 154.
45 Rosellini, Mon. Civ. 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-
mdler, vol. vi. pt. iii, pi. 118.
4'' Lepsius, Denkmdler, vol. vi, pt. iii,
pis. 1.58, 159, 164, 166, etc.
48 Rosellini, pis. 68 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. 14.5, 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 ancles to the spectator, suspended
in air, like the coltin of Mohamniedl
52 See Wilkinson, vol. ii, pi. 9, and
woodcut, p. 142, No. 130 ; and Rosellini,
vol. ii, pi. 09.
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.
5' See Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians,
vol. ii, p. :i66. Compare the passage of
Horace to which he refers (Sat. ii, 8, 54).
s" Wilkinson, vol. ii, p. ,307.
5' Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, vol. i, pp.
269-70.
58 Description de VEgyple, "Antiqui-
tes," vol. ii, pi. 83, fig. 1 ; Wilkinson, A
E., Supplement, vol. vi, pi. 67.
CII. IX.J
SCIENCE.
^89
6» In the animal paintings there seems
to be some exception to this rule. Kosel-
lini has representations of beasts, birds,
and flsli, where the color is softened otf
from dark to light (Monumenti Civili,
vol. ii, pis. 13, W, 17, 30, and 2.5).
*•• Patterned dresses are common in
the case of foreigners, rare in that of
Egyptians. For examples, see Lepsius,
Deiikmaler, vol. iv, pt. ii, pi. 133; vol. vi,
pt. iii, pis. 115-6, and 130.
*' As particularly sails and cabins of
vessels (Rosellini, M. C. vol. ii, pis. 107,
108 ; Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, pi. xvi),
caparisons of horses (.Description, "An-
tiquites," vol. iii, pi. 12: Wilkinson, vol.
i, pi. 1), seats (Wilkinson, vol. ii, pi. 11 ;
vol. vi, pi. 20, etc.), frames of harps (ibid.
vol. ii, pi. 13, land woodcut on p. 270),
bow-cases (ibid. vol. i, p. 346), and
dresses of deities (ibid. vol. vi, pis. 30,
23, 3.3, 50, etc.).
62 Wilkinson, vol. iii, p. 300.
•3 This is found, I believe, only in
representations of animals. See Rosel-
lini, Mon. Civ. vol. ii. pi. xvii, figs. 6, 7,
10 ; pi. XX, figs. 4, 7, 8).
6< Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 303.
86 Ibid. pp. :i02-3.
8« Wilkinson, .-1. E. vol. iii, p. .302.
«' See particularly the Descriplion de
VEgypte, "Antiquites," Planches, vol.
ii, pi. 91.
'8 Sir J. Reynolds, Biscovrses before
the Royal Academy, Discourse iv, p. 102.
*» Ibid. Discourse iv, p, 89.
'» Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 301.
■" See above p. 1.33.
''•^ See K. O. Miiller, History of Oreek
Art, pp.48, 76, etc ; Falkener, Ephesits,
pp. 260-1 ; Fergusson, Bist. of Architec-
ture, vol. i, pp. 2.52-4.
'3 Ruskin, Stones of Venice, vol. i, pis.
1, .5, 8 ; vol. ii, pi. 5 ; Seven Lamps of
Architecture, pp. 130-133.
'* Compare above, p. 117.
'* Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 298 ;
Fergusson, Hist, of Architecture, vol. i,
p. 120.
"8 L'art egyptien,'" says Lenormant,
"semble etre retenu par certains cotes
dans une eternelle enfance" (Manuel d'-
Hisfoire Ancienne, vol. i, p. 539). "It was
the peculiarity of Egyptian art," observes
Mr. Kenrick, "that the characteristics of
its infancy were perpetuated through all
the stages of its existence" (^Ancient
Egypt, vol. i, p. 264).
" Lenormant, having mentioned
works of art which he attributes to the
second dynasty, says : "En les etudlant,
on y remarque une rudesse et une inde-
cision de style qui niontre qu'a la fin de
la deuxierae dynastie Tart egyptien
cherchait encore sa voie, et n' etait qu'-
imparfaiteraent forme" (Mamul, vol. i,
p. *«).
'*' Birch, Ancient Egypt, p. 43. A com-
parison of the busts m the Roman room
of the Brit. Musiuni, ranging from Ju-
lius Caesar to Elairab.iUiH, witli the best
Kpeciraeus «f Egyptian art, will (1 think)
show this judgment to be very much
too favorable.
'* Wholly, according to Lenormant
(Manufl, vol. i. p. 538); but not so, accord-
ine to Birch (Guide to Museum, p. 18).
80 Lenormant, Manuel, vol. i, p. 354.
81 "La qualite predoniinante dans la
sculpture de cet age est la finesse, Tel-
egance, et I'harmonie des proportionB"
(ibid. p. a53).
82 See above p. 113.
83 On the "Grand Style" see Sir J.
Reynolds's Discourses before 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. 426. "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 debute par des
oeuvres dignes de toute admiration, qui
sont le ne plus ultra de Tart egyptien,
comme les colosses de Memphis et d'-
Ibsainboul ; mais bientOt Toppression
universelle, qui pese sur toute la contree
comme une joug de fer, tarit la source de
la "rande inspiration des arts. La seve
creatrice semole s'epuiser dans les entre-
prises gigantesques conc^-ues par un
orgeuil sans bornes. Une nouvelle gen-
eration d"artistesne vient pas remplacer
celle qui s"etait formee sous les souver
ains precedents. A la fin du regne la
decadence est complete."
85 Lenormant, Manuel, vol. i, p. 469:
Birch, Ancient Egypt, pp. 176-7; Wil
kinson, A. E., vol. iii, p. 306.
88 Birch, p. 177.
8' L'art Egyptifen eut une derniere
renaissance, qui se prolongea. pendant
toute la duree de la dynastie Saite, et
qui, sans atteindre a la veriti et a la
grandeur des anciennes icoles, produisit
cependant un grand nombre des ojuvres
charmantes par leur finesse" (Lenor-
mant, Manuel, vol. i, p. 469).
88 Birch, Ouide to Museum, p. 17.
CHAPTER IX.
' The Egyptian ideas on morals were
sound, as has been observed in a pre-
vious chapter (ch. iii, p. 108). But tney
did not reduce morals to a science.
Their only ethical works were collec-
tions of proverbs (see 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, j)art iii, p. 17.5).
3 Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, vol. i, p.
.345.
■• Tlie numbers of various objects
mentioned in the "Great Harris Papy-
rus" often exceed a million (Records b/
S90
itfOTES TO HISTORY OV AKClEXT EGYPT. [CH. IX.
the Past, vol. vi, pp. 43, 45, 49, etc.; vol.
viii, pp. -iil-Ti).
s See the author's Ancient Monarchies,
vol. i, p. 103, 2d edition.
8 Herod, ii. 109; Diod. Sic. i, 81.
^ Isocrat. Busir. g30, p. 227, Strab. xiv.
1, §16; Diod. Sic. i, 96, 98; Cic. Be Fin. v,
29; Justin, xx, 4; Val. Max. viii, 7, 2;
Arum. Marc, xxii, 16, §21, etc.
* Callimach. ap. Diod. Sic. x, 11.
9 Cic. De Nat. Dear, iii, 36: Plutarch,
De Hepugn. Stole, vol. ii, p. 1089.
'" Lenormant, Manuel (fUistoire An-
cienne, vol. i, p. 519.
11 Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, vol. i, p.
328; Cornewall Lewis, Astronomy of the
Ancients, p. 278.
12 Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 328, 3d edition.
13 Eustath. Uotamenl ad Dionys. Per.
p. 214, ed. C. Miiller.
1" See Plat. Spin. §9, p. 987; Arist. De
Ucelo, ii, 12, §3; Cic. De Div. i, 42, Diod.
Sic. i, 50 and 69; Strab. xvii, 1, §5; Manil.
i, 40-5; Macrob. Voniment. in Somn. Scip.
i, 21, §9, Plin. II. JV. vii, 56; Diog. Laert.
Promh. §2; Val. Max. l.e.c; Achill. Tat.
Isag. i, p. 73; Clem. Alex. Strom, i, 16,
§74; Lactant. Div. Inst, ii, 13, etc.
1* See Lewis's Astronomy of the An-
cients, p. 277. "The true character both
of the Babylonian and the Egyptian
Eriests, as astronomers, seems to have
een, 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-
iervers." Comp. p. 157.
i« See Lewis, pp. 156-7 and 287-291;
Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, vol. i, pp. 328,
aw.
1' Herod, i, 74; vii, 37; Liv. xliv, 37;
Plutarch, .^mil. §17. Even nations so
civilized as the Greeks and Romans
participated in these apprehensions
(Thucyd. vii, 50; Plut. Pelop. §31: Dion.
§24: Q. Curt. Vit. Alex, iv, 39; Diod. Sic.
XX, 5; Tacit. Ann. i, 24).
18 "It may be reasonably suspected,"
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 e.g. 2.50 made a
collection of the solar eclipses which the
Egyptians had, observed (Senec. Nat.
QiNEst. vii, 3). Their observation of
eclipses, both solar and lunar, is attested
bv Diodorus (i. 50) and Diogenes Laertius
(Prrpm. §1).
1' These registers are mentioned by
Strabo (xvii, i, §)5, Theophrastus {De
Lapid. §24), Valerius Maximus, (viii, 7,
2), and others.
'" Kenrick, Aiicient Egypt, vol. i, p.
340.
"i Diog. Laert. Pythag, 81, 2.5. It must
be admitted to be <l()ubtful whether
Pythagoras really knew this fact or not.
(bee Lewis, pp. 123 132.)
>a Lewis, p. 287; K«ur., vol.,i, p. 339.
23 The Egyptians seein 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 — andnone 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 Kameses II.
s* Hieronym. ap. Diog. Laert. i, 27;
Plutarch, De Placit Phil, i, 3; Joseph, c.
Ap. i, p. 2; Clem. Alex. Strom, i, 15, §66;
Pamphila. ap. Diog. Laert. i, 24; Euseb. '
Pr<t'p. Ev. X, 4, etc.
25 Herod, i, 74.
2« See the author's Ancient Monarchies,
vol. ii, p. 575, 2d edition.
27 Aristot. De C'alo, ii, 12, §3.
28 It is probable that the Egyptians
had sun-dials at least as early as the
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. 1.56. 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, tlie
admiration of the Greeks being reserved
for the stars as lixed and immutable.
3» "Eudoxus primus ab JEgypto hos
motus in Grteciam transtulit." (Senec.
Nat. Qiuest. 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 ItE could pass into H.
36 Schol. ad Arat. 1, 752.
3« Clem. Alex. Strom, p. 757.
37 See the author's Ancient Mo7iarchies,
vol. ii, p. 573.
38 The zodiacs at Denderah and Esneh,
which at one time were regarded aa
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.
■1" Achilles Tatius says {Fragm. p. 96)
that the Greeks and Romans took the
name of the Balance from the Egyptians.
■11 Lenormant, Manuel d'Hidoire An-
cienne, vol. i, p. 520.
■12 Herod, li, 4: Syncell. Chrono-
graph, p. 123. Lepsiushelieves that the
five intercalary days are noticed in a
monument belonging to the twelfth
dvnastv (See Kenrick, Ancient Egypt,
vol. i, p. 3;»).
•13 This is distinctly stated by Geminus
Isagog. in Arati P/ionnom. JG).
Vol, I.
Plate TuXXL
Fig. 181 .—Specimens op Egyptian Glass Vessels.— See Page 506.
Fig. 183.— Goldsmith at Work.— See Page 515.
Plate LXXII.
Vol. I
Tig ISl.— EcvPTiAN Gold Vases.— See Page 234.
Fig. 185.— Harpoon and Fishhooks.— See Paee 286.
CH. X.]
■RELIGION".
291
** Censorifi. De Die Natali, gl8; Tac.
Ann. vi, 28; Geminus, g<j, etc.
<6 Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, vol. i. p.
335; Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 4; Birch, Egypt from the
EarliestTirnes, p. 137.
<' Ceusorin. §21.
*"< See the arguments in Kenrick, pp.
334-5; which, however, did not convince
Sir G. C. Lewis.
48 Kenrick, p. 340. *» Ibid. p. 323.
*" Lepsius, Vhronologie der Aegypter,
pp. 190 et seq.
5' Brugsch, Histoire d''Eqypte, pt. i, p.
39, 1st edition (cjuoted by Lewis, Astron-
omy of the Ancients, p. 278, note 135).
s2 Lenormant, Manuel d'Bistoire An-
cienne, vol. i, p. 520.
*3 Birch, Egypt from the Eariiest
Times, p. 127; Herod, ii, 82; Diod. Sic. i,
81; Cic. De Dlv. i, 1; Jamblich. viii, 4;
Lucan, i, 640.
54 Wilkinson says that the horoscope
was determined "by observing the con-
stellations that appeared on the eastern
horizon at the moment of birth" (see the
author's Herodotus, vol. ii, p. 135, note '.
3d edition.
*5 See Lewis, Astronom,y of the An-
cients, p. 301.
fi« A "Sallier papyrus" 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,
5' See Lewis, Astrono7ny of the An-
cients, pp. 301-J, and compare the refer-
ences in note ' on the preceding page.
(Herod, ii, 83, does not necessarily bear
on the subject).
s" Jerem. Ixvi, 11; Herod, ii, 84.
"9 Mauetho ap. Euseb. Chron. Can.
i, 20.
«• Clem. Alex. Strom, vi. p. 758.
" Diod. Sic. i, 82. Compare Aristot.
Pol. lii, 10.
«2 Horn. Od. iv, 229.
«3 Herod, iii, 1 and 133.
*4 Pliny says (H. N. six, 5): "In
Egypto, regibus corpora mortuorum ad
ecrutandos rnorbos insecantibus," etc.
«s 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
eo far as to say that "each physician
treated only one disorder."
«6 Herod, ii, 77; Diod. Sic. i, 82.
*' See above, p. 78.
88 Vyse, Pyramids of Ghizeh, vol. i, p.
289; Owen in Leisure Hour for 1876, p.
326.
** Owen, l.s.c.
"• See Fergusson, Hist, of Architect-
•are, vol. i, p. 93 (quoted above, p. 214).
■" See above, p. 114.
''* Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
lii, pp. 325-8; and compare tlie author a
Herod., vol. ii, pi. opp. p. 177.
'3 Levers and rollers were known to
the Assyrians at the time of Sennacherib
(B.C. 690), and were employed by theift in
the transport of colossi. (See Layand's
Nineveh and Babylon, pi. opp. p. 112; and
compare the author's Ancient Monarch-
ies, vol. i, p. 402, 2d ed.)
'■i 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.
'* 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 referrea
to. It was evidently out of place; ami
"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 stood"
in his day. (See Herod, ii, 175, ad fin.)
" See above, p. 98.
" Wilkinson notes this (Ancient
j:gyptians, vol. iii, pp. 325, 334, etc.)
'8 Herod, ii, 125. The contrary state-
ment of Diodorus, who lived more than
four hundred years later, is of no weight.
'* See above, p. ? note 86.
CHAPTER X.
> 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.
s See above, ch. vii, p. 103.
* See Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians,
vol. iv, p. 141.
6 Herod, ii. 60.
' Lenormant, Manuel d'' Histoire An-
cienne, vol. i, p. 521.
' Comijare Lepsius, Das Todtenbvch
der Aegypter, passim; Bunsen, Egypt's
Place, vol. ii, pp. 3.57-444; vol. iv, pp.
30.5-60; Lenormant, Manuel, vol. i, pp.
520-36; Birch, Egypt, "Introduction,"
pp. ix-xii ; &uide to British Museum,
pp. 11-21 ; and De Rouge, Etudes sur le
Rituel funeraire, passim.
8 Lenormant says, strongly and well :
" En Egypte, comme partont dans le
paganisme, il y avail, en rktlite deux re-
ligions, I'une a I'usage des classes popu-
laires, qui n'etait que la forme exterieure
de la doctrine esoteriqe, et presentait un
monstrueux assemblage des plus gros-
sieres superstitions ; I'autre connue
seulement de ceux qui avaient appro-
fondi la science religieuse, renfermait
quelquesdogmes plus releves et formait
une sorte de theologie savante, au fond
de laquelle se retrouvait la grande idee
de I'unite de Dieu." (A/ant/c? d'//i«^oir«
Ancienne, vol. i, pp. 521-2).
» As Dr. Birch, who lays it down that
" the religion of the Egyptians consiste*!
Oqo
KOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
[cB. X.
of an extended polytheism represented
by a series of local yioiips" ((xuide to
Museum, p. 4), and holds moreover, that
" their religious notions were chiefly
connected with the worship of the Sun''
{Ancient Egypt, "Introduction," p. ix.)
10 Birch, Guide to Museum, l.s.c.
11 Birch, E(jiji)t from tlie Earliest
Times, "Introduction," p. x.
12 Lenormant, Manuel, vol. i, p. 533.
Compare Records of the Past, where such
phrases as the following are frequent: —
"Hail to the One in his works, single
among the gods;" "Chief of all the gods;"
" Father of the gods ;" " Maker of the
fods;" "Lord of ttie gods ;" "the One ma-
er of existences;" "the One alone with-
out peer;" "the true King of gods;" etc.
(See vol. ii, pp. 139-33; vol. iv, pp. 99, 100;
vol. vi, p. 100, etc.
13 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, p. 178.
i< Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, p, 1V8. 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 are all representations!
(See Records of the Past, vol. iv, pp. 109,
113; with Canon Cook's comment, p. 109.
16 In the "Litany of Ra," translated by
M. Edouard Naville (Records of the Past,
vol. viii, pp. 10.5-38), Ra is called "The
Supreme Power;" "the master of the hid-
den spheres;" "the only One; " "the su-
premely great one;" "the great lion that
creates the gods;" "the great eldest one;"
and the like.
10 Even the Nile-God, as we have seen
(see above, p. 335, note i) could be ad-
dressed as if the Supreme God.
1'' The Hermes psychopompus ("Ep/u.^?
rvxoTTQii.n6i) of Plutarch (De Is. et Osir.
11).
18 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
V, pp. 70-5; Bunseu, Egypt's Place, vol.
i, pp. 430-1.
1" Ancient Egyptians, vol. iv, pp. 414-
15. etc.
'" See the author's Ancient Monarchies,
vol. ii, pp. 331-7, and vol. iii, pp. 348-9.
21 Wilkinson, vol. iv, p. 433.
22 See above, pp. .53. 71-3, etc.
23 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, pp. 418-19; 'RnxisQH, EgypVs Place, vol.
i, p. 44:^, etc.
2< 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 Dead, ch. cxxxv, (Bun-
sen, vol. v, p. 363).
28 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 815.
27 These details are rejjresented with a
certain amount of variety. Sometimes
Anubis is assisted by llorus, more fre-
(juently he is alone. Sometimes the indi-
viduafhimself is weighed in the balance
instead of his actions. Occasionally Hai-
machis (Harpocrates) sits on the crook
of Osiris.
28 Ritual of the Dead, ch. cxxix, (Bun-
sen, vol. V, p.363).
29 Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, " Introduction," p. x.
3" 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," pi. 87: Description
de I'Egypte, "Antiquites," Planches, vol.
ii. pi. b:3, tig. 1; Roselliui, Monumenti del
Vulto, pi. Ixvi, etc.)
•1 So Lenormant, Manuel, vol. i, p.
,538: "L'aneantissement de Petre etait
tenu par les Egyptiens pour la chatiment
reserve aux mechants." This is not,
perhaps, universally allowed.
32 Ritual of the Dead, ch. cxlviii. (Bun-
sen, vol. V, pp. 398-9.)
33 See above, pp. 73-3.
3* Herod, ii, 145; Buiisen, vol. i, pp.
361-8; Wilkinson in the author's ife-
rodotvs, vol. ii, pp. 384, 391; Birch,
Egypt from tlie Earliest Times, " Intro-
duction," p. xi.
'6 See his Intellectual System of the
Universe, ch. iv, p. 413.
36 See Mosheim's Latin translation o?
Cudworth's great work, vol. i, notes to p.
413.
" See Bunsen's Egypt, vol. i, pp. 364-
66; Wilkinson in the snxihor's Herodotus,
vol. ii, p. 384; Kenrick, AiuAent Egypt,
vol. i, p. 36.3.
3» Kenrick, vol. i, p. 364.
39Birch, Ancient Egypt, "Introduc-
tion," p. X.
■10 See the author's Herodotus, vol. ii,
pp. 3»4-7.
■•1 Ap. Plutarch, De Is. et Osir, g 9;
Tuiv Tro\K(hv ^'0/al^■ol'Ta)I' iSio;' nap' Aiyvit-
Ttot5 oi'OjLta rov Ato? fij'at rbv 'Afiovv,
Mai't^w? ixGv 6 2e^ef I'uTTj? to KeKpvfifieyov
oierat, Kol Tiji' Kpv^iv vtt'o TaUTTJS S7]\0V<T-
9ai. T^? (fioivij?.
■»2 Birch, Diet, of Hieroglyphics, in
Bnnsen's Egypt, vol. v. pp. 344-5.
<3 See especially the hymn to Amen-
Ra published in vol. ii, of Records of the
Past, p. 133, lines 7-9:—
Ruler of men;
Whose name is hidden from hie creature!,
In his name which is Amen.
Compare the Ritual of the Dead, ch.
clxvi, "O Animon! I beg to know thy
name. . . . Hidden is thy name."
■44 See the treatise De Isid. et Osir. l.g.c.
■"* Herod, ii, 43; Diod. Sic. 1, 18; Plu-
tarch, l.s.c, etc.
4» In Homer Zeus is TroTijp avi^v
CH. X.]
RELIGIOJT.
293
Te Oecii/ re, as in Virgil Jupiter is
'•Divom Pater," or '•homiuum gator atque
Deorum." No other classical god has
this title.
*' Records of the Past, vol. li, p. 129;
vol. vi, p. 100 ; Buneen, Egypt, vol. i. n.
369.
** Bunsen, l.s.c.
<' See Rosellini, Mon. del. Culto, pi.
ix. fig. 1.
s" One of Ammon's titles in the hymns
addressed to him is "Lord of the crown
high-plumed"" (Records of the Past, vol.
ii, pp. im, 1.32, etc.)
*i In some representations of Ammon,
the feathers have been covered with thick
gold leaf. (See Birch, Guide to Museum,
, p. 12.)
*2 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, p. 346.
»3 Wilkinson, Aticient Egyptians, vol.
iv, p. 297. Bunsen views the nat as the
symbol of power (Egypt's Place, vol. i,
p. 369).
** Bunsen, vol. i, p. 371; Becords of the
P«*/, vol. ii, pp. 20, 31, 34, etc.; vol. iv,
p. 11; vol.viii, p. 3, etc.
'* Sometimes he has also the hawk's
head, which is proper to Ra, or, per-
haps we should say, to solar deities.
*• See above, page 149.
" Description, "Antiquites," vol. iii,
pi. 45, fig. 2.
»8 Pitiial of the Bead, ch. clxvi. In
one of the Hymns to Amen, he is called
"King alone, single among the gods; of
nuiny names, unknown is their number.''
(See Records of the Past, vol. ii, p. 134, g
17.)
»» Records of the Past, vol. vi, p. 99.
<"> Ibid. vol. vi. pp. 99-100.
«> Records of the Past, vol. ii. p. 131.
•» Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
IV, pp. 231, 235 ; Bunsen, Egypt's Place,
vol. i, pp. 375-7.
"3 Plutarch, Be Jsid. et Osir. § 26;
Diod. Sic. i, 12, g 2. Neither writer men-
tions Kneph, but both evidently point to
him.
" Compare Gen. i, 2 : "And the Spirit
of God Q^n^?? '"i^*! moved upon the
face of the waters."
«5 Birch, Ancient Egypt, "Introduc-
tion,"' p. X.
"» See the "Hieroglyphical Dictionary,"
in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, pp. 425 and
452.
«' Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv. p. 238.
'« Bunsen, vol. i, p. 377. Hence he is
"frequently represented in the tombs"
(Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 239).
«" See the Ritual, § clxiii, ad fin., and
§ clxvi.
■"> 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).
T» Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 237.
'» Ibid. p. 241; Bunsen, vol. i, p. 376-
Kosellini, Monuvunti del Culto. pi. Ixv
'3 See a representation in Wilkinson,
A. E. "Supplement," pi. 21, part i. ti" 2-
and compare Kosellini, Mon>iiiien''i del
Culto, pi. ii, fig. 3; pi. XX, tig. 1; pi. li.
tig. 2; etc.
'< Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, toI
IV, p. 239. When Herodotus (ii, 74)
speaks of the horned snake as sacred to
the Theban Jupiter (Ammon), he is prob-
ably confusing Ammon with Kneph, and
the horned snake (coluber cerastes) with
the asp (coluber haje).
'* Herodotus, in the same chapter in
which he identities the Egyptian Am-
mon with the Greek Zeus, says that "the
Egyptians give their statues of Zeus the
face of a ram" (ii, 42), which is only
true of Kneph. Alexander, on his con
quest of Egypt, claimed to be the son of
Ammon, and thereupon adopted the
curved ram's horn which marks his coins
and so many of the coins of his "succes-
sors." Lucan has the phrase "tortis cor-
nibus Ammon" (Pharsal. ix, 514), and
in Claudian (Be quarto Consulatu Hon.
orii, 1, 143) Ammon is "corniger."'
'* Since there was but one God in their
Pantheon who could well be paralleled
with either Ammon or Kneph, and sinca
Ammon was occasionally represente<il
with the head of Kneph. (See above, p,
" Birch, Gnide to Mnseum, p. 16.
"8 Egypt's Place, vol. i, p. 388.
" Ibid. p. 377.
*» Ancitid Egyptians,Yol. iv, pp. 235-43.
81 Some read the hieroglyph V-^grof
this god as Min.
82 Wilkinson, A. E., vol. iv, p. 202
»3 Bunsen, vol. v, p. 583.
8^ Herod, ii, 46. Compare Bunsen, vol.
1, p. 374.
«5 Wilkinson, A. E. "Supplement,"
pis. 26, 76, and 77, part ii ; Bunsen, vol. i,
pi. i; Bescription, "Autiquites," vol. iii
pi. 14, fig. 4, etc.
8« Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, pp 2.57-8 •
Bescription de I'Egypte, "Antiquites,"'
vol. li. pi. 11, fig. 3; vol. iii, pi. 36, tig. 4,
etc. ' 6 '
8' Herod, ii, 91 ; with Wilkinson's
note.
8s Records of the Past, vol. ii, p. 55
89 Records of the Past, vol. viii, p. 142.
80 The allusion is to the tall plumed
headdress common to Khem with Am-
mon.
«i 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.
n.VN02 nOAI2), who says the hand and
whip were "directed against the moon,"
which seems very improbable.
'^ Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol
V. p. 264.
•' Ibid.
»* Herod, ii, 99 ; iii, 37 ; Diodorua
Siculus, i, 57, g5; Plutarch, Be Isid. et
Osir. g 10 ; Uorapollo, i, 10 ; etc.
294
NOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIEXT EGYPT.
[CH. X.
95 See Wilkinson, Ancienl Egyptians,
"Supplement," pi. 23, figs. 1, 4, and (5;
Kosellini, Moinimenti del. Cullo, pi vi,
fig. 1 : Bunsen, Egypt's Place, vol. i, p.
383: Description de VEgypte, "Antiqui-
tee," vol. iii, pi. 33, lig. 4.
»» Wilkinson, pi. 23. flgs. 3 and 5; pi.
24, fig. 3; Kosellini, Mon. del ViUto, pi.
ssxvi, tig. 1, etc.
»' See plate xsxv, and compare Herod,
iii, 37; Bunsen, vol. i, p. 383; Wilkinson,
pi. 34 A, tie. 1 , Birch, Guide to Museum,
p. 13; GaUenj, pi. 7, tig. 18.
a* See Wilkinson, A. E. vol. vi. pi, 34,
figs. 1, 3, and 3.
89 Ibid. vol. iv, p. 3.'>4.
Kni Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 13;
Bniisen, vol. i, p. :583.
'01 Bunsen, vol. i, p. 384.
102 Jamblich, De Mysteriis, iv, 3.
i»3 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, p. 3.")3.
104 Birch, Guide to Museum,, p. 11. It
is of course quite possible that the
Egyptian root pet-k has a connection
with the Hebrew ".■^J, which in Kal has
the same meaning.
i»a See Records of the Past, vol. iv, p.
35 : vol. viii, p. 6, 7, 23, etc.
106 Herod, ii, 101, 110, 131, § 1, 136, and
15.3.
107 Brugsch, Geschichte Aegyptens, p.
47; Wilkinson, A. E., vol. iii, p. 399; Le-
normant, Manuel d'Hisfoire Ancienne,
vol. i, p. 553 ; "Aucun monument de
Memphis ne subsiste encore debout."
io« Herod, ii, 155. 1 assume the identity
of Buto with Mut, about which Wilkin-
Bon was doubtful (.4. 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.
110 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 274.
111 Damascius in Cory's ^Mde?i< Frag-
ments, p. 320.
in Horapollo, i. It.
11' Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 270.
For a good clear representation see
Kosellini, Mon. del Cvlto, pi. Ivii, fig. 2.
11* Records of the Past, vol. iv, pp. 88,
94; vol. vi, pp. 33, 24, 34, etc.; Kosellini,
pi. xiii, fig. 1 ; XXX, fig. 4; xxxi, fig. 4 ;
xxxvi, fig. 2 ; etc.
116 Herod, ii, 67.
ii» Plutarch, Sympos. iv, Q. 5: Wil-
kinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 273.
11' Records of the Past, vol. iv, pp. 88,
94 ; vol. vi, p. 71.
119 Herod, ii, 83, 133, 152, and 155-6.
>i» Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 266;
Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 13.
150 According to Horapollo, Sati (Hera)
presided over the upper portion of the
firmament of heaven (i, 11).
I'll The bilingual inscriptions in the
neighborhood of Elephantine show this.
(See Bunsen, vol. i, p. 381.)
123 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 267.
12' Birch, in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, p.
583. Tliere is no appearance, however,
of her having any solar character, ftud
ti;;
. p. 38.->;
1 and 3 ;
fig. 3.
the arrow which forms an element in her
name, or accompanies it, would seem ra-
ther to point to a war-goddess.
124 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv. p. 270,
and "Supplement," 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.
i2« Plato, Tim. p. 21, e. Compare
Herod, ii, 168.
12' Wilkinson, Mat. IHfroglyph. vii ;
Bunsen, Egypt's Place, vol. i, p. :i86 ; etc.
'■-» Bunsen. l.s.c.
129 Kosellini, Mon. dil Cvlto, pi. lii-,
flg. 3.
130 Wilkinson, A. E. vr
"Supplement," pi. xxviii,
Bunsen, vol. i, pi. 2, fig. .5.
I'l Wilkinson, pi. xxviii
i'2 Birch, Gvide to Mvseutii, p. 13.
133 Delsid. et Osir. g 62.
134 Saturn, i, 19.
135 Strom. V, p. 15.5.
138 Birch, Ancient Egypt, "Introduc-
tion," pp. ix-x.
1" 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. 10.5-128.
140 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv. p. 287 ;
Mat. Hieroglyph, p. 6.
141 Bunsen, l.s.c; Birch, Ancieni
Egypt. "Introduction," p. x; Lenormant,
Manuel, vol. i, p. .534; Brugsch, Geschichte
Aegyptens, p. 29 ; etc.
142 Rawlinson, Ancient Monarchies,
vol. i, p. 143.
143 liaa and ran mean "swift" in
Ancient Egyptian. (See Birch's Diction-
" " 466.)
nson,
A. E. vol. iv, p. 295 ; and compare Kosel-
lini, Monumenti del Culto, pi. x, flg. 1 ;
pi. XXX, fig. 2 ; pi. xxxiii, flg. 1 ; etc.
145 Wilkinson, A. E. "Supplement," pi.
xxix, fig. 3.
14* Wilkinson, A. E., "Supplement,"
vol. iv, p. 395. This explanation was
first given by Porphyry.
14' Horapollo, i, 6.
148 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 297.
149 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, Ka,
the supreme power, the beetle that folds
his wings, that rests in the enipyrean,
that is oorn as his own «o?i" (Records,
vol. viii, p. 105); and "Homage to thee,
Ka, supreme power, the god with the
numerous shapes in the sacred dwelling ;
his for7n is that of the beetle" (ibid. p.
108). From the first of these passages it
would seem that the symbolism grew out
of the idea that each scarab was a male,
which, however, generated another (Pint.
De Isid. et Osir. g 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.
"» See Plin. //. iV^. xxx, 11.
..^.i,. .V..I ^p,^ j^v...... y-^vv, ^..v.. .J .^^^
an/ in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, p. 466.
144 Bunsen, vol. i, p. 387 ; Wilkir
CH. X.]
RELIGION.
295
161 So Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 258.
Dr. Birch notices tliat tlie stone and por-
celain scarabsei found in Egypt do not
all represent one species of beetle, since
"some have plain and others striated
elytra" {G-idde to Museum, p. 72).
"is2 See Records of the Past, vol. viii,
pp. 24, 34, 38, etc.
'53 strictly speaking, the third god of
the Memphitic triad was Tnm, rather
than Ra ; but Turn, as will be shown
later, was little more than a form of
Ka.
164 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 231.
155 Birch, Ancient Egypt, "lutroduc-
*ion," p. X.
159 See the "Litany of Ra" in the
Records of the Past, vol. viii, pp. 10.5-28,
and note particularly p. 106, verse 12, p.
107, verse 27, and p. 108, verse 81.
'57 See above, p. 162-3.
'58 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. 2.53-6.
'59 Khepr or Khepru is -'to create,
make," in Ancient Egyptian. (See Birch's
Diet, of Hieroglyphics, p. .566). The
courtiers of Rameses IL 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).
'90 See, besides the above-quoted pas-
sage. Records, vol. ii, pp. 98, 131, 235; vol.
iii, pp. 46, 106, 111, etc.
1" 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," p.
x; Lenormant, Manuel, vol. i, p. 524; De
Horrack in Records of the Past, vol. iv, p.
122; Stuart Poole in Smith's Dictionary
of the Bible, vok ii, p. 631; etc.)
'«2 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 25;
Birch, "Introduction," p. xi ; Records of
the Past, vol. v, p. 27 ; etc.
'93 Records of the Past, vol. vi, pp. 23,
52, .59 ; vol. viii, pp. 6, 39 ; etc.
'94 Wilkinson, .4. E. vol. v, p. 25.
195 Tum is called "Lord of the two
lands of On" repeatedly in an inscription
of Rameses III. (Recoi'ds 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 Ka" and "the
land of Harmachis."
169 Records of the Past, vol. ii, p. 131.
19' Ibid. vol. vi, p. 52.
198 Ibid. vol. iv, p. 95.
198 Ibid. vol. viii, p. 143. Other titles of
Tum are, "Creator of those who are,"
"the hidden," "the Maker of Heaven,"
"the producer of the gods," "the self-
creating," and "the Lord of life, sup-
plying (life to) the gods." (See the
Ritual of the Dead, ch. Ixxlx, ad init.,
and Records of the Past, vol. vi, p. .52.)
}'o Birch, Ancient Egypt, "Introduc-
tion," p. xi ; Records of the Past, vol. vi'
pp. 52-66: and vol. iv, pp. 27 and 41,
where On or Heliopolis is called "the
city of the god Tum."
'" See the Records, vol. iv, pp. 11, 13,
14, 27, etc.
"'■' Bunsen, Egypt's Place, vol. i, p.
398.
1" Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 25;
Bunsen, vol. i, pp. 396-7.
"4 See plate xliii a, fig. 107.
"5 Compare the representation of Ra,
supra, plate xliv, fig. 110.
"9 See Birch, G-uide to Museum, p. 14.
A similar representation occurs in the
(rreat Harris Papyrvs, where Rameses
III. addresses the great triad of Memphis,
Phthah, Sekhet, and Nefer-Tum. (See
the Records of the Past, vol. viii, p. 6.)
'" Bunsen, EgypVs Place, vol. i, p.
397.
"8 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.
"9 Records of the Past, vol. vi, p. 27;
vol. viii, p. 26 ; etc.
'80 Ibid. vol. vi, pp. .59-60.
18' Ibid. p. .59. The total number
mentioned is 12,963.
'82 Ibid. pp. 61-2.
'8> 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.
'84 Birch, Dictionary oj Hieroglyphics,
pp. 579 and 583.
185 Wilkinson, A. E. "Supplement,"
pi. 46, part ii.
'89 Records of the Past, vol. vi. p. 109;
vol. viii, p. 24; Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v,
p. 16.
18' Records of the Past, vol. vi, pp. 105,
115, 116, 119, 124, etc.. Ritual of the Dead,
pp. 180, 269, 275 ; etc.
188 So Bunsen (Egypt's Place, vol. v,
p. 275), and Birch (Chdde to Museum,, p.
14).
189 Ritual of the Dead, p. 180.
'9° Rosellini, Monumenti del Culto, pi.
X, 2; Wilkinson, A. E. "Supplement,"
pi. 46, part ii.
191 Birch, G-uide to Museum, pp. 14-15;
Ritual of the Dead, ch. xvi.
'92 See the Ritual, chs. xviii, xxxv, cxv,
cxxxiv, etc.
193 So Birch {Guide to Museum, l.s.c.)
194 Dictionary of Hieroglyphics, pp.
579, 580.
196 It is remarkable that in the Egyp-
tian paintings the hue assigned to Shu
if black or nearly so (Wilkinson, A. E.
vol. V, pp. 15-16).
'96 Bunsen, Egypt's Place, vol. 1, p.
405.
'9' Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 33, and
"Supplement," pi. 49, part ii. Compare
Records of the Past, vol. viii, p. 143.
'98 Birch calls him simply "the Egyp-
tian Mars'" {Guide to Museum, p. 14) ; but
Wilkinson notes that the real bloody god
of war is, not Mentu, but Rcshpu, or (ag
296
NOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT.
[CH. X.
he reads the name) Ranpo (A. E. vol. v,
p. »4).
IS" See Records of the Past, vol. ii,
pp. 43, VI, 74, 75, 77 ; vol. iv, p. 14 ; vol.
viii, p. 75; etc.
^oo Bunsea, EgypVs Place, vol. i, p.
404; liecords of the Past, vol. iv, p. 14;
vol. viii, p. 75.
201 Rosellini, Monufnenti del Culto, pi.
ii, 1.
202 Bunsen, vol. i, p. 40,5.
203 Ctiampollion originally suggested
the derivation of llermonthis from
Mentu-Ka by inversion of the two ele-
ments. Wilkinson approves his sugges-
tion (A. E. vol. V, p. 33, note).
204 Records of the Past, vol. ii, p. 43.
205 Rosellini, MonumeiUi del Culto, pi.
ii, 1 and pi. xxxiv, a.
20S Herod, ii, 42 ; Birch, Avcient Egypt,
"Introduction," p. xi ; Wilkinson, A. E.
vol. iv, p. 345.
2"7 Wilkinson, vol. iv, pp. 317,325, etc.
208 "Ce soleil infernal prenait plus
specialement le nom d'Osins." (Lenor-
mant, Mamiel, vol. i, p. .525.)
209 See above, p. 150.
210 See the "Hymn to Osiris," translat-
ed in the Records of the Past, vol. iv, pp.
90-100.
211 Compare Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv,
pp. 320-1, with the above mentioned
hymn.
212 Wilkinson, l.s.c.
213 Records of Past, l.s.c.
2i'i Ibid. vol. iv, p. 103. It is not quite
clear whether these expressions are ap-
plied to Osiris or to his son, Horu^.
215 So Birch, Dictionary of Hiero-
glyphics, p. .582. Hellanicus observed
that the Egyptians did not say "Osiris,"
like the Greeks, but "Hysiris" (ap. Pint.
I)e Isid. et Osir. g 34)._
216 El'ioi fie /cai rovvoixa Siepfjuqvevovtri
Tro\v6(j>0a\ixov, (os toO fiei' 02 to ttoAv,
Tou 6e IPI Toi' b(l>da\fi.'oi' AlyvTrria ykiaTTi)
itpaiovTOi (ap. Plut. De Isid. et Osir. g 10).
Bunsen prefers the derivation, "son of
Isis," from Hes = "Isis" and ar =
"child, son" {Egyj)t's Place, vol. i, p.
423); but the order of the two elements
must be reversed to give this meaning.
217 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).
218 Ibid. p. .340.
2i« See plate xliii b (central figure).
220 Bunsen, EgypVs Place, vol, i, p.
4^4.
221 Or rather, the "symbol of stability."
(See Wilkinson, vol. iv. p. 341 ; Birch,
Guide to Museum, p. 15).
222 There is one specimen in the Brit-
ish Museum, called oy Dr. Birch (l.s.c.)
"iMiiiiue." There is another in the
Museum of Liverpool. (Sec Gatty's Cata-
logue, p. 8, No. 27.)
223 Birch, l.s.c.
224 On some of the contradictions, sec
Bunsen, EgypVs Place, vol. i, p. 438.
»2» Ibid. pp. 416, 439, etc.
228 Plutarch, Be Isid. et Osir. g 11 ; R«.
cords of the Past, vol. vi, p. 121.
227 Records of the Past, vol. vi, p. lia
228 Bunsen, EgypVs Place, vol. i, p.
438.
229 See Wilkinson (Ancietit 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
Avcienne, vol. i, pp. ,52.5-0.
232 So Plutarch (De Isid. et Osir. §g 1.3-
33), who is followed by Bunsen (EgypVs
Place, vol. i, p. 437) and Wilkinson (A.
E. vol. iv, pp. :33(i-7).
233 See page 108.
234 Records of the Past, vol. ii, p. 119 ;
vol. iv, pp. 7, 99, 126: vol. v), p. 3; vol.
viii, pp. 20, 29, etc.
235 Wilkinson A. E. vol. iv, p. 346.
236 Ibid. pp. 189, 2.5.5, :M.5, etc.
237 The most usual title of Osiris is
"lord of Abydos ; " but we find him also
termed "lord of This" (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. 39.5-
405 ; Bunsen, EgypVs Place, vol. i, pp.
4:i3-6 ; Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 1.3 ;
Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, vol. 1, 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, EgypVs Place, vol. i,
p. 4:38.
341 Records of the Past, vol. vi, pp. 52 e<
seqcj.
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; i\'
p. 125; viii, p. VAX; M'ilkinson, A. R
vol. iv, p. 398 ; Ritual of the Dead, ch.
cxli.
246 Records, etc., vol. viii, pp. 131^.
248 Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, "Introduction," p. xi.
247 See the Records, vol. ii, pp. 37, 64,
70, 90, 91, 98 ; vol. iv, pp. 11-14, 30-3, 35,
5.5, etc.; vol. vi, p. 70; vol. viii, pp. 69,
74, 75, etc.
248 See an Inscription of Khufa
(Cheops) given by Bunsen in his fifth
volume, pp. 719-21, where that king calls
himself urilch Har — "the living Horus."
249 Records of the Past, vol. ii, pp. 89,
91, 92.
250 See Birch's Gramm,ar, in Bunsen 'e
Egypt, vol. V, p. ()21.
'261 Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 19.
262 See Lepsius, Denkm/iler, vol. vi,
part iii, pis. 91-110 ; Wilkinson, Ancient
Egyptians, "Supi)loment," pi. .30; and
Birch, Egypt from the Earliest Times, p.
109.
263 Birch, pp. 107-10. Compare Wil-
kinson (A. E. vol. iv, p. 898) and Lenor-
CH. X.]
RELIGIOX.
297
mant (Manuel cTHistoire Anciertne, vol.
i, pp. 391-3.)
264 Lepsius, Denkmaler, vol. vi, part
iii. pis. 91, 10(5, 110, etc.
365 Wilkinson, A. E, vol. iv, p. 387:
Bunsen, EgypVs Place^ vol. i, p. 400;
Birch, Egypt, from tne Earliest Tinits,
"Introduction," p. xi.
269 See the Ritual of the Dead in Bun-
een's Egypt, vol. v, pp. 'iW, 239, 275, etc.
267 So Bunsen, Egypt' f Place, vol. i, p.
401. To me it seems tliat the object,
which is a simple circle, and is some-
times held with both hands (Description
de VEgypte, "Antiquites," vol. i, pi. xi,
1), may be merely the sun's disk.
2*8 Bunsen, l.g.c. and Birch, Guide to
Mvsetim, p. 14.
26» Records of the Past, vol. viii, p. ,50.
260 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, p. 394.
2»i 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 I'e-
eemblanccs, and often made the most ab-
surd identifications.
2«2 Plutarch, De Isid. et Osir. ? 56.
2«3 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, pp. 381-2.
284 See above, p. 169.
2«s Records of the Past, vol. ii, pp. 119-
23.
2«« Records of the Past, vol. iv, p. 121.
297 Ibid. pp. 101-2.
""8 See the Ritual of the Dead, in Bun-
een'8 Egypt, vol. v, pp. 180-82, 262, 269,
etc.
299 Birch's Hieroglyphic Grammar in
Bunsen 's Egypt, vol. v, p. 621.
270 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
iv, p. :»4.
271 Records of the Past, vol. ii, p. 123;
vol. iv, p. 101, e'tc.
272 Wilkinson, l.s.c.
273 Bunsen, EgypVs 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. g| 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.)
276 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 370.
"• Birch, Guide to Mvseum, p. 1.3.
2" Bunsen, EgypVs Place, vol. i, p.
392. Compare Records of the Past, vol.
iv, pp. 55, 58, 60, etc.
278 Khons is connected by Birch with
khens
O
JJ
"to hunt, to chase;
»Bd Nefer-hetp would seem to come from
lite two words nefer, "good," and help
f*- "food," "welcome," "a table."
But in neither case is the exact intention
of the name certain.
- ■' Records of the Past, vol. iv, pp. 55,
58. 88, etc.
•■"'" Ibid. p. 58.
^-i Ibid. p. 94.
^^'^ Bunsen, Egypt^s Place, vol. i, p.
392. Compare the Description, vol. iii,
pis. 32 and 33, Rosellini, Mon. del Culio,
pi. xxxiii, 2.
2»3 Records of the Past, vol. vi, p. 32.
2S4 J bid., vol. iv, pp. 5.5-60.
2«5 See plate xlii, fig. 104.
2S8 Supra, pp. 3:39 and .367.
2»7 See Wilkinson, ^..fi". "Supplement,"
pi. 45, fig. 3.
280 Ibid.
689 Records of the Past, vol. ii, p. 90:
vol. iv, p. 123 ; vol. viii, p. 30, etc.
290 Ritual of the Dead, pp. 175, 214,
2;%, 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 tile
Dead, pp. 161, 180; and Bnnsen'B EgypVs
Place, vol, i, p. 393.
2»2 Bunsen, EgypVs 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 Ajnenti
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.
13:3-48.
296 Dictionary of Hieroglyphics, in
Bunsen's Egypt, vo'l. v, p. 583.
299 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 ivorship 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 Ritval, chs. cxiv, and cxvi.
SO" Records, vol. ii, p. 90, par. 59.
3»i Ibid. vol. vi, p. 111.
3"- See the Description de VEgypte,
" Antiquitee," vol. i, pi. 10, part 2 ; vol.
ii, 1)1. 1.3, 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. "llO); but other-
wise his name scarcely occurs half a
dozen times in the five Egyptian volumes
of that series.
3''4 EgypVs Place, vol. i, p. 405.
306 On tlie danger to life in Egypt from
the crocodile, see Herod, ii, 90 ; /Elian,
Nat. Anim. x. 24; Senec. Nat. Qu(est. iv,
2; Diod. Sic. i, 35; and compare Records
of the Past, vol. ii, pp. 14.3, 1,'').5, and 160.
309 The word " Savak " occurs as an
element in a royal name as early as the
twelfth dynasty (Bruirsch, Geschichte
Aegyptens, p. 164), which would seem to
298
NOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT. [CH. X.
imply his recognition as a god by the
Thebans ; but we have no clear evidence
of his worship until the time of the
nineteenth, when he is much honored
by RamescH 11. and Rameses III. (See
Rosellini, Man. del Quito, pis. xxxii, 2;
xxxiii, 1 and 3 ; xxxv, 2 ; xxxvi, 1 and 2 ;
Records of the Past, vol. viii, pp. 29,31.)
307 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 36.
3»8 See above, p. 131.
3»9 Compare Wilkinson, X E. "Sup-
plement," pi. .50, pt. 2, flg. 3, with pi. 21,
pt. 1, flg. 1 ; and pi. 50, pt. 2, flg. 1, with
pi. 24, fig. 2.
3>o Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, " Introduction," p. xii ; Records
of the Past, vol. viii, p. 24, note, etc.
" 311 See Birch's Diet, of Hieroglyphics,
pp. 402-3.
31'-' Records of the Past, vol. viii, p.
24.
313 Ibid. p. 29: "The men which he
gave to the temple of the god, Hanher of
the tall pliimesy
3i< Rameses III. speaks of Onuris as
"resident in Tennu," which Is the same
place as Silsilis.
31* Records, vol. viii, pp. 24-25.
3i« See Rosellini, Monnmenti del Culto,
pi. XV, 1 ; and compare Wilkinson, A. E.
"Supplement," pi. .50, pt. 1.
31' This ornament does not appear on
the head of any other god. It consists
of 'h!>'4>e spheres placed side by side over
the .loudl wavy horns and surmounted
by three vascular forms with a disk at
tbp top of each. On either side are the
usual "Ostrich feathers and ursei.
'"''iriously 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.)
318 Champollion, Lettres ecrites d'E-
gypte, lettre xi, pp. 1.5.5-6.
319 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 Philae to the
Delta " (A. E. vol. v, p. 54), but men-
tions no temple where he was wor-
shipped separately.
322 Synes. Enconi. Calv. p. 73, b;
Amm. Marc, xxii, 14 ; Macrob. Saturnal.
i, 20, etc.
323 See Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 15 ;
Gatty, Catalogue of Mayer Collection,
p. 8, etc.
324 Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, pp. 2S4-6.
326 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 280.
There is some doubt whether the true
wife of Phthah 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 suLrgi'sls that they
were sisters (Egypt froin, the Earliest
Times,! "Introduction," p. xi.)
320 Bunsen suggests the meaning,
" the old (oldest ?) of the avengers ; " but
doubtfully (Egypt's Place, vol. i, p. 399).
327 See Wilkinson, A. E. "Supple-
ment," pis. 27, 3.5a, and .51. Compare
Description de VEgypte, " Antiquites,"
vol. i, pi. 16, No. 2; vol. ill, pi. 48;
Rosellini, Mon. del Culto, pi. 8, No. 3;
1)1. 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
331 Herod, ii. 137.
332 Ibid, ii, 60.
333 Her worship by Rameses III. ap-
pears upon the monuments (Rosellini,
Mon. del Culto, pi. viii. No. 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 III. who calls her his " mother,"
(Records, l.s.c.)
334 See Records of the Past, vol. vi, pp.
108-9, and vol. viii, pp. 131-3.
336 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians,
"Supplement," pi. 33, fig. 8.
338 See the "Tears of Isis," in the
Records of the Past, vol. li, pp. 119-24.
336 Bunsen, EgypVs Place, vol. i, p. 417 ;
Wilkinson, Arwient Egyptians, vol. iv,
p. 4.38.
337 Seethe "Ritual of the Dead," in
Bnnsen's Egypt, vol. v, pp. 180, 269, 270,
310, etc.
338 Ibid. p. 179.
339 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, pp. 437-8.
3''o See Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, p. 582.
341 Bunsen's Egypt, vol. i, p. 421.
342 Birch, Guide to Egyptian Galleries,
p. .5.
343 Records of the Past, vol. vi, pp. 81,
84, etc.
'44 Rosellini, Monumenti del Culto, pi.
6, fig. 2.
'46 Records of the Past, vol. vi, p. 81.
348 Birch, l.s.c.
'47 Sometimes instead rf feathers, the
cap seems to be crowned by a row of
lotus blossoms. (See Rosellini, Mon. del
Cvlto, 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. 26.)
349 Records of the Past, vol. x, pp. 35-
7, etc.
360 Diod. Sic. i, 76.
351 Wilkinson, A. E. " Supplement,"
pi. 88. Sometimes Ma is present in pep-
son and watches the proceedings (/)*•
cription de VEgypte, "Antiquites, ■*■ voi.
ii, pi. .35).
363 Rosellini, Mon. del Cvlto, pi. fH,
fig. 1.
363 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 31.
"4 See the Ritual of the Dead, co.
CH. X.]
RELIGIO]Sr.
299
51
Ixxv, where the deceased person is
ushered into the "Hall of the Two
Truths''' (Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, p.
252).
366 See Records of the Past, vol. vi,
p. 105, 115, 116, 119, 134 ; RUml of the
Jead, pp. 180, 275, etc.
368 See the Records, vol. x, p. 1.37 :—
" Shu, the son of Ra, as Ra, navigates
the heaven on high every morning ; (he
goddess Tafne rests vpon his head : she
gives her Jive against his enemies to re-
duce them fondn-existeuce."
367 Eerords, vol. vi, \>\>. lit) and lin.
368 liofie\\i\n,Monumeiiti dfl Vnlti), pis.
xi and xii ; Wilkinson, A/ieien/ Kgyp-
tians, " Supplement," pi. li, part i.
36B Willvinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 38.
360 Rosellini, l.s.c.
381 From mer.
love," and skar
TR.
*^ "to
2S
"silence."
3«2 Birch in Hansen's Egypt, vol. v, p.
582.
363 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 81.
364 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 39.
366 Sharpe, Egyptian Inscriptions, p.
78.
366 Wilkinson, A. E. "Supplement,"
pi. li, part lii.
367 Ibid. vol. V, pp. 80-1.
368 See above, p. 149.
369 See Records of the Past, vol. ii, p.
121: "Thine enemy 18 vanquished ; Ae
no longer existeth:'' and compare vol. vi,
pp. 11(5-7. "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. Horus kills hitn in
his name.
370 See the list of early Egyptian gods
in Manetho (ap. Euseb. Chron. Can. i,
20, ? 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
<\
where the sitting figure
represents Set.
3'3 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, pp. 416-
18.
3'''» See Records of the Past, vol. iv, p.
27. 32, etc.
376 Ibid. vol. vi, pp. 117, 122: vol. x, p.
162. etc.
3'8 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians,
"Supplement," pi. 38, pt. ii, fig. 1 ; pi.
39, fig. 1 : and iil. 78, lig. 1.
3" Ibid. pi. 38, pt. ii, fi". 2.
378 So Canon Cook in the Records of
the Past, vol. ii, p. 102. and Bunsen in
his Egypt, vol. i, p. 425.
ST"' Records of the Past, vol. u, p. 101.
380 Ibid. vol. X, p. 14,5. This enlistment
of Nubti, or Nubi, among the helpers of
the sun is verv remarkable.
381 See Rosellini, Monumenti del Culto,
pi. xxxi, fig. 1 : Wilkinson, A. E. "Sup-
plement," pi. 40.
382 See fig. 108.
383 Rosellini, l.s.c.
SSI See plate xxxv, fi^. 88, where the
central figure is that of Bes.
385 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 433.
386 Wilkinson, l.s.c.
387 Birch, Guide to Museiim, p. 16.
388 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 4:i6.
389 See above, p. 171,
390 See the Ritual of the Dead, oh.
xxxix, (in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, pp.
19;i-5.)
39' .Vilkinson in the author's Herodo-
tiii, vol. ii, p. 220, 2d edition.
392 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians,
"Supplement," pi. 44, pt. i, fig. 3.
393 Ibid. pi. 88.
394 ibid. pi. 87.
395 Propert. HI, xi, 41 ; Ov. Met. ix,
690 ; Virg. uEn. viii, 698 ; Plutarch, De
Isid. et Osir. g 14.
396 Wilkinson, A. E. "Supplement,"
pi. 44, pt. i, fig. 2.
39' 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. 442.
399 Records of the Past, vol. x, p. 149.
400 Bunsen, 'Egypt's Place, vol. i, p.
415.
401 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 ; Oatty, Catalogue of Mayer Collection,
p. .39.
404 Ritual of the Dead, ch. xvii (in
Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, p. 175).
406 See especially, Records of the Past,
vol. X, p)). 8.5-7.
409 Ritual of the Dead, ch. cxlix, ad
fin.
407 Wilkinson, A. E. "Supplement,"
pi. 62 , Rosellini, Monumenti del Culto,
pi. Ixvi, etc.
408 See the Ritual, ch. cxxv, (Bunsen,
pp. 2.5;i-6).
409 Ibid. p. 2.52.
410 Ibid. p. 256.
411 Ibid. The final annihilation of the
wicked soul, when it took place, was
effected by Shu. (See above, p. 363.)
412 Nun is often mentioned in the
sacred myths, as, for instance, in the
"Destruction of Mankind by Ra," where
he is called "the firstborn of the gods,"
and sai.-l to be the father of Ra (Records
of the Past, vol. vi, pp. 105-fi).
413 See Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, pp.
56-9 : Records of the Past, vol. iv, pp.
107-114: vol. vi, pp. 66-9; Roeellmi,
Mon. del Culto, pk xxx. fig. 4.
414 Records of the Past, vol. x, p. 149.
415 Ibid vol. vi, p. 69.
300
KOTES TO HISTORY OF AXCIEXT EGYPT. [CH. X.
*!• Ibid. vol. iv, pp. 13-13 ; vol. x, pp.
29, a4. etc.
*!' Records of the Pasf, vol. ii, p. 31.
Khaft is called "lady of the country"
by Thothmes UI, in a tablet eet up at
Thebes.
*>8 Birch in Records of the Past, vol. ii,
p. 29.
419 Wilkinson, A. E. "Supplement,"
pis. 54 and .54a; Birch in Buusen's Egypt,
vol. V, p. 583.
"0 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, pp. 41-5 ;
Rosellini, Men. del Cvlio, pi. xlviii, fig.
2,and pi. Hi, fig. 3. Birch readr the name
as "Nub," regarding the initial letter as
J and not A . (See Bunsen's Egypt,
vol. v, p. .582.)
"1 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 64 ; and
"Supplement," pi. 58, pt. 4; Records of
the Past, vol. x, p. 1.56 ; Birch, inBunsen'e
Egypt, vol. v, p. 583.
<2!i Records of the Past, vol. ii, p. 14.
<23 Ibid. vol. viii, p. 78 ; Wilkinson,
A. E. "Supplement," pi. 64, pt. 2.
<24 Records of the Past, l.s.c; Birch in
Bun sen's Egyyt, l.s.c.
<^6 Bunsen, vol. i, pp. 409-10 ; Records
of the Past, vol. x, p. 142; Wilkinson, A.
E. "Supplement," pi. 70, pt. 1.
<3« Records of the Past, vol. iv, p. 31 ;
vol. X. p. 1 2, etc.
<" Ibid. vol. ii, pp. 68, 71, 76 ; Birch,
Guide to Mvsevfn, p. 11.
«» Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, pp. 83-4 ;
Bunsen, Egypt's Place, vol. i, pp. 411-12.
<2* Bunsen, vol. i, p. 412 ; Birch, l.s.c.
o" Birch in Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v, p.
58:}; Wilkinson, A. E. "Supplement," pi.
6.5, pt. 3.
<3i Am, the "Cerberus" of Wilkinson,
{A. E. vol. V. p. 77, and "Supplement,"
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 Thotli,
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
eon 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
IJati, 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.
BSl-3); the former is said to be a "god of
the firmament."
■"- Herod, ii, 145.
■•'3 Records of the, Past, vol. x, pp. 41-3.
*2^ Ibid. p. ar>.
«" Ibid. p. 97.
<3« 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. \, 20,
g 1, and compare Syncell. Chronograph,
pp. 51-2.)
<3' Herod, ii, 43: 'Ek riav okiu 6e!av oi
£vu>£eKa fleoi eye'i'Oi'To. Compare Ch.
145.
*" Bunsen's Egypt's Place, vol. i, pp.
366-«.
*" 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).
*«> Birch, Guide 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 60DS
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.
6. Osiris.
6. Osiris (with
Isis.
7. Set.
7. Set.
8. Horus (with
8. Horus.
Athor).
■•<» Heliopolis, for instance, the "Eight"
would almost certainly have comprised,
besides Ra and Horus, the god Tum and
the goddesses Nebhept and Nausaas. (See
Records of the Past, vol. vi, -o. 52.)
<<2 It is observable that Bunsen, who
alone attempts to fix on a definite
"twelve," is obliged immediately to ap-
pend to his list a "supplementary" one
of thirteen others (Egypt's Place, vol. i,
pp. 409-11).
«3 Maentfef and Karbukef appear in
the Ritual of the Dead as companions of
the "Four Genii," but apparently are of
a lower grade (Bunsen's Egypt, vol. v,
p. 175).
«43 Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, "Introduction."' p. xi; Guide to
Museum, p. 11 ; Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv,
pp. 230-3. Bunsen objects to the word
"triad," and thinks the grouping by
three unimportant (Egypt's Place, vol. i,'
p. .365).
4*5 Birch, Quide to Museum, l.s.c.
■•«• Supra.
44' Records of the Past, vol. ii, p. 133.
448 Records of the Past, vol. iv, pp.
108-10.
449 There is one slight acknowledg-
ment in a " Hymn to Turn," which has
been already given at length, (supra, pp.
,361-2) : and in the Ritxtal of the Dead, it
is admitted that the soul, "after pasi-ina
through the Hall of the Two Truths, and
protesting five times over, " I am pure, I
am pure, ctc.,"btill requires cleaubiu^ in
CH. X.]
EELIGIOIf.
301
the basin of purgatorial fire. "Extract
ye all the evil out of me," say the souls ;
" obliterate my faults ; annihilate my
Bins." "Thou mayest go," reply the
spirits; "we obliterate all thy faults;
we annihilate all thy sins." (See Bun-
een's Egypt, vol. v, p. 2(50).
•«5o Records of the Past, vol. vi, pp.
137-9.
<5i Ibid. vol. X, pp. 7-9.
■is^ Ibid. vol. vi, p. 150. Compare
Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol. v,
p. 400.
■iss Recordi:, vol. x, p. 53.
^s-i 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, 6).
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 vhe Theban
triad by Rameses III. (ibid. vol. vi, pp.
44-5), whose total of "good bread,
different loves," offered in one temple
during the space of thirty-one years was
2,9M,'io7, or above 90,000 annually.
456 Records of the Past, vol. vi, pp. 45,
64, etc.
■"57 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. a37 ;
Juv. Sat. vi, 540 ; Records of the Past,
vol. iv, p. 13 ; vol. vi, p. 45, etc.
468 Records of the Past, vol. iv, p. 3 ;
vol. vi, pp. 29, 31, 45, etc.
159 Wilkinson. A. E. vol. v, pp. 3fi8-9.
IS" Herod, ii, 39 ; Records of the Past,
vol. vi, p. 28 ; vol. viii, p. 14 ; vol. x, p.
44, etc.
■««i "Spirits" are thought to occur
among the offerings of the kings to the
temples {Records of the Past, vol. vi, pp.
4.5, t52, etc).
•<" Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, pp. 338-40.
•i«3 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 339.
Compare Records of the Past, vol. viii,
p. 12.
••«■» See the " Inscription of Queen
Hatasu " in the Records of the Past, vol.
X, pp. 13-19.
••65 Ibid, vol.vi, pp. 42, 40, 6.5, 67, etc.
"66 Ibid. vol. 48-9, 6.5, 68, etc.
■•6' Herod, ii, 41, 4.5, Records, vol. ii,
pp. 90, 93, 96, etc.; vol. vi, pp. 31, 'Ai, etc.
IS* Herod, ii, 42.
■•69 Ibid, ii, 47-8.
■"" Just as they did among the Jews.
(See Levit. v, 7 ; xii, 8 ; and xiv, 22).
I'l Records of the Past, vol. x, p. 44.
<72 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 347;
Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, vol. ii, p. 11 ;
Trevor, Ancient Egypt, p. 172, etc.
■•''s See Herod, ii, 41. (Herodotus says
that they were "sacred to Isis," but, by
mentioning .4^a/-bechie as their burial
place, shows that it was not Isis. but
Athor, to whom they were dedicated.)
•"■' Records of the Past, vol. vi, pp. 47,
04, 66 ; vol, viii, p. 20, etc.
<'5 Ibid. vol. li, pp. 90, 00, 99; voL x,
pp. 44, 62, etc.
*'» Herod, l.s.c. ; Porphyr. De Ab-
stinent, ii, g 11 ; Hieronym. Adv. Jovin,
ii, 7; etc.
<" Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 352.
4"8 Herod, ii, 38.
479 Wilkinson, l.s.c.
48» Herod, ii, 40.
•"1 See above, p. 192.
■les Herod, ii, 39.
483 Deut. xii, 1-9.
*«■» Herod, ii, 40.
486 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).
486 Herod, ii, 67, 75 ; Wilkinson A. E.
vol. ■", pp. 217-25.
*' - Wilkinson, vol. v, pp. 128-31;
Birch, Guide to Museum, pp. 17, 60, etc.
48S Herod, ii, 65, 67 : Uiod. Sic. i, 87;
Wilkinson, vol. v, pp. 205-210, etc.
489 Records oj the Past, vol. viii, pp.
10.5, 108 ; Birch. Guide to Museum, p. 72.
490 Wilkinson expresses himself doubt-
fully on this point (A. E. vol. v, p. 243).
491 Plut. Be Isid. et Osir. I 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," p. xii ; Guide to
Museum, pp. 17-20.
494 Herod, ii, 65; Diod. Sic. i, 83;
Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, pp. 91-5.
495 Herod, ii, 67.
496 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. § 44.
498 On the signs by which an Apis calf
was known, see Herod, iii, 28, ad fin.,
and compare ^lian, 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 he 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, l.V?.
500 So Lenomiant (Manuel d^Histoire
Ancienne, vol. i, p. ,5.35) and Birch,
(Egypt from the Earliest Times, "In-
troduction," p. xii.) Others make the
Apis bulls incarnations of Osiris (Wilkin-
son, A. E. vol. iv, p. :il7; Bunsen.
Egypt's Place, vol. i, p. 431).
601 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 Ameuti
(see above, p. 409).
502 Wilkinson, A. E. iv, p. a51.
603 strab. xvii, 1, ? 31. There wer«
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 liave the enlace of
female companiouship. (See ^lian,
Aat. An. xil, 10.)
sfi Plin. H. N. viii, 46 ; Amm. Marc.
xxii, 14.
505 Recently discovered by M. Ma-
riette. (See his Renselgnemenis surles
soixante-qnatre Apis trouves au Sera-
peiiin, Paris, 1855.)
SOS Lenormant, Mamiel (fHistoire, A>i-
cienne, vol. i, p..'536; Records of the Past,
vol. iv, pp. 63-4.
507 Records of the Past, l.s.c.
508 Herod, iii, 27; .lElian, l.s.c; Plut.
Ue Isid. et 'Mr. g 35; Diod. Sic. i,
84, etc.
509 Plut. Le Isid. et Osir. § 33 ; Diod.
Sic. l.s.c. ; Sirab. xvii, 1, § 27.
510 Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, "Introduction," p. xii.
511 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 196.
512 Macrob. Saturnal. i, 21; Strab.
xvii, 1, ? 4"; -Elian, Nat. An. xii, 11.
513 Macrob. l.s.c.
sn Ibid. Compare JSlian, l.s.c.
515 ^■Elian, l.s.c.
518 Wilkinson, A. E. "Supplement,"
pi. 35a, pt. 2 ; pi. 36, figs. 2 and 3.
51' Strab. xvii, 1, g 22.
518 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, 2d edition.)
Among the ancients, 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 (A. E. vol.
V, p. 109).
521 Diod. Sic. i, 12.
522 Plut. De Isid. et Osir. ? 72.
523 Ibid. Compare Diod. Sic. i, 86.
52'« 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).
52« See Lenormant, Mamiel d'Histoire
A?icienne, vol. i, pp. .5.3.^4 : — "Le symbo-
lisme etait Tessence meme du genie de la
nation egyptienne et de sa religion.
L'abus de cette tendance prodvisit la plus
grossiere et la plus monstrueuse aberra-
tion du cnlte exterieur et populaire de la
terre de Mitsraim. Pour gymboliser les
attributs, les qualites et la nature des di-
verses divinitesde leur pantheon, les pre-
trcB egyptiens avaient eu recours aux C-tres
du regne animal. Le taureau, la vache, le
belief, le chat, le singe, le crocodile.
I'hippopotame, Tepervier, Tibis, le
ecarab^e, etc., etaient les emblemes
chacun d'un personnage divin. On tep-
resentait le dicu eotie la figure de '<cet
animal, ou plus souvent encore, par ac-
couplement etrange et particulier a
TEgypte, on lui en donnait la tete sur un
corps liumain. Mais les habitants des
bords du Nil, eloignes de Fidolatrie des
autres nations paiennes par un instinct de
leur nature, avaient prefere porter leurs
hommages a des images vivantes de leurs
dieux pTutOt qu'a des images inertes de
pierre ou de metal ; et ces images
vivantes, ils les avaient trouvees dans les
animaux qulls avaient clioisis pour em-
blemes de I'idee exprimee dans la con-
ception de chaque clieu. De Id ce culte
des anirnavx sacres, qui paraissait si
etrange et si ridicule aux Grecs et aux
Romains."
527 The chief apparent exceptions are
the dog, the ichneumon, the shrewmouse,
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.
»28 See above, p. 146-7.
529 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, g? 28, 46, etc.
531 Herod, ii, 37.
532 "Instead of a single priest," says
Herodotus (l.s.c), "each god has the at-
tendance of a college, of wliom one is the
chief priest." Sir G. Wilkinson observes
that this statement "is fully confirmed
by the sculptures." (See the author's
lierodotvs, vol. ii, p. .56, note *.)
533 Herod, ii, .58, ad init.
53< Wilkinson in the author's Herodo-
tus, vol. ii, p. 8.5, 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.
53« 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. g
12 and 9, 18>. Even Wilkinson would al-
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. \,r>. 306.)
53» 'Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 801
(compare vol. iv, p. 335); Trevor, AruAmi
Egypt, p. 190,
CS. XI.]
Manners anI) ctsTOMS.
303
63" Herod, ii, 60-3.
6<o Seven hundred thousand, without
counting children, at Bubastis, accord-
ing to this writer (ii, 60, ad fin.)
5*' Compare the well-known bloody
rites of Juggernaut.
"2 piiu. ^V. H. viii, 46.
643 Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians, vol.
V, p. 271.
644 Ibid. p. 275. Compare the author's
Herodotus, vol. ii, p. 85 ; 2d edit.
646 See Kos,e\\'\ni, Monumenti del Citlto,
pla. 67 et seqq.
646 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, pp. 271-5.
647 Ibid. pp. 392-7.
648 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, pp. 384,
397, etc.
649 See Birch's Guide to the Vestibvles
of the Egyptian Galleries, pp. 29-39.
660 Birch says that the scenes repre-
sented are "acts of sepulchral homage or
ancestral worship made by the children
and other relatives of the dead" (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
Boul of each individual and returned to
the Deity after death" (A. E. vol. v, p.
381).
661 See above, pp. 177, 180, etc.
662 Compare above, p. 76.
663 Herod, ii, 171.
664 A good article on this subject has
appeared in the Nineteenth C'entarry,
(December 1878, pp. 110.5-20) 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 faifone 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.
666 Herod, l.s.c. Compare ii, 48, ad
fin.: and also chs. 61, 62, 65, etc.
6'*<' As Diodorus and Macrobius. (See
Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iv, p. 326.)
Plutarch's explanations (De Isid. et Osir.
g 38 et seqq.) are scarcely more trust-
worthy.
CHAPTER XL
1 Herod, ii, 35.
" Ab 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).
* The Egyptian chariots, arms, furni-
ture, and personal ornaments have a
considerable resemblance to the As-
syrian.
6 "The Manners and Customs of the
Ancient Egyptians, including their Pri
vate Life, (Sovernment, Laws, Arts, Manu
factures. Religion, and Eaily History, de-
rived from a comparison of the paint-
ings, sculptures, and monuments still ex-
isting with the accounts of ancient
authors, illustrated by drawings of those
subjects. By Sir J. G. Wilkinson, F.R.S.,
M.K.S.L., etc. Five volumes, with Sup
Element, containing Plates and Index,
ondon: Murray, 1837^1."
« In producing his "History of He-
rodotus," 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.
' 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
Customs " is not (he believes) to be foosd
even in all public libraries.
8 Herod, li, 164-6. » Plat. Tim. p. 84 B.
'0 Diod. Sic, i, 28, 73.
" Strab. xvi, 1, §3.
»2 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 9redit,
but the general fact of the hereditary
succession of the Theban high priests
ivould be one within the cognizance of
Herodotus's informants, and may be ac-
cepted.
'4 See Birch. Ancient Egypt, "Intro-
duction," p. XX.; Lenormant, A'anuel
d'Histoire Ancienne, vol. i, pp. 477-8;
Wilkinson in the author's Herodotus, vol.
ii, p. 248, 3d edition.
16 Herod, ii, 166, sub fin.
i» As Herodotus declares they did (ii,
47).
1' The subjoined will show the resem-
blances and differences between these
three authorities : —
CLASSES OP HERODOTUS.
1. Priests.
2. Soldiers.
3. Cowherds.
4. Swineherds.
5. Traders.
6. Boatmen.
7. Interpreters.
CLASSES OP PLATO.
\. Priests.
2. Soldiers.
3. Herdsmen.
4. Husbandmen.
5. Artificers.
6. liunters.
CLASSES OP DIODORUS.
1. Priests.
2. Soldiers.
3. Herdsmen.
4. Hasbandmen.
6. Artificers.
304
NOTES TO HISTORY OF AISTCTEXT EGYPT. [CH. XI.
18 See Strab. l.s.c, and compare Le-
normant, vo). i, p. 481: "Toute la por-
tion de la population libre qui n'appar-
tenait ni au corps sacerdotal ni au corps
niilitaire composait, en Egypte, un troi-
sieme ordre de I'etat, qui lui-meme se
Bubdividait en plusieurs classes," etc.
'» See above, p. 80.
20 Herod, l.s.c.
»i Herod, ii, 149, ad fin.
"2 Wilkinson in the author's Herod-
otus, vol. ii, p. 129, and Ancient Egyp-
tians, vol. iii, p. 47.
23 Herod, ii, 1.54.
2* Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, "Introduction," p. xix.
25 Lenormaut, 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.
2' Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, " Introduction," 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," p. xx.
3" See Rosetta Stone, l.s.c; and com-
pare Decree of Canopiis, line 2 (Records,
etc., vol. viii, p. 83); and Clem. Alex.
Strom, i, p. 758.
3' 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
Canopus, l.s.c.
3* 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 " in the Vatican,
which has been represented in various
works on art. (See Winckelman's His-
tory of Art, vol. i, pi. 7; and Visconti's
Museo Pio-Clementino, vol. vii, pi. 6.)
3« Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 2;38.
3' Ibid., and compare the Rosetta Stone,
line 7. '* Porphyr. l.s.c.
38 Wilkinson, l.s.c.
*" Herod, ii, 68; Diod. Sic. i, 83; etc.
•*! Birch speaks of "chapters or sy-
nods," by which the highest posts were
filled up when \a.ca,Tit (Egypt f?'07?i the
Earliest Times, " Introduction," p. xx);
but I am not aware that there is any evi-
dence of their existence earlier than the
time of the Ptolemies.
■•2 That the priests had their lands be-
fore the time of Joseph, is apparent from
Gen. xlvii, 32 and 26.
<' This seems to be the meaning of
DiodoruB Siculus (i, 73), who may have
had access to the Roman registers.
<* This appears especially from the
"Great Harris Papyrus," where the
priestly lands, slave cultivators, barns,
granaries, cattle - stalls, poultry -yards,
etc., are repeatedly mentioned (Records
of the Past, vol. vi, pp. 31-34; vol. viii, pp.
8-39).
■•» Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 262.
■"< Ktcovds of the Past, vol. vi, pp. 31,
32, 36 ; vol. viii, pp. 14, 29, 39, etc.
■" Records of the Past, vol. vi, ~pp. 37-
40, 61, 69, etc.; vol. viii, pp. 16-17, 20-21,
32-35, etc.
<» Rameses III. 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," 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).
*' Herod, ii, 37. Porpliyry (De Absti-
nent, iv, 7) says thria 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.
52 Herod, l.s.c; Birch, Gfuide to Mu-
S(U7n, p. 26. Shoes were not really worn
until the Gr«co. Roman period.
53 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 279. For
a representation, see above, p. 282.
51 Herod, ii, 37; Plut. De Isid. ei Osir.
I 6-
56 Plut. De Isid, et Osir. g 8.
5' Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, vol. i, p.
447.
y See note "2^ chap. vi.
68 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. 1, p. 278.
59 As Wilkinson supposes. (See the
author's Herodotus, vol. ii, p. 62, note * ;
and compare Kenrick, Aiuyient Egypt,
vol. i, p. 449.)
81 Diod. Sic. i, 80, g 3.
'2 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 282;
Rosellini, Mon. Civ. i, p. 266.
'3 See the author's Herodottis, vol. ii,
pp. 62-3; and compare Wilkinson, A, E.
" Supplement," pi. 76, where a procession
of priests in various costumes carries the
divine emblems.
«< Wilkinson, A. E. "Supplement,"
pi. 76.
«6 Ibid. vol. i, pp. 278-379.
«« Compare Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, pp.
2.58-2()2, with Kenrick, Ancient Egypt,
vol. i, p. 452.
«' Herod, ii, 3.5. «* Kenrick, l.s c.
<" Herod, ii, 54, 56. Compare DeRougg,.
Monuments qu'on pent attrilmer six
premieres Dynasties de VEgypte, pp. 83,
97, etc.
"> Records of the Past, vol. iv, p. 71.
'1 Wilkinson, in the author's Ilerodo-
tus, vol. ii, J). 56. (Compare ATuAent
Egyptians, vol. i, p. 9610.)
CH, XT.]
MANNERS AXD CUSTOMS.
305
"Wilkinson, A. E.. "Supplement,"
pis. Si- e.
'3 Herodotus (ii. 165-6) estimates the
actual soldiers at 410,000, Diodorus (i, 54)
692,000. Taking the average of a family
at five persons, the former entimate
would give for the military class a total
of 2,050,000, the latter a total of 3,460,000.
1* See above, p. 210.
»» Diod. Sic. i, 54, §6; n5<rc hi ror?
irpotiftrj^HivOL^ KaTeK\7]ftovxr)(Ti T i) f apia-
T r\v T^? Yuipas.
'• Herod, ii, 168.
'' See above, note '*, chap, xi
" See Records of the Past, vi' 9 ; and
compare Diod. Sic. i, 73, § 6.
" Herod, ii, 165-6.
*" Wilkinson in the author's Herodo-
tus., vol. ii, p, 249, note «; Birch, Diction-
ary of Hieroglyphics, p. 410.
81 Herod, ii, 166. "s Herod, ii, 165.
83 Ibid, ii, 30, with Wilkinson's note.
8* Ibid, ii, 168.
84 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 286
8« Diod. Sic. i, 53, I 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 Rameses II., and published by M
Maepero (A. E. vol. i, p. 187 ; ed. of 1878).
8' So Diodorus, l.s.c.
88 Diod. Sic. i, 53, 1 5.
89 Diodorus makes the infantry of
Sesostris 600,000, the cavalry 24,000, and
the chariots 27,000 (i, .54, g 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.
** Metal helmets were hut 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.
•1 Wilkinson, l.s.c.
»" Herod, ii, 182, with Wilkinson's
note ; and compare Ancient Eqyptians
vol. i, pp. 331-2.
•s Wilkinson, A. E. vol, i, p. 332, and
pi. iii, fig. 7.
•< Instances are found where the shield
expands instead of contracting (Rosel-
lini, Monmnenti Storici, pi. xciv, line 2,
etc.) But they are of rare occurrence.
*' Wilkinson, vol. i, pp. 298-9.
»« fieeRoeeUini, Monmnen/i Storici, pi
cxvii,4; and compare Wilkinson, A. E
vol. i, p, 202, ed. of 1878.
»' Wilkinson in the author's Herodo-
ti/s vol. iv, opp. p. 402.
"8 Rosellini, Monmnenti Storici, pis.
cxxvi, cxxix, etc.
»» Rosellini, Monunienti Storici, pis.
cxxvi, etseqq. ; Lepsius, Denkmaler, vol.
VI, part iii, pis. 154, 155, etc.
>»" Wilkinson, A. E vol i, pp. 301,
334; Rosellini, Mon. Star. pis. cxxix.
cxxx, etc.
i") Wilkinson, -vol. i. p. 316 ; Rosellini,
Mon. Civ. pi. cxvii, 3.
JO'-' Rosellini, Mon. Civ. pi. cxx ; Lep-
sius, Denktmler, vol. vi, pt. iii, pi 145
b; etc.
103 Diod. Sic. i, 54, 3 4.
io< Herod, ii, 162.
106 Ex. XV, 21 ; Is. xxxvi, 9; 2 Kingg
xviii, 23-4, etc.
106 2 Chron. xii, 3.
10' See Records of the Past, vol. ii, pa
68, 70, 72, etc. ^^
108 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 292.
io» In the army of Xerxes they served
as sailors only (Herod, vii, 89); in the
army of Artaxerxes Mnemon at Ounaxa
as infantry only (Xen. Anal), i, 8, g 9).
110 See Rosellini, Man. Storici, pis.
Ixii, 1 : Ixiv, etc.
111 Diod. Sic. l.s.c.
112 2 Chron. xii, 3.
11' Lepsius Denkmaler, vol. vi, pt. iii,
pis. 155, 160 ; Rosellini, Mon. Storici, pis.
Ixxxvii, xcvi, ciii, cv, etc.
IK Lepsius, vol. vi, pi. 155; Rosellini,
pi. cvii.
•14 Rosellini, pi. ciii.
y Ibid. Sometimes the warrior
drives ; but this, it may be presumed
was before coming into the presence oi
the enemy. (See Rosellini, pi. Ixxxii.)
1" Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 336, fig.
1. Three warriors are frequent in the
chariots of other nations. (Rosellini
pis. Ixxvviii-xci, etc. ; Lepsius, vol. vi!
pis. 157-60.)
118 See Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. a42.
119 Rosellini, Monunienti StoriA. pis!
Ixxxii, Ixxxiv, and c.
120 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. ai8,
(For representations, see, besides the
places mentioned in the preceding note,
Rosellini, M. S. pis. Ixxxi, and cii.)
121 Wilkinson, p. .^3.
122 Thr representations of chariots rep-
resent tue pair of horses as driven by a
single rein ; but it is supposed that this
is an " economy ' of the artists, and that
in reality each horse had his own rein
123 See fig. 149.
124 See Rosellini, Mo)ivmenti Storici,
pi. ci ; and compare Wilkinson, A. E.
vol. i, p. 318.
126 The king has in all cases the curved,
and not the straight, sword. It is also
more common than the straight sword in
the hands of the soldiers.
i2« Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, pp. ,324-5;
Rosellini, Mon. Civili, pis. cxvii, 5, and
cxix, 1.
12' Wilkinson, vol. i, p. ,326.
128 See Birch, Guide to Musevm, p. 39,
No. 5467.
128 For 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. .542:3-6).
"2 The bronze used for arms appears,
upon analysis, to have been composed at
follows ; copper 940, tin 5-9, iron 01.
30G
NOTES TO HISTORY OF AXCIEXT EGYPT. ["l. XL
(See Birch, Ghiide fo Museum, p. 39.)
The tin is in a smaller proportion than
usual , but the slight tinge of iron was
probably more than a compensation.
■33 Wllliinson, .1. E. vol. i, p. 320.
•34 Ibid. p. 319.
•36 See Herod, iii, 21.
138 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 308.
'3' Rosellini, Mon. Vivili, pi. cxsi, 25;
Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 305.
'38 Wilkinson, p. 308.
'3» See fig. 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 tlie streiigth of the string.
'40 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 310
(woodcut 33, fig. 4).
'•»' Ibid. p. 309. It may perhaps be
questioned whether two or three feathers
were used.
1" Ibid. p. 306 (woodcut 29).
143 Rosellini, Alon. Storiei, pis. xlvi, 1 ;
xlviii 2, etc. Lepsius, Veiikmdlei\ vol.
vi, pt. iii, pis. 126 o, 160, 166, etc.
144 Kosellini, Mon. Vivili, pi. cxxi, 23
and 26.
146 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 315.
i4« See the representations in Rosel-
lini, Mon. Storiei, pis. cxxix, cxxx,
cxxxiii etc.
14' Wilkinson, p. 293; Rosellini, Mon.
Storiei, pi. xcvi ; Lepsius, Denkindltr,
vol. vi, part iii, pi. 155.
148 Rosellini, Mon. Storiei, pi. ciii.
149 See Rosellini, Mon. Stoi^ici, pis.
cxxvii and cxxviii.
160 The plume of Ammon, the heads
of Horns, Khonsu, Athor, Isis, audTafne,
the jackal of Annbis, 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. Cirili, pi. cxxi, Nos. 1 to
15.)
161 See Records of the Past, vol. ii, p.
68, where we find the chief division of
the army of Ranieses II. named after the
gods, Ammon, Ra, Phthah, ar-' Act.
162 Birch in the new edition of Wil-
kinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. i, p.
193, note 8.
163 Birch in the new edition of Wil-
kinson's A?icient Egyptians, vol. i, p.
J93, note s.
164 Records oj the Past, l.s.c.
166 The four chiefs who direct the at-
tack on the fort represented on page 468
are the four sons of Ramcses IL (See
Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i p. 361, note.)
i6« See Rosellini, Mon. Storiei, pi.
cviii ; Lepsius, Denkindler, vol. vi, pt.
iii, pis. 145 c and 166.
1" See the woodcut plate Ixiv, and
compare Lepsius, Denknuiler, vol. vi, pt.
iii, pi. 145 c ; Rosellini, Mon. Storiei, pi.
Ixviii.
168 See the author's Ancient Monar-
chies, vol. 1, p. 474, 2d edition.
i6» See the author's Ancient Mon-
archies, vol. i, p. 47L
160 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
balistce 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,
liave left us no representations of their
wars or sieges, so that we have no means
of knowing whether or no they innovated
upon the old Egyptian practice.
i«' See fig. 160.
i«2 Herod, ii, 157.
163 1 Kings xiv, 2.5-6, compared with 2
Chron. xii, 2-9.
IS'' So Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 274
(edition of 1678).
166 See Records of the Past, vol. ii, pp.
5-6: vol. vi, pp. 7-10.
166 Rosellini, 3Ion. Storiei, pi. cxxxi ;
Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, pp. 203-4 ; De
scription de VEgypte, "Antiquites," vol.
ii, pi. X.
167 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 204.
168 For representations, see Lepsius,
Denkmdler, vol. iii. pt. ii, pi. 45; vol. v,
pi. 17; Description de I'Egypte, "An-
tiquites," vol. Iv, pi. Ixv, 3; vol. V, pi.
xviii, 7.
168 Records of the Past, vol. ii, pp. 95-
6. Compare Brugsch, Oeschichte Aegyp-
tens, pp. 697-8.
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.
i'^ 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. Storiei, pis. Ixxxv,
cxxxv, etc.; Lepsius, Denk?ndier, vol. vi,
pt. iii, pis. cxxix, cxxx, etc.
176 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. Storiei, pis. Ixiv,
Ixxix, cxi ; Description de I'Egypte, An-
tiquites," vol. ii, pl. 16; vol. iii, pis. 6
and 22 ; vol. iv, pl. 22, fig. 11, Lepsius,
Demkindler, vol. vi, pt. iii, pis. 130, 139,
140, etc.
178 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 398.
170 See the author's Ancient Mon-
archies, vol. i, pp. 447-8, 2d edition.
180 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 (Ilerod. ii, 169).
181 Manetiho ap. Euseb. Chron. van. i,
20. (See the Fragmenta Hist. Or. vol. ii.
p. 593 : Fr. 65.)
'82 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 39a
Compare Description de VEgypte, "An-
Vol. I.
Plate LXXni.
Fig. 186.— Building a Boat.— See Page 521.
Fig. ISr.-Aii Egyptian Gentleman's Plbasuek BoAT.-See Page
524.
Plate LXXIV.
Vol. I.
Fig. 188.— Ordinakv Nile Boat in full sail.— Seo Page 684.
Fig. 180.— Nile Boat.— See Page 524.
CH. XI.]
TifAXNERS AXD crST0Mf5.
307
tiquit^s," vol. ti, pi. 12: Roselliiii, Mon.
atorki, pis. !M and l.ii. The practice
was 80 usual that, instead of sayiug "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.)
i»a Wilkinson, l.s.c. Compare Records
of the Past, vol. vi, p. 19, line 8.
"•< Records of the Past, vol. vi, p. 8.
1" Cf. Herod, iii, 12.
i»« Wilkinson, .-1. £. vol. i, p. 395.
Compare Lepsius, Denkmdler, vol. vi,
pt. lii, pi. ViS.
'»' Roselhni, Mon. Storici, pi. evil.
'"* Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, vol. i, p.
2-^9. See Rosellini, Mon. Storici, pi. xcviii.
i"" Kosellini, Mon. Storici, pi. xcix.
'"o Records of the Past, vol. ii, pp. 6,
82, 8.T : vol. vi, pp. 7, 10, etc.
i»i Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 361. For
an illustration, see Rosellini, Mon.
Storici, pi. cxxxvii.
i»2 Wilkinson, l.s.c. vol. ii, p. 260.
i»5 See Rosellini, Mon. Storici, pi.
xliv, ter.
'•* Wilkinson, l.s.c. ; vol. ii, p. 260.
Compare p. 264.
»»6 Ibid. vol. i, pp. 400-1.
'»• See Rosellini, Mon. Storici, pis. 1,
Iviii, and cxxxvii,
'»' Lepsius, Denkmdler, vol. vi, pt. iii,
pi. 128. Compare Wilkinson, A. El. vol.
1, p. 399.
'•6 Rosellini, Mon. Storici, pis. xlviii,
lii, and Ivi.
!»• Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 400.
200 See above, p. 80.
aoi Brugsch, Oesckichte Aegyptens, p.
26.
»02 See Mons. St. Leon's "Egypt of the
Khedive" (London 1877), whence the
subjoined passage is taken.
303 Records of the Past, vol. viii, p.
149. We may suspect that the picture is
somewhat over-colored, since tne 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,"
but those of the blacksmith, carpenter,
mason, barber, boatman, gardener, wea-
ver, armorer, courier, dyer, shoemaker,
washerman, fowler, and tisherman, which
he represents as all eoually detestable.
204 Brugsch, Geschicnte Aegyptens, p.
23.
20* Mr. Kenrick (Ancient Egypt, vol. i,
pp. 212-13) has some good remarks on
this subject.
2o« See Gen. xxxvii, 2,5 ; Herod, i, 1 ; ii,
178 : iii, 6.
«07 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 ',
2d edit.
208 Ezek. xxvii, 7.
2o» Herod, v, 58.
2>p Plin. .V. //. xix, 1, ?2.
2'i Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 111.
212 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.
216 Vyee, Pyramids of Ghizeh, vol. i,
p. 289 ; Buuseii, Egypt's Place, vol. ii, p.
164 ; Fergusson, History of Architecture,
vol. i, pp. 91-2 ; etc.
218 Birch, Guide to Museum, pp. 70-4.
These are tLe materials ordinarily used.
Agate is perhaps to be added to them.
(Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii. p. 376.)
21' Birch, Guide to Museum, pp. 67-80.
218 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 251, n.
219 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. a37 ;
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.
229 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.
228 Ibid. p. 119.
229 Birch, Ouide to Museum, p. 51.
230 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 126;
Birch, l.s.c.
231 Wilkinson, vol. iii, p. 123.
232 Ibid. p. 12,5.
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 "by the
painted sculptures, where the entire form,
especially of women, is often made dis-
tinctly visible through the outer garment.
238 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
shoulil also be true, can be said about it.
I have therefore been content with the
briefest possible summary.
23» See Wilkinson, pi. xi, and compare
Rosellini, Man. Civ. pis. Ixxiv, 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.)
240 Birch says " the Egyptians sat on
chairs or on the ground " (Egypt, from
the Earliest Times, "Introduction," p.
308
NOTES TO HISTORY OF AKCIENT EGYPT. [CH. XI.
xiv) ; but, except on their first admission
and at certain games, tiie guests in a
hou»e are almost always represented as
seated either on chairs or stools. (See
Wilkinson, .4. E. vol. ii, pp. 191, 314, 390,
393, and pi. xii.)
241 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p. 203.
2" 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. ; Rosellini,
Mon. Viv. pi. xcii.
246 Birch, Guide to Musemn, p. 23.
24 6 See above, p. 214.
247 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. i, p. 335.
245 Herod, ii, 63. For a representation,
see Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p. 341.
249 1 Kings X, 29.
260 The native Libj'ans, who, accord-
ing to Herodotus (iv, 189), were the first
to yoke four horses to a chariot, prob-
ably obtained their vehicles from Ei;yjjt.
261 For full representations, see \N il-
kinson, A. E. vol. i, pp. 343, 349, and :J50 :
Kosellini, Mon. CiTiti, pi. xliv, tigs. 3
and 4.
262 Wilkinson, vol. i, p. 348.
263 The " six hundred shekels'' of 1
Kings X, 29, seem to be rightly regarded
as paid for the chariot and^pair of norses.
(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
shekels.
264 piin. H. N. xxxvi, 26.
266 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, pp. 88-
92. The claim was made, before Wilkin-
son's time, by M. Boudet in his essay
" Sur I'Art de la Verrerie, ne en Egy-pte,"
published in the Description de VEgypte,
' Antiquites," vol. ii, pp. 7 et seqq.
266 Birch, Guide to Mastion, p. 119.
257 Ibid. Specimens will be found in
V»e " Second Egyptian Room " of the
British Museum, Case t, Nos. 4750-3.
268 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. Hi, p. 382 ;
feirch, Egypt from the Earliest Times,
"Introduction," p. xv.
268 Birch, Guide to Museum, pp. 67, 70,
etc.
260 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 101 ;
Birch, Gtnde to Museum, p. 101.
261 Wilkinson, p. 102 ; Birch, p. 120.
262 Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 131.
263 Ibid. pp. 33-35.
264 Ibid. p. 3.3.
266 Birch, Ancient Pottery, p. 25. In
the representations given by Lepsius of
very early pottery (Denkmiiler, 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.
266 At Athens it was said to have been
invented, i. e. introduced by Coroebus
<Plin. vii, 56), about b. c. 776. lu Baby-
lonia it was certainly not employed by
the early potters. (See the author's
AtuAent Monarchies, vol. i, p. 91.)
267 Birch says with reason " The
Egyptian potters had not, it is true, that
highly refined sense of the beautiful
which the (jreeks possessed ; but they
were by no means entirely destitute of
it." (Ancient Pottery, p. 33.)
26S Examples will be found in the First
Egyptian Koom at the British Museum,
Nos. 4860, 5114, and 5116.
269 See, in the same collection, Noa
4860, 4864, and 5117 ; and compare Lee
mans, Mon. Egyptiens, pi. Ixiii, No. 367.
270 Birch, Ancient Pottery, p. 35.
271 Ibid. p. 36. Compare Rosellini,
Mon. Oivili, pi. Ivi, No. 108 ; pi. Ix, No.
3 ; and see above, p. 231.
272 See p. 188, and compare Birch,
Ancient Pottery, pp. 23-4 ; Guide to
Museum, pp. 89-94.
273 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 398 ;
Birch, Ancient Pottery, pp. 18-21 ; Priese,
Mon. Egyptiens, pis. 23, 27, and 28.
274 Birch, Ancient Potttry, pp. 21-22;
Guide to Mast am, p. 89.
27 6 British Museum, First Egyptian
Room, Nt). 1296 ; 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.
276 Tlie vases for the intestines are
generally painted. (British Museum,
Second Room, Nos. 9530-5, 9547-50, 9558-
4, etc.)
277 Birch, Ancient Pottery, p. 47.
278 Birch, O^iide to Museuj7i, p. 30.
279 Birch (Ancient Pottery, p. 48) la-
ments that " no very recent analysis " of
Egyptian glazes "has been made :" and
that consequently " we are compelled to
acquiesce in the conjectures of archseolo-
giste, rather than to adopt the tests of
chemists."
280 Birch, Guide to Museum. l.B.c.
281 British Museum, First Room, Nos.
4766 and 4796.
282 The Tel-el Yahoudeh, or eupp med
" Place of Oneias." (See Birch, An ient
Pottery, p. 49.)
283 Ancient Monarchies, vol. ii, p. 562.
284 Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 118.
286 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
comjiare Rosellini, Mon. Ctv. pi. 1 ; Wil-
kinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 164.
291 So B'-ch, Arment Pottery, p. 37 ;
" Potters .leld a low position in Egypt ;
and the occupation was pursued by ser-
vants or slaves."
292 A few plates of pure tin seem to
occur among the objects found with
mummies. They are placed ae amulets
CH. XI.]
MANNERS AXD CUSTOMS.
30&
to guard the incisions on the flanks,
throujrh which the intestines were ex-
tracteu, and commonly have on one side
the right symbolic eye, the emblem of the
god Shu. (See Birch in his er'.tion of
Wilkinson's Ancient Egyptians, vol. ii,
p. 232 ; and compare Guide to Museum,
p. 81.)
ssa 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.
i"** Blowpipes are represented more
than once in the tombs. (See Rosei-
liui, J 'on. Civ. pi. li, 4, and pi. Iii,
tig. 4.)
295 iije 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. V. '^'i,
note).
*" The existing gold objects show this.
Compare Ex. xxxii, 4.
"98 Records of the Past, vol. ii, p. 26;
Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p. 11.
2»» British Museum, First Egyptian
Room, Nos. 86 and 285.
»»o Ibid. No. 1422.
s"! Monumenti Civili,vi^B. Ivii to Ixii.
302 See a specimen in Wilkinson, A. E.
vol. iii, p. .347, No. 1.
303 Birch, Gw.de to Museum, p. 69.
30* Wilkinron, l.s.c. (No. 14).
306 Birch, Guide to Musetitn, pp. 66-7.
=o« Wilkinson, l.s.c. (No. 17).
307 Records of the Fast, 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, First Egyptian
Room, Nos. 6, 310, and 1887.
310 Ibid. No. 8412. Compare Wilkin-
son, A. E. vol. iii, p. 234.
311 Wilkinson, p. 259.
3'2 Records, vol. ii, pp. 27, 52, etc.
313 The British Museum seems to pos-
sess no more than about seven or eight
specimens of Egvptian iron. (First
Room, Nog. 2135, "2464, 2916, 2918, 2954,
5410, .5423, and 6113.) Of these three
(Nos. 2464, 29.i4, and 6113) are decidedly
of a late period.
3i< This is now in the British Museum,
and forms No. 2435 in the Egyptian col-
lection.
3"s Wilkinson, A E. vol. iii, p. 246.
3i« Deut. iii, 11: iv. 20 Jndg. i, 19; iv, 3.
31' Birch in Wilkinson's 4nci«?n< Eqrjp-
tians (edition of 1878), vol. ii, pp. 2.50-1;
Deveria, Mtlaj^ges d'Archeologie Egyp-
tienne, vol. i, p. 2.
3ie Birch. Guide to Museum, pp. 13-21,
28-29, :i5-«, etc.
310 Ibid. p. 28.
320 Wilkinson. A. E. vol. iii, p. 253. n.
S21 Birch, Guide to Mui^eum. p. 39.
*'" Specimens of meet of tbeee may be
seen in the British Mueenm, First Egyp-
tian Room, Nos. 5108a 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; lie 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. xfiv. 1.
32B Herod, l.s.c. ; and compare Wil-
kinson's illustration in the author'i
Herodotus, vol. ii, p. 132.
32» See Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p.
195.
330 Ibid, and p. 196.
331 See Rosellini, Mon. Civ. pis. cvii,
cviii, and cix, and Wilkinson, A. E. vol.
iii, 1)1. xvi;oppo. p. 211.
332 Diod. Sic. i, 91.
333 See Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 54.
33-1 At the rates suggested, the exact
sum would be 3,32O,0OO;. It may be
doubted, however, whether Diodorus
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, 1.8. c.)
33« Ibid.
33' See the specimens in the British
Museum (First Egyptian Room) num-
bered from 6725 to 6728.
33« Herod, ii, 86.
339 Diod. Sic. i, 91.
340 See above, p. 189.
341 Herod, ii, 86.
312 Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 53.
343 Herod, l.s.c. ; Wilkinson, A. E. vol.
iii, p. 115: vol. V, p. 4t)3: Birch, l.s.c.
344 Pettigrew, quoted by Wilkinson (A.
E.) vol. V, p. 471).
345 ''Cartonnages " may be seen in the
British Museum Collection, Nos. 6662,
6665, 6679, 6680, etc.
346 Sec above, p. 95.
34' Herodotus speaks of a single "mo-
derately cheap " method: and so Diodo-
rus. But mociern 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" svstem. (See
Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, pp." 468-473.)
248 Herod, ii, 87.
349 Rouger, Notice svr les Embaume^
mints des ancifns Egyptiens, quoted by
Wilkinson, ^-1. E. vol. v, p. 472.
350 B(t\zon\,^Researchts. p. 156.
351 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iu. p. 184. •
352 The story can only be given in the
author's own words :— Ids yvva.'LKa% rmv
310
NOTES TO HISTORY OF ANCIENT EGYPT. [CH. XI.
aiTi<t>avfuiv avSpuiv, emav Te\evT-^cr'i>cTi ov
TTapavTiKa SiSoOtri Tapi;^€ueii', aW en^av
TptTacat rj TrrapTatat y^vtoyrac, ovtui na-
paStSovcTi TOKTt Tapt^euoucrt • touto fie
•7T0L€0V(Tl OUTUJ TOufit etl'€KeV, LVa fMYj (J<iit
oi Tapi;i(CUTai fjLKTyojVTai fffot. yvvai^i..
AaiKpOi'ai yap Tiro c^atri fiio'yo^iei'Oi' t'expuT
npo<T4)dTii) ■yui'atKOs * KaretTrat fie Toi'
ofioTevi'oV. (Herod, ii, 89.)
3S3 Oil. viii, pp. 2G1-285.
s** Representations of persons so em-
ployed may be seen in Kosellini, Mon.
Civ. pi. xlvii, Nos. 3 and 4; and Wilkin-
son, A. E. vol. iii, p. 336.
3" Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, pp. 251-2.
358 See fig. 190.
3*' See Kosellini, 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 hand,
while with the other he brandishes aloft
a sword or mace. (See Kosellini, Mon.
Storici, pis. Ix, Ixiv, xlvi, etc., Description
de VEgijpte, " Antiquites," vol. ii, pi.
xvi, etc.)
3»9 See fig. 143.
3«o See fig. 95.
3«i Kosellini, Mon. Storici, pi. cxxxi;
Description, "Antiquites, vol. ii, pi. x.
362 Lepsius, Denknuiler, vol. vi, pt. iii,
pis. 158, 165, etc.; Kosellini, Mon. Storici,
pis. ex, cxxxvi, 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.
'«* The coarse representations on car-
tonnages and mummy-cases can scarcely
be considered as portraits.
3«« Wikinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 313.
367 Ibid. p. 311; Kosellini, Mon. Civ. pi.
xlvi, 3.
368 Kosellini, pi. xlvi, 5, 6, 8, and 10.
368 British Museum, First Egyptian
Room, Nos. 5515 and 55256.
3'" It has been already shown (supra,
pp. 294-5) that the Egyptian painters em-
ployed about fourteen tints.
371 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 301.
3'2 Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 41.
3'3 De Rouge, Catalogue des Monu-
ments egyptiens de la Salle du Rez-de-
chnussee, 1849, p. 47.
3'4 Records of the Past, vol. x, p. 2.
375 Ibid. p. 3. 376 Ibid. 1. 8. C.
377 See Herod, ii, 48 and 60.
378 Ibid, ii, 79.
379 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, pp. 237,
240, 316, etc. Kosellini, Mon.. Civ. pi.
xcix, 2.
380 See Diod. Sic. i, 16. The contrary
statement of Plato in his "Laws" cannot
bi! depended on [De Ley. ii. p. 6.56, k).
381 One flute in the British Museum
(No. 638S) has six holes; but four or five
Vere more usual (Wilkinson, A. E. vol.
ii, p. 301).
ssa Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p. 308
3B3 por the use of the plectrum see
Wilkinson, A. E. vol ii, p. 291 (woodcut
No, 217, flg. 1).
384 Birch, Guide to Museum, p. 48.
385 Wilkinson, A.E. vol. ii, p. 283.
386 Roeellini, Mon. Civ. pi. xcvii; Wil-
kinson, A. E. frontispiece to vol. ii.
387 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, pp. 234,
274, 27.5, etc.
388 Ibid. pp. 280, 282, and 287.
'89 Sir G. Wilkinson (A. E. vol. ii, p.
315) comes to an opposite conclusion;
but, as it seems to me, on insufficient
grounds.
3«o See above, p. 224.
391 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
plaved with drumsticks.
392 Rosellini, Mon. Civ. pi. xcvi, 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" (wiide to
Museu?n, p. 48).
395 Birch, l.s.c; Wilkinson, p. 234,
woodcut No. 185, fig. 2.
396 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. 6;i55 and 6365.
398 Wilkinson, A. A. vol. ii, p. 323.
399 Ibid. pp. 257 and 260.
400 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p. 237 and
2.39, woodcuts 190 and 193. Compare
Kosellini, Mon. Civ., pi. xciv and xcvi, 1.
401 Wilkinson, p. 233.
402 Ibid. p. 236, woodcut 189.
403 Ibid. p. 237, woodcut 190.
404 Kosellini, 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, Mo/i. Civ. pi. Ixxix, line
6; pi. xcvi, 1; Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p.
2;^4, woodcut 185; p. 237, woodcut 190, p.
238, woodcut 192.
407 See above, note 396^ chap. xi.
408 Rosellini, Mo7i. Civ. pis. Ixxix, and
xcix; Wilkinson, A. E., vol. ii, p. 390.
409 Wilkinson, p. 3;i3.
410 Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, "Introduction," p. xvi.
411 Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Tivies, " 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. 147-1.56), where the
occupation of scribe is compared with
these and similar ones.
4^3 Ibid. p. 147, line 6; p. 153 line 180.
Compare Brugsch, Gcschichte Aegyptens,
p. 24.
414 The unrcmuncratiVc nature of the
Vol. L
Plate LXXV.
Fig. 190.— Chiselling a Statue.— See
Page 530.
Fig. 191.— Egyptian Systrom
—See Page 538.
Fig. 19j>.~Band of Six MusicuNs.-See Page
539.
Fig. 193.— Boatmen QcARBEULixc-See Page 54&
Plate LXXVI.
Vol. I.
Fig. 194,— Egyptian Drag-net and Clap-net.— See Page 547.
Fig. 195.— Egyptian Noble carried in a Litter.— See Page 550.
Plate LXXVII.
Fig. 196.— Egyptian tJA>UALS,— See Page 551 .
Fig. 197.— Speaking Fish.— See Page 555.
Fig. 198.— Speakinu the Crocodile.— See Page 560.
CH. XI.]
MANNERS AKD CUSTOMS.
311
Bcnbe'e office is thought to be alluded to
m lines 8a8-237 of the poem. (See Records
of the Fast, vol. viii, p. 155, note * )
<>' Ibid. p. 148, line 31.
*'« Ibid. vol. ii, p. 3. *»' Ibid
*l» Ibid. p. 4. <>• Ibid. vol. viii, 57.
*'" Ibid. pp. 62 and 63.
«»• Ibid. pp. 57-65.
«" Ibid. p. 153; "Consider, there is not
an employment destitute of superior ones
except the scribe's, which is the first "
*" Herod, ii, 84. *n Ex. i, 15-19
■ *^ Manetho ap. Euseb. Chron. Can.
1, 20, g 4.
"•Horn Od. iv, 231-2; Herod, iii, 1,
129: Jer. xlvi, 11.
"7 Wilkinson in the author's fferod-
otus, vol. H, p. 117.
"s Clem. Alex. Strom, vi, 4, p. 758
"' Oescfikhte Aeayptens, ch. v, p. 50.
•• Bj""g8ch, GeschicMe Aegyptens, ch.
vu, p. 89.
"» 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."
"> See the passage placed as a headine
to ch. vu, (supra, p. 187)
,.^'L'^'^'"'^* of ihe Past, -vol. viii, pp.
14o-o.i.
4S4 Brugsch, Oeschichte Aegyptens, p.
14"* ^°^^^ °^ ^^^ ^'^*'' ^ol- viii, pp.
*'• See Rosellini, Mon. Civ. pi. civ 9
1 *«r?5? Rosellini, Mon. Civ. pi. xxiv,
.; Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p. 20 ■ vol
111, p. 37, etc. > 1^ *" . vol.
«" Wilkinson, vol. iii, p. 37. Com-
pare vol. li, p. 19, and Rosellini, Mon. Civ.
pis. IV and v.
"» Wilkinson, vol. iii, p. 57, fle 3
Compare p. 56, figs. 3 and 4 ' & ■
"» H"od ii, I2 ad. fin. ; Diod. Sic.
I, 36, Rosellini, Mon. Civ., pi. xxv. 3-
Wilkinson vol. iii, pp. 37 and 56.
"' Rosellini, Mon. Civ. pi. iv Wil-
^'r/„°?; v"'- "' P- 19 ; HerodT ii, 77.
<** Herod, ii, 47.
<" 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
ir *?.<?"Khton in Smith's Dictionary of
the Bible, vol. iii, p. 1393. " ■'
\\\ S"P'"*' PP- 159, 456, etc.
<" Brugsch, Oeschichte Aegyptens, p.
„" , ,"uge8 consumere nati " rHor
Epist, 1, 2, 1, 27). ^
'i^^.^"'^^A ^^^P^ ^^°''^ '*« Earliest
J^mes,T>. 44.
v/i** ,W"*'infon. ^- £!■ vol. ii, p. 200 ;
vol: \\\% '*= ^*^''''* "•f' '*«^«<.
*»• See above, pp. 229
"« I'bia.
«•' Wilkinson, ^. .£-. vol. 11, p. agg^
woodcut No. 278. Compare Rosellini.
itfon. Civ. pis. Ixxxiii t» Ixxxv
«64 Birch, l.s.c.
«** Wilkinson, A. E., vol. i, p. 335 ; vol.
_«• Rosellini, J/on. Civ. pi. xciii, 2;
Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p. 208
"' Birch, .E-^ypi; /rom the Earliest
limes, "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
"8 Wilkinson, vol. iii, pi. 355-6
<»» Birch, " Introduction," p xv
"0 Birch, Guide to Museum, pp. 2&-7:
Rosellini. Mon. Civ. pi. Ixv, figs 1-8
««> Birch, Egypt from the Earliut
limes, "Introduction," p. xv <«3 Ibid
^^4«s Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, pp. 369^
r. *\* Egyptian combs may be seen in the
M '^".^^'^^•'J"" '^'■^t %yptian Room,
Nos 2678 and 2683). 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.)
«w See plate xxxvi, fig. 91,and com-
pare the vulture headdress of certain sod-
desses, as Maut (p. 348), Athor (p. 377),
Isis (p 379), and Nephthys (p. 395)
"« Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, "Introduction," p. xv. Com-
pare Herod, ii, 36.
*" Williinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 368.
*»s Ibid. p. 374.
_ <«» Birch, l.s.c; Wilkinson, A. E. vol
111, p. 380. Birch adds that the nails
were often dyed with henna, and the
breath sweetened with pastilles.
«"> It may be suspected that like the
«ar/y 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. 11, 78). Bread, meat, and
b'uf °'' ' ^^''^ probably taken at
Y' One amusement in which ladies in-
dulged was certainly archery (Wilkin-
son ^. ^. vol ii, p. 189). Another was
boating (Rosellini, Mon. Civ. pis cv 1
and cix). They aUo accompanied their
husbands or brothers in some of their
sporting expeditions.
■•'2 Rosellini, Mon. Civ. pi. Ixix : Wil-
*i%°^u- ^- ''°'-, "j PP- 139, 143, etc.
*" Wilkinson, vol. iii, p 52
J'« Wilkinson, vol. iii, p. 53.
♦"Ibid. p. 41 woodcut, fiKs. 18, 19, and
-JO. Compare Rosellini, Mon. Civ pi
pf ^130' "'"^ ^^PSiQs. Denkmuler, vol. iv,'
477 ^•Jl'i'**°"' ^- ^- V"'- i'i. PP- 60-1.
*" Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p*^38.
00 7, '^\ representations, see Ibid.rpp,
39, 41 and 42. '*^*^
...■"* Wilkinson, woodcut No. 335 (vol.
Ill, p. 39). Sportsmen are sometimes ac-
companied by a cat, which is repro8ente4
312
NOTES TO HISTORY OF AKCIEKT EGYPT. [CH. XI.
as taking an interest in the sport, and
Bometimes as even springing into the air
and catching one of the wild fowl (Wil-
kinson, woodcut No. 337). But this can
gcarcely have been a usual incident.
*8o See this scene represented in Eo-
Bellini, Mon. Civ. pi. xv, and compare
Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, 23. For a por-
tion of the scene, see above, p. 284.
*8i Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 18.
*82 Ibid. p. 1.5, woodcut No. 325.
483 Ibid. p. 16.
484 Rosellini, Mon. Sforici, pis. Ixvi,
Ixxxiv, and cvii. Compare above, p.
4ti6. 4H5 Diod. Sic. i, 48.
488 Amenemhat I. in his instructions
to his son Osertasen says, "I hunted the
lion" {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,
tig. 99.) The scene of this chase is
thought to have been Southern Palestine
(Birc'h, Egypt from the Earliest Times,
p. 140).
487 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 29.
488 Eecords of the Past, vol. ii, p. 62.
4«» Plin. H. N. viii, 25.
4»o Diod. Sic. i, 35 ; Herod, ii, 71 ;
Pliny, l.s.c.
4»i See Wilkinson, A. E. vol. iii, p. 70,
and pi. XV.
483 Wilkinson, vol. iii, pp. 71-3.
49» Rosellini, Mon. Civ. pi. xxiv, 4 ;
Lepsius, Denknidler, vol. iv, pi. 105.
4»4 Herod, ii, 70.
4»» 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
hie 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
thereby pulled in, and wounded again by
the man, and his companions who join
him, until it is exhaunted and killed."
(See the author's Herodotus, vol. ii, p. 99,
note 4.)
4»» Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, p. 44 : " The chief sccupation of
the period, or at all events that most
often represented in the tombs, was the
inspection of the farm." Compare Lep-
sius, Denknidler, vols, ii and iii, passifn.
4" Rosellini, Mo7i. Civ. pi. Ixxxii ;
Lepsius, Denkmdler, vol. iii.. t>t. iii pis.
19, 21, etc.
4»e See above, pp. 67-78.
4«» See above, p. 200.
^"0 Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, p. 46.
6"' This is often represented, (Rosel
lini, Mon. Civ. _pls. Ixxxiii to Ixxxvi,
Wilkinso
i, etc.)
Civ. _pl
, A. E.
vol. ii, pp. 383, 385,
602 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p. 385;
woodcut, No. 277, I. n.
6»3 Rosellini, Mon. Civ. pi. Ixxix ;
Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p. 215, etc.
504 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, pi. x'.i,
and pp. 367, 390, and 393.
6"6 bee above, p. 245.
600 Wilkinson, A. E. vol.Ji, pi. xii.
607 Ibid, and p. 389. Compare Herod.
ii, 36. The fondness of the EgyptianB
for such pets, especially monkeys, is very
observable.
608 Birch, Egypt from the Earliest
Times, " Introduction," pp. xiv-xv.
609 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p. 393.
610 Egyptian spoons exist. (See in the
British Museum Collection, Nos. 5951 to
5976 ; and conipare Wilkinson, A. E. vol.
ii, p. 40.3^,) But there is no evidence of
their being used to eat with.
611 The attendants often carry napkins
in their left hands.
612 See Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p.
400 ; and compare Birch, Egypt from tit,
Earliest Times, p. 45.
613 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, pp. 170-8
614 Herod, ii, 78.
616 So Wilkinson (^4. E. vol. Ii, pp
410-11), whose remarks appear to D9
reasonable.
6i« Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, pp. 167-8.
Ladies are represented as sick from ex-
cessive drinkms;, and gentlemen as car-
ried home dead drunk by their attend-
ants.
617 Pint. De Isid. et Osir. ? 15.
618 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. li, p. 414.
619 Rosellini, Mon. Civ. pis. xcix to civ;
Wilkinson in the author's i/«rodo<w«, vol.
ii, pp. 272-7.
620 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, p. 335.
621 See the authors Herodotus, vol. ii,
p. 277.
622 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. ii, pp. 430-1,
623 Ibid. pp. 417-435; Rosellini, Mon.
Civ., pis. ciii and civ.
624 Bellinger, Jew and Gentile, vol. ii,
p. 239, E. T.
626 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.
627 Birch, " Introduction," p. xiv.
«28 Herod, ii, 35.
629 Rosellini, Mon. del Cvlto, pis. v, 8,
xxxi, 1 ; Lepsius, Denknidler ; vol. vl,
pis. 91, 97 «, 106 b, etc.
630 Wilkinson, A. E. vol. v, p. 383,
woodcut. No. 492; "Supplement," pis.
8:i-^.
631 ITerod. ii, 80.
632 See Brugsch, Geschichte Aegyptentf
^p. 24.
-A
..-^<