,
surnamed
Mci-Amoun,
Djilt the great palace of Medinet-Abou, and a temple
near the southern gate of Kamac.
Djilt the great palace of Medinet-Abou, and a temple
near the southern gate of Kamac.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
Hamilton, "which is often
repeated in all the Egyptian temples, but only here at
PktuE and at Elephantine with this distinction of col-
osr, mav very naturally be supposed to commemorate
the transmission of religious tables and the social in-
? timtions from the tawny Ethiopians to the compara-
tively feir Egyptians. " It consists of three priests,
two of whom, with black faces and hands, are repre-
sented as pouring from two jars strings of alternate
? ceptres of Osiris and cruccs aiusaliz over the head of
another whose face is red. There are other paintings
wiich teem to be nearly of the same purport. In the
temple of Philje, the sculptures frequently depict two
persons who equallv represent the characters and sym-
bob of Osiris, and two persons equally answering to
fh~iT- of Jgjs; but in both cases one is invariably much
older than the other, and appears to be the superior
divinity Mr. Hamilton conjectures that such figures
represent the communication of religious rites from
Ethiopia to Egypt* a<<d tnc inferiority of the Egyptian
djna jn these delineations there is a very marked
positive distinction between the black figures and
? ? hoseof Barer complexion; the former arc most fre-
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? ^EGYPTUS.
jEGYPTUS.
makes mention of the resemblance which the Copts
bear to the human figures painted or sculptured among
the ruins of ancient Egypt. He adds the following
remarks. "As to the character of the human figure,
as the Egyptians borrowed nothing from other nations,
they could only copy from their own, which is rather
delicate than fine. The female forms, however, re-
sembled the figures of beautiful women of the present
day; round and voluptuous; a small nose, the eyes
long, half shut, and turned up at the outer angle like
those of all persons whose sight is habitually fatigued
by the burning heat of the sun or the dazzling wliite-
ncss of snow; the checks round and rather thick,
the lips full, the mouth large, but cheerful and smiling;
displaying, in short, the African character, of which
the negro is the exaggerated picture, though perhaps
the original type. " 'I be visages carved and painted
on the heads of the sarcophagi may be supposed to
give an idea of an Egyptian countenance. In these
there is a certain roundness and flatnessof the features,
and the whole countenance, which strongly resembles
the description of the Copts, and in some degree that
of the Berbcrins. The colour of these visages is the
red coppery hue of the last-mentioned people, and is
nearly the same, though not always so dark, as that
of the figures painted in the temples and catacombs.
The most puzzling circumstance in this comparison
refers to the hair. The Copts arc said to have frizzled
or somewhat crisp, though not woolly, hair. The old
Egyptians, as well as the Ethiopians, arc termed by
the Greeks ovlorpixcc- But the hair found in mum-
mies is generally, if not always, in flowing ringlets,
as long and as smooth as that of any European. Its
colour, which is often brown, may depend on art, or
the substance used in embalming. But the texture is
different from what we should expect it to be, cither
from the statements of ancient writers, or from the
description of the races now existing in the same
countries. -- Conclusion. From what has been ad-
duced, we may consider it as tolerably well proved,
that the Egyptians and Ethiopians were natives of the
same race, whose abodes, from the earliest periods of
history, wero the regions bordering on tho Nile.
These nations were riot negroes, such as the negroe3
of Guinea, though they bore some resemblance to
that description of men, at least when compared
with the people of Europe. This resemblance, how-
ever, did not extend to the shape of the scull, in any
? reat degree at least, or in the majority of instances,
t perhaps only depended on a complexion and physi-
ognomy similar to those of the Copts and Nubians.
These races partake, in a certain degree, of the Afri-
can countenance. The hair in the Ethiopians and
Egyptians must sometimes have been of a more crisp
or bushy kind than that which is often found in mum-
mies: for such is the case in respect to the Copts,
and the description of the Egyptians by all ancient
writers obliges us to adopt this conclusion. In com-
plexion it seems probable that the race was a coun-
terpart of the Foulahs, in tho west of Africa, nearly in
the same latitude. The blacker Foulahs resemble in
complexion the darkest people of the Nile; they are
of a deep brown or mahogany colour. The fairest of
the Foulahs are not darker than the Copts, or even
than some Europeans. Other instances of as great
a variety may be found among the African nations,
within the limits of one race, as in the Bishuanc Kaf-
? ? fers, who are of a clear brown colour, while the Kaf-
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? -EGYPTUS.
. EGYPTUS.
. 2, p. 239, cd. Better). They had, in
lie second place, epic traditions, a kind of poetic chron-
ieio. embracing the succession of high priests, and
lit dynasties of the Pharaohs, or monarchs of the
eamtrr. Such were the volumes of papyrus, which
tktpnests unrolled to satisfy the questions of Herod-
otus (S, 100). \\ewould err greatly, however,were
<<to suppose that these were actual histories. They
were rather a species of heroic tales, intermingled with
religious legends, and where allegory still played the
chief part, as in the Kamayan and Mahabharat of the
Hindus, the Sckaiuutmeh of the Persians, and the tra-
ditions of the Greeks previous to the return, or inva-
sion, of the HeraclidiE. These originals are unfortu-
nately lost for us. In their stead we have the sacred
books of the Hebrews, ? which offer a great number
of recitals on this subject, but fragmentary in their
nature, without development, and often extremely
ngue. Hence it is difficult to conciliate these recit-
als with those of the Greeks, which are in general
more circumstantial and extended. Some time before
Herodotus, Hippys of Rhegium and other travellers
had visited Egypt. Among these Hecatseus of Miletus
is the most conspicuous. He travelled thither about
the 59th Olympiad, and described particularly the up-
per part of Egypt, bestowing especial attention on the
<tatc or city of Thebes, and the history of its kings.
Hence the reason ? why Herodotus says so little on
these points. (Creuzer, fragm. Hist. Grace, anliquis-
JUL, p- 16, seqq. --ScholL, Hist. Lit. Gr. , 2, 135, scqq. )
About the same period, Hcllanicus of Lesbos also
gave a description of Egypt. (Hcllanici fragm. , cd.
Stmrs. ^ f. 3*J| seqq. ) Herodotus succeeded. Visiting
the country iibout seventy years after its conquest by
the Persians, he traversed the whole extent, and con-
to his great work all that he had seen, all that
heard from the priests, as well with regard to
the monuments as the history of Egypt, and added to
his own opinions on what had passed under his
or been related to him by others. (Herod. , lib.
3 cl 3 ) The state or city of Memphis is the principal
<<ui>>jcct of his narrative. After him came Theopom-
pu>> of Chios, Ephorus of Cumaj (Fragm. , cd. Marx. ,
p. 213, fcqq. ), Eudoxus of Cnidus, and Philistus of
Syracuse. But their works have either totally perish-
ed, or at best only a few fragments remain. At a la-
ter period, and subsequent to the founding of Alcxan-
<<iea, HecaUeuE of Abdera travelled to Thebes. This
! ook place under the first Ptolemy. (Crenzcr, fragm. .
ic-,p. 28, seqq. --Schiitl, Hist. Lit. Gr. ,3, 211, scyq. )
In the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, two centuries
md a half before the Christian era, Manetho, an Egyp-
tian priest, of Heliopolis in Lower Egypt, wrote, by
ordt-r of that prince, the history of his own country in
the Greek language, translating it, as he states himself,
out of the sacred records. His work is, most unfor-
tunately, lost; but the fragments which have been
preferred to us by the writings of Josephus, in tho
tat century of the Christian era, as well as by the
Christian chronographists, are, if entitled to confidence,
af the highest historical value. What we have re-
maining of the work of Manetho presents us with a
chronological list of the successive rulers of Egypt,
from the first foundation df the monarchy to the time
if YJexander of Maeedon, who succeeded the Per-
This list is divided into thirty dynasties. It
_y contained the length of reign as well as the
? ? of every king; but, in consequence of successive
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? ^EGYPTUS.
JEGYPTUS.
ap. Synccll. ) Gorrcs thinks that these thirty-seven
kings, who are given as so many mortals, may have
been nothing else but the thirty-seven Decans, with
Mcnes at their head ; so that, by rejecting this dynasty
as a continuation of the divine dynasties, those of a
strictly human nature, and, with them, the historical
times of Egypt, will have commenced, according to
the calculations of this ingenious and profound writer,
2712 years before the Christian era. (Garret, My-
thengcschichte, vol. 2, p. 412. -- Compare Creuzcr,
Symboltk, 1, 469, seqq. , and Guigniaut's note, 1, 2,
841. ) Be this, however, as it may, the common ac-
count makes Menes to have been the first human king
of Egypt, and his name begins the dynasties of Thebes,
of This, and of Memphis. Mcnes completed the
work of the gods, by perfecting the arts of life, and
dictating to men the laws he had received from the
ekies. This Mcnes, or Menus, or Mines (a name
which Eratosthenes makes equivalent to Dionios, i. e. ,
Joviahs), can hardly be an historical personage. He
resembles a sort of intermediate king between the
gods and the human kings of the lands, a divine type
of man, a symbol of intelligence descended from the
skies, and creating human society upon earth j similar
to the Mcnou or Manou of India, the Minos of Crete,
ccc. He is a conqueror, a legislator, and a benefac-
tor of men, like Osiris-Bacchus; like him he perish-
es under the blows of Typhon, for he was killed by a
hippopotamus, the emblem of this evil genius; like
him, moreover, he has the ox for his symbol, Mnc-
vis the legislator being none other than the bull Mne-
vis of Heliopolis. (Compare Volney, Reeherches sur
VHist. Anc, 3, 282, seqq. -- Priehard's Analysis of
Egyptian Mythology, p. 381. -- Creuzcr's Symboltk,
par Guigniaul, 1, 2, 780. ) The successor of Menes
was Thoth, or Athothcs, to whom is ascribed the in-
vention of writing and many other useful arts. We
have in the fragments of Manetho a full list of two dy-
nasties seated at This, at the head of the first of which
we find these two names. These two dynasties in-
clude fifteen kings, and may therefore have continued
about 400 years; the duration assigned to their col-
lective reigns, in Eusebius's version of Manetho, is
554 years, hut this is probably too long, as it is a sum
that far exceeds what would be the result of a similar
series of generations of the usual length. From the
time of Menes to that of Moeris, Herodotus leaves us
entirely in the dark. He States merely (2, 100) that
the priests enumerated between them 330 kings.
Diodorus Siculus (1, 45) counts, in an interval of 1400
years between Menes and Busiris, eight kings, sev-
en of whom are nameless, but the last was Busiris
11. This prince is succeeded by eight descendants,
six of whom are in like manner nameless, and the
seventh and eighth are both called Uchorcus. From
Uchoreus to Moeris he reckons twelve generations.
Manetho, on the other hand, reckons between Mcnes
and the time at which we may consider his history
as becoming authentic, sixteen dynasties, which in-
cludes nearly three thousand years. But, whatever
opinion we may form relative to these obscure and
conflicting statements, whether we regard these early
dynasties as collateral and contemporary reigns ( Creu-
zcr's Symboltk, par Guigniaut, 1, 2, 780), or as be-
longing merely to the fabulous periods of Egyptian
history, the following particulars mav be regarded as
tolerably authentic. Egypt, during this interval, had
? ? undergone numerous revolutions. She had detached
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? --EGVPTL'S
dutincnves, not of the Jewish, but of the Scythian
tribes. It was under a king-of the eighteenth dynasty
that the Israelites went out from Egypt, namely, Ram-
Rf V. ,the 16th monarch of the line. We have here,
mthis eighteenth dynasty, the commencement of what
my be properly termed the second period of Egyptian
hUtory. The names of the monarchs are given as fol-
lows by the aid of Champollion's discoveries: 1.
Tliattnuuii I, of w horn there is a colossal statue in
thf museum at Turin. 2. ThmUmosis II. (Amon-
Jfci),vrhose name appears on the most ancient parts
of the palace of Karnac. 3. His daughter Amcnsi,
who governed Egypt for the space of twenty-one years,
and erected the greatest of the obelisks of Karnac.
This vast monolith, is erecte>tl in her name to the god
Amraon, and the memory of" her father. 4. Thout-
nosa III. , sumamed Jferi. the jl/bcnj of the Greeks.
The remaining monuments o f his reign are the pilaster
<<nd granite halls of Kamac, several temples in Nubia,
toe grett Sphinx of the Pyramids, and the colossal ob-
elisk now in front of the church of St. John Lateran
at Rome. 5. His successor was Amcnopftts I. , who
was succeeded by, 6- Tftoutmosis IV. This king
finished the temples of the "W"ady Alfa and Amada, in
Nubia, which Amenoph had begun. 7. Amenophis
IL. whose vocal statue, of colossal size, attracted the
notice of the Greeks and Itomans. (Yid. Memnon
andMemnomum. ) The most ancient parts of the pal-
ace at Luxor, the temple of Cnouphis at Elephantine,
the Memnonium, and a palace at Sohled, in Nubia, are
monuments of the splendour and piety of this monarch.
8. Hona, who built the grand colonnade of the palace
it Luxor 9. Queen Amcnchcrcs, or Tmau-Mol, com-
memorated in an inscription preserved in the museum
al Turin. 10. Ramses I. , who built the hypostyle
hall at Kamac, and excavated a sepulchre for himself
at Beban-el-Moulouk. 11 and 12. Two brothers
M&iuiautli and Chwjrer. They have left monuments
of theii existence, the last in the grand obelisk now in
the Piazza del Popolo at Rome; the first in the beau-
tiful palace at Kourna, and the splendid tomb discov-
ered by Belzoni. 13. Their successor caused the two
great obelisks at Luxor to be erected. This was the
second Ramses. 14. Ramscslll. Ofthis king dedi-
catory inscriptions are found in the second court of
the palace of Karnac, and his tomb still exists at
Thebes. 15. Ramses IV.
, surnamed Mci-Amoun,
Djilt the great palace of Medinet-Abou, and a temple
near the southern gate of Kamac. The magnificent
sarcophagus which formerly enclosed the body of this
king-, has been removed from the catacombs of Beban-
<<! -Jif oalouk, and is now in the Museum of the Louvre.
He was succeeded by his son, 16. Ramses V. , sur-
narne'd Amenophis, who is considered as the last of
tiiis dynasty, and who was the father of Scsostris.
The acts of none of the kings of this dynasty are com-
? memorated by the Greek historians, with the exception
of Moeris- He is celebrated by them for a variety of
taefal labours, and appears to have done much to pro-
mote the prosperity of Egypt, particularly by form-
ia>> a lake to receive the surplus waters of the Nile
daring the inundation, and to distribute them for ag-
ricultural purposes during its fall. (Fi'rf. Moeris. )
The reign of Ramses Amenophis is the era of the Kx-
<xfag. The Scripture narrative describes this event as
connected with the destruction of a Pharaoh, and the
chronological calculation adopted by Rosellini would
make it coincide with the last year of this monarch's
? ? reim Wilkinson and Greppo, however, maintain that
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? iEGYPTUS.
^EGYPTUS.
7. 472. ) These succeeded the first dynasty of Ta-
nites; and we find Egypt again immediately connect-
ed with Judca, and its history with that of the Scrip-
tures. Sesonchis, the head of this dynasty, was the
conqueror of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, and the
plunderer of the treasures of David. This king, the
Scsak of the second Book of Kings, built the great
temple of Bubastis, which is described by Herodotus,
and likewise the first court of the palace of Karnac at
Thebes. His son Osorehon (Zoroch), who also led
. ". : i anny into Syria, continued the important works com-
menced by his father. But their successor Takelliothis
is only known to us by a simple funereal picture, con-
secrated to the memory of one of his sons. This paint-
ing has been broken, and one half is preserved in the
Vatican, while the other forms a part of the royal col-
lection at Turin. Various buildings are found among
the ruins of Hcliopolis, and still more among those of
Tanis, constructed in the reigns of the Pharaohs of
the second Tanite dynasty. (Bulletin des Sciences
Hist. , 7, 472. ) Upon these the names of three of them
have been deciphered, Petubastes, Osorthos, and
Psammoa. Champollion considers them as having
immediately preceded the great Ethiopian invasion,
which gave to Egypt a race of kings from that country.
Manet ho, however, places Bocchoris between these two
races, forming his twenty-fourth dynasty of one Saite.
The yoke of these foreign conquerors does not appear
to have been oppressive, as is evident from the number
of monuments that exist, not only in Ethiopia, but in
Egypt, bearing dedications made in the name of the
kings of this race, who ruled at the same time in both
countries. The names inscribed on these monuments
are Schabak, Sevekolheph, Tahrak, and Amcnaaa, all
of whom are mentioned either by Greek or sacred his-
torians, under the names of Sa'bacon, Sevechua, Tha-
rnca, and Ammeria. (Bulletin dea Sciences 111. it. , v In
supra. ) No more than three ofthese kings are men-
tioned in the list of Manctho as belonging to this dy-
nasty, the last being included in that which follows.
On the departure of the Ethiopians, the affairs of Egypt
appear to have fallen into great disorder. This civil
discord was at last composed by Paammitiata I Me-
morials of his reign are found in the obelisk now on
Monte Litorio at Home, and in the enormous columns
of the first court of the palace of Karnac at Thebes.
(Bulletin dea Sciences Hist. , vol. 7, p. 471. ) The
rule of Nechao II. is commemorated by Beveral stela
and statues. It was this monarch that took Jerusalem,
and carried King Jehoahaz into captivity. On the isle
of Phila? are found buildings bearing the legend of
Psammiticus II. , as well as of Apnea (the Hopkra of
Scripture). An obelisk of his reign also exists at Home.
The greater part of the fragments of sculpture, scatter-
ed among the ruins of Sals, bear the royal legend of
the celebrated Amasis, and a monolith chapel of rose
granite, dedicated by him to the Egyptian Minerva, is
in the museum of the Louvre. Psammenitus was the
last of this dynasty of Saites. Few tokens of his short
reign are extant, besides the inscription of a statue in
the Vatican. He waa defeated and dethroned by Cam-
byses: ? or did he long survive his misfortune. With
him fell the splendour of the kingdom of Egypt; and
from this date (525 B. C. ), the edifices and monu-
ments assume a character of far less importance. Still,
however, we find materials for history. Even the fe-
rocious Cambyaca is commemorated in an inscription
? ? on the statue of a priest of Sais, now in the Vatican.
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? . EGYPTUS.
9. Egyptian Writing.
In writing their langnapre, the ancient Egyptians em-
ploycil three different kinds of characters. First: fig-
vttm; or representations of the objects themselves.
Secondly: tynbohc; or representations of certain
physical or material objects, expressing metaphorical-
ly, or conventionally, certain ideas; such as, a people
obedient to ttieir king, figured, metaphorically, by a
bee; UKUniverse, conventionally, by a beetle. Third-
ly : flmctic, or representative of sounds, that is to say,
itrictly alphabetical characters. The phonetic signs
were also portraits of physical and material objects;
and each stood for the initial sound of the word in the
Egyptian language -which expressed the object por-
trayed: thu* a lion was the sound I,. because a lion
was called Labo; and a hand a T, because a hand
was called Tot. The form in which these objects
were presented, when employed as phonetic charac-
ters, was conventional and tlrt\mi<\ to distinguish
them from the same objects used either figuratively or
symbolically. Thus, the conventional form of the
phonetic T was the hand open and outstretched. In
any other form the hand would be either a figurative or
a symbolic sign. The number of distinct characters
employed as phonetic signs appears to have been about
140: consequently, many were homophones, or hav-
ing the same signification. The three kinds of char-
acters were used indiscriminately in the same writing,
and occasionally in the composition of the same word.
The formal Egyptian writing, therefore, such as we
<<t it rtitt existing on the monuments of the country,
wis a scries of portraits of physical and material ob-
jeeU, of which a small proportion had a symbolical
meaning, a still smaller proportion a figurative mean-
ins, but the great body were phonetic or alphabetical
ri<<ns: and to these portraits, sculptured or painted
with sufficient fidelity to leave no doubt of the object
represented, the name of hieroglyphics or sacred char-
acter* has been attached from their earliest historic
rr;u <? The manuscripts of the same ancient period
make \>> acquainted with two other forms of writing
practised by the ancient Egyptians, both apparently
distinct from the hieroglyphic, but which, on careful
examination,are found to be its immediate derivatives;
every hieroglyphic having its corresponding sign in the
bertite, or writing of the priests, in which the funeral
rituals, forming a large portion of the manuscripts, are
principally composed; and in the demotic, called also
ifce enchorial, which was employed for all more ordi-
nary and popular usages. The characters of the hie-
ratic are, for the most part, obvious running imitations
or abridgments of the corresponding hieroglyphics;
bat in the demotic, which is still farther removed from
the original type, the derivation is less frequently and
Iffi obviously traceable. In the hieratic, fewer figu-
rative or symbolic signs are employed than in the hie-
roglyphic ;" their absence being supplied by means of
the phonetic or alphabetical characters, the words be-
ing spelt instead of figured; and this is still more the
1 in the demotic, which is, in consequence, almost
entirely alphabetical. After the conversion of the
Egyptians to Christianity, the ancient mode of writing
tbeir language fell into disuse; and an alphabet WM
adopted in substitution, consisting of the twenty-five
Greek letters, with six additional signs expressing ar-
ticulations and aspirations unknown'to tho Greeks, the
cliarartere for which were retained from the demotic.
TUt it the Coptic alphabet, in which the Egyptian ap-
? ? >>an as a written language in the Coptic books and
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? iEGYPTUS.
^:gypti;s.
that he founil it already dead. (Diodorus Sievlux,
1, 83. ) When a house happened to be set on fire, the
chief alarm of tho Egyptians arose from the propensity
of the cats to rush into the flames over the heads or
between the legs of the spectators: if this catastrophe
'took place, it excited a general lamentation. At the
death of a cat, every inmate of the house cut oil" his
eyebrows , but at the funeral of a dog, he shaved his
head and whole body. (Herod. , 2,66. ) The carcasses
of all the cats were salted, and carried to Bubastus to
be interred (Herod. , 2, 67); and it is said that many
Egyptians, arriving from warlike expeditions to foreign
countries, were known to bring with them dead rats
and hawks, which they had met with accidentally, and
had salted and prepared for sepulture with much pious
grief and lamentation. (Diuil. Sir. , 1, 83. ) In the ex-
tremity of famine, when they were driven by hunger
to devour each other, the Egyptians were never ac-
cused of touching the sacred animals. Every nome in
Egypt paid a particular worship to the animal that was
consecrated to its tutelar god; but there were certain
species which the whole nation held in great reverence.
These were the ox (vid. Apis), the dog, and the cat;
the hawk and the ibis; and the fishes termed oxyrhyn-
chus and lepidotus. (Strabo, 812. ) In each nome
the whole species, of animals, to the worship of which
it was dedicated, was held in great respect; but one
favoured individual was selected to receive the adora-
tion of the multitude, and supply the place of an image
of the god. Perhaps this is not far from the sense in
which Strabo distinguishes the sacred from the divine
animals. Thus, in the nome of Arsinoe, where croc-
odiles were sacred, one of this species was kept in the
temple and worshipped as a god. He was tamed and
watched with great care by the priests, who called him
"Suchos," and he ate meat and cakes which were of-
fered to him by strangers. (Strabo, 811. ) In the
same neighbourhood there was a pond appropriated to
the feeding of crocodiles, with which it was filled, the
Arsinoites carefully abstaining from hunting any of
them. Sacred bulls were kept in several towns and
villages, and nothing was spared that seemed to con-
tribute to tho enjoyment of these homed gods, which
were pampered in the utmost luxury. Among insects,
the cantharus, scarabseus, or beetle, wa3 very celebra-
ted as an object of worship. Plutarch says it was an
emblem of the sun; but Horapollo is more particu-
lar, and informs us that there were three species of
sacred beetles, of which one was dedicated to the god
of Heliopolis, or the Sun; another was. sacred to the
Moon ; and a third to Hermes or Thoth. The reasons
he assigns, for the consecration of this insect are de-
rived from the notions entertained respecting its mode
of reproduction and its habits, in which the Egyptians
traced analogies to the movements of the heavenly
bodies. It was believed that all these insects were of
the male sex. Tho beetle was said to fecundate a
round ball of earth, which it formed- for the purpose.
In this they saw a type of the sun, in the office of dem-
iurgus, or as forming and fecundating the lower world.
(Horapoll. Hieroglyph. , I, iO. --Plut. , dc Is. el Ot. , p.
355. -- Porphyr. , dc Abstin. , lib. 4. -- Euscb. , Prop.
Evang. , 3,4. ) Nor was the adoration of the Egyptians
confined to animals merely. Many plants were re-
garded as mystical or sacred, and none more so than
the lotus, of which mention has already been made, in
the section that treats of the fertility of Egypt. In
? ? the lotus, or nymphsa nelumbo, which throws its flow-
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? ^GYPTUS.
Wax iescnpUotv, "*^. ? * worshipped by the Egyptians
with vYie '. 'u>;-v pr*>***1rid devotion; nay, mothers even
rejoiced when their children were devoured by croco-
diles. It may be farther observed, that some of those
animals which afford us food and raiment. and which
are, on t hut account. , among the most serviceable, were
rendered of Uttle or no utility to the Egyptians on ac-
count of this very superstition. They regarded it as un-
lawful to kill oxen for the sake of food, and not only
abstained from slaughtering the sheep, but likewise, un-
der a variety of circumstances, from wearing any gar-
ment made of its wool, which was regarded as impure,
and defiling- the body that was clothed with it. These
considerations seem to prove, that the adoration of an-
imals among the Egyptians was not founded on the
advantages which mankind derives from them. An-
other attempt at explaining this mystery, which re-
ceives) greater countenance from the general character
of the Egyptian manners and superstition, is the con-
jecture of Lucian. (X)c Astrolog. --ed. Bip. , vol. 5, p.
21$. ) This writer pretends, that the sacred animals
were only types or emblems of the asterisms, or of
those imaginary figures or groups into which the an-
cients had, at a -very early period, distributed the stars;
distinguishing them by the names of living creatures
and other terrestrial objects. According to Lucian,
the worshippers of the bull Apis adored a living image
of the celestial Taurus; and Anubis represented the
Dog-star or the constellation of Sinus. This hypoth-
esis has receive*! more attention than any other among
modern writers. Dupuis has made it the basis of a
very ingenious attempt to explain the mythologuc of
Jsis and Osiris, and several other fables of antiquity,
which this author resolves into astronomical figments,
or figurative accounts of certain changes in the posi-
tions of the heavenly bodies. (Originc de tons les
Culte*. 2, 270, scqq. , ed. 1822. ) The hypothesis of
Lucian. however, will not endure the test of a rigid
scrutiny. For if we examine the constellations of the
most ancient spheres, we find but few coincidences
between the zodia or celestial images, and that exten-
sive catalogue of brute creatures which were adored as
divinities on the hanks of the Nile. Where, for ex-
ample, shall we discover the ibis, tho cat, the hippopot-
amus, or the crocodile 7 Besides, if we could trace
the whole series of deified brutes in the heavens, it
would atiil remain doubtful, whether the Egyptian
animals were consecrated subsequently to the forma-
tion of the sphere, as types or images of the constella-
tions; or the stars distributed into groups, and these
aioaps named with reference to the quadrupeds, birds,
and fishes that were already regarded as sacred. There
are. indeed, many circumstances which might render
the "latter alternative the more probable. But the rcla-
aou between the animals of the sphere and those of
l^jj, gg-yptiaxi temples are by far too limited to warrant
__, gjjen specu lation ; and Lucian, moreover, is an au-
lor who is bv no means desening of much credit on
i subject of" this nature. Porphyry, in his conjectures,
approaches nearer the truth. The divinity, according
him. embraces all beings; he resides, therefore, in
als also, and man adores him wherever he is found.
tber wards, the -worship of animals was intimately
inected, according to this writer, with the doctrine
of emanation- (Porphyr. tie Afotincntta, 4, 9--Com-
pare Euscbiius-. Prap. Evang. , 3, 4.
repeated in all the Egyptian temples, but only here at
PktuE and at Elephantine with this distinction of col-
osr, mav very naturally be supposed to commemorate
the transmission of religious tables and the social in-
? timtions from the tawny Ethiopians to the compara-
tively feir Egyptians. " It consists of three priests,
two of whom, with black faces and hands, are repre-
sented as pouring from two jars strings of alternate
? ceptres of Osiris and cruccs aiusaliz over the head of
another whose face is red. There are other paintings
wiich teem to be nearly of the same purport. In the
temple of Philje, the sculptures frequently depict two
persons who equallv represent the characters and sym-
bob of Osiris, and two persons equally answering to
fh~iT- of Jgjs; but in both cases one is invariably much
older than the other, and appears to be the superior
divinity Mr. Hamilton conjectures that such figures
represent the communication of religious rites from
Ethiopia to Egypt* a<<d tnc inferiority of the Egyptian
djna jn these delineations there is a very marked
positive distinction between the black figures and
? ? hoseof Barer complexion; the former arc most fre-
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? ^EGYPTUS.
jEGYPTUS.
makes mention of the resemblance which the Copts
bear to the human figures painted or sculptured among
the ruins of ancient Egypt. He adds the following
remarks. "As to the character of the human figure,
as the Egyptians borrowed nothing from other nations,
they could only copy from their own, which is rather
delicate than fine. The female forms, however, re-
sembled the figures of beautiful women of the present
day; round and voluptuous; a small nose, the eyes
long, half shut, and turned up at the outer angle like
those of all persons whose sight is habitually fatigued
by the burning heat of the sun or the dazzling wliite-
ncss of snow; the checks round and rather thick,
the lips full, the mouth large, but cheerful and smiling;
displaying, in short, the African character, of which
the negro is the exaggerated picture, though perhaps
the original type. " 'I be visages carved and painted
on the heads of the sarcophagi may be supposed to
give an idea of an Egyptian countenance. In these
there is a certain roundness and flatnessof the features,
and the whole countenance, which strongly resembles
the description of the Copts, and in some degree that
of the Berbcrins. The colour of these visages is the
red coppery hue of the last-mentioned people, and is
nearly the same, though not always so dark, as that
of the figures painted in the temples and catacombs.
The most puzzling circumstance in this comparison
refers to the hair. The Copts arc said to have frizzled
or somewhat crisp, though not woolly, hair. The old
Egyptians, as well as the Ethiopians, arc termed by
the Greeks ovlorpixcc- But the hair found in mum-
mies is generally, if not always, in flowing ringlets,
as long and as smooth as that of any European. Its
colour, which is often brown, may depend on art, or
the substance used in embalming. But the texture is
different from what we should expect it to be, cither
from the statements of ancient writers, or from the
description of the races now existing in the same
countries. -- Conclusion. From what has been ad-
duced, we may consider it as tolerably well proved,
that the Egyptians and Ethiopians were natives of the
same race, whose abodes, from the earliest periods of
history, wero the regions bordering on tho Nile.
These nations were riot negroes, such as the negroe3
of Guinea, though they bore some resemblance to
that description of men, at least when compared
with the people of Europe. This resemblance, how-
ever, did not extend to the shape of the scull, in any
? reat degree at least, or in the majority of instances,
t perhaps only depended on a complexion and physi-
ognomy similar to those of the Copts and Nubians.
These races partake, in a certain degree, of the Afri-
can countenance. The hair in the Ethiopians and
Egyptians must sometimes have been of a more crisp
or bushy kind than that which is often found in mum-
mies: for such is the case in respect to the Copts,
and the description of the Egyptians by all ancient
writers obliges us to adopt this conclusion. In com-
plexion it seems probable that the race was a coun-
terpart of the Foulahs, in tho west of Africa, nearly in
the same latitude. The blacker Foulahs resemble in
complexion the darkest people of the Nile; they are
of a deep brown or mahogany colour. The fairest of
the Foulahs are not darker than the Copts, or even
than some Europeans. Other instances of as great
a variety may be found among the African nations,
within the limits of one race, as in the Bishuanc Kaf-
? ? fers, who are of a clear brown colour, while the Kaf-
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? -EGYPTUS.
. EGYPTUS.
. 2, p. 239, cd. Better). They had, in
lie second place, epic traditions, a kind of poetic chron-
ieio. embracing the succession of high priests, and
lit dynasties of the Pharaohs, or monarchs of the
eamtrr. Such were the volumes of papyrus, which
tktpnests unrolled to satisfy the questions of Herod-
otus (S, 100). \\ewould err greatly, however,were
<<to suppose that these were actual histories. They
were rather a species of heroic tales, intermingled with
religious legends, and where allegory still played the
chief part, as in the Kamayan and Mahabharat of the
Hindus, the Sckaiuutmeh of the Persians, and the tra-
ditions of the Greeks previous to the return, or inva-
sion, of the HeraclidiE. These originals are unfortu-
nately lost for us. In their stead we have the sacred
books of the Hebrews, ? which offer a great number
of recitals on this subject, but fragmentary in their
nature, without development, and often extremely
ngue. Hence it is difficult to conciliate these recit-
als with those of the Greeks, which are in general
more circumstantial and extended. Some time before
Herodotus, Hippys of Rhegium and other travellers
had visited Egypt. Among these Hecatseus of Miletus
is the most conspicuous. He travelled thither about
the 59th Olympiad, and described particularly the up-
per part of Egypt, bestowing especial attention on the
<tatc or city of Thebes, and the history of its kings.
Hence the reason ? why Herodotus says so little on
these points. (Creuzer, fragm. Hist. Grace, anliquis-
JUL, p- 16, seqq. --ScholL, Hist. Lit. Gr. , 2, 135, scqq. )
About the same period, Hcllanicus of Lesbos also
gave a description of Egypt. (Hcllanici fragm. , cd.
Stmrs. ^ f. 3*J| seqq. ) Herodotus succeeded. Visiting
the country iibout seventy years after its conquest by
the Persians, he traversed the whole extent, and con-
to his great work all that he had seen, all that
heard from the priests, as well with regard to
the monuments as the history of Egypt, and added to
his own opinions on what had passed under his
or been related to him by others. (Herod. , lib.
3 cl 3 ) The state or city of Memphis is the principal
<<ui>>jcct of his narrative. After him came Theopom-
pu>> of Chios, Ephorus of Cumaj (Fragm. , cd. Marx. ,
p. 213, fcqq. ), Eudoxus of Cnidus, and Philistus of
Syracuse. But their works have either totally perish-
ed, or at best only a few fragments remain. At a la-
ter period, and subsequent to the founding of Alcxan-
<<iea, HecaUeuE of Abdera travelled to Thebes. This
! ook place under the first Ptolemy. (Crenzcr, fragm. .
ic-,p. 28, seqq. --Schiitl, Hist. Lit. Gr. ,3, 211, scyq. )
In the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, two centuries
md a half before the Christian era, Manetho, an Egyp-
tian priest, of Heliopolis in Lower Egypt, wrote, by
ordt-r of that prince, the history of his own country in
the Greek language, translating it, as he states himself,
out of the sacred records. His work is, most unfor-
tunately, lost; but the fragments which have been
preferred to us by the writings of Josephus, in tho
tat century of the Christian era, as well as by the
Christian chronographists, are, if entitled to confidence,
af the highest historical value. What we have re-
maining of the work of Manetho presents us with a
chronological list of the successive rulers of Egypt,
from the first foundation df the monarchy to the time
if YJexander of Maeedon, who succeeded the Per-
This list is divided into thirty dynasties. It
_y contained the length of reign as well as the
? ? of every king; but, in consequence of successive
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? ^EGYPTUS.
JEGYPTUS.
ap. Synccll. ) Gorrcs thinks that these thirty-seven
kings, who are given as so many mortals, may have
been nothing else but the thirty-seven Decans, with
Mcnes at their head ; so that, by rejecting this dynasty
as a continuation of the divine dynasties, those of a
strictly human nature, and, with them, the historical
times of Egypt, will have commenced, according to
the calculations of this ingenious and profound writer,
2712 years before the Christian era. (Garret, My-
thengcschichte, vol. 2, p. 412. -- Compare Creuzcr,
Symboltk, 1, 469, seqq. , and Guigniaut's note, 1, 2,
841. ) Be this, however, as it may, the common ac-
count makes Menes to have been the first human king
of Egypt, and his name begins the dynasties of Thebes,
of This, and of Memphis. Mcnes completed the
work of the gods, by perfecting the arts of life, and
dictating to men the laws he had received from the
ekies. This Mcnes, or Menus, or Mines (a name
which Eratosthenes makes equivalent to Dionios, i. e. ,
Joviahs), can hardly be an historical personage. He
resembles a sort of intermediate king between the
gods and the human kings of the lands, a divine type
of man, a symbol of intelligence descended from the
skies, and creating human society upon earth j similar
to the Mcnou or Manou of India, the Minos of Crete,
ccc. He is a conqueror, a legislator, and a benefac-
tor of men, like Osiris-Bacchus; like him he perish-
es under the blows of Typhon, for he was killed by a
hippopotamus, the emblem of this evil genius; like
him, moreover, he has the ox for his symbol, Mnc-
vis the legislator being none other than the bull Mne-
vis of Heliopolis. (Compare Volney, Reeherches sur
VHist. Anc, 3, 282, seqq. -- Priehard's Analysis of
Egyptian Mythology, p. 381. -- Creuzcr's Symboltk,
par Guigniaul, 1, 2, 780. ) The successor of Menes
was Thoth, or Athothcs, to whom is ascribed the in-
vention of writing and many other useful arts. We
have in the fragments of Manetho a full list of two dy-
nasties seated at This, at the head of the first of which
we find these two names. These two dynasties in-
clude fifteen kings, and may therefore have continued
about 400 years; the duration assigned to their col-
lective reigns, in Eusebius's version of Manetho, is
554 years, hut this is probably too long, as it is a sum
that far exceeds what would be the result of a similar
series of generations of the usual length. From the
time of Menes to that of Moeris, Herodotus leaves us
entirely in the dark. He States merely (2, 100) that
the priests enumerated between them 330 kings.
Diodorus Siculus (1, 45) counts, in an interval of 1400
years between Menes and Busiris, eight kings, sev-
en of whom are nameless, but the last was Busiris
11. This prince is succeeded by eight descendants,
six of whom are in like manner nameless, and the
seventh and eighth are both called Uchorcus. From
Uchoreus to Moeris he reckons twelve generations.
Manetho, on the other hand, reckons between Mcnes
and the time at which we may consider his history
as becoming authentic, sixteen dynasties, which in-
cludes nearly three thousand years. But, whatever
opinion we may form relative to these obscure and
conflicting statements, whether we regard these early
dynasties as collateral and contemporary reigns ( Creu-
zcr's Symboltk, par Guigniaut, 1, 2, 780), or as be-
longing merely to the fabulous periods of Egyptian
history, the following particulars mav be regarded as
tolerably authentic. Egypt, during this interval, had
? ? undergone numerous revolutions. She had detached
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? --EGVPTL'S
dutincnves, not of the Jewish, but of the Scythian
tribes. It was under a king-of the eighteenth dynasty
that the Israelites went out from Egypt, namely, Ram-
Rf V. ,the 16th monarch of the line. We have here,
mthis eighteenth dynasty, the commencement of what
my be properly termed the second period of Egyptian
hUtory. The names of the monarchs are given as fol-
lows by the aid of Champollion's discoveries: 1.
Tliattnuuii I, of w horn there is a colossal statue in
thf museum at Turin. 2. ThmUmosis II. (Amon-
Jfci),vrhose name appears on the most ancient parts
of the palace of Karnac. 3. His daughter Amcnsi,
who governed Egypt for the space of twenty-one years,
and erected the greatest of the obelisks of Karnac.
This vast monolith, is erecte>tl in her name to the god
Amraon, and the memory of" her father. 4. Thout-
nosa III. , sumamed Jferi. the jl/bcnj of the Greeks.
The remaining monuments o f his reign are the pilaster
<<nd granite halls of Kamac, several temples in Nubia,
toe grett Sphinx of the Pyramids, and the colossal ob-
elisk now in front of the church of St. John Lateran
at Rome. 5. His successor was Amcnopftts I. , who
was succeeded by, 6- Tftoutmosis IV. This king
finished the temples of the "W"ady Alfa and Amada, in
Nubia, which Amenoph had begun. 7. Amenophis
IL. whose vocal statue, of colossal size, attracted the
notice of the Greeks and Itomans. (Yid. Memnon
andMemnomum. ) The most ancient parts of the pal-
ace at Luxor, the temple of Cnouphis at Elephantine,
the Memnonium, and a palace at Sohled, in Nubia, are
monuments of the splendour and piety of this monarch.
8. Hona, who built the grand colonnade of the palace
it Luxor 9. Queen Amcnchcrcs, or Tmau-Mol, com-
memorated in an inscription preserved in the museum
al Turin. 10. Ramses I. , who built the hypostyle
hall at Kamac, and excavated a sepulchre for himself
at Beban-el-Moulouk. 11 and 12. Two brothers
M&iuiautli and Chwjrer. They have left monuments
of theii existence, the last in the grand obelisk now in
the Piazza del Popolo at Rome; the first in the beau-
tiful palace at Kourna, and the splendid tomb discov-
ered by Belzoni. 13. Their successor caused the two
great obelisks at Luxor to be erected. This was the
second Ramses. 14. Ramscslll. Ofthis king dedi-
catory inscriptions are found in the second court of
the palace of Karnac, and his tomb still exists at
Thebes. 15. Ramses IV.
, surnamed Mci-Amoun,
Djilt the great palace of Medinet-Abou, and a temple
near the southern gate of Kamac. The magnificent
sarcophagus which formerly enclosed the body of this
king-, has been removed from the catacombs of Beban-
<<! -Jif oalouk, and is now in the Museum of the Louvre.
He was succeeded by his son, 16. Ramses V. , sur-
narne'd Amenophis, who is considered as the last of
tiiis dynasty, and who was the father of Scsostris.
The acts of none of the kings of this dynasty are com-
? memorated by the Greek historians, with the exception
of Moeris- He is celebrated by them for a variety of
taefal labours, and appears to have done much to pro-
mote the prosperity of Egypt, particularly by form-
ia>> a lake to receive the surplus waters of the Nile
daring the inundation, and to distribute them for ag-
ricultural purposes during its fall. (Fi'rf. Moeris. )
The reign of Ramses Amenophis is the era of the Kx-
<xfag. The Scripture narrative describes this event as
connected with the destruction of a Pharaoh, and the
chronological calculation adopted by Rosellini would
make it coincide with the last year of this monarch's
? ? reim Wilkinson and Greppo, however, maintain that
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? iEGYPTUS.
^EGYPTUS.
7. 472. ) These succeeded the first dynasty of Ta-
nites; and we find Egypt again immediately connect-
ed with Judca, and its history with that of the Scrip-
tures. Sesonchis, the head of this dynasty, was the
conqueror of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, and the
plunderer of the treasures of David. This king, the
Scsak of the second Book of Kings, built the great
temple of Bubastis, which is described by Herodotus,
and likewise the first court of the palace of Karnac at
Thebes. His son Osorehon (Zoroch), who also led
. ". : i anny into Syria, continued the important works com-
menced by his father. But their successor Takelliothis
is only known to us by a simple funereal picture, con-
secrated to the memory of one of his sons. This paint-
ing has been broken, and one half is preserved in the
Vatican, while the other forms a part of the royal col-
lection at Turin. Various buildings are found among
the ruins of Hcliopolis, and still more among those of
Tanis, constructed in the reigns of the Pharaohs of
the second Tanite dynasty. (Bulletin des Sciences
Hist. , 7, 472. ) Upon these the names of three of them
have been deciphered, Petubastes, Osorthos, and
Psammoa. Champollion considers them as having
immediately preceded the great Ethiopian invasion,
which gave to Egypt a race of kings from that country.
Manet ho, however, places Bocchoris between these two
races, forming his twenty-fourth dynasty of one Saite.
The yoke of these foreign conquerors does not appear
to have been oppressive, as is evident from the number
of monuments that exist, not only in Ethiopia, but in
Egypt, bearing dedications made in the name of the
kings of this race, who ruled at the same time in both
countries. The names inscribed on these monuments
are Schabak, Sevekolheph, Tahrak, and Amcnaaa, all
of whom are mentioned either by Greek or sacred his-
torians, under the names of Sa'bacon, Sevechua, Tha-
rnca, and Ammeria. (Bulletin dea Sciences 111. it. , v In
supra. ) No more than three ofthese kings are men-
tioned in the list of Manctho as belonging to this dy-
nasty, the last being included in that which follows.
On the departure of the Ethiopians, the affairs of Egypt
appear to have fallen into great disorder. This civil
discord was at last composed by Paammitiata I Me-
morials of his reign are found in the obelisk now on
Monte Litorio at Home, and in the enormous columns
of the first court of the palace of Karnac at Thebes.
(Bulletin dea Sciences Hist. , vol. 7, p. 471. ) The
rule of Nechao II. is commemorated by Beveral stela
and statues. It was this monarch that took Jerusalem,
and carried King Jehoahaz into captivity. On the isle
of Phila? are found buildings bearing the legend of
Psammiticus II. , as well as of Apnea (the Hopkra of
Scripture). An obelisk of his reign also exists at Home.
The greater part of the fragments of sculpture, scatter-
ed among the ruins of Sals, bear the royal legend of
the celebrated Amasis, and a monolith chapel of rose
granite, dedicated by him to the Egyptian Minerva, is
in the museum of the Louvre. Psammenitus was the
last of this dynasty of Saites. Few tokens of his short
reign are extant, besides the inscription of a statue in
the Vatican. He waa defeated and dethroned by Cam-
byses: ? or did he long survive his misfortune. With
him fell the splendour of the kingdom of Egypt; and
from this date (525 B. C. ), the edifices and monu-
ments assume a character of far less importance. Still,
however, we find materials for history. Even the fe-
rocious Cambyaca is commemorated in an inscription
? ? on the statue of a priest of Sais, now in the Vatican.
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? . EGYPTUS.
9. Egyptian Writing.
In writing their langnapre, the ancient Egyptians em-
ploycil three different kinds of characters. First: fig-
vttm; or representations of the objects themselves.
Secondly: tynbohc; or representations of certain
physical or material objects, expressing metaphorical-
ly, or conventionally, certain ideas; such as, a people
obedient to ttieir king, figured, metaphorically, by a
bee; UKUniverse, conventionally, by a beetle. Third-
ly : flmctic, or representative of sounds, that is to say,
itrictly alphabetical characters. The phonetic signs
were also portraits of physical and material objects;
and each stood for the initial sound of the word in the
Egyptian language -which expressed the object por-
trayed: thu* a lion was the sound I,. because a lion
was called Labo; and a hand a T, because a hand
was called Tot. The form in which these objects
were presented, when employed as phonetic charac-
ters, was conventional and tlrt\mi<\ to distinguish
them from the same objects used either figuratively or
symbolically. Thus, the conventional form of the
phonetic T was the hand open and outstretched. In
any other form the hand would be either a figurative or
a symbolic sign. The number of distinct characters
employed as phonetic signs appears to have been about
140: consequently, many were homophones, or hav-
ing the same signification. The three kinds of char-
acters were used indiscriminately in the same writing,
and occasionally in the composition of the same word.
The formal Egyptian writing, therefore, such as we
<<t it rtitt existing on the monuments of the country,
wis a scries of portraits of physical and material ob-
jeeU, of which a small proportion had a symbolical
meaning, a still smaller proportion a figurative mean-
ins, but the great body were phonetic or alphabetical
ri<<ns: and to these portraits, sculptured or painted
with sufficient fidelity to leave no doubt of the object
represented, the name of hieroglyphics or sacred char-
acter* has been attached from their earliest historic
rr;u <? The manuscripts of the same ancient period
make \>> acquainted with two other forms of writing
practised by the ancient Egyptians, both apparently
distinct from the hieroglyphic, but which, on careful
examination,are found to be its immediate derivatives;
every hieroglyphic having its corresponding sign in the
bertite, or writing of the priests, in which the funeral
rituals, forming a large portion of the manuscripts, are
principally composed; and in the demotic, called also
ifce enchorial, which was employed for all more ordi-
nary and popular usages. The characters of the hie-
ratic are, for the most part, obvious running imitations
or abridgments of the corresponding hieroglyphics;
bat in the demotic, which is still farther removed from
the original type, the derivation is less frequently and
Iffi obviously traceable. In the hieratic, fewer figu-
rative or symbolic signs are employed than in the hie-
roglyphic ;" their absence being supplied by means of
the phonetic or alphabetical characters, the words be-
ing spelt instead of figured; and this is still more the
1 in the demotic, which is, in consequence, almost
entirely alphabetical. After the conversion of the
Egyptians to Christianity, the ancient mode of writing
tbeir language fell into disuse; and an alphabet WM
adopted in substitution, consisting of the twenty-five
Greek letters, with six additional signs expressing ar-
ticulations and aspirations unknown'to tho Greeks, the
cliarartere for which were retained from the demotic.
TUt it the Coptic alphabet, in which the Egyptian ap-
? ? >>an as a written language in the Coptic books and
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? iEGYPTUS.
^:gypti;s.
that he founil it already dead. (Diodorus Sievlux,
1, 83. ) When a house happened to be set on fire, the
chief alarm of tho Egyptians arose from the propensity
of the cats to rush into the flames over the heads or
between the legs of the spectators: if this catastrophe
'took place, it excited a general lamentation. At the
death of a cat, every inmate of the house cut oil" his
eyebrows , but at the funeral of a dog, he shaved his
head and whole body. (Herod. , 2,66. ) The carcasses
of all the cats were salted, and carried to Bubastus to
be interred (Herod. , 2, 67); and it is said that many
Egyptians, arriving from warlike expeditions to foreign
countries, were known to bring with them dead rats
and hawks, which they had met with accidentally, and
had salted and prepared for sepulture with much pious
grief and lamentation. (Diuil. Sir. , 1, 83. ) In the ex-
tremity of famine, when they were driven by hunger
to devour each other, the Egyptians were never ac-
cused of touching the sacred animals. Every nome in
Egypt paid a particular worship to the animal that was
consecrated to its tutelar god; but there were certain
species which the whole nation held in great reverence.
These were the ox (vid. Apis), the dog, and the cat;
the hawk and the ibis; and the fishes termed oxyrhyn-
chus and lepidotus. (Strabo, 812. ) In each nome
the whole species, of animals, to the worship of which
it was dedicated, was held in great respect; but one
favoured individual was selected to receive the adora-
tion of the multitude, and supply the place of an image
of the god. Perhaps this is not far from the sense in
which Strabo distinguishes the sacred from the divine
animals. Thus, in the nome of Arsinoe, where croc-
odiles were sacred, one of this species was kept in the
temple and worshipped as a god. He was tamed and
watched with great care by the priests, who called him
"Suchos," and he ate meat and cakes which were of-
fered to him by strangers. (Strabo, 811. ) In the
same neighbourhood there was a pond appropriated to
the feeding of crocodiles, with which it was filled, the
Arsinoites carefully abstaining from hunting any of
them. Sacred bulls were kept in several towns and
villages, and nothing was spared that seemed to con-
tribute to tho enjoyment of these homed gods, which
were pampered in the utmost luxury. Among insects,
the cantharus, scarabseus, or beetle, wa3 very celebra-
ted as an object of worship. Plutarch says it was an
emblem of the sun; but Horapollo is more particu-
lar, and informs us that there were three species of
sacred beetles, of which one was dedicated to the god
of Heliopolis, or the Sun; another was. sacred to the
Moon ; and a third to Hermes or Thoth. The reasons
he assigns, for the consecration of this insect are de-
rived from the notions entertained respecting its mode
of reproduction and its habits, in which the Egyptians
traced analogies to the movements of the heavenly
bodies. It was believed that all these insects were of
the male sex. Tho beetle was said to fecundate a
round ball of earth, which it formed- for the purpose.
In this they saw a type of the sun, in the office of dem-
iurgus, or as forming and fecundating the lower world.
(Horapoll. Hieroglyph. , I, iO. --Plut. , dc Is. el Ot. , p.
355. -- Porphyr. , dc Abstin. , lib. 4. -- Euscb. , Prop.
Evang. , 3,4. ) Nor was the adoration of the Egyptians
confined to animals merely. Many plants were re-
garded as mystical or sacred, and none more so than
the lotus, of which mention has already been made, in
the section that treats of the fertility of Egypt. In
? ? the lotus, or nymphsa nelumbo, which throws its flow-
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? ^GYPTUS.
Wax iescnpUotv, "*^. ? * worshipped by the Egyptians
with vYie '. 'u>;-v pr*>***1rid devotion; nay, mothers even
rejoiced when their children were devoured by croco-
diles. It may be farther observed, that some of those
animals which afford us food and raiment. and which
are, on t hut account. , among the most serviceable, were
rendered of Uttle or no utility to the Egyptians on ac-
count of this very superstition. They regarded it as un-
lawful to kill oxen for the sake of food, and not only
abstained from slaughtering the sheep, but likewise, un-
der a variety of circumstances, from wearing any gar-
ment made of its wool, which was regarded as impure,
and defiling- the body that was clothed with it. These
considerations seem to prove, that the adoration of an-
imals among the Egyptians was not founded on the
advantages which mankind derives from them. An-
other attempt at explaining this mystery, which re-
ceives) greater countenance from the general character
of the Egyptian manners and superstition, is the con-
jecture of Lucian. (X)c Astrolog. --ed. Bip. , vol. 5, p.
21$. ) This writer pretends, that the sacred animals
were only types or emblems of the asterisms, or of
those imaginary figures or groups into which the an-
cients had, at a -very early period, distributed the stars;
distinguishing them by the names of living creatures
and other terrestrial objects. According to Lucian,
the worshippers of the bull Apis adored a living image
of the celestial Taurus; and Anubis represented the
Dog-star or the constellation of Sinus. This hypoth-
esis has receive*! more attention than any other among
modern writers. Dupuis has made it the basis of a
very ingenious attempt to explain the mythologuc of
Jsis and Osiris, and several other fables of antiquity,
which this author resolves into astronomical figments,
or figurative accounts of certain changes in the posi-
tions of the heavenly bodies. (Originc de tons les
Culte*. 2, 270, scqq. , ed. 1822. ) The hypothesis of
Lucian. however, will not endure the test of a rigid
scrutiny. For if we examine the constellations of the
most ancient spheres, we find but few coincidences
between the zodia or celestial images, and that exten-
sive catalogue of brute creatures which were adored as
divinities on the hanks of the Nile. Where, for ex-
ample, shall we discover the ibis, tho cat, the hippopot-
amus, or the crocodile 7 Besides, if we could trace
the whole series of deified brutes in the heavens, it
would atiil remain doubtful, whether the Egyptian
animals were consecrated subsequently to the forma-
tion of the sphere, as types or images of the constella-
tions; or the stars distributed into groups, and these
aioaps named with reference to the quadrupeds, birds,
and fishes that were already regarded as sacred. There
are. indeed, many circumstances which might render
the "latter alternative the more probable. But the rcla-
aou between the animals of the sphere and those of
l^jj, gg-yptiaxi temples are by far too limited to warrant
__, gjjen specu lation ; and Lucian, moreover, is an au-
lor who is bv no means desening of much credit on
i subject of" this nature. Porphyry, in his conjectures,
approaches nearer the truth. The divinity, according
him. embraces all beings; he resides, therefore, in
als also, and man adores him wherever he is found.
tber wards, the -worship of animals was intimately
inected, according to this writer, with the doctrine
of emanation- (Porphyr. tie Afotincntta, 4, 9--Com-
pare Euscbiius-. Prap. Evang. , 3, 4.
