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.
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.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
,
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. ) This explana-
tion ever, does not go far enough. It takes no
ice of that peculiar combination by which the wor-
? ? f animals is made to assume a regular fonn, and
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? -EGYPTUS.
^EGYPTUS.
science, certain practices which resulted merely from
peculiarity of situation. Hence, on the one hand, the
diversity of animals adored by the communities of
Egypt. Had these been merely pure symbols, would
the priests, who sought to impart a uniform character to
their institutions, have ever introduced them 1 These
varieties in the objects of worship are only to be ex-
plained by the yielding, on the part of a sacerdotal or-
der, to the antecedent habits of the people. (Vogel,
Rcl. der AZg. , p. 97, scqq. ) Hence, too, on the other
hand, those numerous allegories, heaped up together
without being connected by any common bond, and
forming, if the expression be allowed, so many layers
of fable. Apis, for example, at first the manitou-pro-
totype of his kind, afterward the depository of the
soul of Osiris, is found to have >> third meaning, which
holds a middle place between the other two. He is
the symbol of the Nile, the fertilizing stream of Egypt;
and while his colour, the spots of white on his front,
and the duration of his existence, which could not ex-
ceed twenty-five years, have a reference to astronomy,
the festival of his reappearance was celebrated on the
day when the river begins to rise. The result, then,
of what we have here advanced, is simply this: The
animal-worship of the Egyptians originated in feti-
chism. The sacerdotal caste, in allowing it to remain
unmolested, arrayed it in a more imposing garb, and,
while they permitted the mass of the people to indulge
in this gross and humiliating species of adoration, re-
served for themselves a secret and visionary system of
pantheism or emanation. (Constant, de la Religion, 3,
62, seqq. --Prichard's Analysis of Egyptian Mythology,
p. 330, seqq. )
12. Egyptian Castes.
Among the institutions of Egypt, none was more
important in its influence on the character of the na-
tion, than the division of the people into tribes or fam-
ilies, who were obliged by the laws and superstitions
of the country to follow, without deviation, the profes-
sions and habits of their forefathers. Such an institu-
tion could not fail of impressing the idea of abject ser-
vility on the lower classes; and, by removing in a great
measure the motive of emulation, it must have created,
in all, an apathy and indifference to improvement in
their particular profession. Wherever the system of
castes has existed, it has produced a remarkably perma-
nent and uniform character in the nation ; as in the ex-
ample furnished by tho natives of Hindustan. These
people agree in almost every point with the description
given of them by Megasthenes, who visited the court of
an Indian king soon after the conquest of the East by
the Macedonians. "We have no very accurate and cir-
cumstantial account of the castes into which the Egyp-
tian people were divided, and of tho particular customs
of each. It appears, indeed, that innovations on the
old civil and religious constitution of Egypt had begun
to be introduced as early as the time of Psammetichus,
when the ancient aversion of the people to foreigners
was first overcome. The various conflicts which the
nation underwent, between that era and the time when
Herodotus visited Egypt, could not fail to break down
many of the fences which ancient priestcraft had es-
tablished for maintaining the influence of superstition.
Herodotus is the earliest writer who mentions the
castes or hereditary classes of the Egyptians, and his
account appears to be the result of his personal obser-
vation only. Had this historian understood the native
? ? language of the people; had he been able to read the
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? --EGYPTUS
^EGYPTUS.
And yet, even in the statements which we obtain from
this quarter, traces may easily be found of what the
Egyptian hierarchy once was; so that from these,
when taken together, we are enabled to form a tolera-
bly accurate idea of" the earlier power which this re-
markable order had enjoyed. The sacerdotal caste
was spread over the whole of Egypt; their chief places
of abode, however, were the great cities, which, at one
time or other, had been the capitals of the land, or else
had held a tush rank among the other Egyptian cities.
These were Thebes, Memphis, Sais, Heliopolis, &c.
Here, too, were the chief temples, which are so often
mentioned in the accounts of Herodotus and other
writers. Every Egyptian priest had to belong to the
local patron or deity of the adjacent country The
priests of Memphis were always styled (according to
the nomenclature of the Greeks) priests of Vulcan ?
those of Thebes, priests of the Theban Jovo; those of
Sais, priests of the Sun, &. c. Theso head-temples
mark the first settlement of the sacerdotal colonies as
they gradually descended the valley of the Nile. The
number of deities to whom temples were erected, in
Upper Egypt at least, seem to have been always very
limited. In this quarter we hear merely of the tem-
ples of Ammon, Osiris, Isis, and Typhon. In Middle
and Lower Egypt, the number appears to have been
gradually enlarged. --The next subject of inquiry has
reference to the revenues of the sacerdotal order Here
service of some particular deity, or, in other words, to also we must dismiss the too common opinion, that the
be attached to some temple. The number of priests
for any deity was never determined; nor could it in-
deed have been subjected to any regulations on this
head, since priesthood was hereditary in families, and
these must have been more or less numerous accord-
ing to circumstances. JNot only was the priestly caste
hereditary in its nature, but also the priesthoods of in-
dividual deities. The sons, for example, of the priests
of Vulcan at Memphis, could not enter as members
into the sacerdotal college at Heliopolis; nor could
the offspring of the priests of Heliopolis belong to the
college of Memphis. Strange as this regulation may
appear, it was nevertheless a natural one. Each tem-
ple had extensive portions of land attached to it, the
revenues of which, belonging as they did to those
wh6se forefathers had erected the temple, were receiv-
ed by the priests as matters of hereditary right, and
? liiic those who tilled these lands be regarded as their
dependants or subjects. Hence, as both the temple-
lands and revenues were inherited, the sacerdotal col-
leges had of consequence to be kept distinct. The
priesthood, moreover, of each temple was carefully
organized. They had a. high-priest over them, whose
office was likewise hereditary. It need hardly be re-
marked, that there must have been gradations also
. n ';i_- the various hiph-priests, and that those of
Thebes, Memphis, and the other chief cities of the coun-
try, must have stood at the head of the order. These
? mere, in a certain sense, a species of hereditary princes,
who stood bv the side of the monarchs, and enjoyed al-
most equal privileges Their Egyptian title was Pi-
rvmys, which Herodotus translates by icnXoc ndya0o(.
i, e. , " noble and good," and which points not so much
to moral excellence as to nobility of origin. (Com-
pare Welker, Tfieognidis Rcliqma, p. xxiv. ) Their
statues were placed in the temples. Whenever they
are mentioned in the history of the country, they ap-
pear as the first persons in the state, even in the Mo-
? ? aie ace. When Joseph was to be elevated to power,
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? jEGYPTUS.
jEGVFfljS.
cient writers have left us only a few hints, more or less
obscure, which scarcely afford anything beyond a mere
foundation for conjectures. The President de Goguet,
relying on a statement of Scrvius, supposes that the
Egyptians embalmed their dead for the sake of main-
taining the connexion between the soul and the body,
and preventing the former from transmigrating. (Or-
igin of Laics, &c, vol. 3, p. 68, Eng. transl. ) Ac-
cording to the Egyptian doctrine of transmigration, as
explained by Herodotus (2, 127), the soul of a man
passed through the bodies of living creatures, and re-
turned to inhabit a human form at the expiration of
three thousand years The cycle, however, docs not
commence until the body begins to perish, and the sec-
ond human habitation of the soul is a new one The
pains and torments, therefore, of passing through this
cycle of three thousand years, and through animals in-
numerable, might be reserved for those whose actions
in life did not entitle them to be made into mummies,
and whose bodies would therefore bo exposed to de-
cay. In a seconil trial in the world, the unfortunate
penitent might avoid his former errors. Hence, say
the advocates for this opinion, the body of a father or
ancestor was often given as a pledge or security, and it
was one that was valued more highly than any other.
It was the most sacred of all the obligations which a
man could bind himself by, and the recovery of the
pledge, by performing tho stipulated condition, was an
indispensable duty. (Long's Ancient Gcogr. , p. 61. )
Others have imagined, that the views with which the
Egyptians embalmed their dead bodies were more
akin to those which rendereJ the Greeks and Romans
so anxious to perform the usual rites of sepulture to
their departed warriors, namely, an idea that these so-
lemnities expedited the journey of the soul to the ap-
pointed region, where it was to receive judgment for
its former deeds, and to have its future doom fixed ac-
cordingly. This, they maintain, is implied by the pray-
er, said to have been uttered by the cmbalmers in the
name of the deceased, entreating the divine powers to
receive his soul into the regions of the gods. (Por-
phyr. , dc Abstinent. , 4, 10. --Prichard's Analysts of
Egi/plian Mythology, p. 200. ) Perhaps, however, the
practice of embalming in Egypt was the result more of
necessity than of choice, and, like many other of the
customs of the land, may have been identified by the
priests with the national religion, in order to ensure its
continuance The rites of sepulture in Egypt grew
out of circumstances peculiar to that country. The
scarcity of fuel precluded tho use of the funeral pile;
the rocks which bounded the valley denied a grave;
and the sands of the deserts afforded no protection from
outrage by wild beasts; while the valley, regularly in-
undated, forbade it to be used as a charnel-house, un-
der penalty of pestilence to the living. Hence grew
the use of antiseptic substances, in which the nation
became so skilled, as to render the bodies of their dead
inaccessible to the ordinary process of decay.
15 Arts and Manufactures of the Egyptians. ,
The topics on which we intend here to touch, derive
no small degree of elucidation from the paintings dis-
covered in the tombs of Egypt Weaving appears to
have been the employment of a large majority of the
nation. According to Herodotus (2, 35), it was an
occupation of the men, and, therefore, not merely a do-
mestic employment, but a business carried on also in
large establishments or manufactories. The process
? ? of weaving is frequently the subject of Egyptian paint-
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? --EGYPTUS.
be Ibe oxyde of iron. \Vc may hence conclude, that
theereenpigmerxt, is a mixture ofalittlc ochre, with a
pulverulent glaj&st, made by vitrifying theoxjdes of cop-
per and iron with sand and sodii. 2. The blue pigment
isapulverulent blue glass, of like composition, without
the ochreou* adrni-xturc, brightened with a little of the
chalky maxtet used in the diBtemper preparation. 3.
The red pigment is merely a red earthy bole.
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. ) This explana-
tion ever, does not go far enough. It takes no
ice of that peculiar combination by which the wor-
? ? f animals is made to assume a regular fonn, and
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? -EGYPTUS.
^EGYPTUS.
science, certain practices which resulted merely from
peculiarity of situation. Hence, on the one hand, the
diversity of animals adored by the communities of
Egypt. Had these been merely pure symbols, would
the priests, who sought to impart a uniform character to
their institutions, have ever introduced them 1 These
varieties in the objects of worship are only to be ex-
plained by the yielding, on the part of a sacerdotal or-
der, to the antecedent habits of the people. (Vogel,
Rcl. der AZg. , p. 97, scqq. ) Hence, too, on the other
hand, those numerous allegories, heaped up together
without being connected by any common bond, and
forming, if the expression be allowed, so many layers
of fable. Apis, for example, at first the manitou-pro-
totype of his kind, afterward the depository of the
soul of Osiris, is found to have >> third meaning, which
holds a middle place between the other two. He is
the symbol of the Nile, the fertilizing stream of Egypt;
and while his colour, the spots of white on his front,
and the duration of his existence, which could not ex-
ceed twenty-five years, have a reference to astronomy,
the festival of his reappearance was celebrated on the
day when the river begins to rise. The result, then,
of what we have here advanced, is simply this: The
animal-worship of the Egyptians originated in feti-
chism. The sacerdotal caste, in allowing it to remain
unmolested, arrayed it in a more imposing garb, and,
while they permitted the mass of the people to indulge
in this gross and humiliating species of adoration, re-
served for themselves a secret and visionary system of
pantheism or emanation. (Constant, de la Religion, 3,
62, seqq. --Prichard's Analysis of Egyptian Mythology,
p. 330, seqq. )
12. Egyptian Castes.
Among the institutions of Egypt, none was more
important in its influence on the character of the na-
tion, than the division of the people into tribes or fam-
ilies, who were obliged by the laws and superstitions
of the country to follow, without deviation, the profes-
sions and habits of their forefathers. Such an institu-
tion could not fail of impressing the idea of abject ser-
vility on the lower classes; and, by removing in a great
measure the motive of emulation, it must have created,
in all, an apathy and indifference to improvement in
their particular profession. Wherever the system of
castes has existed, it has produced a remarkably perma-
nent and uniform character in the nation ; as in the ex-
ample furnished by tho natives of Hindustan. These
people agree in almost every point with the description
given of them by Megasthenes, who visited the court of
an Indian king soon after the conquest of the East by
the Macedonians. "We have no very accurate and cir-
cumstantial account of the castes into which the Egyp-
tian people were divided, and of tho particular customs
of each. It appears, indeed, that innovations on the
old civil and religious constitution of Egypt had begun
to be introduced as early as the time of Psammetichus,
when the ancient aversion of the people to foreigners
was first overcome. The various conflicts which the
nation underwent, between that era and the time when
Herodotus visited Egypt, could not fail to break down
many of the fences which ancient priestcraft had es-
tablished for maintaining the influence of superstition.
Herodotus is the earliest writer who mentions the
castes or hereditary classes of the Egyptians, and his
account appears to be the result of his personal obser-
vation only. Had this historian understood the native
? ? language of the people; had he been able to read the
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? --EGYPTUS
^EGYPTUS.
And yet, even in the statements which we obtain from
this quarter, traces may easily be found of what the
Egyptian hierarchy once was; so that from these,
when taken together, we are enabled to form a tolera-
bly accurate idea of" the earlier power which this re-
markable order had enjoyed. The sacerdotal caste
was spread over the whole of Egypt; their chief places
of abode, however, were the great cities, which, at one
time or other, had been the capitals of the land, or else
had held a tush rank among the other Egyptian cities.
These were Thebes, Memphis, Sais, Heliopolis, &c.
Here, too, were the chief temples, which are so often
mentioned in the accounts of Herodotus and other
writers. Every Egyptian priest had to belong to the
local patron or deity of the adjacent country The
priests of Memphis were always styled (according to
the nomenclature of the Greeks) priests of Vulcan ?
those of Thebes, priests of the Theban Jovo; those of
Sais, priests of the Sun, &. c. Theso head-temples
mark the first settlement of the sacerdotal colonies as
they gradually descended the valley of the Nile. The
number of deities to whom temples were erected, in
Upper Egypt at least, seem to have been always very
limited. In this quarter we hear merely of the tem-
ples of Ammon, Osiris, Isis, and Typhon. In Middle
and Lower Egypt, the number appears to have been
gradually enlarged. --The next subject of inquiry has
reference to the revenues of the sacerdotal order Here
service of some particular deity, or, in other words, to also we must dismiss the too common opinion, that the
be attached to some temple. The number of priests
for any deity was never determined; nor could it in-
deed have been subjected to any regulations on this
head, since priesthood was hereditary in families, and
these must have been more or less numerous accord-
ing to circumstances. JNot only was the priestly caste
hereditary in its nature, but also the priesthoods of in-
dividual deities. The sons, for example, of the priests
of Vulcan at Memphis, could not enter as members
into the sacerdotal college at Heliopolis; nor could
the offspring of the priests of Heliopolis belong to the
college of Memphis. Strange as this regulation may
appear, it was nevertheless a natural one. Each tem-
ple had extensive portions of land attached to it, the
revenues of which, belonging as they did to those
wh6se forefathers had erected the temple, were receiv-
ed by the priests as matters of hereditary right, and
? liiic those who tilled these lands be regarded as their
dependants or subjects. Hence, as both the temple-
lands and revenues were inherited, the sacerdotal col-
leges had of consequence to be kept distinct. The
priesthood, moreover, of each temple was carefully
organized. They had a. high-priest over them, whose
office was likewise hereditary. It need hardly be re-
marked, that there must have been gradations also
. n ';i_- the various hiph-priests, and that those of
Thebes, Memphis, and the other chief cities of the coun-
try, must have stood at the head of the order. These
? mere, in a certain sense, a species of hereditary princes,
who stood bv the side of the monarchs, and enjoyed al-
most equal privileges Their Egyptian title was Pi-
rvmys, which Herodotus translates by icnXoc ndya0o(.
i, e. , " noble and good," and which points not so much
to moral excellence as to nobility of origin. (Com-
pare Welker, Tfieognidis Rcliqma, p. xxiv. ) Their
statues were placed in the temples. Whenever they
are mentioned in the history of the country, they ap-
pear as the first persons in the state, even in the Mo-
? ? aie ace. When Joseph was to be elevated to power,
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? jEGYPTUS.
jEGVFfljS.
cient writers have left us only a few hints, more or less
obscure, which scarcely afford anything beyond a mere
foundation for conjectures. The President de Goguet,
relying on a statement of Scrvius, supposes that the
Egyptians embalmed their dead for the sake of main-
taining the connexion between the soul and the body,
and preventing the former from transmigrating. (Or-
igin of Laics, &c, vol. 3, p. 68, Eng. transl. ) Ac-
cording to the Egyptian doctrine of transmigration, as
explained by Herodotus (2, 127), the soul of a man
passed through the bodies of living creatures, and re-
turned to inhabit a human form at the expiration of
three thousand years The cycle, however, docs not
commence until the body begins to perish, and the sec-
ond human habitation of the soul is a new one The
pains and torments, therefore, of passing through this
cycle of three thousand years, and through animals in-
numerable, might be reserved for those whose actions
in life did not entitle them to be made into mummies,
and whose bodies would therefore bo exposed to de-
cay. In a seconil trial in the world, the unfortunate
penitent might avoid his former errors. Hence, say
the advocates for this opinion, the body of a father or
ancestor was often given as a pledge or security, and it
was one that was valued more highly than any other.
It was the most sacred of all the obligations which a
man could bind himself by, and the recovery of the
pledge, by performing tho stipulated condition, was an
indispensable duty. (Long's Ancient Gcogr. , p. 61. )
Others have imagined, that the views with which the
Egyptians embalmed their dead bodies were more
akin to those which rendereJ the Greeks and Romans
so anxious to perform the usual rites of sepulture to
their departed warriors, namely, an idea that these so-
lemnities expedited the journey of the soul to the ap-
pointed region, where it was to receive judgment for
its former deeds, and to have its future doom fixed ac-
cordingly. This, they maintain, is implied by the pray-
er, said to have been uttered by the cmbalmers in the
name of the deceased, entreating the divine powers to
receive his soul into the regions of the gods. (Por-
phyr. , dc Abstinent. , 4, 10. --Prichard's Analysts of
Egi/plian Mythology, p. 200. ) Perhaps, however, the
practice of embalming in Egypt was the result more of
necessity than of choice, and, like many other of the
customs of the land, may have been identified by the
priests with the national religion, in order to ensure its
continuance The rites of sepulture in Egypt grew
out of circumstances peculiar to that country. The
scarcity of fuel precluded tho use of the funeral pile;
the rocks which bounded the valley denied a grave;
and the sands of the deserts afforded no protection from
outrage by wild beasts; while the valley, regularly in-
undated, forbade it to be used as a charnel-house, un-
der penalty of pestilence to the living. Hence grew
the use of antiseptic substances, in which the nation
became so skilled, as to render the bodies of their dead
inaccessible to the ordinary process of decay.
15 Arts and Manufactures of the Egyptians. ,
The topics on which we intend here to touch, derive
no small degree of elucidation from the paintings dis-
covered in the tombs of Egypt Weaving appears to
have been the employment of a large majority of the
nation. According to Herodotus (2, 35), it was an
occupation of the men, and, therefore, not merely a do-
mestic employment, but a business carried on also in
large establishments or manufactories. The process
? ? of weaving is frequently the subject of Egyptian paint-
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? --EGYPTUS.
be Ibe oxyde of iron. \Vc may hence conclude, that
theereenpigmerxt, is a mixture ofalittlc ochre, with a
pulverulent glaj&st, made by vitrifying theoxjdes of cop-
per and iron with sand and sodii. 2. The blue pigment
isapulverulent blue glass, of like composition, without
the ochreou* adrni-xturc, brightened with a little of the
chalky maxtet used in the diBtemper preparation. 3.
The red pigment is merely a red earthy bole.
