If we may judge of the
romplexion of the Egyptians from the numerous paint-
ings found in the recesses of temples, and in the tombs
of the kings in Upper Egypt, iri which the colours are
preserved m a very fresh state, we must conclude that
the general complexion of this people was a chocolate,
or a red copper colour.
romplexion of the Egyptians from the numerous paint-
ings found in the recesses of temples, and in the tombs
of the kings in Upper Egypt, iri which the colours are
preserved m a very fresh state, we must conclude that
the general complexion of this people was a chocolate,
or a red copper colour.
Charles - 1867 - Classical Dictionary
>>lw remarked on the banks of the Mississippi, the PC,
part ofthe Boiysthenes. and some other rivers. Near
Bta-tooef. the valley of the IVile, already much widen-
ed on the west, has on that side an opening, through
which a view is obtained of the fertile plains of F<u-
<<<< These plains form properly a sort of table-land,
separated from the surrounding mountains on the
north and west by a wide valley, of which a certain
proportion, always laid under water, forms what the
inhabitants call Birket-el-Karoon. ( Vid. Mceris. )
. Near Cairo, the chains which limit the valley of the
Nile diverge on both sides. The one, under the name
of Jibbcl-ai-Kiurm, runs north wrest towards the Med-
iterranean; the other, called Jibbel-al-Attaka, runs
straight east of Suez. In front of these chains a vast
plain extends, composed of sands, covered with the
mud of the Nile. At the place called Batu-el-Baha-
ra, near the ancient Cercasorus, the river divides into
two branches; the one of wrhich flowing to Kosclin,
near the ancient Ostium Bolbitiuum, and the other to
Daouctlt, the ancient Tamiathis, at the Ostium Phat-
neticum, contain between them the present Delta.
But this triangular piece of insulated land was in for-
mer times much larger, being bounded on the east by
the Pelusian branch, which i>> now choked up with
and or converted into 1 1 1. 1 r-l iv pools: while on the
vest it was bounded by the Oanopic branch, which is
>>ow partly confounded with the canal of Aleiamlrra,
and partly lost in Lake EtJco. But the correspondence
of the level of the surface -with that of the present
Delta, and its depression as compared with that ofthe
adjoining desert, together with its greater verdure and
fertilitv. ? <<tiU mark the limits of the ancient Delta, al-
laixigh irregular encroachments are made by shifting
banks of drifting sand, which are at present on the
increase Egypt then, in general language, may be
described as an immense -valley or longitudinal basin.
terminating in a Delta or triangular plain of alluvial
formation \ being altogether, from the heights of Syenc
to the shores of th<5 Mediterranean, about 600 miles in
length, and of various -width. (Molte-Brun, Gcogr. ,
4, p. 21, *eqq. )
1. Fertility of Egypt
Almost the whole of the productive soil of Egypt
consists of mud deposited by the Nile; and the Delta,
as in all similar tracts of country, is entirely composed
of alluvial earth and sand. To ascertain the depth of
thu bed, the French so. vo. ns, who accompanied the mil-
itarr expedition into Egypt, sank several wells at dis-
laat intervals; and from their observations have been
obtained the following results. First, that the surface
of the soil, as already mentioned, descends more or
less rapidly towards the foot of the hills, which is the
reverse of what occurs in most valleys: secondly, that
the depth ofthe bed of mud is unequal, being in gen-
eral about five feet near the river, and increasing grad-
ually as it recedes from it: thirdly, that beneath the
nud there is a bed of sand similar to that always
brought down by the river. The first-mentioned pc-
ealiantv is satisfactorily explained by the absence of
ram. which, in other countries, washes down the soil
final the hills, and, carrying it to the stream in the
bottom ofthe valley, forms a basin, the sides of which
hare a concave surface; whereas, in Egypt, the soil is
oxrrered by the inundation from the river into the
nUrvl and the deposites, therefore, will be greatest
? ear its banks. The more rapid the current, also, the
Koattee will be the quantity of mud deposited. The
bfj of quartzose sand upon which it rests is about
? ? tahtr six /eet in depth, and is superposed on the cal-
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? iEGYPTUS.
jEGYPTUS.
Nile subside, and is boiled and eaten like potatoes,
which it somewhat resembles in taste. Herodotus
(2, 92) states, that the Egyptians not only ate the root,
but made a sort of bread of the seed, which resembled
that of the poppy. He adds, that there is a second
species, the root of which is very grateful, either fresh
or dried. The plant which was chiefly eaten by the
ancient Egyptians, and which is so frequently carved
on the ancient monuments, is supposed to be the
nympluta nclumbo, or nclumkium speewsum, the " sa-
cred bean" of India, now found only in that country.
Its seeds, which arc about the size of a bean, have a
delicate flavour resembling almonds, and its roots also
are edible. The lotus of Homer, however, the fruits
of which so much delighted the companions of Ulysses,
is a very different plant, namely, the ziziphus lotus
(rhamnus), or jujube, which bears a fruit the size of a
sloe, with a large stone, and is one of the many plants
which have been erroneously fixed on by learned com-
mentators as the dudaim (mandrakes) of the sacred
writings. The papyrus, not less celebrated in ancient
times than the lotus, and which is believed to have
disappeared from the banks of the Nile, has been re-
discovered in the rypcrus papyrus of LinnteuK. The
colocasium is still cultivated in Egypt for its large es-
culent roots. The banks of the river and the canals
sometimes present coppices of acacia and mimosa, and
there are groves of rose-laurel, willow, cassia, and other
shrubs. Faioom contains impenetrable hedges of cac-
tus, or Indian fig. But, though so rieh in plants, Egypt
is destitute of timber, and all the firewood is imported
from Garamania. (Maltc-Brun, Geogr. , vol. 4, p. 38,
scqq. --Modern Traveller (Egypt), p. 18, scqq. )
2. Animal Kingdom.
The animal kingdom of Egypt will not detain us
long. The want of meadows prevents the multiplica-
tion of cattle. They must be kept in stables during
the inundation. The Mamelukes used to keep a beau-
tiful race of saddle-horses. Asses, mules, and camels
appear hero in all their vigour. There are also nu-
merous herds of buffaloes. In Lower Egypt there are
sheep of the Barbary breed. The large beasts of prey
find in this country neither prey nor cover. Hence,
though the jackal and hyena are common, the lion is
but rarely seen in pursuit of the gazelles which traverse
the deserts of the Thcbaid. The crocodile and the hip-
popotamus, those primeval inhabitants of the Nile,
seem to be banished from the Delta, but are still seen in
Upper Egypt. --The islands adjoining the cataracts arc
sometimes found covered with crocodiles, which choose
these places for depositing their eggs. The voracity
of the hippopotamus has, by annihilating his means of
support, greatly reduced the number of his race. Ab-
dollatif, with some justice, denominates this ugly ani-
mal an enormous water-pig. It has been long known
that the ichneumon is not tamed in Upper Egypt, as
Buffon had believed. The ichneumon is the same an-
imal which the ancients mention under that name, and
which has never been found except in this country.
It possesses a strong instinct of destruction, and, in
searching for its prey, exterminates the young of many
noxious reptiles. The eggs of crocodiles form its fa-
vourite food; and in addition to this its favourite repast,
it eagerly sucks the blood of every creature which it is
able to overcome. Its body is about a foot and a half
in length, and its tail is of nearly equal dimensions.
Its general colour is a grayish "brown; but, when
? ? closely inspected, each hair is found annulatcd with a
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? --EOYPTUS.
mrd. the primitive dj/p denoting obscurity, duskiness.
Tbm. the scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius (I, 580)
MnthatThcssaly was called 'H^. ta, according to one
urination, on account of the dark colour of its soil;
ami adds that Egypt was denominated 'Hepia for a
smiUr reason. Bryant (6, 149), who cites this pas-
ta^ of the scholiast, represents it as a vulgar error;
but his reasoning is, as usual, unsatisfactory. The
etymology of the word Egypt has occupied the atten-
tion and baffled the ingenuity of many learned writers.
The most common opinion, is, that Atyvsrof is com-
poseiiofaia(forxoia), l,i,-t'l. and yv-irrof, or rather KOT-
ror, and that, consequently, Egypt signifies Ihc land of
Kopt. oiti&Koptic land. Others derive it from <ua,and
pf, the black vulture, the colour of that bird (whence
the /,a! in fufrulturiiue, "blackish") being, according
to theni. characteristic of the soil or its inhabitants.
MeJf conceives the primitive form to have been Am
Cufkti. the land of Ouphti; while Bruce says, that
Y Gypt, the name given to Egypt in Ethiopia, means
the country of canals. Eusebius, who is supposed to
km followed Manctho. the Egyptian historian, states,
that Ramses, or Harnesses, who reigned in Egypt
(according to Usher) B. C. 1577, was also called
. Ezrpius. and that he gave it his name, an has already
been mentioned. (Ettscb. Chron. 2, p. 284, cd. Man
tt Zekreb. )
4. Divisions of Egypt.
In the time of the Pharaohs, Egypt was divided into
(be Tht-bais, Middle, and Lower Egypt. The Thchais
extended from Syene, or, more correctly speaking, Phi-
IK, as far as Abydos. and contained ten districts, juris-
dictions, or, as the Greeks called them, names (No/tot.
tfmti 2. 164). The Coptic word is I'thaseh. (Cham-
ftllioa, f Egypte sous lex I'haraons, 1, 06. ) To these
? ? coeeded the sixteen noraes of Middle Egypt (Stroke,
187). reaching to Cercasorua. where the Nile began to
loach off. Then came the ten nomcs of Lower Egypt,
<< uje I>elta, extending to the sea. The whole num-
ber of nomes then was thirty-six, and this arrangement
? said liv LHodorus Siculus (1, 50) to have been in-
troduced by Sesostris (Sethosis-Harnesses) previous to
ti>> departure on his expedition into Asia, in order that,
by means of the governors placed over each of these
aeoies, his kingdom might be tlic better governed du-
ria," his absence, and justice more carefully administer-
ed. It is more than probable, however, that this divis-
? n was much older than the time of . Sesostris (C/iam-
faBna. rEeyptc, <fec. , 1, 71), and the account given
if Strabo, respecting the halls of the labyrinth, would
? Tern to confirm this. The geographer informs us, that
tj>>e hails of this structure coincided with the number
? f tfce names, and the building would seem to have oc-
i central position with respect to these various
, having eighteen nomcs to the north, and as
ay to the south, and thus answering a civil as well
K a religious purpose. (Kilter, ErAkundc, Zd cd. , 1,
JIM > Under the dynasty of the Ptolemies the num-
ber of the nomes became enlarged, partly by reason of
the new and improved state of things in that quarter
af Eevpt where Alexandrea was situated, partly by the
addition of the Oases to Egypt, and partly also by the
alterations which an active commerce had produced
tioas the borders of the Arabian Gulf A change also
took place, about this same period, in the three main
ifiiiiiuiiL of the land. Lower Egypt now no longer
confined itself to the limits of the Delta, but had its
enlarged bv an addition of some of the neigh-
? ? tr nornes In like manner, Upper Egypt, or the
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? jEGYPTIJS.
5. Population of Egypt.
Diodorus Siculus (1, 31) states, on the authority of
the ancient Egyptian records, that the land contained,
in the time of the Pharaohs, more than 18,000 cities
and villages. The same writer informs us, that, in
the time of the first Ptolemy, the number was above
30,000. In this latter statement, however, there is an
evident exaggeration. Theocritus {Idyll. 17, 82, seqq )
assigns to Ptolemy Philadelphus the sovereignty over
33,333 cities. In this also there is exaggeration, but
not of so offensive a character as in the former case,
since the sway of Philadelphus did, in fact, extend
over other countries besides Egypt; such as Syria,
Phcotiicia, Cyprus, Pamphylia, Carta, &c. Pomponius
Mela (1, 9), and Pliny (5, 9), who frequently copies
him, confine themselves with good reason to a more
moderate number. According to them, the Egyptians
occupied, in the time of Amasis, 20,000 cities. This
number is borrowed from Herodotus (2, 77), and may
be made to correspond with that first given from Dio-
dorus Siculus, if we take into consideration that Ama-
sis had extended his sway over Cyrenaica also, and
that this may serve to swell the number as given by
Herodotus, Mela, and Pliny, leaving about 18,000 for
Ecypt itself. Diodorus Siculus (/. c. ) gives the an-
cient population of the country as seven millions, an
estimate which does not appear excessive, when com-
pared with that of other lands. ' The number would
seem to have been somewhat increased during the
reign of the Ptolemies, and to have continued so under
the Roman sway, since we find Josephus (Bell. Jud.
2, 1G) estimating the population of Egypt, in the time
of Vespasian, at 7,500,000, without counting that of
Alexandrea, which, according to Diodorus (17, 52),
was 300,000, exclusive of slaves. When we read,
however, in the same Diodorus (1, 31), that in his
days the inhabitants of Egypt amounted to " not less
than three millions" (ovk Vharrovc elvat rpiaKooiuv sc.
uvpiMuv), we must regard this number as the interpo-
lation of a scribe, and must consider Diodorus as mere-
ly wishing to convey this idea, that, in more ancient
times, the population was said to have been seven mil-
lions, and that in his own days it was not inferior to this.
(ToO At ovp. na. VTOc ? . aov to p. hr lraXaiiv Ctaoi yeyovivai
trepi i-raKoaiac /ivpiudac, nai naff iip-tic &? ovk Omt-
rove ch'at [rpiatiooiuv]. Compare Wcsscling, ad
loc. --Manner! , 10, 2, 309, seqq. )
0. Complexion and Physical Structure of the
Egyptians.
A few remarks relative to the physical character of
this singular people, may form no uninteresting prel-
ude to their national history. There arc two sources
of information respecting the physical character of the
ancient Egyptians. These are, first, the descriptions
of their persons incidentally to be met with in the an-
cient writers; and, secondly, the numerous remains
of paintings and sculptures, as well as of human bodies,
preserved among the ruins of ancient Egypt. It is not
easy to reconcile the evidence derived from these dif-
ferent quarters. The principal data from which a
judgment is to be formed arc as follows: 1. Accounts
given by the ancients. If we were to judge from the
remarks in some passages of the ancient writers alone,
wc should perhaps lie led to the opinion that the Egyp-
tians were a woolly-haired and black people, like the
negroes of Guinea. There is a well-known passage
of Herodotus (2, 104), which has often been cited to
this purpose. The authority of this historian is of the
? ? more weight, as he had travelled in Egypt, and was,
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? -EGYPTUS
Grecian affaire when under the Ptolemies, and aftcr-
wwd with the rest of Europe when it had become a
Roman province, it is very singular, on the supposition
that this nation was so remarkably different from the
reel of mankind, that we have no "allusion to it. We
teUom find the Egyptians spoken of as a very peculiar
race of men. These circumstances induce us to hes-
itate in explaining the expressions of the ancients in
that very strong sense in which they at first strike us.
--2. The second class of" data, from which we may
form a judgment on this subject, are Paintings m
Temples, and other remains.
If we may judge of the
romplexion of the Egyptians from the numerous paint-
ings found in the recesses of temples, and in the tombs
of the kings in Upper Egypt, iri which the colours are
preserved m a very fresh state, we must conclude that
the general complexion of this people was a chocolate,
or a red copper colour. This may be seen in the
ru/oimvl figures given by Belzoni, and in numerous
plates in the splendid "Description de 1'Egypte. "
This red colour is evidently intended to represent the
complexion of the people, and is not put on in the want
of a fighter paint or flesh colour: for when the limbs
or bodies are represented as seen through a thin veil,
the tint used resembles the complexion of Europeans.
The same shade might have been generally adopted
if a darker one had not been preferred, as more truly
representing the natural complexion of the Egyptian
race. (Compare Bcl-zon? * Remarks, p. 239. ) Female
figures are sometimes distinguished by a yellow or
tawmy colour, and hence it is probable that the shade
of complexion was lighter in those who were protected
from tiie sun. A. very curious circumstance in the
paintings found in Egyptian temples remains to be
noticed. Besides the red figures, which are evidently
L to represent the Egyptians, there are other fig-
*hich are of a black colour. Sometimes these
^ esent captives or slaves, perhaps from the negro
countries; but there are also paintings of a very dif-
ferent kind, which occur chiefly in Upper Egypt, and
particularly on the confines of Egypt and Ethiopia. In
these the black and the red figures hold a singular re-
lation to each other. Both have the Egyptian costume,
aad. the habits of priests, while the black figures are
represented as conferring on the red the instruments
and svmboU of the sacerdotal office. "This singular
representation," says Mr. 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.
part ofthe Boiysthenes. and some other rivers. Near
Bta-tooef. the valley of the IVile, already much widen-
ed on the west, has on that side an opening, through
which a view is obtained of the fertile plains of F<u-
<<<< These plains form properly a sort of table-land,
separated from the surrounding mountains on the
north and west by a wide valley, of which a certain
proportion, always laid under water, forms what the
inhabitants call Birket-el-Karoon. ( Vid. Mceris. )
. Near Cairo, the chains which limit the valley of the
Nile diverge on both sides. The one, under the name
of Jibbcl-ai-Kiurm, runs north wrest towards the Med-
iterranean; the other, called Jibbel-al-Attaka, runs
straight east of Suez. In front of these chains a vast
plain extends, composed of sands, covered with the
mud of the Nile. At the place called Batu-el-Baha-
ra, near the ancient Cercasorus, the river divides into
two branches; the one of wrhich flowing to Kosclin,
near the ancient Ostium Bolbitiuum, and the other to
Daouctlt, the ancient Tamiathis, at the Ostium Phat-
neticum, contain between them the present Delta.
But this triangular piece of insulated land was in for-
mer times much larger, being bounded on the east by
the Pelusian branch, which i>> now choked up with
and or converted into 1 1 1. 1 r-l iv pools: while on the
vest it was bounded by the Oanopic branch, which is
>>ow partly confounded with the canal of Aleiamlrra,
and partly lost in Lake EtJco. But the correspondence
of the level of the surface -with that of the present
Delta, and its depression as compared with that ofthe
adjoining desert, together with its greater verdure and
fertilitv. ? <<tiU mark the limits of the ancient Delta, al-
laixigh irregular encroachments are made by shifting
banks of drifting sand, which are at present on the
increase Egypt then, in general language, may be
described as an immense -valley or longitudinal basin.
terminating in a Delta or triangular plain of alluvial
formation \ being altogether, from the heights of Syenc
to the shores of th<5 Mediterranean, about 600 miles in
length, and of various -width. (Molte-Brun, Gcogr. ,
4, p. 21, *eqq. )
1. Fertility of Egypt
Almost the whole of the productive soil of Egypt
consists of mud deposited by the Nile; and the Delta,
as in all similar tracts of country, is entirely composed
of alluvial earth and sand. To ascertain the depth of
thu bed, the French so. vo. ns, who accompanied the mil-
itarr expedition into Egypt, sank several wells at dis-
laat intervals; and from their observations have been
obtained the following results. First, that the surface
of the soil, as already mentioned, descends more or
less rapidly towards the foot of the hills, which is the
reverse of what occurs in most valleys: secondly, that
the depth ofthe bed of mud is unequal, being in gen-
eral about five feet near the river, and increasing grad-
ually as it recedes from it: thirdly, that beneath the
nud there is a bed of sand similar to that always
brought down by the river. The first-mentioned pc-
ealiantv is satisfactorily explained by the absence of
ram. which, in other countries, washes down the soil
final the hills, and, carrying it to the stream in the
bottom ofthe valley, forms a basin, the sides of which
hare a concave surface; whereas, in Egypt, the soil is
oxrrered by the inundation from the river into the
nUrvl and the deposites, therefore, will be greatest
? ear its banks. The more rapid the current, also, the
Koattee will be the quantity of mud deposited. The
bfj of quartzose sand upon which it rests is about
? ? tahtr six /eet in depth, and is superposed on the cal-
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? iEGYPTUS.
jEGYPTUS.
Nile subside, and is boiled and eaten like potatoes,
which it somewhat resembles in taste. Herodotus
(2, 92) states, that the Egyptians not only ate the root,
but made a sort of bread of the seed, which resembled
that of the poppy. He adds, that there is a second
species, the root of which is very grateful, either fresh
or dried. The plant which was chiefly eaten by the
ancient Egyptians, and which is so frequently carved
on the ancient monuments, is supposed to be the
nympluta nclumbo, or nclumkium speewsum, the " sa-
cred bean" of India, now found only in that country.
Its seeds, which arc about the size of a bean, have a
delicate flavour resembling almonds, and its roots also
are edible. The lotus of Homer, however, the fruits
of which so much delighted the companions of Ulysses,
is a very different plant, namely, the ziziphus lotus
(rhamnus), or jujube, which bears a fruit the size of a
sloe, with a large stone, and is one of the many plants
which have been erroneously fixed on by learned com-
mentators as the dudaim (mandrakes) of the sacred
writings. The papyrus, not less celebrated in ancient
times than the lotus, and which is believed to have
disappeared from the banks of the Nile, has been re-
discovered in the rypcrus papyrus of LinnteuK. The
colocasium is still cultivated in Egypt for its large es-
culent roots. The banks of the river and the canals
sometimes present coppices of acacia and mimosa, and
there are groves of rose-laurel, willow, cassia, and other
shrubs. Faioom contains impenetrable hedges of cac-
tus, or Indian fig. But, though so rieh in plants, Egypt
is destitute of timber, and all the firewood is imported
from Garamania. (Maltc-Brun, Geogr. , vol. 4, p. 38,
scqq. --Modern Traveller (Egypt), p. 18, scqq. )
2. Animal Kingdom.
The animal kingdom of Egypt will not detain us
long. The want of meadows prevents the multiplica-
tion of cattle. They must be kept in stables during
the inundation. The Mamelukes used to keep a beau-
tiful race of saddle-horses. Asses, mules, and camels
appear hero in all their vigour. There are also nu-
merous herds of buffaloes. In Lower Egypt there are
sheep of the Barbary breed. The large beasts of prey
find in this country neither prey nor cover. Hence,
though the jackal and hyena are common, the lion is
but rarely seen in pursuit of the gazelles which traverse
the deserts of the Thcbaid. The crocodile and the hip-
popotamus, those primeval inhabitants of the Nile,
seem to be banished from the Delta, but are still seen in
Upper Egypt. --The islands adjoining the cataracts arc
sometimes found covered with crocodiles, which choose
these places for depositing their eggs. The voracity
of the hippopotamus has, by annihilating his means of
support, greatly reduced the number of his race. Ab-
dollatif, with some justice, denominates this ugly ani-
mal an enormous water-pig. It has been long known
that the ichneumon is not tamed in Upper Egypt, as
Buffon had believed. The ichneumon is the same an-
imal which the ancients mention under that name, and
which has never been found except in this country.
It possesses a strong instinct of destruction, and, in
searching for its prey, exterminates the young of many
noxious reptiles. The eggs of crocodiles form its fa-
vourite food; and in addition to this its favourite repast,
it eagerly sucks the blood of every creature which it is
able to overcome. Its body is about a foot and a half
in length, and its tail is of nearly equal dimensions.
Its general colour is a grayish "brown; but, when
? ? closely inspected, each hair is found annulatcd with a
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? --EOYPTUS.
mrd. the primitive dj/p denoting obscurity, duskiness.
Tbm. the scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius (I, 580)
MnthatThcssaly was called 'H^. ta, according to one
urination, on account of the dark colour of its soil;
ami adds that Egypt was denominated 'Hepia for a
smiUr reason. Bryant (6, 149), who cites this pas-
ta^ of the scholiast, represents it as a vulgar error;
but his reasoning is, as usual, unsatisfactory. The
etymology of the word Egypt has occupied the atten-
tion and baffled the ingenuity of many learned writers.
The most common opinion, is, that Atyvsrof is com-
poseiiofaia(forxoia), l,i,-t'l. and yv-irrof, or rather KOT-
ror, and that, consequently, Egypt signifies Ihc land of
Kopt. oiti&Koptic land. Others derive it from <ua,and
pf, the black vulture, the colour of that bird (whence
the /,a! in fufrulturiiue, "blackish") being, according
to theni. characteristic of the soil or its inhabitants.
MeJf conceives the primitive form to have been Am
Cufkti. the land of Ouphti; while Bruce says, that
Y Gypt, the name given to Egypt in Ethiopia, means
the country of canals. Eusebius, who is supposed to
km followed Manctho. the Egyptian historian, states,
that Ramses, or Harnesses, who reigned in Egypt
(according to Usher) B. C. 1577, was also called
. Ezrpius. and that he gave it his name, an has already
been mentioned. (Ettscb. Chron. 2, p. 284, cd. Man
tt Zekreb. )
4. Divisions of Egypt.
In the time of the Pharaohs, Egypt was divided into
(be Tht-bais, Middle, and Lower Egypt. The Thchais
extended from Syene, or, more correctly speaking, Phi-
IK, as far as Abydos. and contained ten districts, juris-
dictions, or, as the Greeks called them, names (No/tot.
tfmti 2. 164). The Coptic word is I'thaseh. (Cham-
ftllioa, f Egypte sous lex I'haraons, 1, 06. ) To these
? ? coeeded the sixteen noraes of Middle Egypt (Stroke,
187). reaching to Cercasorua. where the Nile began to
loach off. Then came the ten nomcs of Lower Egypt,
<< uje I>elta, extending to the sea. The whole num-
ber of nomes then was thirty-six, and this arrangement
? said liv LHodorus Siculus (1, 50) to have been in-
troduced by Sesostris (Sethosis-Harnesses) previous to
ti>> departure on his expedition into Asia, in order that,
by means of the governors placed over each of these
aeoies, his kingdom might be tlic better governed du-
ria," his absence, and justice more carefully administer-
ed. It is more than probable, however, that this divis-
? n was much older than the time of . Sesostris (C/iam-
faBna. rEeyptc, <fec. , 1, 71), and the account given
if Strabo, respecting the halls of the labyrinth, would
? Tern to confirm this. The geographer informs us, that
tj>>e hails of this structure coincided with the number
? f tfce names, and the building would seem to have oc-
i central position with respect to these various
, having eighteen nomcs to the north, and as
ay to the south, and thus answering a civil as well
K a religious purpose. (Kilter, ErAkundc, Zd cd. , 1,
JIM > Under the dynasty of the Ptolemies the num-
ber of the nomes became enlarged, partly by reason of
the new and improved state of things in that quarter
af Eevpt where Alexandrea was situated, partly by the
addition of the Oases to Egypt, and partly also by the
alterations which an active commerce had produced
tioas the borders of the Arabian Gulf A change also
took place, about this same period, in the three main
ifiiiiiuiiL of the land. Lower Egypt now no longer
confined itself to the limits of the Delta, but had its
enlarged bv an addition of some of the neigh-
? ? tr nornes In like manner, Upper Egypt, or the
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? jEGYPTIJS.
5. Population of Egypt.
Diodorus Siculus (1, 31) states, on the authority of
the ancient Egyptian records, that the land contained,
in the time of the Pharaohs, more than 18,000 cities
and villages. The same writer informs us, that, in
the time of the first Ptolemy, the number was above
30,000. In this latter statement, however, there is an
evident exaggeration. Theocritus {Idyll. 17, 82, seqq )
assigns to Ptolemy Philadelphus the sovereignty over
33,333 cities. In this also there is exaggeration, but
not of so offensive a character as in the former case,
since the sway of Philadelphus did, in fact, extend
over other countries besides Egypt; such as Syria,
Phcotiicia, Cyprus, Pamphylia, Carta, &c. Pomponius
Mela (1, 9), and Pliny (5, 9), who frequently copies
him, confine themselves with good reason to a more
moderate number. According to them, the Egyptians
occupied, in the time of Amasis, 20,000 cities. This
number is borrowed from Herodotus (2, 77), and may
be made to correspond with that first given from Dio-
dorus Siculus, if we take into consideration that Ama-
sis had extended his sway over Cyrenaica also, and
that this may serve to swell the number as given by
Herodotus, Mela, and Pliny, leaving about 18,000 for
Ecypt itself. Diodorus Siculus (/. c. ) gives the an-
cient population of the country as seven millions, an
estimate which does not appear excessive, when com-
pared with that of other lands. ' The number would
seem to have been somewhat increased during the
reign of the Ptolemies, and to have continued so under
the Roman sway, since we find Josephus (Bell. Jud.
2, 1G) estimating the population of Egypt, in the time
of Vespasian, at 7,500,000, without counting that of
Alexandrea, which, according to Diodorus (17, 52),
was 300,000, exclusive of slaves. When we read,
however, in the same Diodorus (1, 31), that in his
days the inhabitants of Egypt amounted to " not less
than three millions" (ovk Vharrovc elvat rpiaKooiuv sc.
uvpiMuv), we must regard this number as the interpo-
lation of a scribe, and must consider Diodorus as mere-
ly wishing to convey this idea, that, in more ancient
times, the population was said to have been seven mil-
lions, and that in his own days it was not inferior to this.
(ToO At ovp. na. VTOc ? . aov to p. hr lraXaiiv Ctaoi yeyovivai
trepi i-raKoaiac /ivpiudac, nai naff iip-tic &? ovk Omt-
rove ch'at [rpiatiooiuv]. Compare Wcsscling, ad
loc. --Manner! , 10, 2, 309, seqq. )
0. Complexion and Physical Structure of the
Egyptians.
A few remarks relative to the physical character of
this singular people, may form no uninteresting prel-
ude to their national history. There arc two sources
of information respecting the physical character of the
ancient Egyptians. These are, first, the descriptions
of their persons incidentally to be met with in the an-
cient writers; and, secondly, the numerous remains
of paintings and sculptures, as well as of human bodies,
preserved among the ruins of ancient Egypt. It is not
easy to reconcile the evidence derived from these dif-
ferent quarters. The principal data from which a
judgment is to be formed arc as follows: 1. Accounts
given by the ancients. If we were to judge from the
remarks in some passages of the ancient writers alone,
wc should perhaps lie led to the opinion that the Egyp-
tians were a woolly-haired and black people, like the
negroes of Guinea. There is a well-known passage
of Herodotus (2, 104), which has often been cited to
this purpose. The authority of this historian is of the
? ? more weight, as he had travelled in Egypt, and was,
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? -EGYPTUS
Grecian affaire when under the Ptolemies, and aftcr-
wwd with the rest of Europe when it had become a
Roman province, it is very singular, on the supposition
that this nation was so remarkably different from the
reel of mankind, that we have no "allusion to it. We
teUom find the Egyptians spoken of as a very peculiar
race of men. These circumstances induce us to hes-
itate in explaining the expressions of the ancients in
that very strong sense in which they at first strike us.
--2. The second class of" data, from which we may
form a judgment on this subject, are Paintings m
Temples, and other remains.
If we may judge of the
romplexion of the Egyptians from the numerous paint-
ings found in the recesses of temples, and in the tombs
of the kings in Upper Egypt, iri which the colours are
preserved m a very fresh state, we must conclude that
the general complexion of this people was a chocolate,
or a red copper colour. This may be seen in the
ru/oimvl figures given by Belzoni, and in numerous
plates in the splendid "Description de 1'Egypte. "
This red colour is evidently intended to represent the
complexion of the people, and is not put on in the want
of a fighter paint or flesh colour: for when the limbs
or bodies are represented as seen through a thin veil,
the tint used resembles the complexion of Europeans.
The same shade might have been generally adopted
if a darker one had not been preferred, as more truly
representing the natural complexion of the Egyptian
race. (Compare Bcl-zon? * Remarks, p. 239. ) Female
figures are sometimes distinguished by a yellow or
tawmy colour, and hence it is probable that the shade
of complexion was lighter in those who were protected
from tiie sun. A. very curious circumstance in the
paintings found in Egyptian temples remains to be
noticed. Besides the red figures, which are evidently
L to represent the Egyptians, there are other fig-
*hich are of a black colour. Sometimes these
^ esent captives or slaves, perhaps from the negro
countries; but there are also paintings of a very dif-
ferent kind, which occur chiefly in Upper Egypt, and
particularly on the confines of Egypt and Ethiopia. In
these the black and the red figures hold a singular re-
lation to each other. Both have the Egyptian costume,
aad. the habits of priests, while the black figures are
represented as conferring on the red the instruments
and svmboU of the sacerdotal office. "This singular
representation," says Mr. 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.
