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BY

E. A. WALLIS ^UDGE, Litt.D., F.S.A.,

KEEPER OF EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES, BRITISH MUSEUM.

FOURTH EDITION.

WITH A MAP, FLANS, 6^6'.

LONDON :

THOS. COOK & SON (EGYPT), Ltd.,

LUDGATE CIRCUS.

CA IR 0 : THOS. COOK & SON (EGYPT), Ltd.

1895.

[Entered at Stationers Hall ]

HARRISON AND SONS,

Pi?INTERS IN ORDINARY TO HER MAJESTY,

ST. martin's LANK, LONDON.

INTRODUCTION,

Having for some years felt the insufficiency of the information given by Dragomans to travellers on the Nile, and finding with one or two striking exceptions how limited is their knowledge of facts relating to the history of the antiquities in Upper Egypt, Messrs. Thos. Cook and Son have arranged with Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge to compile the following pages, which they have much pleasure in presenting to every passenger under their Nile arrangements on their Tourist Steamers and Dhahabiyyehs. In this way passengers will no longer be liable to be misled (unintentionally) by Dragomans, but will be able at their leisure to prepare themselves for what they have to see, and thus by an agreeable study add to the interest with which their visits to the various places are made.

PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION.

The short descriptions of the principal Egyptian monuments on each side of the Nile between Cairo and the Second Cataract (Wadi Halfah), printed in the following pages, are not in any way intended to form a ''Guide to Egypt": they are drawn up for the use of those travellers who have a very few weeks to spend in Egypt, and who wish to carry in their memories some of the more important facts connected with the fast-perishing remains of one. of the most interesting and ancient civilizations that has been developed on the face of the earth. The existing guide 1)ooks are generally too voluminous and diffuse for such travellers; and are, moreover, in many respects inaccurate. Experience has shown that the greater number of travellers in that country are more interested in history and matters connected with Egyptian civilization from B.C. 4400 to B.C. 450, than with Egypt under the rule of the Assyrians

PREFACE.

and Persians, Greeks and Romans, Arabs and Turks. It is for this reason that no attempt has been made to describe, otherwise than in the briefest possible manner, its history under these foreign rulers, and only such facts connected with them as are absolutely necessary for a right understanding of its monuments have been inserted. In addition to such descriptions, a few chapters have been added on the history of the country during the rule of the Pharaohs, its people, the religion and method of writing. At the end of the book a fairly full list of the most im- portant Egyptian kings is appended, and in order to make this list as useful as possible, a transliteration of each name is printed beneath it, together with the ordinary form of the name. The list of three hundred hieroglyphic characters and their phonetic values, printed on pp, 62-68, will, it is hoped, be useful to those who may like to spell out the royal names cm tombs and temples and the commoner words which occur in the inscriptions. For those who wish to study independently the various branches of Egypto- logy, a list of the more readily obtained books is given in the " Programme " issued yearly by Thos. Cook and Son (Egypt), Ltd.

In transcribing Arabic names of places the most authoritative forms have been followed, but such well-

PREFACE. ix

known names as "Luxor," in Arabic El-Uhmr or Bl-his/lr, and " Cairo," in Arabic Kdhira^ have not been altered. Similarly, the ordinary well-known forms of the Egyptian proper names " Rameses,'* "Thothmes," "Amenophis," "Amasis," " Psammeti- chus," "Hophra" or "Apries," etc., etc., have been used in preference to the more correct transcriptions "Ra-messu," " Tehuti-mes," '' Amen-hetep," "Aah- mes," " Psemthek," " Uah-ab-Ra."

The transliteration of Egyptian and Arabic words is that in common use throughout Europe.

The dates assigned to the Egyptian kings are those of Dr. H. Brugsch, who bases his calculations on the assumption that the average duration of a generation was thirty-three years. Hence it will be readily understood that the date assigned to Rameses II. (B.C. 1333), for instance, is only ap- proximately correct.

During recent years Prof. J. Norman Lockyer, C.B., P'.R.S., has been engaged in making careful investigations into the subject of the orientation of Egyptian temples, from which we may one day hope to obtain data for finding within a few years the age of each. Although these researches already enable us to rectify many important points in the

X PREFACE.

chronology of Egypt, it has been thought best to retain for the present the system of the late Dr. H. Brugsch.

. In this edition descriptions of the principal monuments in the Gizeh Museum have been added ; a description of the tomb of Nekht has been inserted ; the chapter on the Egyptian religion has been enlarged ; and several new illustrations have been given. A brief notice of the splendid results obtained from the excavations carried out by M. de Morgan has also been inserted on pp. 395-403.

E. A. Wallis Budge.

September i, 1895.

CONTENTS.

	PAGE
Map of Egypt
Introduction	V
Preface to the Third Edition	vii-x
Egyptian History and its sources	1
Historical Summary —
Ancient Empire ...	9
Middle Empire ... ...	12
New Empire	14
Persians ...	17
Macedonians	17
Ptolemies	i8
Romans ...	19
The Byzantines	22
Muhammadans	23
Dates assigned to the Egyptian Dynasties by Egypto-
logists	27
The Country of Egypt	28
The Nomes of Egypt	29
The Ancient Egyptians	32
The Modern Egyptians	36
The Nile	45
Egyptian Writing	50
A list of some Hieroglyphic Signs	62
Arabic Alphabet	68
Coptic Alphabet	69
Egyptian Months	70

Xll CONTENTS.
	PAGE
The Religion and Gods of Egypt ...	72
Alexandria	iiS
The Pharos	119
Pompey's Pillar	122
Cleopatra's Needles	122
Catacombs	123
Damanhur	123
Kafr ez-Zaiyat	123
Tanta	123
Benha el-'Asal	... 123
Rosetta Stone ...	124
Suez and the Suez Canal	125
Shibin el-Kanatir ...	129
Zakazik and Tell-Basta ...	129-132
Abu Hammad	132
Tellei-Kebir	132
Mahsamah	132
Ismalliya	132
Nefisheh	... 132
Tanis	132-135
Cairo	136
Coptic Churches	137
Mosques ...	141
Tombs of the Khalifs	146
Tombs of the Mamelukes	146
The Citadel	146
Joseph's Well	147
The Library	147
Ezbekiyeh Garden	147
The Nilometer at Roda	148
The Museum at Gizeh	149-219
Heliopolis	220
The Pyramids of Gizeh	222
The Great Pyramid	224
The Second Pyramid	228

CONTENTS.

The Third Pyramid

The Sphinx

The Temple of the Sphinx The Tomb of Numbers Campbell's Tomb The Pyramids of Abu-Roash The Pyramids of Abusir Bedrashen, Memphis, and Sakkarah The Statue of Rameses II. The Step Pyramid

Pyramid of Unas . . .

Pyramid of Teta . . .

Pyramid of Pepi I.

The Serapeum The Tomb of Thi Mariette's House The Pyramids of Dahshur The Quarries of Ma'sara and Turra The Pyramid of Medum Wasta and the Fayyum Beni Suef Maghaghah Cynopolis

Convent of the Pulley... Minyeh... Beni Hasan Roda ... Melawi ... Haggi Kandil Gebel Abu Fadah Manfaltit Asyut . . . Abu Tig Tahtah ... Suhak ...

xni

PAOE

234 234 235 235 235 237 240 241 242 242

243

244

245 249 250

250 251

253 254 254

254 256 256 260 261 261 263 263 263 264 264 264

CONTENTS.

The White and Red Monasteries	PAGE 265-266
Ahmim, Menshiah, Girgeh	266-267
Abydos	... 268
Temple of Seti I	... 270
Temple of Rameses II. ...	... 272
Farshut	... 274
Kasr es-Sayyad... ...	.. 274
Keneh	... 274
The Temple of Denderah ... ... ... •	••• 275
Nakadah	.. 279
Luxor and Thebes ,	.. 281
The Temple of Luxor	.. 286
The Temple at Karnak	.. 287
The Temple at Kurnah ...	.. 298
The Ramesseum	.. 298
The Colossi of Amenophis III. . .	.. 300
Medinet Habii	.. 301
The Temple of Rameses III. ...	•• 3^3
Der el-Medinet	■• 305
Der el-Bahari	.. 306
The Discovery of Royal Mummies at Der el-Bahari	306
The Tombs of the Kings-
Tomb of Seti I	.. 312
Tomb of Rameses III. ...	•• 314
Tomb of Rameses IV	•• 314
Tomb of Rameses VI. ...	•• 314
Tomb of Rameses IX	•• 314
Tomb of Rameses I	•• 314
Tomb of Rechma-Ra	• 314
TombofNekht	516-325
Erment...	•• 325
Esneh ...	•• 327
El-Kab	•• 327
Edfa	•• 327
Hagar Silsileh	•• 33^

CONTENTS.

Kom Onibo Aswan ... Elephantine

The First Cataract

Phite

The Nile between the First and Second Cataracts 343

Dabod

Kardash

WadiTafah

Kalabshi

Betel-Wali

Dendur... Gerf-Hussen

Dakkeh

Kuban ...

WadiSebda

Korosko

Amada ...

Derr ... ... ... ...

Abu-Simbel

WadiHalfah

List of the Hieroglyphic Names of the Principal

Kings of Egypt 359.

Recent Excavations in Egypt ... ... ... 395-

Index , 409

XV

PAGE 332

333

339 -358 345 345 345 345 346 347 347 347 349 349 350 350 351 351 357

■394

■408

-439

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

EGYPTIAN HISTORY.

The history of Egypt is the oldest history known to us. It is true that the earhest of the Babylonian kings whose names are known lived very little later than the earliest kings of Egypt, nevertheless our knowledge of the early Egyptian is greater than of the early Babylonian kings. A large portion of Egyptian history can be constructed from the native records of the Egyptians, and it is now possible to correct and modify many of the statements upon this subject made by Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus and other classical authors. The native and other docu- ments from which Egyptian history is obtained are : —

I. Lists of Kings found in the Turin Papyrus, the Tablet of Abydos, the Tablet of Sakkarah, and the Tablet of Karnak. The Turin papyrus contained a complete list of kings, beginning with the god-kings and continuing down to the end of the rule of tlie Hyksos, about B.C. 1 700. The name of each king during this period, together with the length of his reign in years, months and days, was given, and it would have been, beyond all doubt, the most valuable of all documents for the chronology of the oldest period of Egyptian history, if scholars had been able to make use of it in the perfect condition in which it was

B

2 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

discovered. When it arrived in Turin, however, it was found to be broken into more than one hundred and fifty fragments. So far back as 1824, ChampoUion recognized the true value of the fragments, and placed some of them in their chronological order. Its evidence is of the greatest importance for the history of the Xlllth and XlVth dynas- ties, because in this section the papyrus is tolerably perfect ; for the earher dynasties it is of very little use.

On the monuments each Egyptian king has usually two names, the prenomen and the nomen ; each of these is contained in a cartouche.* Thus the prenomen of

Thothmes III. is ( O i^^^-^

Ra-men-cheper, and his

«

nomen is f . j^ f\\ ] Tehuti-mes. Ra-men-cheper means

something like " Ra (the Sun-god) establishes becoming or existence;" Tehuti-mes means "born of Thoth," or "Thoth's son.'" These names are quite distinct from

his titles. Before the prenomen comes the title ^^^

siiten ?ief, f " King of the North and South," and after it

comes (^-^ se jRd, "son of the Sun," preceding the

nomen. Each prenomen has a meaning, but it is at times difficult to render it exactly in English. Every king styled himself king of "the North and South," and "son of the Sun." The first title is sometimes varied by " Beautiful

* Cartouche is the name which is usually given to the oval CZDI, in which the name of a royal person is enclosed.

t The ordinary word for "king" is i '"^ sitten. The word Pharaoh, n*y"lS, which the Hebrews called the kings of Egypt, is derived from the Egyptian ^— -" per da, otherwise written ^T^ ^

EGYPTIAN HISTORY. 3

god, lord of the two earths."* In the earliest times the kings were named after some attribute possessed by them ; thus Mena, the first king of Egypt, is the "firm" or "estab- Hshed." In the Turin papyrus only the prenomens of the kings are given, but its statements are confirmed and amplified by the other lists.

The Tablet of Abydosf was discovered by Diimichen in the temple of Osiris at Abydos, during M. Mariette's excavations there in 1864. This list gives us the names of seventy-five kings, beginning with Mena or Menes, and ending with Seti I., the father of Rameses II. ; it is not a complete list, and it would seem as if the scribe who drew up the list only inserted such names as he considered worthy of living for ever. The Tablet of Sakkarah| was discovered at Sakkarah by Mariette, in the grave of a digni- tary who lived during the reign of Rameses II. In spite of a break in it, and some orthographical errors, it is a valuable list ; it gives the names of forty-seven kings, and it agrees very closely with the Abydos list. It is a curious fact that it begins with the name of Mer-ba-pen, the sixth king of the 1st dynasty. The Tablet of Karnak was discovered at Karnak by Burton, and was taken to Paris by Prisse. It

u

0

■ IIIIIIIIIL

Irtrtitil

Some kings had a large number of titles. Thus Thothmes III. is styled " Horus, mighty bull, diademed with law, the lord, maker of things, Ra-men-cheper," etc., etc. He is also called :

<=> ^^ ^v ^ij "i<-ing of the North and

South, mighty of terror in all lands" ; *Wv U ^^ W V ' "God, exalted one of the white crown, beloved of Ra";

cr^

I I

*' Golden Horus,

[zsa A vj m 111'

mighty of valour, smiter of the Nine Bows," etc.

t See page 272.

X See page 181.

a 2

4 NOTKS FOR TRAVEI-LKRS IN EGYPT.

was drawn up in the time of Thothmes III., and contains the names of sixty-one of his ancestors. They are not arranged in any chronological order, but the tablet is of the highest historical importance, for it records the names of some of the rulers from the Xlllth to the XVI Ith dynasties, and gives the names of those of the Xlth dynasty more completely than any other list.

II. Annals of Egyptian Kings inscribed upon the walls of temples, obelisks, and buildings. The narrative of such inscriptions is very simple, and practically these records merely represent itineraries in which the names of conquered and tributary lands and people are given ; incidentally facts of interest are noted down. As the day and month and regnal years of the king by whom these expeditions were undertaken are generally given, these inscriptions throw much light on history. The lists of tribute are also useful, for they show what the products of the various countries were. The poetical version* of the history of the famous battle of Rameses II. against the Cheta by the poet Pen-ta-urt is a pleasant variety of historical narrative. The inscription on the stele I of Pianchi, the Ethiopian conqueror of Egypt, is decidedly remarkable for the minute details of his fights, the speeches made by himself and his conquered foes, and the mention of many facts J which are not commonly noticed by Egyptian annalists. The vigour and poetical nature of the narrative are also very striking.

* See the notice of the official Etjyptian account on page 354 f.

t Preserved at Gizeh. See page 177.

J For example, it is stated that when Pianchi had taken possession of the storehouses and treasury of Nimrod his foe, he went afterwards into the stables, and found that the horses there liad been kept short oi food. Bursting into a rage he turned to Nimrod and said, " By my life, by my darling Ra, who revives my nostrils with life, to have kept my horses hungry is more heinous in my sight than any other offence which thou hast committed against me."' Mariettc, Monuments Divers, pl. 3, 11- ^^5, 66.

ECiYPTIAN HISTORY. 5

III. Historical Stelae and Papyri, which briefly relate in chronological order the various expeditions undertaken by the king for whom they were made. Egyptian kings occasionally caused summaries of their principal conquests and of the chief events of their reign to be drawn up ; examples of these are (a) the stele of Thothmes III./'' and (d) the last section of the great Harris Papyrus, in which Rameses III. reviews all the good works which he has brought to a successful issue to the glory of the gods of Egypt and for the benefit of her inhabitants. This wonder- ful papyrus measures 135 feet by 17 inches, and was found in a box in the temple at Medinet Habii, built by Rameses III. ; it is now in the British Museum.

IV. Decrees, Scarabs, Statues of Kings and Private Persons are fruitful sources of information about historical, religious, and chronological subjects.

V. Biblical notices about Egypt and allusions to events of Egyptian history.

VI. The Cuneiform Inscriptions. In 1887 a num- ber of tablets t inscribed in cuneiform were found at Tell el-Amarna. The inscriptions relate to a period of Egyptian history which falls in the fifteenth century B.C., and they are letters from the kings of Babylon, and cities of Mesopotamia and Phoenicia relating to marriages, offensive and defensive alliances, military matters, etc., etc., and reports on the rebellions and wars which took place at that time, addressed to Amenophis III. and to his son Chut-en- aten or Amenophis IV. The Babylonian king who writes is called Kurigalzu. Thothmes III. had carried his vic- torious arms into Mesopotamia, and one of his successors, Amenophis III., delighted to go there and shoot the lions with which the country abounded. During one of these

hunting expeditions he fell in love with the lady fj f]^ W ^ j

'"■ Preserved at Gizeh ; see page 181.

t See the description of the (iizeh Museum, pp. 186-189.

6 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Thi (in cuneiform -^ ^f g:g ^^ Ti-i-e), the daughter of

I"^'\flfl ^ fl ^ ^ ^"'^ Thuaa ^ ;^ (| ^ I ,. and married her, and he brought her to Egypt, with another wife named N^ ^ '^^ 3 Kilkipa (in cuneiform ^ ^-^f^

IHJ ^£ ^ Gi-lu-khi-pa), accompanied by 317 of her attendants. It will be some time before these inscriptions are fully made out, but the examination of them has already been carried sufficiently far to show that they will throw most valuable light upon the social condition of Egypt and of the countries which were subject to her at that time. One of the tablets is written in the language of Mitani, and others are inscribed with cuneiform characters in a language which is at present unknown ; and some of them have dockets in hieratic which state from what country they were brought. The discovery of these tablets shows that there must have been people at the court of Amenophis III. who understood the cuneiform characters, and that the officers in command over towns in Phoenicia subject to the rule of Egypt could, when occasion required, write their despatches in cuneiform. The greater part of these tablets are now in the Museums of London and Berlin, some are at the Gizeh Museum, and some are in private hands.

The Assyrian kings Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Assur- banipal marched against Egypt; Tirhakah defeated Sen- nacherib at Eltekeh, but was defeated by Esarhaddon, the son of Sennacherib, who drove him back into Ethiopia. Esarhaddon's son, Assurbanipal, also attacked Tirhakah and defeated him. Thebes was captured, and Egypt was divided into twenty-two provinces, over some of which Assyrian viceroys were placed. A fragment of a Babylonian tablet states that Nebuchadnezzar II. marched into Egypt.

VII. The Greek and Roman writers upon Egypt are many; and of these the best known are Herodotus,

EGYPTIAN HISTORY. 7

Manetho, and Diodorus Siculus. Herodotus devotes the whole of the second and the beginning of the third book of his work to a history of Egypt and the Egyptians, and his is the oldest Greek treatise on the subject known to us. In spite of the attacks made upon his work during the last few years, the evidence of the hieroglyphic inscriptions which are being deciphered year after year shows that on the whole his work is trustworthy. A work more valuable than that of Herodotus is the Egyptian history of Manetho (still living in B.C. 271) of Sebennytus, who is said by Plutarch to have been a contemporary of Ptolemy I. ; his work, however, was written during the reign of Ptolemy II. Philadelphus (b.c. 286-247). According to words put into his mouth, he was chief priest and scribe in one of the temples of Egypt, and he appears to have been perfectly acquainted with the ancient Egyptian language and literature. He had also had the benefit of a Greek education, and was therefore peculiarly fitted to draw up in Greek for Ptolemy Philadelphus a history of Egypt and her religion. The remains of the great Egyptian history of Manetho are preserved in the polemical treatise of Josephus against Apion, in which a series of passages of Egyptian history from the XVth to the XlXth dynasties is given, and in the list of the dynasties, together with the number of years of the reign of each king, given by Africanus and Eusebius on his authority. At the beginning of his work Manetho gives a list of gods and demi-gods who ruled over Egypt before Menes, the first human king of Egypt; the thirty dynasties known to us he divides into three sections : — I-XI, XII-XIX, and XX-XXX. Diodorus Siculus, who visited Egypt B.C. 57, wrote a history of the country, its people and its religion, based chiefly upon the works of Herodotus and Hekataeus. He was not so able a writer nor so accurate an observer as Herodotus, and his work contains many blunders. Other important ancient writers

5 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

on Egypt are Strabo,"^ Chaeremon,t Josephus,t Plutarch§ and HorapolIo.||

According to Manetho, there reigned over Egypt before Mena, or Menes, the first mortal king of that country, a number of beings called Shesu Heru, or " followers of Horus"; of their deeds and history nothing is known. Some have believed that during their rule Egypt was divided into two parts, each ruled by its own king ; and others have thought that the whole of Upper and Lower Egypt was divided into a large series of small, independent principalities, which were united under one head in the person of Menes. There is, however, no support to be obtained from the inscriptions for either of these theories. The kings of Egypt following after the mythical period are divided into thirty dynasties. For the sake of convenience, Egyptian history is divided into three periods : — I, the Ancient Empire, which includes the first eleven dynas- ties ; II, the Middle Empire, which includes the next nine dynasties (Xllth-XXth); and. III, the New Empire, which includes the remaining ten dynasties, one of which was of Persian kings. The rule of the Saite kings was fol- lowed by that of the Persians, Ptolemies and Romans. The rule of the Arabs which began a.d. 641, ended a.d. 15 1 7, when the country was conquered by the Turks ; since this time Egypt has been nominally a pashalik of Turkey.

The date assigned to the first dynasty is variously given by different scholars : l)y Champollion-Figeac it is B.C. 5867, by Bockh 5702, by Bunsen 3623, by Lepsius 3892, by Lieblein 3893, by Mariette 5004, and by Brugsch 4400. As far as can be seen, there is much to be said in favour of that given by Brugsch, and his dates are adopted throughout in this book.

* About A.D. 15. t Al)out A.D. 50. X About A.D. 75. § About A.D. 100. II Al)out A.D. 400.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY.

ANCIENT EMPIRE.

Dynasty /, f7'om T/iis, or T/iifiis.

B.C.

4400. Mena, the first human king of Egypt, founded Memphis, having turned aside the course of the Nile, and estabhshed a temple service there.

4366. Teta, wrote a book on anatomy, and continued buildings at Memphis.

4266. Hesep-ti. Some papyri state that the 64th Chapter of the Book of the Dead was written in his time.

Dynasty II, front Memphis.

4133. Neter-baiu,"^ in whose reign an earthquake swallowed up many people at Bubastis.

4100. Kakau, in whose days the worship of Apis at Memphis, and that of Mnevis at Heliopolis, was continued. , v-

4066. Ba-en-neter, in whose reign, according to John of Antioch, the Nile flowed with honey for eleven days. During the reign of this king the suc- cession of females to the throne of Egypt was declared valid.

40C0. Sent. Sepulchral stelae of this king's priests are pre- served at Oxford and at Gizeh; see page 143.

Dy?iasty III, from Memphis.

Nefer-ka-Seker, in whose reign an eclipse appears to

be mentioned.

Or

Cml]

TO NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Dynasty IV, from Memphis.

B.C.

3766. Seneferu. Important contemporaneous monuments of this king exist. During his reign the copper mines of Wadi Ma'arah were worked.

3733. Chufu (Cheops), who fought with the people of Sinai; he built the first pyramid of Gizeh.

3666. Cha-f-Ra (Chephren), the builder of the second pyra- mid at Gizeh.

3633. Men-kau-Ra (Mycerinus), the builder of the third pyramid at Gizeh. The fragments of his coffin are in the British Museum, Some copies of the Book of the Dead say that the 64th chapter of that work was compiled during the reign of this king.

Dynasty F, from Elephantine.

3366. Tet-ka-Ra. The Precepts of Ptah-hetep were written

during the reign of this king. 3333. Unas, whose pyramid at Sakkarah was explored in

1881.

Dynasty VI, from Memphis.

3266. Teta, the builder of a pyramid at Sakkarah. 3233. Pepi-meri-Ra, the builder of a pyramid at Sakkarah. 3200. Mer-en-Ra. 3166. Nefer-ka-Ra.

3133 (?)• Nit-aqert (Nitocris), "the beautiful woman with rosy cheeks. '

J Dynasties VII and VIII, from Memphis. ^ ' \ Dy?iasties IX and X, from Heradcopolis.

Nefer-ka.

Nefer-Seh

Ab.

Nefer-kau-Ra.

Charthi.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. I I

3033. Nefer-ka-Ra. 3000. Nefer-ka-Ra-Nebi.

2966. Tet-ka-Ra-

2933. Nefer-ka-Ra-Chentu

2900. Mer-en-Heru.

2866. Se-nefer-ka-Ra.

2833. Ka-en-Ra.

2800. Nefer-ka-Ra-Tererl.

2766. Nefer-ka-Ra-Heru.

2733. Nefer-ka-Ra Pepi Seneb.

2700. Nefer-ka-Ra-Annii.

2633. Nefer-kau-Ra.

2600. Nefer-kau-Herii.

2533. Nefer-ari-ka-Ra.*

Dynasty XI^ from Diospolis, or Thebes.

From the time of Nitocris to Amenemhat I. Egyptian history is nearly a blank. The names of a large number of kings who ruled during this period are known, but they cannot, at present, be arranged in exact chronological order.

2500. Se-anch ka-Ra. This king is known to us through an inscription at Hamamat, which states that he sent an expedition to the land*of Punt; this shows that at that early date an active trade must have been carried on across the Arabian desert between Egypt and Arabia. The other kings of the Xlth dynasty bore the names of Antef-aa, An-antef, Amentuf, An-aa, and Mentu-hetep. Se-anch-ka-Ra appears to have been the immediate predecessor of the Xllth dynasty.

* These names are obtained from the Tablet of Abydos ; see pages 3, 272.

12 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

MIDDLE EMPIRE.

Dynasty XII, from Diospolis, or Thebes.

2466. Amenemhat I. ascended the throne of Egypt after hard fighting; he conquered the Uaua, a Libyan tribe that hved near Korosko in Nubia, and wrote a series of instructions for his son Usertsen I. The story of Senehet was written during this reign.

2433. Usertsen I. made war against the tribes of Ethiopia ; he erected granite obehsks and built largely at Heliopolis.

2400. Amenemhat II. Chnemu-hetep, son of Nehera, whose tomb is at Beni-hasan, lived during the reign of this king.

2366. Usertsen II.

2333. Usertsen III.

2300. Amenemhat III. During this king's reign special attention was paid to the rise of the Nile, and canals were dug and sluices made for irrigating the country ; in this reign the famous Lake Moeris, in the district called by the Arabs El-Fayyum,* was built. The rise of the Nile was marked on the rocks at Semneh, about thirty-five miles above the second cataract, and the inscriptions are visible to this day.

2266. Amenemhat IV.

2233. DynastiesXIII-XVII. The so-called Hyksos Period.

According to Manetho these dynasties were as follows : — Dynasty XIII, from Thebes, 60 kings in 453 years. XIV, „ Chois,t 76 „ „ 484 n

,, 260 ., „ 251 „

,, TO „

4)IOJUL, "the lake."

	5)	XV,	Hyksos,	6
	J?	XVI,	•>•)	TO
	n	XVII, from Thebes,	TO
In	Aral	'>'c pU	from the Copti	ic4
A 1	lown	in the Dcha

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 1 3

Unfortunately there are no monuments whereby we can correct or modify these figures. The Hyksos appear to have made their way from the countries in and to the west of Mesopotamia into Egypt. They joined with their countrymen, who had already settled in the Delta, and were able to defeat the native kings ; it is thought that their rule lasted 500 years, and that Joseph arrived in Egypt towards the end of this period. The principal Hyksos kings of the XVIth dynasty are Apepa I. and ■Apepa II. ; Nubti and the native Egyptian princes ruled under them. Under Se-qenen-Ra, a Theban ruler of the XVIIth dynasty, a war broke out between the Egyptians and the Hyksos, which continued for many years, and resulted in the expulsion of the foreign rulers.

Dytiasty XVIII Jrom Thebes.

B.C.

1700. Aahmes, who re-established the independence of Egypt.

1666. Amen-hetep (Amenophis) I.

1633. Tehuti-mes (Thothmes) I.

1600. „ „ II.

Hat-shepset, sister of Thothmes II. She sent an expedition to Punt.

1600. \ Tehuti-mes (Thothmes) III. made victorious ex- peditions into Mesopotamia. He was one of the greatest kings that ever ruled over Egypt.

1566. Amen-hetep II.

1533. Tehuti-mes IV.

1500. Amen-hetep III. warred successfully in the lands to the south of Egypt and in Asia. He made it a custom to go into Mesopotamia to shoot lions, and, while there he married a sister and daughter of Tushratta, the king of Mitani, and a sister and a daughter of Kallimma-Sin, king of Karaduniyash ; he afterwards made proposals of marriage for another daughter of this latter king called Sukharti.

14 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

The correspondence and despatches from kings of Babylon, Mesopotamia, and Phoenicia were found in 1887 at Tell el-Amarna, and large portions of them are now preserved in the Museums of London, Berlin, and Gizeh. Amen-hetep IV. or Chu-en-Aten ("brilliance, or glory of the solar disk"), the founder of the city Chu- aten, the ruins of which are called Tell el-Amarna, and of the heresy of the disk-worshippers. He was succeeded by a few kings who held the same religious opinions as himself.

5.C.

Dynasty XIX^ frofn Thebes.

1400. Rameses I.

1366. Seti I. conquered the rebellious tribes in Western Asia, and built the Memnonium at Abydos. He was famous as a builder, and attended with great care to the material welfare of his kingdom. He is said to have built a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea.

1333. Rameses H. undertook many warlike expeditions, and brought Nubia, Abyssinia, and Mesopotamia under the rule of Egypt. He was a great builder, and a liberal patron of the arts and sciences ; learned men like Pentaurt were attached to his court. He is famous as one of the oppressors of the Israelites.

1300. Seti Meneptah II. is thought to have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus.

NEW EMPIRE. Dynasty XX, from Thebes.

1200. Rameses III. was famous for his buildings, and for the splendid gifts which he made to the temples of Thebes, Abydos and Heliopolis. His reign repre- sented an era of great commercial prosperity.

1166-1133. Rameses IV. -XI I.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 15

Dynasty XXI, from Tanis and Thebes.

B.C.	r I. Tanis.	II. Thebes.
100-	Se-Mentu.	Her-Heru.
000. *	Pasebchanu I.	Pi-anchi.
	Amen-em-apt.	Pai-net'em I-III.
	Pasebchanu II.

Dynasty XXII, from Bubastis (Tell-Basta).

966. Shashanq (Shishak) I. (see i Kings, xiv. 25-28 ;

2 Chron., xii. 2-13) besieged Jerusalem. 933- Uasarken I. ~^

900. Takeleth I. I These kings appear to have been 866. Uasarken II. I of Semitic origin ; their names

833. Shashanq 11. [^ are Semitic, as, for example,

Uasarken = Babylonian Sar- ginu (Sargon)j Takeleth = Ttikidti (Tiglath).

Takeleth II. Shashanq III. 800. Pamai

Shashanq IV. ->'

Dynasty XXIII, from Tanis.

766. Peta-Bast.

Uasarken III.

Dynasty XXIV, from Sais (Sd el-Hager). 733. Bak-en-ren-f (Bocchoris).

Dynasty XXV, from Ethiopia'.

700. Shabaka (Sabaco). Shabataka.

693. Taharqa (Tirhakah, 2 Kings, xix. 9) is famous for having conquered Sennacherib and delivered Heze- kiah ; he was, however, defeated by Esarhaddon and Assurbanipal, the son and grandson respec- tively of Sennacherib. Tirhakah's son-in-law, Urdamanah, was also defeated by the Assyrians.

H^ NOTES FOk TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Dynasty XXV I^ from Sais.

B.C.

666. Psemthek I. (Psammetichus) allowed Greeks to settle

in the Delta, and employed Greek soldiers to fight

for him. 612. Nekau II. (Necho) defeated Josiah, king of Judah,

and was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar II. son of

Nabopolassar, king of Babylon. 596. Psammetichus II. 591. Uah-ab-Ra (Hophra of the Bible, Gr. Apries)

niarched to the help of Zedekiah, king of Judah,

who was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar II. His

army rebelled against him, and he was dethroned ;

Amasis, a general in his army, then succeeded to

the throne. 572. Aahmes, II. favoured the Greeks, and granted them

many privileges ; in his reign Naucratis became a

great city. 528. Psammetichus III. was defeated at Pelusium by

Cambyses the Persian, and taken prisoner ; he

was afterwards slain for tebelling against the

Persians.

Dynasty XXVIIJ'n m Persia.

527. Cambyses marched against the Ethiopians and the inhabitants of the Oases.

521. Darius Hystaspes endeavoured to open up the

ancient routes of commerce ; he established a

coinage, and adopted a conciliatory and tolerant

system of government, and favoured all attempts

II to promote the welfare of Egypt.

486. Xerxes I.

465. Artaxerxes I., during whose reign the Egyptians re- volted, headed by Amyrtaeus.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. I7

B.C.

425. Darius Nothus, during whose reign the Egyptians revolted successfully, and a second Amyrta^us became king of Egypt.

405. Artaxerxes II.

Dynasty XX VIII, from Sais. Amen-rut (Amyrtaeus), reigned six years.

Dyjiasty XXIX, from Mendes. 399. Naifaaurut I. 393. Hakar. 380. P-se-mut. 379. Naifaaurut II.

Dynasty XXX, from Sebennytus.

378. Necht-Heru-heb (Nectanebus L) defeated the Persians at Mendes.

360. T'e-her surrendered to the Persians.

358. Necht-neb-f (Nectanebus II.) devoted himself to the pursuit of magic, and neglected his empire ; when Artaxerxes III. (Ochus) marched against him, he fled from his kingdom, and the Persians again ruled Egypt.

PERSIANS.

340. Artaxerxes III. (Ochus). 338. Arses.

■^T^^. Darius III. (Codomannus) conquered by Alexander the Great at Issus.

MACEDONIANS.

332. Alexander the Great founded Alexandria. He showed his toleration of the Egyptian religion, by sacrificing to the god Amen of Libya.

c

1 8 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

PTOLEMIES.*

B.C.

305. Ptolemy I. Soter, son of Lagus, became king of Egypt after Alexander's death. He founded the famous Alexandrian Library, and encouraged learned Greeks to make Alexandria their home ; he died B.C. 284.

285. Ptolemy II. Philadelphus built the Pharos, founded Berenice and Arsinoe, caused Manetho's Egyptian history to be compiled, and the Greek version of the Old Testament (Septuagint) to be made.

247. Ptolemy III. Euergetes I. The stele of Canopus t was set up in the ninth year of his reign ; he obtained possession of all Syria, and was a patron of the arts and sciences.

222. Ptolemy IV. Philopator defeated Antiochus, and founded the temple at Edfu.

205. Ptolemy V. Epiphanes. During his reign the help of the Romans against Antiochus was asked for by the Egyptians. Coelesyria and Palestine were lost to Egypt. He was poisoned B.C. 182, and his son Ptolemy VI. Eupator, died in that same year. The Rosetta Stone was set up in the eighth year of the reign of this king.

* For the chronology of the Ttolemies, see Lepsius, Konigsbuc/i, Synoptische Tafeln 9.

t This important stele, preserved at Gizeh, see page 284, is inscribed in hieroglyphics, Greek and demotic with a decree made at Canopus by the priesthood, assembled there from all parts of Egypt, in honour of Ptolemy III. It mentions the great benefits which he had conferred upon Egypt, and states what festivals are to be celebrated in his honour and in that of Berenice, etc., and concludes with a resolution ordering that a copy of this inscription in hieroglyphics, Greek and demotic shall be placed in every large temple of Egypt. Two other copies of this work are known.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 1 9

B.C.

Ptolemy VI. did not reign a full year.

181. Ptolemy VII. Philometor was taken prisoner at Pelusium by Antiochus IV., B.C. 171, and died B.C. 146. He reigned alone at first, then con- jointly (b.c. 170 — 165) with Ptolemy IX. Euergetes II. (also called Physcon), and finally having gone to Rome on account of his quarrel with Physcon, he reigned as sole monarch of Egypt (b.c 165). Physcon was overthrown B.C. 132, reigned again B.C. 125, and died b.c 117.

170. Ptolemy VIII. is murdered by Physcon.

146. Ptolemy IX. Euergetes II.

1 1 7. Ptolemy X. Soter II. Philometor II. (Lathyrus), reigns jointly with Cleopatra III. Ptolemy X. is banished (b.c 106), his brother Ptolemy XI. Alexander I. is made co-regent, but afterwards banished (b.c 89) and slain (b.c 87) ; Ptolemy X. is recalled, and dies b.c 81.

81. Ptolemy XII. Alexander II. is slain.

81. Ptolemy XIII. Neos Dionysos (Auletes), ascends the throne; dies b.c 52.

52. Ptolemy XIV. Dionysos II. and Cleopatra VII. are, according to the will of Ptolemy XIII. to marry each other ; the Roman senate to be their guardian. Ptolemy XIV. banishes Cleopatra, and is a party to the murder of Pompey, their guardian, who visits Egypt after his defeat at Pharsalia. Caesar arrives in Egypt to support Cleopatra (b.c 48) ; Ptolemy XIV., is drowned ; Ptolemy XV., brother of Cleopatra VIL, is appointed her co-regent by Caesar (b.c 47) ; he is murdered at her wish, and her son by Caesar, Ptolemy XVI., Caesarion, is named co-regent (e.g. 45).

c 2

20 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

B.C.

42. Antony orders Cleopatra to appear before him, and is seduced by her charms ; he kills himself, and Cleopatra dies by the bite of an asp. Egypt becomes a Roman province B.C. 30.

ROMANS.

27. Caesar Augustus becomes master of the Roman

Empire. Cornelius Gallus is the first prefect of

Egypt. Under the third prefect, Aelius Gallus,

Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, invades Egypt,

^ j)^ but is defeated.

14. Tiberius. In his reign Germanicus visited Egypt. 37. Caligula. In his reign a persecution of the Jews

took place. 41. Claudius.

55. Nero. In his reign Christianity was first preached in Egypt by Saint Mark. The Blemmyes made raids upon the southern frontier of Egypt. 69. Vespasian. Jerusalem destroyed a.d. 70. 82. Domitian causes temples to Isis and Serapis to be

built at Rome. 98. Trajan. The Nile and Red Sea Canal (Amnis

Trajanus) re-opened. 117. Hadrian. Visited Egypt twice. 161. Marcus Aurelius caused the famous Itinerary to be

made. 180. Commodus. 193. Septimius Severus.

211. Caracalla visited Egypt, and caused a large number of young men to be massacred at Alexandria.

217. Macrinus.

218. Elagabalus.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 21

A.D.

249. Decius. Christians persecuted.

253. Valerianus. Christians persecuted.

260. GalHenus. Persecution of Christians stayed. Zenobia, Queen of Pahnyra, invades Egypt a.d. 268.

270. Aurehan. Zenobia becomes Queen of Egypt for a short time, but is dethroned a.d. 273.

276. Probus.

284. Diocletian. ^' Pompey's Pillar " erected a.d. 302 ; persecution of Christians a.d. 304. The Copts date the era of the Martyrs from the day of Diocletian's accession to the throne (August 29).

324. Constantine the Great, the Christian Emperor, in whose reign, a.d. 325, the Council of Nicaea was held. At this council it was decided that Christ and His Father were of one and the samensiture, as taught by Athanasius; and the doctrine of Arius,* that Christ and God were only similar in nature, was decreed heretical.

337. Constantius. George of Cappadocia, an Arian, is made Bishop of Alexandria.

379. Theodosius I., the Great, proclaims Christianity the religion of his empire. The Arians and followers of the ancient Egyptian religion were persecuted.

* **He was a most expert logician, but perverted his talents to evil purposes, and had the audacity to preach what no one before him had ever suggested, namely, that the Son of God was made out of that which had no prior existence ; that there was a period of time in which He existed not ; that, as possessing free will, He was capable of virtue, or of vice ; and that He was created and made. " — Sozomen, Eccles. Hist., Bk. I., ch. 15. For the statement of the views of Arius by his opponent Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, see his letter addressed to the Catholic Church generally, in Socrates, Fccles. Hist. , Bk. I., chap. vi.

22 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

THE BYZANTINES.

A.D.

395. Arcadius, Emperor of the East. The Anthropomor- phites,* who affirmed that God was of human form, destroyed the greater number of their opponents.

408. Theodosius II. In his reign the doctrines of Nestor- ius were condemned by Cyril of Alexandria. Nestorius, from the two natures of Christ, inferred also two persons, a human and a divine. " In the Syrian school, Nestorius had been taught (a.d. 429-431) to abhor the confusion of the two natures, and nicely to discriminate the humanity of his master Christ from the Divinity of the Lord Jesus. The Blessed Virgin he revered as the mother of Christ, but his ears were offended with the rash and recent title of mother of God, which had been insensibly adopted since the origin of the Arian controversy. From the pulpit of Constantinople, a friend of the patriarch,! and afterwards the patriarch himself, repeatedly preached against the use, or the abuse, of a word unknown to the apostles, unauthorized by the church, and which could only tend to alarm the timorous, to mislead the simple, to amuse the profane, and to justify, by a seeming resemblance, the old genealogy of Olympus. In his calmer moments Nestorius con- fessed, that it might be tolerated or excused by the union of the two natures, and the communication of their idioms {i.e., a transfer of properties of each

* The leader of this persecution was Theophihis, Bishop of Alex- andria, who, before he discovered that the majority of the Egyptian monks were Anthropomorphites, was himself opposed to this body.

t Anastasius of Antioch, who said, " Let no one call Mary Theotokos; for Mary was but a woman ; and it is impossible that God should be born of a woman."— Socrates, Ecdcs. Hist., Bk. VII., chap, xxxii.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 23

A.D.

nature to the other — of infinity to man, passibility to God, etc.) : but he was exasperated, by con- tradiction, to disclaim the worship of a newborn, an infant Deity, to draw his inadequate similes from the conjugal or civil partnerships of life, and to describe the manhood of Christ, as the robe, the instrument, the tabernacle of his Godhead." — Gibbon, Decline and Fall, chap. 47.

450. Marcianus. The Monophysite doctrine of Eutyches was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon, A.D. 451. Eutyches, from the one person of Christ, inferred also one nature, viz., the Divine — the human having been absorbed into it. Silco invaded Egypt with his Nubian followers.

474. Zeno. He issued the Henotkon, an edict which, while affirming the Incarnation, made no attempt to decide the difficult question whether Christ possessed a single or a double nature.

481. Anastasius.

527. Justinian. The Monophysites separated from the Melchites and chose their own patriarch ; they were afterwards called Copts, Ij^iilU*

610, Heraclius. The Persians under Chosroes held Egypt for ten years ; they were expelled by Heraclius

A.D. 629.

MUHAMMADANS.

638. 'Amr ibn el-'Asi conquers Egypt.

644. 'Othman.

750. Merwan H., the last of the ' Omayyade dynasty, was

put to death in Egypt. * The name given to the native Christians of Egypt by the Arabs, from KTTIT^-IOC for AiVwTrrtoc

24 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPl . A.D.

750-870. The'Abbasides rule over Egypt.

786. Harun er-Rashid.

813. Mamun visited Egypt, and opened the Great Pyramid.

870. Ahmed ibn-Tulun governs Egypt.

884. Khamaruyeh enlarges Fostat.

969-1 171. The Fatimites govern Egypt, with Masr el-

Kahira * (Cairo) as their residence. 975. Aziz, son of Mu'izz, great grandson of 'Obedallah. 996. Hakim, son of 'Aziz, founder of the Druses. This remarkable prince wished to be considered as God incarnate. 1020. Zahir, son of Hakim. 1036. Abu Tamim el-Mustansir.

1094. Musta'li, son of el-Mustansir, captured Jerusalem (a.d. 1096), but was defeated by the Crusaders under Godfrey de Bouillon. 1 1 60. 'Adid Ledinallah, the last of the Fatimites. 1 17 1. Salaheddin (Saladin) defeated the Crusaders at

Hittin, and recaptured Jerusalem. 1 193. Melik el'-Adil.

1 2 18. Melik el-Kamil, the builder of Mansurah. 1240. Melik es-Saleh, the usurper, captured Jerusalem, Damascus, and Ascalon. Louis IX. of France, attacked and captured Damietta, but was made prisoner at Mansurah, with all his army. 1 250-1380. The Bahrite Mamelukes. 1260. Bebars. 1277. Kalaun.

1 291. El-Ashraf Khalil captured Acre. 1346. Hasan.

1 382-1 5 1 7. liurgite or Circassian Mamelukes. 1382. Bark Ilk.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 25

A.D.

1422. Bursbey. 1468. Kait Bey. 1501. El-Ghuri.

15 1 7. lYiman Bey is deposed by Selim I. of Constanti- nople, and Egypt becomes a Turkish Pashalik. 1 77 1. 'Ali Bey sultan of Egypt.

1798. Napoleon Bonaparte stormed Alexandria ; battle of the Pyramids; and French fleet destroyed off Abukir by the English.

1 801. French compelled by the English to evacuate Egypt.

1805. Muhammad 'Ali appointed Pasha of Egypt.

181 1. Assassination of the Mamelukes by him.

1831. Declares his independence. ..

1848. Ibrahim Pasha.

1849. Death of Muhammad 'Ali. 'Abbas Pasha was

strangled at Benha.

1854. Sa'id Pasha. The railway from x\lexandria was completed, and the Suez Canal begun in his reign. He founded the Bulak Museum, and encouraged excavations on the sites of the ancient cities of Egypt.

1863. Isma'il, son of Ibrahim Pasha, and grandson of Muhammad 'Ali, was born in 1830. He was made Khedive in 1867. He caused railways, docks, and canals to be made, systems of tele- graphs and postage to be established ; he built sugar factories, and endeavoured to advance the material welfare of Egypt. The Suez Canal was opened during his reign (1869). He greatly ex- tended the boundaries of Egypt, and obtained possession of Suakin (Sauakin), Masowa (Masau'a), and two ports in the Gulf of Aden, a part of the Somali coast, a large part of the frontier of Abys-

26 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

sinia, and the Province of Darfur. The tribute paid by him to the Porte amounted to nearly ;^7oo,ooo. During his reign the national debt of Egypt became so great, that a European Commis- sion was appointed to enquire what steps should be taken in the matter. In 1879, as a result of A.D. pressure put upon the Porte, Isma'il was dethroned,

1880. and Tewfik, his eldest son, was appointed to

1 88 1. succeed him.

1882. Massacre of Europeans in June; bombardment of

Alexandria by the English fleet in July ; occupation of Egypt by English troops; defeat of 'Arabi Pasha.

1885. Murder of Gordon, and the abandonment of the Sudan.

1 886-1892. English troops continue to occupy Egypt, but the number of soldiers is being gradually reduced. Great financial and administrative reforms effected under the advice of English officials. Corvee abolished, a system of irrigation works established and perfected under the direction of Sir Colin Scott Moncriefif, taxes and interest on the Debt reduced, railways extended, and army re-modelled, etc.

1892. Death of Tewfik Pasha; accession of Abbas Pasha

his son. 1895. Continued prosperity of Egypt under English rule.

^J^fiimm' ' ■ ■ ' '^>^^

27

Dates	ASSIGNED TO	THE EgYPTI/	IN Dynasties by
	Egyptologists.
/nasty.	Champollion-	Lepsius	Brugsch	Marietta
	Figeac.	(in 1858).	(in 1877).
I.	B.C. 5,867	3,892	4,400	5,004
II.	5,615	3,639	4,133	4,751
III.	5,318	3,338	3,966	4,449
IV.	5,121	3,124	3,733	4,235
V.	4,673	2,840	3,566	3,951
VI.	4,425	2,744	3,300	3,703
VII.	4,222	2,592	3,100	3,500
VIII.	4,147	2,522		3^500
IX.	4,047	2,674		3,358
X.	3,947	2,565		3,249
XL	3,762	2,423		3,064
XII.	3,703	2,380	2,466	2,851
XIII	3,417	2,136	2,235
XIV.	3,004	2,167		2,398
XV.	2,520	2,101		2,214
XVI.	2,270	1,842
XVII.	2,082	1,684
XVIII.	1,822	1,591	1,700	1,703
XIX.	1,473	1,443	1,400	1,462
XX.	1,279	1,269	1,200	1,288
XXI.	1,101	1,091	1,100	1,110
XXII.	971	961	966	980
XXIII.	851	787	766	810
XXIV.	762	729	733	721
XXV.	718	716	700	715
XXVI.	674	685	666	665
XXVII.	524	525	527	527
XXVIII	404	525		406
XXIX.	398	399	399	399
XXX.	377	378	378	378
XXXI.	339	^40	340	340

28

THE COUNTRY OF EGYPT.

The Ancient Egyptians called Egypt j Baq or

'^ ^ © Baqet; ^^Ff ''^^ \[^ Ta-vierd; and ^=3 "^

Kami. Baq seems to refer to Egypt as the olive-producing country, and Ta-mera as the land of the inundation; the name by which it is most commonly called in the inscrip- tions is Kam, i.e.^ " Black," from the darkness of its soil. It was also called the " land of the sycamore," and the " land of the eye of Horus " {i.e., the Sun). It was divided

by the Egyptians into two parts : I. Upper Egypt

Ta-res or ^^i=f^i^© Ta-qemd, "the southern land ;" and

11. Lower Egypt ^^i^f w? Ta-ineh, "the northern land."

The kings of Egypt styled themselves siiten fiet, " king of the North and South," and neb taut, "lord of two earths."* The country was divided into nomes, the number of which is variously given ; the list given by some of the classical authorities contains thirty-six, but judging by the monu- ments the number was nearer forty. The nome {(lesp) was divided into four parts ; i, the capital town (;////) ; 2, the cultivated land ; 3, the marshes, which could only at times be used for i)urposes of cultivation ; and 4, the canals, which had to be kept clear and provided with sluices, etc.,

* As ruler of the two countries, each king wore the crown ^

which was made up of V , the teser, or red crown, representing the

northern part of Egypt, and Q , the hei', or white crown, representing the southern part of Egypt.

THE COUNTRY OF EGYPT.

29

for , irrigation purposes. . During the rule of the Greeks Egypt was divided into three parts : Upper, Central, and Lower Egypt ; Central Egypt consisted of seven nomes, and was called Heptanomis.

List of Nomes of Egypt — Upper Egypt.

	Nome.	Capital.	Divinity.
I.	Ta-Kens.	Abu (Elephantine), in later times Nubt (Ombos).	Chnemu.
2.	Tes-Heru.	Teb (Apollinopolis magna.	Heru - Behu-
		* Arab. Utfu or Edfu).	tet.
3-	Ten.	Necheb(Eileithyia),in later times Sene (Latopolis), Esneh.	Necheb.
4-	Uast.	Uast (Thebes), in later times Hermonthis.	Amen-Ra.
5.	Herui.	Kebti (Coptos).	Amsu.
6.	Aa-ti. ■	Taenterer (Denderah).	Hathor (Het Hert).
7.	Sechem.	Ha (Diospolis parva).	Hathor.
8.	Abt.	Abtu (Abydos), in earlier times Teni (This).	Anhur.
9-	Amsu.	Apu (Panopolis).	Amsu.
10.	Uat'et.	Tebu (Aphroditopolis).	Hathor.
II.	Set.	Shashetep (Hypsele).	Chnemu.
12.	Tuf.	Nen-ent-bak ( Antaeopolis).	Horus.
13-	Atefchent.	Saiut (LycopoHs, Arab. siut).	Ap-uat.
14.	Atef-peh.	Kesi (Cusae).	Hathor.
15-	Un.	Chemennu (Hermopolis).	Thoth.
16.	Meh-mahet.	Hebennu (Hipponon).	Horus.
17.		Kasa (Cynonpolis).	Anubis.
18.	Sapet.	Ha-suten(Alabastronpolis).	Anubis,
19.	Uab.	Pa-mat'et (Oxyrhynchos).	Set.

30

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Nome. Capital. Divinity.

20. Am-chent. Chenensu (Heracleopolis Heru-shefi.

magna).

21. Am-peh. Se-men Heru. Chnemu.

22. Maten. Tep-ahet (Aphroditopolis). Hathor.

		Lower Egypt.
I.	Aneb-het'.	Men-nefer (Memphis).	Ptah.
2.	Aa.	Sechem (Letopohs).	Heru-ur.
3-	Ament.	Nenten-Hapi (Apis).	Hathor-nub
4.	Sepi-res.	T'eka (Canopus).	Amen-Ra.
5.	Sepi-emhet.	Sa (Sais).	Neit.
6.	Kaset	Chesun (Chois).	Amen-Ra.
7.	. . . Ament.	Sent-Nefer (MeteHs).	Hu.
8.	. . . Abtet.	T'ukot (Sethroe).	Atmu.
9.	At'i.	Pa-Ausar (Busiris).	Osiris.
10.	Kakem.	Hataherab (Athribis).	Heru-chenti chati
II.	Kaliebes.	Kahebes (Kabasos).	Isis.
12.	Kat'eb.	T'eb-neter (Sebennythos).	Anhur.
13-	Hakat.	Annu (HeHopolis).	Ra.
14.	Chent-abet.	T'an (Tanis).	Horus.
15-	Tehuti.	Pa-Tehuti (HermopoHs).	Thoth.
16.	Char.	Pabaneb-tet (Mendes).	Ba-neb-tet
17.	Sam-behutet.	Pa-chen-en-Amen (Dios- poHs).	Amen-Ra.
18.	Amchent.	Pa-Bast (Bubastis).	Bast.
19.	Am-peh.	Pa-Uat' (Bute).	Uat'.
20.	Sept.	Kesem (Phakussa).	Sept.

Egypt proper terminates at Aswan (Syene) ; the territory south of that town for a certain distance on each side of the river Nile is called Nubia. The races who lived there in very early times caused the Egyptians much trouble, and we know from the tomb-inscriptions at Aswan that expeditions were sent against these peoples by the

THE COUNTRY OF EGYPT. 31

Egyptians as far back as the Xllth dynasty. The area of the land in Egypt proper available for cultivation is about 11,500 square miles; the Delta contains about 6,500 miles, and the Nile Valley with the Fayyum 5,000 miles. The Oases of the Libyan Desert and the Peninsula of Sinai are considered as parts of Egypt. Lower and Upper Egypt are each divided into seven Provinces, the names of which are as follows : —

Lower Egypt. Upper Egypt.

Behereh (capital, Damanhur). Beni-Suef (capital, Beni-

Kalyub (capital, Benha). suef).

Sherkiyeh (capital, Zakazik). Minyeh (capital, Minyeh).

Dakhaliyeh (capital, Man- Siiit (capital, Asyut).

stlrah. Girgeh (capital, Suhag).

Mentif. Keneh (capital, Keneh).

Gharbiyeh (capital Tanta). Esneh (capital, Esneh).

Gizeh. Wadi Halfah.

Large towns like Alexandria, Port Sa'id, Suez, Cairo, Damietta, and Isma'iliya are governed by native rulers.

In ancient days the population of Egypt proper is said to have been from seven and a half to nine millions ; at the present time it is probably well over eight millions. The population of the provinces south of Egypt, which originally belonged to her, has never been accurately ascertained. I'he country on each side of the Bahr el-Abyad is very thickly peopled ; it is generally thought that the population of this and the other provinces which belonged to Eg)^pt in the time of Isma'il amounts to about ten millions.

32

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS.

The Egyptians, whom the sculptures and monuments made known to us as being among the most ancient in- habitants of the country, belong, beyond all doubt, to the Caucasian race, and they seem to have migrated thither from the East. The original home of the invaders was^ apparently, Asia, and they made their w^ay across Mesopo- tamia and Arabia, and across the Isthmus of Suez into Egypt. It has been suggested that they sailed across the Indian Ocean and up the Red Sea, on the western shore of which they landed. It is, however, very doubtful if a people who lived in the middle of a huge land like central Asia, would have enough experience to make and handle ships sufficiendy large to cross such seas. No period can be fixed for the arrival of the new-comers from the East into Egypt ; we are, however, justified in assuming that it took place before B.C. 5000.

When the people from the East had made their way into Egypt, they found there an aboriginal race with a dark skin and complexion. The Egyptians generally called their land ^ — ig Kamt, i.e., "black"; and if the dark, rich colour of the cultivated land of Egypt be considered, the appropriateness of the term will be at once evident. The hieroglyphic which is read Jia///, is the skin of a crocodile, and we know from Horapollo (ed. Cory, p. 87), that this sign was used to express anything of a dark colour.* The name " Ham " is given to Egypt by the

* •' To denote dar/aicss, they represent the Tail of a Crocodile, for by no other means does the croeodile inflict death and destruction on any animal which it may have caught than by first striking it with its tail, and rendering it incapable of motion."

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. 33

Bible ; this word may be compared with the Coptic KKJULe, KHJULI or ^KiULI. The children of Ham are said to be Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. The second of these, Misraim, is the name given to Egypt by the Hebrews. The dual form of the word, which means " the double Misor," probably has reference to the "two lands" (in Egypt. ^ZZH), over which the Egyptian kings, in their inscriptions, proclaimed their rule. The descendants of Cush are represented on the monuments by the inhabitants of Nubia and the negro tribes which live to the south of that country. In the earliest times the descendants of Cush appear to have had the same religion as the Egyptians. The Put of the Bible is thought by some to be represented by the land of Punt, or spice-land, of the monuments. The people of Punt appear to have dwelt on both sides of the Red Sea to the south of Egypt and on the Somali coast, and as far back as B.C. 2500 a large trade was carried on between them and the Egyptians ; it is thought that the Egyptians regarded them as kinsmen. The aboriginal inhabitants of Phoenicia were probably the kinsfolk of the descendants of Misraim, called by the Bible Canaanites. Diodorus and some other classical authorities tell us that Egypt was colonized from P^thiopia ; for this view, however, there is no support. The civilization, religion, art of building, etc., of the Ethiopians are all of Egyptian origin, and in this, as in so many other points relating to the history of Egypt, the Greeks were either misinformed, or they misunderstood what they were told.

An examination of the painted representations of the Egyptians by native artists shows us that the pure Egyptian was of slender make, with broad shoulders, long hands and feet, and sinewy legs and arms. His forehead was high, his chin square, his eyes large, his cheeks full, his mouth wide, his lips full, and his nose short and rounded. His jaws protruded slightly, and his hair was smooth and fine. The evidence

D

34 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

of the pictures on the tombs is supported and confirmed by the skulls and bones of mummies which anthropologists have examined and measured during the last few years ; hence all attempts to prove that the Egyptian is of negro origin are overthrown at the outset by facts which cannot be con- troverted. In cases where the Egyptians intermarried with people of Semitic origin, we find aquiline noses.* One of the most remarkable things connected with the Egyptians of to-day is the fact that a very large number of them have reproduced, without the slightest alteration, many of the personal features of their ancestors who lived seven thousand years ago. The traveller is often accompanied on a visit to a tomb of the Ancient Empire by a modern Egyptian who, in his attitudes, form, and face, is a veritable reproduction of the hereditary nobleman who built the tomb which he is examining. It may be that no invading race has ever found itself physically able to reproduce per- sistently its own characteristics for any important length of time, or it may be that the absorption of such races by intermarriage with the natives, together with the influence

* A very good example of this is seen in the black granite head of the statue of Osorkon II., presented to the British Museum (No. 1063) by the Committee of the Egypt Exploration Fund. The lower part of the nose is broken away, but enough of the upper part remains to show what was its original angle. It was confidently asserted that this head belonged to a statue of one of the so-called Hyksos kings, but the assertion was not supported by any trustworthy evidence. The face and features are those of a man whose ancestors were Semites and Egyptians, and men with similar countenances are to be seen in the desert to the south-east of Palestine to this day. A clinching proof that the statue is not that of a Hyksos king was brought forward by Prof. Lanzone of Turin, who, in 1890, had in his possession a small statue of Osorkon II., having precisely the same face and features. The XXIInd dynasty, to which this king belonged, were Semites, as their names show, and they were always regarded by the Egyptians as foreigners, and rjsj^, the determinative of a man from a foreign country, was placed after each of their names.

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. 35

of the climate, has made such characteristics disappear ; the fact, however, remains, that the physical type of the Egyptian fellah is exactly what it was in the earliest dynasties. The invasions of the Babylonians, Hyksos, Ethiopians (including negro races), Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Turks, have had no permanent effect either on their physical or mental characteristics. The Egyptian has seen the civilizations of all these nations rise up, progress, flourish, decay, and pass away ; he has been influenced from time to time by their religious views and learning ; he has been the servant of each of them in turn, and has paid tribute to them all ; he has, nevertheless, survived all of them save one. It will, of course, be understood that the inhabitants of the towns form a class quite distinct from the Egyptians of the country ; the townsfolk represent a mix- ture of many nationalities, and their character and features change according to the exigencies of the time and circum- stances in which they live, and the influence of the ruling power.

D 2

36

THE MODERN EGYPTIANS.

The total population of Egypt proper may be fixed roughly at 8,000,000, of whom about 130,000 are foreigners.

Sir Francis Grenfell, G.C.B., is of opinion that the popu- lation of Egypt is now nearer 7iine than eight milhons. In a country where an increase in population always means an increase in taxation, it is quite impossil)le to obtain an accurate census. As far back as the time of David * the idea of " numbering the people " has been unpopular in the East.

It is exceedingly difficult to obtain an exact idea of what the population of Egypt actually was in Pharaonic times, for the inscriptions tell us nothing. Herodotus gives us no information on this matter, but Diodorus tells us that it amounted to 7,000,000 in ancient times. The priests at Thebes informed Germanicus, a.d, 19, that in the times of Rameses II. the country contained 700,000! fighting men ; it will also be remembered that the Bible states that the " children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children. And a mixed multitude went up also with them." Exodus xii. 37, 38. In the time of Vespasian 7,500,000 persons paid poll-tax; we may assume that about 500,000 were exempt, and therefore there must have been at least 8,000,000 of people in Egypt, without reckoning slaves. (Mommsen, Provinces of Rome^ Vol. II., p. 258.) It is probable, however, that the population of Egypt under the

* "And Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel." i Chronicles xxi. i.

t '•' Septigenta milia aetate militari," Tacitus, Annals, Bk. ii., 60,

THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. 37

rule of the Pharaohs has been greatly exaggerated, chiefly because no accurate data were at hand whereby errors might be corrected. During the occupation of the country by the French in 1798-180T it was said to be 2,500,00c; Sir Gardner Wilkinson, however, set it down at as low a figure as 1,500,000. In 1821 the population numbered 2,514,000, and in 1846 it had risen to 4,456,186. The last census was ordered by Khedivial decree on December 2, 1881, and it was completed on May 3, 1882. According to the official statement published in the Recensement General de VEgypte^ at Cairo, in 1884, it amounted in 1882 to 6,806,381 persons, of whom 3,216,847 were men, and 3,252,869 were women. Of the 6,806,381 persons, 6,708,185 were inhabitants of the country, and 98,196 were nomads. It showed that there were in the total 245,779 Bedawin and 90,886 foreigners; the number was made up in the following manner : —

Cairo, 374,838; Alexandria, 231,396; Damietta, 43,616; Rosetta, 19,378; Port Sa'id, 21,296, and Suez, 11,175. Of the provinces Behereh contained 398,856 ; Sherkiyeh, 464,655; Dakhaliyeh, 586,033; Gharbiyeh, 929,488; Kal- yub, 271,488; Menuf, 646,013; Asyut, 562,137; Beni- Suef, 219,573; FayyClm, 228,709; Gizeh, 283,083; Minyeh, 314,818; Esneh, 237,961; Girgeh, 521,413; Keneh, 406,858. The dwellers in the Oases* and the Peninsula of Sinai were not reckoned in the total given above. The annual increase in the population was estimated at 56,202, but at this rate the population of Egypt would only number a little over 7,000,000.

* The Egyptian Oases are five : Wah el-Khargeh, or Oasis Major, 90 miles from Thebes; Wah ed-Dakhaliyeh, or Oasis Minor with warm springs, to the west of the city of Oxyrhynchos ; Farafra, about 80 miles north of Oasis Minor ; Siwa, where there was a temple to Jupiter Amnion, to the south-west of Alexandria ; and Wah el-Bahriyeh, to the north of Wah el-Khargeh.

30 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

The population of Egypt to-day comprises the Fellahin, Copts, Bedawin, Jews, Turks, Negroes, Nubians and people from Abyssinia, Armenians and Europeans.

The Fellahin amount to about four-fifths of the entire population of Egypt, and are chiefly employed in agricultural pursuits. In physical type they greatly resemble the ancient Egyptians as depicted on the monuments. Their com- plexion is dark ; they have straight eyebrows, high cheek bones, flat noses with low bridges, slightly protruding jaws, broad shoulders, large mouths and full lips. The colour of their skin becomes darker as the south is approached. Ilie whole of the cultivation of Egypt is in the hands of the fellahin.

The Copts are also direct descendants from the ancient Egyptians, and inhabit chiefly the cities of Upper Egypt, such as Asyut and Ahmim. The name Copt is derived from iixj Kiibt^ the Arabic form of the Coptic form of the Greek name for Egyptian, kl^ivTriio^ ; it may be mentioned, in passing, that ki^ivn-To^, Egypt, is thought by some to be derived from au ancient Egyptian name for Memphis, Het-ka-Ptah, "The house of the genius of Ptah." The number . of Copts in Egypt to-day is estimated at about 350,000, and the greater number of them are engaged in the trades of goldsmiths, clothworkers, etc. ; a respectable body of clerks and accountants in the postal, telegraph and government offices in Egypt, is drawn from their community. They are clever with their fingers, and are capable of rapid education up to a certain point; beyond this they rarely go. Physically, they are of a finer type than the fellahin ; their heads are longer and their features are more European.

The Copts are famous in ecclesiastical history for having embraced with extraordinary zeal and rapidity the doctrines ot Christianity as preached by St. Mark at Alexandria. Before the end of the third century a.d. Egypt was filled with hundreds of thousands of ascetics, monks, recluses,

THE MODERN EGYPTIANS, 39

and solitaries who had thrown over their own weird and confused rehgious behefs and embraced Christianity ; they then retired to the mountains and deserts of their country to dedicate their Hves to the service of the Christians' God. The Egyptians, their ancestors, who Hved sixteen hundred years before Christ, had already arrived at the conception of a god who was one in his person, but who manifested himself in the world under many forms and many names. The Greeks and the Romans, who successively held Egypt, caused many changes to come over the native religion of the country which they governed ; and since the conflicting myths and theories taught to the people of Egypt under their rule had bewildered their minds and confused their beliefs, they gladly accepted the simple teaching of Christ's Apostle as a veritable gift of God. Their religious belief took the form of that of Eutyches (died after 451), who sacrificed the "distinction of the two natures in Christ to the unity of the person to such an extent as to make the incarnation an absorption of the human nature by the divine, or a deification of human nature, even of the body." In other words, they believed that Christ had but one composite nature, and for this reason they were called Monophysites ; in their lituigies they stated that God had been crucified." They formed a part of the Alexandrian Church until the Council of Chalcedon, a.d. 451, when it was laid down that Christ had a double nature— human and divine— but after this date they separated themselves from it, and were accounted heretics by it, because they obsti- nately refused to give up their belief in the o?ie divine nature of Christ which embraced and included the human. To the sect of Monophysites or Eutychians the Copts still belong. The orthodox church of Alexandria and its hereti- cal offshoot continued to discuss with anger and tumult the subtle points of their different opinions, until the fifth CEcumenical Council held at Constantinople a.d. 553,

40 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

made some concessions to the Monophysite party. Shortly after, however, new dissensions arose which so weakened the orthodox church that the Monophysite party hailed with gladness the arrival of the arms of Muhammad the Prophet, and joined its forces with his that they might destroy the power of their theological opponents. After *Amr had made himself master of Egypt (a.d. 640), he appointed the Copts to positions of dignity and wealth ; finding, how- ever, that they were unworthy of his confidence, they were degraded, and finally persecuted with vigour. From the time of Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria, a.d. 1235 and onwards, but little is known of the history of the Coptic Church. The Copt of to-day usually troubles himself little about theological matters ; in certain cases, however, he alarms with con- siderable firmness the doctrine of the " one nature."

The knowledge of the Coptic language is, generally speak- ing, extinct ; it is exceedingly doubtful if three Coptic scholars, in the Western sense of the word, exist even among the priests. The language spoken by them is Arabic, and though copies of parts of the Bible are found in churches and private houses, they are usually accompanied by an Arabic version of the Coptic text, which is more usually read than the Coptic. The Bible, in all or part, was trans- lated from Greek into Coptic in the third century of our era ; some, however, think that the translation was not made until the eighth century. The versions of the princi- pal books of the Old and the whole of the New Testament, together with lives of saints, monks and martyrs, form the greater part of Coptic literature. The Coptic language is, at base, a dialect of ancient Egyptian ; many of the nouns and verbs found in the hieroglyphic texts remain unchanged in Coptic, and a large number of others can, by making proper allowance for phonetic decay and dialectic differences, be identified without difficulty. The Copts used the Greek alphabet to write down their language, but found it neces-

THE MODERN EGYPTIANS. 41

sary to borrow six * signs from the demotic forms of ancient Egyptian characters to express the sounds which they found unrepresented in Greek. The dialect of Upper Egypt is called "Sahidic"t or Theban, and that of Lower Egypt " Memphitic." | During the last few years the study of Coptic has revived among European scholars, but this is partly owing to the fact that the importance of a knowledge of the language, as a preliminary to the study of hieroglyphics, has been at length recognized. The Roman Propagandist Tuki§ published during the last century some valuable works ; in spite, however, of the activity of scholars and the enter- prise of publishers, it still costs nearly ^5 to purchase a copy of as much of the Memphitic Coptic version of the Bible as has come down to us.

The Bedawin are represented by the various Arabic- speaking and Muhammadan tribes, who live in the deserts which lie on each side of the Nile ; they amount in number to about 250,000. The Bisharin, Hadendoa, and Ababdeh tribes, who speak a language (called 'to bedhawiyyeh') which is like ancient Egyptian in some respects, and who live in

These signs are : OJ = T^T^T ^^^ >	q = -^^f
i)= I ch;	8j= I ^
:^ = i h	(r= ^=^ r-.

t This is the older and richer dialect of Coptic, which was spoken from Minyeh to Aswan.

X More correctly called Boheiric, from the province of Boheira in the Delta ; the name Bashmuric has been wrongly applied to this dialect, but as it appears to have been exchisively the language of Memphis, it may be styled "Middle Egyptian." The dialect of Bushmur on the Lake of Menzaleh appears to have become extinct about a.d. 900, and to have left no traces of itself behind. See Stern, Kopt. Grat?i., p. i.

§ Among more recent scholars may be named Wilkins, Zoega, Tattam, Ideler, Schwartze, Revillout, Hyvernat, Amelineau, Stern, Guidi, Lagarde, etc.

42 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

the most southern part of Upper Egypt, Nubia, and Abyssinia, are included among this number. Among these three tribes the institutions of Muhammad are not observed with any great strictness. When the Bedawin settle down to village or town life, they appear to lose all the bravery and fine qualities of independent manhood which characterize them when they live in their home, the desert.

The inhabitants of Cairo, Alexandria, and other large towns form a class of people quite distinct from the other inhabitants of Egypt ; in Alexandria there is a very large Greek element, and in Cairo the number of Turks is very great. In the bazaars of Cairo one may see the offspring of marriages between members of nearly every European nation and Egyptian or Nubian women, the colour of their skins varying from a dark brick-red to nearly white. The shopkeepers are fully alive to their opportunities of making money, and would, beyond doubt, become rich but for their natural indolence and belief in fate. Whatever they appear or however much they may mask their belief in the Muham- madan religion, it must never be forgotten that they have the greatest dislike to every religion but their own. The love of gain alone causes them to submit to the remarks made upon them by Europeans, and to suffer their entrance and sojourning among them.

The Nubians or Berbers, as they are sometimes called, inhabit the tract of land which extends from Aswan or Syene to the fourth cataract. The word Nubia appears to be derived from nub^ 'gold,' because Nubia was a gold- producing country. The word Berber is considered to mean ' barbarian ' by some, and to be also of Egyptian origin. They speak a language which is allied to some of the North African tongues, and rarely speak Arabic well. The Nubians found in Egypt are generally doorkeepers and domestic servants, who can usually be depended upon for their honesty and obedience.

THE MODERN EGYPIIANS. 43

The Negroes form a large part of the non-native population of Egypt, and are employed by natives to perform hard work, or are held by them as slaves. They are Muhammadans by religion, and come from the countries known by the name of Sudan. Negro women make good and faithful servants.

The Syrian Christians who have settled down in Egypt are generally known by the name of Levantines. They are shrewd business men, and the facihty and rapidity with which they learn European languages place them in positions of trust and emolument.

The Turks form a comparatively small portion of the population of Egypt, but many civil and military appoint- ments are, or were, in their hands. Many of them are the children of Circassian slaves. The merchants are famous for their civility to foreigners and their keen eye to business.

The Armenians and Jews form a small but important part of the inhabitants in the large towns of Egypt. The former are famous for their linguistic attainments and wealth ; the latter have blue eyes, fair hair and skin, and busy themselves in mercantile pursuits and the business of bankers and money-changing.

The European population in Egypt consists of Greeks about 65,000, Italians 30,000, French 14,000, English 9,000, Germans, Austrians, Russians, etc., etc., about 10,000. The greater part of the business of Alexandria is in the hands of the Greek merchants, many of whom are famous for their wealth. It is said that the Greek community contributes most largely to the crime in the country, but if the size of that com- munity be taken into account, it will be found that this state- ment is not strictly true. The enterprise and good business habits of the Greeks in Alexandria have made it the great city that it is. The French, Austrian, German, and English nations are likewise represented there, and in Cairo, by

44

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYP'i'.

several first-rate business houses. The destructive fanaticism peculiar to the Muhammadan mind, so common in the far east parts of Mesopotamia, seems to be non-existent in Egypt ; such fanaticism as exists is, no doubt, kept in check by the presence of Europeans, and all the different peoples live side by side in a most peaceable manner. The great benefit derived by Egypt from the immigration of Europeans during the last few years is evident from the increased material prosperity of the country, and the administration of equitable laws which has obtained.

45

THE NILE.

The river Nile is one of the longest rivers in the world ;

its Egyptian name was Hapi, Q ;^;^;^ Aj, and the Arabs

call it da/ir, or 'sea.' It is formed by the junction, at 15^ 34' N. lat., and 30*^ 30' 58" E. long., of two great arms, the JS'a/ir el-Azrak^ i.e., the ' turbid,' or Blue Nile, from the S.E., and the Bahr ei-Abyad, i.e., the 'clear,' or White Nile, from the S.W.* The eastern branch rises in Goyam, in Abyssinia, at an elevation of about 10,000 feet above the level of the sea. Flowing through the lake of Dembea it passes round the eastern frontier of Goyam, till, when nearing the loth degree N. lat., it takes a north- west direction, which it preserves until it reaches Khartum ; here it unites with the Bahr el-Abyad, the other great arm, which flows from the S.W. The Bahr el-Abyad, or White Nile, is so called because of the fine whitish clay which colours its waters. It is broader and deeper than the eastern arm, and it brings down a much larger volume of water ; the ancients appear to have regarded it as the true Nile. There can, however, be no doubt that the Bahr el- Azrak has the best right to be considered the true Nile, for during the violent and rapid course which it takes from the Abyssinian mountains, it carries down with it all the rich mud which, during the lapse of ages, has been spread

* The White Nile rises in the mountainous districts a few degrees north of the Equator, and the principal streams which flow into it are those of the Sobat, Giraffe, and Gazelle rivers. It is not navigable, and its banks are so low that its whitish slimy deposit often extends to a distance of two miles from the stream. For about a hundred miles south of Khartum the river is little more than a marsh.

46 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPF.

over the land on each side of its course and formed the land of Egypt. In truth, then, Egypt is the gift of the Bahr el-Azrak. The course of the Bahr el-Abyad was traced by Linant in 1827 for about 160 miles from its con- fluence with the Bahr el-Azrak. At the point of confluence it measures about 600 yards across, a little farther up it is from three to four miles wide, and during the inundation the distance from side to side is twenty-one miles. In an ordinary season it is about 24 feet deep.

The source of the Nile was not discovered by Bruce, but by Captains Grant and Speke and Sir Samuel Baker. Its parents are the Albert Nyanza and Victoria Nyanza Lakes. The fountain-head of the Nile, Victoria Nyanza, is a huge basin, far below the level of the country round about, into which several streams empty themselves. About 200 miles below Khartum the united river receives, on the east side, the waters of the Atbara, which rises in the mountains of Abyssinia, and from this point onwards to its embouchure, a distance of about 1,750 miles, the Nile receives no affluent whatever. From Khartum to Cairo the Nile falls about 400 yards; its width is about 1,100 yards in its widest part. The course of the Nile has been explored to a length of about 3,500 miles. At Abu Hammed the river turns suddenly to the south-west, and flows in this direction until it reaches Donkola, wliere it again curves to the north. The river enters Nubia, flowing over a ledge of granite rocks which form the third cataract. Under the 22nd parallel N. lat. is the second cataract, which ends a few miles above Wadi Halfah, and about 180 miles lower down is the first cataract, which ends at Aswan, or Syene, a little above the island of Elephantine. After entering Egypt, the Nile flows in a steady stream, always to the north, and deposits the mud which is the life of Egypt. The breadth of the Nile valley varies from four to ten miles in Nubia, and from fifteen to thirty in Egypt. The

THE NILE. 47

width of the strips of cultivated land on each bank of the river in Egypt together is never more than eight or nine miles.

In ancient days the Nile poured its waters into the sea by seven mouths ; those of Damietta and Rosetta* are now, however, the only two which remain. The Delta is, in its widest part, about ninety miles across from east to west, and the distance of the apex from the sea is also about ninety miles. Many attempts have been made to ascertain the age of Egypt by estimating the annual alluvial deposit ; the results, however, cannot be implicitly relied on.

The inundation is caused by the descent of the rain which falls on the Abyssinian mountains. The indications of the rise of the ri\er may be seen at the cataracts as early as the beginning of June, and a steady increase goes on until the middle of July, when the increase of water becomes very great. The Nile continues to rise until the middle of Sep- tember, when it remains stationary for a period of about three weeks, sometimes a little less. In October it rises again, and attains its highest level. From this period it begins to subside, and, though it rises yet once more, and reaches occasionally its former highest point, it sinks steadily until the month of June, when it is again at its lowest level. The modern ceremony of ' Cutting the Dam ' of the river takes place generally in the second or third week of August at Fum el-Khalig, at Cairo. In ancient days the ceremony of cutting the canals was accompanied with great festivities, and great attention was paid to the height of the river in various parts of Egypt, that the cutting might take place at the most favourable time. We learn, on the authority of Seneca, that offerings of gold and other gifts were thrown

* The seven mouths were called the Pelusiac, Tanitic, Mendesian, Phatnitic, Sebennytic, Eolbitic, and the Canopic.

48 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

into the Nile at Philae by the priests to propitiate the divinity of the river.

If the height of the inundation is about forty-five feet the best results from agricultural labour are obtained ; a couple of feet of water, more or less, is always attended with disastrous results either in the Delta or Upper Egypt. The dykes, or embankments, which kept the waters of the Nile in check, and regulated their distribution over the lands, were, in Pharaonic days, maintained in a state of efficiency by public funds, and, in the time of the Romans, any person found destroying a dyke was either condemned to hard labour in the public works or mines, or to be branded and sent to one of the Oases. If we accept the statements of Strabo, we may believe that the ancient system of irrigation was so perfect that the varying height of the inundation caused but little inconvenience to the inhabi- tants of Egypt, as far as the results of agricultural labours were concerned, though an unusually high Nile would, of course, wash away whole villages and drown much cattle. If the statements made by ancient writers be com- pared, it will be seen that the actual height of the in- undation is the same now as it always was, and that it maintains the same proportion with the land it irrigates. According to Sir Gardner Wilkinson {A?icienl Egypt, II., 431), the cubit measures of the Nilometers ought, after certain periods, to be raised proportionately if we wish to arrive at great accuracy in the measurement of the waters. The level of the land, which always keeps pace with that of the river, increases at the rate of six inches in a hundred years in some places, and in others less. The proof of this is that the highest scale in the Nilometer at the island of Elephantine, which served to measure the inundation in the reigns of the early Roman emperors, is now far below the level of the ordinary high Nile ; and the obelisk of Heliopolis, the colossi at Thebes, and other similarly situated

THE NILE. 49

monuments, are now washed by the waters of the inundation and imbedded to a certain height in a stratum of alkivial soil which has been deposited around their base. The land about Elephantine and at Thebes has been raised about nine feet in 1,700 years. The usual rise of the river at Cairo is twenty-five feet, at Thebes thirty-eight feet, and at Aswan forty-five feet. The average rate of the current is about three miles per hour. As the river bed rises higher and higher the amount of land covered by the waters of the inundation grows more and more. It is estimated that, if all the land thus watered were thoroughly cultivated, Egypt would, for its size, be one of the richest countries in the world. "^ The ancient Egyptians fully recognized how very much they owed to the Nile, and, in their hymns, they thank the Nile-god in appropriate and grateful terms. Statues of the god are painted green and red, which colours are supposed to represent i. the colour of the river in June, when it is a bright green, before the inunda- tion ; and 2. the ruddy hue which its waters have when charged with the red mud brought down from the Abyssinian mountains.

* It is greatly to be hoped that Mr. Garslin will be enabled to increase the scope of the valuable work in the Irrigation Department which Sir Colin Scott I\I oner ieff began, and to gradually carry out the works necessary to bring into cultivation those districts which are now a wilderness.

50

EGYPTIAN WRITING.

The system of writing employed by the earhest inhabi- tants of the Valley of the Nile known to us was entirely pictorial, and had much in common with the pictorial writing of the Chinese and the ancient people who migrated into Babylonia from the East. There appears to be no inscription in which pictorial characters are used entirely, for the earliest inscriptions now known to us contain alphabetic characters. Inscriptions upon statues, coffins, tombs, temples, etc., in which figures or representati(jns of objects are employed, are usually termed 'Hieroglyphic' (from the Greek IcpoyXvc/xKo^^) ; for writing on papyri a cursive form of hieroglyphic called 'Hieratic' (from the Greek leitariKo^), was employed by the priests, who, at times, also used hieroglyphic ; a third kind of writing, consisting of purely conventional modifications of hieratic characters, which preserve little of the original form, was employed for social :ind business purposes; it is called demotic (from the Greek (ijfioTi^ds). The following will show the different forms of the characters in the three styles of writing — -

I. Hieratic.

EGYPTIAN WRITING. 5 I

11. Hieroglyphic Transcript of No. I. III. Demotic.

Mt^/^^^-i.?

IV. Hieroglyphic Transcript of No. III.

AAAAAA AAAAAA

No. I is copied from the Prisse "^ papyrus (Maxims of Ptah-hetep, p. V, 1. i), and is transcribed and translated as follows : —

ad teniu an seya - nef sef

.... the heart fails, not remembers he yesterday.

qes men -f en dim bu nefer ^^per em-

The body suffers it in [its] entirety, happiness becomes

bu \lmn^^ wretchedness, t

No. Ill is copied from the demotic version inscribed on the stele of Canopus (see p. i8), and No. IV. is the corresponding passage in the hieroglyphic version of the

* This papyrus is the oldest in the world, and was written about H.c. 2500; it was presented to the Bibliotheque Nationale by Prisse. who acquired it at Thebes.

t Ptah-hetep is lamenting the troubles of old age, and the complete passage runs : " The understanding perisheth, an old man rememl^ers not yesterday. The body becometh altogether pain ; happiness turneth into wretchedness ; and taste vanisheth away."

E 2

52 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Decree. The transliteration of the Demotic, according to Hess {Roman von Sine Ha-m-us^ p. 80), is -.^p-hon

nuter ua 7i-?i-ucl}' ent satp er-p-ma ueb er-ube p-gi-n-er

innh n-n-imter\ "a prophet, or one of the priests who are selected for the sanctuary to perform the dressing of the gods." The transliteration of the hieroglyphic text is: hen neter erpu ud amO dbu setep er db-tir ciii snid er mdret neteru em sati-sen.

The earliest hieroglyphic inscription is that found on the stelae of Shera preserved at Gizeh and Oxford ; it dates from the second dynasty. The oldest hieratic inscription is that contained in the famous Prisse papyrus which records the advice of Ptah-hetep to his son. It dates from the Xlth or Xllth dynasty. The demotic writing appears to have come into use about B.C. 900. Hieroglyphics were used until the third century after Christ, and hieratic and demotic for at least a century later. The inscriptions on the Rosetta and Canopus stelae are written in hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek characters. The Egyptians inscribed, wrote, or painted inscriptions upon almost every kind of substance, but the material most used by them for their histories, and religious and other works was papyrus. Sections from the stem of the papyrus plant were carefully cut, and the layers were taken off, pressed flat, and several of them gummed one over the other transversely ; thus almost any length of papyrus for writing upon could be made. The longest known is the great Harris papyrus, No. 1; it measures 135 feet by 17 inches. The scribe wrote upon the pai)yrus with reeds, and the inks were principally made of vegetable colours. Black and red are the commonest colours used, but some papyri are painted with as many as eleven or thirteen. The scribe's palette was a rectangular piece of wood varying from six to thirteen inches long by two, or two and a half, inches wide. In the middle was a hollow for holding the reeds, and at one end

EGYPTIAN WRIIING. 53

were the circular or oval cavities in which the colours were placed.

At the beginning of the Greek rule over Egypt, the knowledge of the use of the ancient Egyptian language began to decline, and the language of Greece began to modify and eventually to supersede that of Egypt. When we consider that Ptolemy I. Soter, succeeded in attracting to Alexandria a large number of the greatest Greek scholars of the day, such as Euclid the mathematician, Stilpo of Megara, Theodorus of Gyrene and Diodorus Cronus, the philosophers, Zenodotus the grammarian, Philetas the poet from Cos, and many others, this is not to be wondered at. The founding of the great Alexandrian Library and Museum, and the endowment of these institutions for the support of a number of the most eminent Greek philo- sophers and scholars, was an act of far-sighted policy on the part of Ptolemy I., whose aim was to make the learning and language of the Greeks to become dominant in Egypt. Little by little the principal posts in the Government were monopolised by the Greeks, and little by little the Egyptians became servants and slaves to their intellectually superior masters. In respect to their language, " the Egyptians were not prohibited from making use, so far as it seemed requisite according to ritual or otherwise appropriate, of the native language and of its time-hallowed written signs ; in this old home, moreover, of the use of writing in ordinary inter- course the native language, alone familiar to the great public, and the usual writing must necessarily have been allowed not merely in the case of private contracts, but even as regards tax-receipts and similar documents. But this was a conces- sion, and the ruling Hellenism strove to enlarge its domain." Mommsen, The Frovinces of the Roman E?npire^ Vol. IL, p. 243. It is true that Ptolemy II. Philadelphus, employed the

famous Manetho (/.^., &^^' Mer-en-Tehuti, 'beloved

of Thoth ') to draw up a history of Egypt, and an account

54 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

of the ancient Egyptian religion from the papyri and other native records ; but it is also true that during the reigns of these two Ptolemies the Egyptians were firmly kept in obscurity, and that the ancient priest-college of Heliopolis was suppressed. A century or two after the Christian era, Greek had obtained such a hold upon the inhabitants of Egypt that the Egyptian Christians, the followers and disciples of St. Mark, were obliged to use the Greek alphabet to write down the Egyptian, that is to say Coptic translation of the books of the Old and New Testaments. The letters cy, sh, q, / I), x, 2,, /^ ^ c, X, ^, were added from the demotic forms of hieratic characters to represent sounds which were unknown in the Greek lan- guage. During the Greek rule over Egypt many of the hieroglyphic characters had new phonetic values given to them ; by this time the knowledge of hieroglyphic writing had practically died out.

The history of the decipherment of hieroglyphics is of great interest, but no thorough account of it can be given here ; only the most important facts connected with it can be mentioned. During the X^Tth-X^TIIth centuries many attempts were made by scholars to in- terpret the hieroglyphic inscriptions then known to the world, but they resulted in nothing useful. The fact is that they did not understand the nature of the problem to be solved, and they failed to perceive the use of the same hieroglyphic character as a phonetic or determinative in the same inscription. In 1799, a French officer dis- covered at Bolbitane or Rosetta a basalt slab inscribed in the hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek characters ; it was shortly after captured by the English army, and taken to London, where it was carefully examined by Dr. Thomas Young.*

* Thomas \'oung was 1)oni at Milverton, in Somersetshire, on the 13th of June, 1773; both Ills parents were Quakers. At the ng,e of fourteen he is said t(^ have been versed in Greek, Latin, French,

EGYPTIAN WRITING. 55

The Society of Antiquaries published a fac-simile of the inscription, which was distributed among scholars, and Silvestre de Sacy and Akerblad made some useful dis- coveries about certain parts of the demotic version of the inscription. Dr. Young was enabled, ten years after, to make translations of the three inscriptions, and the results of his studies were published in 182 1. In 1822 M. Champollion * (Le Jeune) published a translation of the same inscriptions, and was enabled to make out something like an alphabet. There appears to be no doubt that he was greatly helped by the publications and labours of Young, who had succeeded in grouping certain words in demotic, and in assigning ac- curate values to some of the hieroglyphic characters used in writing the names of the Greek rulers of Egypt. Young made many mistakes, but some of his work was of value. Champollion, to whom the credit of definitely settling the phonetic values of several signs really belongs, had been carefully grounded in the Coptic language, and was there- fore enabled with little difficulty to recognize the hiero- glyphic forms of the words which were familiar to him in Coptic ; Young had no such advantage. Champollion's system was subjected to many attacks, but little by little it gained ground, and the labours of other scholars have

Italian, Ilelnew, Persian and Arabic. He took his degree of M.D. in July, 1796, in 1802 he was appointed professor of natural philosophy at the Royal Institution, and in 1810 he was elected physician to St. George's Hospital. He was not, however, a popular physician. He died on the loth of May, 1829.

* Jean Francois Champollion le Jeune was born at Figeac, depart- ment Du Lot, in 1796. He was educated at Grenoble, and afterwards at Paris, where he devoted himself to the study of Coptic. In the year 1824 he was ordered by Charles X. to visit all the important collections of Egyptian antiquities in Europe. On his return he was appointed Director of the Louvre. In 1828 he was sent on a scientific mission to Egypt, and was afterwards made professor of Eg}'ptian antiquities at the College de France. He died in 1831.

56 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

proved that he was right. The other early workers in the field of hieroglyphics were Dr. Samuel Birch in England ; Dr. Lepsius in Germany, and MM. Rosellini and Salvolini in Italy. The study of hieroglyphics has become compara- tively general, and each year sees books of texts published, learned papers on Egyptian grammar written, and transla- tions made into the various European languages.

In hieroglyphic inscriptions the signs are used in two ways : I, Ideographic, II, Phonetic. In the ideographic system a word is expressed by a picture or ideograph thus :

/w>AAA mau^ 'water ; m the phonetic system the same word is

written ^^\ d <2 tn -V a -^ k, no regard being paid to

the fact that ^^\ represents an owl, ^ n a hand and fore- arm, and '^ a rope. Similarly ^^-^^ emsiih is a 'crocodile' in the ideographic system, but phonetically it is written

^\ 1 ^>5\ Q ni •\- s -\- u -\~ h. The ideographic system is probably older than the phonetic.

Phonetic signs are : I, Alphabetic, as V\ ;;/, I i-,

V:^ ?/ ; or II, SvLLAP.ic, as "-^rsL vier, M \epcr^ .-Q-^ licfcp.

1'he sign O \eper can be written t, O ; 2, W :

; 4» W <rz^ ; the sign T 7iefer can be written

The scribes took pains to represent the exact value of these syllabic signs in order that no mistake might be made.

The IDEOGRAPHIC sigiis are also used as determinatives, and are placed after words written phonetically to de- termine their meaning. For example, 7iem means ' to sleep,' ' to walk,' ' to go back,' ' to become infirm,' ' tongue '

EGYPTIAN WRITING.

57

and ' again ' ; without a determinative the meaning of this word in a sentence would be easily mistaken. Determinatives are of two kinds : I, ideographic, and II,

generic. Thus after 1/(1 ^^ ^''^^^^ 'cat,' a cat, \So, was written ; this is an ideographic determinative. After ^

kerh^ 'darkness,' the night sky with a star in it, '=^=>, was written ; this is a generic determinative. A word has fre- quently more than one determinative ; for example, in the

word

AAAAAA AAAA^^ AA/\/VV\

\>

hah, ' to overflow,'

a determinative of the sound i^(^h

AAAAAA AAAAAA AA/WV\

is a determinative

of water, t=i of a lake or collection of water, and ^ of ground. The list of hieroglyphic signs with their phonetic values given on pp. 62-69 ^^''^l ^^^ of ^s^ in reading kings' names, etc. ; for convenience however the hieroglyphic alphabet is added here. The system of transliteration of Egyptian characters used in this book is that most generally adopted.

<!::> , _B3!. r or /

- _n	a
W' ^^^	i
^,.	7/
_J	h
i	P
j<^	T

ra

I w I

h

X (kh)

s

sh

58 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

I T

'^ /' (like ch in child)

The number of hieroglyphic characters is about two thousand.

A

NUiNIBERS.

^x^

II sen, two r*=u) III chemet, three

tua, /z'^

sas (?), six III ^

I ^ SCChef, j-^7'f;/

chemennu, eix'ht

heh, r? million

O (^

III , .

1 1 1 paut 07- pst, ///>>/£' III

n met', Av/ nn t'et, twenty nnn mab, ////>/)• (2 saa, ^/ Jiundred T cha, r/ thousand

t'ebfi, /fV/ thousand

hefnu, a Jiundred thou- sand

The forms of the numbers 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 and 90 are not known exactly.

Hieroglyphic inscriptions are usually to be read in the opposite direction to which the characters face ; there is however no hard and fast rule in this matter. On the papyri they are read in various directions, and there are instances in which the ancient copyist mistook the end of a

EGYPTIAN WRITING.

59

chapter for its beginning, and copied the whole of it in the reverse order. Some inscriptions are to be read in perpen- dicular lines.

The following transliterated and translated extract from the first page of the " Tale of the Two Brothers " will explain the foregoing statements.

0

I

11

ar ementuf xeriu sen sen

There were once on a time brothers two [the children]

en of

one

niuOet mother

I

e?i im

and of one

\.

In (3 ^

Anpii ren pa a a an

Anubis was the name of the elder, was

ren

t

»%•

pa the name of the

serau younger.

Now

Anpu Anpu,

\

(^

su he

xeri

I pa

atf

father

D

Batan Bata

ar

as regards

w xeri

^

hemt

•A

(^

an and was

possessed a house and had a wife,

pa if sell serau enima-f

his brother younger [living] with him

6o

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

\ f^l

(2 Ul ?fid sexeru en

after the manner of

a aritu-nef who made

I

em-sa after

1i w k

serau an ementuf

a servant, for it was he

ML \L^. Tl,

//f/;j-z^ ^?// her sesem

the clotlies, it was he who followed

J\

nai-f his [Anpu's]

aaut cattle

er in

sexet the fields,

f.

l\

au he

evientuf a it was who

aritu did

the ploughing,

(2

ementuf he it was

(^

flM'^ 11^ k5 \t

auuait who laboured.

enienliif a it was who

an he

aritu-nef aput neb cnti em

performed the duties all which were [<-onnected] with

seyet as-tu au

the fields : and behold was

I III

^1

pa the

serau young man

henuti ncfer

^.

^0 (^ ^^.:=_

ciJi un ijetennu-f

a farmer excellent, not existed the like of him

^SFf

EGYPTIAN WRITING.

6i

^

y\

em ta t'er-f . . . x^^ ^^ e/ux^^

in the land the whole of it ... Now thus it was during

ra ©I

=!=:> I i

hni

days

A X D (^ I I I

qermu many

her-sa eiien dii

upon those [days] that

I I I

^ \

paif was his

sen serau einsa naif

brother younger following after his

1 J^^-4 I 1

«-p^l

a a id cattfe

em according

paif to his

o

hru 7ieb every day,

emintuf her and he

se\eni cnti wont of

I

?/^?// (or be/iau) cr

returned to

pai-f his

I "^^

pa er

house

tennu

-r

o

e \

□ ^ dnj citep

he was laden

(^ ra J:^ '^ 1

ruha every evening, and

PS'^K

I I I

em with

vegetables of all kinds

^ I

\> Mi

en of the

se^et fields.

62

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT,

A List of some of the Principal Hieroglyphic Signs

AND THEIR PHONETIC VALUES.

an

ha

ur

ser

a^i

aau

® tep ^ hra ^ aiiem

K^at

'^^- an

an

Men AND Women.

l-^J seher

tut

am

ar

sa

fa

heh

hch

I be. Limbs, &c., of Men.

^= hu

^■rrm^ sept

U ka

0 .<™

—A.^ an, at

- ca

a_J] ma

A a ta

\=^ ser

^.'

xen t

seps

amen

S) heneii

4

maat

"^^ sem ^-^P sesem

^Zp tct or

I fcl,.a

''=u)ka,mcl ^ ret

f^sem J b

^ i ^^ iKi, ail

seb

.^^ :^^

h

1, r neb ser

peh ha at ses

Heru, bak

ba

aq

egyptian writing.

Animals.

au

63

ab 1ms sab

set

ab ^ ba mail

Limbs, &c., of Animals.

^ sef I us ba

^ Xt-'iit, fent \^ ab ^ setem .^^^ x^pes

T »

Birds.

ba

mut

se

m

^tg qeni ti

^

\

nein

u pa

ten ^^ sent

Parts of Birds. meh I) maat, su

Fish. <^=<an /I X'^

^ se

betu

64

notes for travellers in egypt. Reptiles.

sebek •^^s. hefen 3|P serq

0 ^™

1l ben

-4=' un uah sek bener

])Ct,

her

^jjjl^ (^chcn

ta

af, net, x^b sexet

kam

Trees and Plants. net'em I su

uat

in eh ha

resu

qema

^ nexeb

TT

enen

\ renp

Hil sa sexet

fl

Celestial Objects.

cQDm xu I /--^ aah

Objects of Earth.

C^ tu f^/^ set

I

Water.

f

xeper

d

mes

het'

sen

hen

ft

B t'er

;j^ seb, lua

aner

iner

r".=ib

egyptian writing. Building.

65

D

nil

per

het

sell heb aneb

a

an

seq

tep, hetep

aa

^n? ua -/=^ pet

semer

0^ aba

\ qet

ma

'^ neter j _>

tern ^"^^^ sem .nemmat

Arms, etc.

p

set

I heq I au

1

f

us

sexem

xerp

men

ab

N am, t'a, I qem

1

T

1

i i

^ ^es,

set'eb

ut t'et

a

t'a

men

res

ab, qes, ken

sell

i '"

tet set

t

net ab ^ menx

xa

sam

s

setp

uta

mer

66

y

nefer hes

bet' net

'^ qes, ses
9	sen
^	ret
i	sen
1	h
M	menx

^ X

©, ©, © Sep

0 i)aut

o t

D, n xemt

^ q

notes for travellers in egypt Musical Instruments. sexem

r^^^ men

Crowns. ^^ meh

[p -

Cords.

1

mat

^^m sa

ut, heseb

(?. u — (D— set

^

net, sexet

mer

nes

XIX at

:^z=K net <>^S«o sa aper Mathematical Figures.

hni

\>	hu	ra	h
h	sei)t	m	mer
L	tfi	, i	rer
i	P	c: '	teben
A	hap	( )i	ren
X nil	, ur, ses	3	tena, V)eY

sexet atf

teb f^^ nub ^ X^^l^er Q sen 8 sah

f> her — H- t'et

t'ata

amsu

Q ap

0	nil
Q	xnem
^	ab
1	hes
fii	xent

>$^ xent

>^ am

Y^^^_

EGYPTIAN WRITING.
Vases, etc.
qebh	0	ta
hen	D	ta
ma	r-^	hetep
au, ab	\X°-^	aa

67

\7

°^ ba S k

Ships, etc. hem

ua, beha

xer, hep

to call to pray to rejoice to dance to plough foes of men of eods

I^nef

Y aha ffUl xent

m-	sesep
^	au
±5=i	her, maten
v^^u_u:	tern

Determinatives. of women

^ of birth

.■^D- to see

^ — f\ of strength

y\ to walk, stand

(^ of flesh

y^ to breathe, smell

s,

m

'vZ^ neb ^^5:7 heb

^ amax -J- am ^"^ xesef

sext

-^QQ

S

|\/'\^

of birds

of goddesses

of trees of grain of heaven of light of country of towns

F 2

6S

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Determinatives — contirmed.

5	of iron	o o o	of metals	KSty of festival
AAAA/^A AAAAAA I 1	of water of houses	""^ '"^	writing, computation, knowledge, and abstract	^ of unguents ? j^T of roads
<:^x^ of writing		ideas		O^ of ships
s	of ground	^	of fire	XZ2 of winds
		The Arabic	Alphabet.
Elif	\	a		1	Ziid	^	d aspirated
Ba	^-^	b			Ta	1.	/ palatal
Ta	LU	*			Za	\.	z palatal
Tha	<Jl:	ih = i	?		'Ain	1l
Cxim	e"	g (like	i o in o-/;,)^	Chain	c	g guttural +
Ha Kha	t	A (a smooth gut- tural aspirate) ch (like ch in /<9r//)	Fa Kaf Kaf		/ /' guttural k
Dal	L>	d			Lam	J	I
Zal	J	tli (lik	e /// in	that)	Mim	r	ni
Ra	J	r			Nun	11
Zay	J	z			Ha	i>	h
Sin	O^	s			AVaw	•	w
Shin	J^	sh (lik	e sJi in	shut)	Ya		y
Sad	w	i- (lik(	3 Ji" in hiss)

* Pronounced hard in Egypt.

t Usually unpronounceable by Europeans.

X Accompanied by a rattling sound,

EGYPTIAN WRITINC;.

69

The Coptic iVLPHABET (31 letters).

A.

Bl V

e

K

e I

K

A

a

b

o

lb

d

e

z

e

ih

i

k

I

X3L	in	■^	/J
rt	n	to	6
i:	X or ks	a	sh
0	0	q	f
n	P	^	X or ^/t
P	r	&	If
c	s	X	k
T-	t	^	C
T	y	tt	ti
4>	pk
:x:	ch

* In the Boheiric dialect there are thirty-two.

t Six letters of the Coptic alphabet are modifications of the forms of Egyptian characters in demotic. Sec p. 41. The names of the letters

in Coptic are ^.X4>^., fi.I2^^,, ^^,JULJUL^,, -KiSKKi^, ei, ^n-^., HT"^, eix^-, i^-vx^., K^.u^^., X^,'J^X^-, JULI, rti, ^i, o, ui, po, ciJUL^., T-^.T, Te(g^e), cf)i, XI, ■*!, ^-^^ cyei, qei, ^ei, ^opi, x^.nxi^.,

CTlJUL^., TI.

70

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

*

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GO CO OO CO CO OG OO dO

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EGYPTIAN WRITING, 7 I

The ancient Egyptians had : I. the vague or civil year, which consisted of 365 days ; it was divided into twelve months of thirty days each, and five intercalary days were added at the end ; II. the Sothic year of 365I days. The first year of a Sothic period began with the rising of Sirius or the dog-star, on the ist of the month Thoth, when it coincided with the beginning of the inundation ; III. the Egyptian solar year,* which was a quarter of a day shorter than the Sothic year, an error which corrected itself in 1460 fixed years or 146 1 vague years. The true year was estimated approximately by the conjunction of the sun with Sirius. Dr. Brugsch thinks (Egypt under the Pharaohs, Vol. II., p. 176) that as early as b.c. 2^00 four different forms of the year were already in use, and that the " litde year " corresponded with the lunar year, and the "great year" with a lunar year having intercalated days. Each month was dedicated to a god.f The Egyptians dated their stelae and documents by the day of the month and the year of the king who was reigning at tiie time. The Copts first dated their documents according to the years of the indiction ; the indictions were periods of fifteen years, and the first began a.d. 312. In later times the Copts made use of the era of the Martyrs, which was reckoned from the 29th of August, a.d. 284. About the ninth century after Christ they began to adopt the Muhammadan era of the Hijrah or "flight," which was reckoned from a.d. 622.

* It was practically the same as the civil year.

t Some of the Coptic names of the months show that they have been derived from the ancient Egyptian : thus Thoth is from j^ , Tchiili, Pachon'from 4 n Chensu, Athor from j^ Hct-Hcrit,

Mesore from (m \\^ \.A^ mes-Heru, "the birth of Horus " festival,

etc. The Copts have I. an agricultural year, and II. an ecclesiastical year ; the latter consists of twelve months of thirty days, with a thirteenth month called Nissi of five or six intercalary days.

72

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT.

The religion ot the ancient Egyptians is one of the most difficult problems of Egyptology, and though a great deal has been written about it during the last few years, and many difficulties have been satisfactorily explained, there still remain unanswered a large number of questions connected with it. In all religious texts the reader is always assumed to have a knowledge of the subject treated of by the writer, and no definite statement is made on the subject concerning which very little, comparatively, is known by students to- day. For example, in the texts inscribed inside the pyramids of Unas, Teta, and Pepi (b.c. 3300-3233), we are brought face to face with religious compositions which mention the acts and relationships of the gods, and refer to beliefs, and give instructions for the performance of certain acts of ritual which are nowhere explained. It will be remembered that Ptolemy II. Philadelphus instructed Manetho to draw up a history of the religion of the ancient Egyptians. If such a work was needed by the cultured Greek who lived when the religion of ancient Egypt, though much modified, v/as still in existence, how much more is it needed now? The main beliefs of the Egyptian religion were always the same. 'Phe attributes of one god might be applied to another, or one god might be confused with another; the cult of one god might decline in favour of another, or new gods might arise and become popular, but the foundation of the religion of Egypt remained unchanged. Still, it is asserted by some that the religion of the dynasties of the Early Empire was simpler and more free from spccu-

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT. 73

lation than that of the Middle and New Em])ires, in which the nature and mutual relationships of the gods were dis- cussed and theogonies formulated. Speaking generally the gods of Egypt were the everlasting and unalterable powers of nature, i.e., 'day and night,' 'light and darkness,' etc. The great god of the Egyptians, Ra, or Amen-Ra, as he was called in the Middle Empire, was said to be the maker of all things ; the various gods Horus, Atmu, etc., were merely forms of him. Ra was self-begotten, and hymns to him never cease to proclaim his absolute and perfect unity in terms which resemble those of the Elebrew Scriptures. It will be seen from the translation of a hymn given in the following pages that he is made to possess every attribute, natural and si)iritual, which Christian peoples ascribe to God Almighty. The one doctrine, however, which lived per- sistently and unchanged in the Egyptian mind for five thousand years, is that of a future life. During the earliest dynasties beautiful and enduring tombs'^ were built in order that the bodies which were placed in them might be preserved until such time as the resurrection of the body should take place. It is clear from the papyri that man was supposed to possess a body, a soul, (<^^ ba, a

' genius ' U ka, and an intelligence, ^^ x^^- ^^^^

body, freed from all its most corruptible portions, was preserved by being filled with bitumen, spices, and

* " Les belles tombes que Ton admire tLans les plaines de Thebes et de Sakkarah ne sont done pas dues a I'orgueil de ceux qui les ont erigees. Une pensee plus large a preside a leur construction. Plus les materiaux sont enormes, plus on est siir que les promesses faites par la religion recevront leur execution. En ces sens, les Pyramides ne sont pas des monuments ' de la vaine ostentation des rois ' ; elles sont des obstacles impossibles a renverser, et les preuves gigantesques d'un dogme consolant." (Mariette, Notices des rrincipaux Monumeuts, p. 44.)

74 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

aromatic drugs, and having been bandaged in many a fold of linen, lay in its tomb, ready to take part in the life which was inherited by those who were deemed worthy of it.

Of the funeral procession we are able to gain some idea from the vignettes which are given in hieroglyphic copies of the Book of the Dead. In the centre of p. 75 the dead man is seen lying on a bier in a chest mounted on a boat with runners, which is drawn by oxen. In the rear is a sepulchral ark or chest surmounted by a figure of Anubis, the god of the dead. In front of the boat are a group of women (p. 76) beating their faces and wailing, and a youth carrying the staff, chair, and box of the deceased. At the head of the procession is the kJier Jieb or master of funereal ceremonies, who reads from an open roll of papyrus the funereal service. The scene on page 76 represents the ceremony of "opening the mouth," which takes place at the door of the tomb. Before the tomb stands the mummy of Hu-nefer to receive the final honours ; behind him, and embracing him, stands Anubis, the god of the dead, and at his feet in front kneel his wife Nasha and her daughter to take a last farewell of the body. By the side of a table of offerings stand three priests : the son priest, who wears a panther's skin, holding in his right hand a libation vase, and in the left a censer ; a priest who offers vases of unguents to the deceased ; and a priest who holds in one

hand the instrument ur~heka ^^ 9 \ j with which he is

about to touch the eyes and mouth of the mummy, and in the other the instrument f^ — ^ for "opening the mouth."

On the rounded stele , at the door of the tomb, is

inscribed : — " Hail, Osiris, chief of Amenta, the lord of eternity, spreading out in everlastingness, lord of adorations, chief of the cycle of his gods ; and hail, Anubis [dweller] in

aODDD oaaoD aaano

naODO ODDDO ODDDO

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THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT. 77

the tomb, great god, chief of the divine dwelling. May they grant that I may go in and come out from the under- world ; that I may follow Osiris in all his festivals at the beginning of the year ; that I may receive cakes, and that I may come forth in the presence of [Osiris], I the ka of Osiris, the greatly favoured of his god, Hu-nefer."

In the lower register are a cow and calf, a priest holding a vase ^, a priest carrying a haunch of a bull CTV^, a table of offerings, a sepulchral box ^^, and a table upon which are arranged the instruments employed in the ceremony of opening the mouth, tnz.^ the Fesh-en-kef ^, the haunch CTv^, the libation vases \7Y7\7\7 , the feather p , the instruments f^ — ^,f^ — ,[^^ — ,,^^ — ,, the u?'-hcka^ the boxes of purification

^^ ^^, the bandlet ( , etc.

After the death of a man it was thought that he was taken into the hall of the god Osiris, judge of the dead, and that his conscience, symbolized by the heart, was weighed in the balance before him. An excellent idea of what the Egyp- tians believed in this matter may be gathered from the two following scenes in the Papyrus of Ani. Ani and his wife Thuthu are entering the Hall of Double Truth, wherein the heart ^ is to be weighed against the feather |), emblematic of Right and Truth, or Law. This ceremony is being per- formed in the presence of the gods " Heru-khuti (Har-

machis) the great god within his boat" ^C llir^^ ^^;Temu^^^^; Shu fo ^^ ;''Tef- nut,ladyofheaven,"^0||||t-^^;Seb'^J^;

„D ^

' Nut, lady of heaven," ^^z:7 F=^ ; Isis F r>v /r| ; Neph

thys T] ; " Horus, the great god,"

^f) .

Hathoi

iK«i€iffli

!^a!e?^^pm^if^i;aaga

UBM

mmimsmm

ggliaiilllSNKMWf^epy

m

8o NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

lady of Amenta," [^ ^^^~^ | c^^:^ ; Hu | V^ ^= and Sa ^^^ 3. Upon the beam of the scales is the dog-

headed ape ^, the companion or attendant of Thoth,

"the scribe of the gods." The god Anubis, jackal-headed, is kneeling to examine the indicator of the balance, which is suspended from a projection made in the form of p. The inscription above the head of Anubis reads: — " Saith he who is in the abode of the dead, ' Turn thy face, O just and righteous weigher [who weighest] the heart in the balance, to stablish it.' " Placing Anubis, the god of the dead,

stands Ani's "Luck" or "Destiny," Shai T»M % (|(| fj ,

and above is a human-headed object resting upon a pylon which is supposed to be connected with the place w^here he was born. Behind these stand the goddesses Meskhenet

rn I ^ c^ and Renenet /wwna ^ ^ f/p. , who were the

deities v/ho presided over the birth and education of chil- dren. Near these is the soul of Ani in the form of a human- headed bird '^'^j standing upon a pylon u. On the right

of the balance, behind Anubis, stands Thoth, the scribe of the gods, with his reed-pen and palette containing black and red ink, with which to record the result of the trial.

Behind Thoth is the female monster Amam W,

the "Devourer," called also Am-mit .

Y W I the " Eater of the Dead." She has the fore-part of a

crocodile, the hind-quarters of a hippopotamus, and the middle part of a lion. Ani says : —

" My heart my mother, my heart my mother, my heart my coming into being. May there be no resistance to me

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT. 8 1

in [my] judgment; may there be no opposition to me from the divine chiefs; may there be no parting of thee from me in the presence of him who keepeth the scales ! Thou art my ka (double) within my body which knitteth and strengtheneth my limbs. Mayest thou come forth to the place of happiness to which we advance. May the divine chiefs {Shenit) not make my name to stink, and may no lies be spoken against me in the presence of the god. It is good for thee to hear [glad tidings of joy at the weighing of words. May no false accusation be made against me in the presence of the great god. Verily, exceedingly mighty shalt thou be when thou risest]."

Thoth, the righteous judge of the great cycle of the gods who are in the presence of the god Osiris, saith, " Hear ye this judgment. The heart of Osiris hath in very truth been weighed and his soul hath stood as a witness for him ; his trial in the Great Balance is true. There hath not been found any wickedness in him ; he hath not wasted the offerings m the temples ; he hath not harmed any by his works ; and he uttered not evil reports while he was upon earth."

Next the great cycle of the gods reply to Thoth dwelling in Khemennu (Hermopolis) : "That which cometh forth from thy mouth cannot be gainsaid. Osiris, the scribe Ani, the victorious one in judgment, is just and righteous. He hath not committed sin, neither hath he done evil against us. The Devourer shall not be allowed to prevail over him ; he shall be allowed to enter into the presence of the god Osiris, and offerings of meat and drink shall be given unto him, together with an abiding habitation in Sekhet-hetepu, as unto the followers of Horus."

In the second part of this scene we have Ani being led into the presence of the god Osiris. On the left the hawk- headed god Horus W, the son of Isis, wearing the crowns

o

w as

^ d 2 ^

o 4::

^ c

z: K

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF F.GYPT. 83

of the North and South rf , holding Ani by the hand, leads him into the presence of " Osiris, the lord of eternity," r] J) ^37 XI Auscir neb t'etta. This god is seated within a shrine in the form of a funereal chest, and he wears the a fef crown J^f , with plumes ; at the back of

his neck hangs a menlit ^V7, the emblem of joy and

happiness. In his hands he holds the crook [ , sceptre |, and the flail /\ 5 emblems of rule, sovereignty and dominion. On the side of his throne jj are depicted the doors of the tomb with bolts, \ . Behind him stand Nephthys on his right and Isis on his left. Standing upon a lotus flower which springs from the ground, are the four deities generally known as " the children of Horus " (or Osiris) ; tliey represent the cardinal points. The

first, Mestha jl M , has the head of a man fi i the

second, Hapi '^(Jm, the head of an ape y ; the third,

Tuamautef i< , the head of a jackal 0; and the

fourth, Qebhsennuf, fO 1 , ih.e head of a hawk V .

Suspended near the lotus flower is a bullock's hide, into which the deceased, or the person who represented him at funereal ceremonies, was supposed to enter. The roof of the shrine rests upon pillars with lotus capitals, and is ornamented with a cornice of uraei ; the hawk-headed figure above represents the god Horus-Sept or Horus-Seker.

At the foot of steps leading to the throne of Osiris, kneels Ani upon a mat made of fresh reeds ; his right hand is raised in adoration, and in his lef he holds the Mer/>

G 2

84 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

sceptre () . He wears a whitened wig surmounted by a "cone," the signification of which is unknown. Round his neck is the collar ^^ . Close by are a table of offerings of meat, fruit, flowers, etc.^ and a number of vases containing wine, beer, unguents, "Q , B, W, etc, with these are trussed ducks ^^^ , flowers ^^ , cakes and loaves of bread OE^ , (^^D , O , ef^. The inscription above the table of offerings reads, " Osiris, the scribe Ani."

33 fi ^ 'l^ 1 ^fl- '^''"' i"'^<:ription above Ani reads : "O Lord of Amenta (the underworld), I am in thy presence. There is no sin in my body, I have uttered no lie wilfully, and I have done nothing with a double motive. Grant that I may be like unto those favoured beings who [stand] about thee, and that I may be an Osiris greatly favoured of the beautiful god and beloved of the lord of the world — [I] who am in truth a royal scribe loving him, Ani, victorious in judgment before the god Osiris."

To Osiris Horus says : — "I have come to thee, O Unnefer, and I have brought the Osiris Ani to thee. His heart is righteous coming forth from the balance, and it hath not committed sin against any god or any goddess. Thoth hath weighed it according to the directions spoken to him by the cycle of the gods ; and it is very true and righteous. Grant unto him offerings of meat and drink, permit him to enter into the presence of Osiris, and grant that he may be like unto the followers of Horus for ever."

An interesting vignette in the papyrus of Neb-seni (British Museum, No. 9900) shows the deceased being weighed against his own heart in the presence of the god Osiris :

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT.

85

If the result of the weighing of the heart was un- favourable the Devourer stepped forward and claimed the dead man as his. Annihilation was the result.

The following is a specimen of the hymns which the deceased addresses to Ra : —

A Hymn to Ra [to be sung] when he riseth in the

EASTERN SKY.

{Front British Museum Papyrus^ No. 9901.) " Homage to thee, O thou who art Ra when thou risest and Tmu when thou settest. Thou risest, thou risest ; thou shinest, thou shinest, O thou who art crowned king of the gods. Thou art the lord of heaven, thou art the lord of earth, thou art the creator of those who dwell in the heights, and of those who dwell in the depths. Thou art the one god \Aho came into being in the beginning of time. Thou didst create the earth, thou didst fashion man, thou didst make the watery abyss of the sky, thou didst form Hapi (Nile) ; thou art the maker of all streams and of the great deep, and thou givest life to all that is therein. Thou hast knit together the mountains, thou, thou hast made mankind and the beasts of the field, thou hast created the heavens and the earth. Worshipped be thou whom the goddess Maat embraceth at morn and at eve. Thou stridest across the sky with heart expanded v^ith joy; the Lake of Testes is at

86 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

peace. The fiend Nak hath fallen and his two arms are cut off. The boat of the rising sun hath a fair wind, and the heart of him that is in its shrine rejoiceth. Thou art crowned with a heavenly form, thou the Only One art pro- vided [with all things] Ra cometh forth from Nu [sky] in triumph. O thou mighty youth, thou everlasting son, self- begotten, who didst give birth to thyself; O thou mighty One of myriad forms and aspects. King of the world, Prince of Annu (Heliopolisj, lord of eternity, and ruler of the everlasting ; the company of the gods rejoice when thou risest, and when thou sailest across the sk)', O thou who art exalted in the sektet boat. Homage to thee, O Amen-Ra, thou who dost rest upon Maat, thou who passest over heaven, [from] every face that seeth thee. Thou dost wax great as thy Majesty doth advance, and thy rays are upon all faces. Thou art unknown and inscrutable . . . . ; thou art the Only One. [Men] praise thee in thy name [Ra], and they swear by thee, for thou art lord over them. Thou hast heard with thine ears and thou hast seen with thine eyes. Millions of years have gone over the world ; those throu^ri which thou hast passed I cannot count. Thy heart hath decreed a day of happiness in thy name [of Ra]. Thou dost pass over and travellest through untold spaces of millions and hundreds of thousands of years, thou settest in peace and thou steerest thy way across the watery abyss to the place which thou lovest ; this thou doest in one little moment of time, and thou dost sink down and makest an end of the hours. Hail my lord, thou that passest through eternity and whose being is everlasting. Hail thou Disk, lord of beams of light, thou risest and thou makest all mankind to live. Grant thou that I may behold thee at dawn each day."

From the scene on p. 87, we may form an idea of how the deceased was supposed to employ his time in the " islands of the blessed," which the Egyptians called " Sexet-

88

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Hetepu." Here we have an estate intersected by canals of waters. To the left in the upper division are three pools called Qenqenet, Anttenet and Nut-ur. Beneath is the legend: — "The being in peace in the Fields of Air(?)." Before three gods who are described as " gods of the hori- zon," is an altar with flowers, " an offering to the great god, the lord of heaven." On a pylon stands a hawk. Next we see the deceased making an offering of incense to his own soul in the form of a human-headed hawk ^^. In a boat, in which stand tables of offerings, sits the deceased paddling himself along. The legend reads, " Osiris, the living one, the victorious one sailing over the Lake of Peace." Behind, the deceased and his father and mother are offering incense to the "great cycle of the gods"; close by stands Thoth the scribe of the gods. In the second division the deceased, with his father and mother, s adoring " Hapi (Nile), the father of the gods," and we see him ploughing, sowing, reaping and winnowing the luxuriant wheat along a track by the canal the "length of which is one thousand measures, and the width of which cannot be told." The legend says concerning this canal : —

a7i

'Not

\T,

nn exist

renin fishes

fiel) any

aui-f in it,

-►JU.

an u?i not exist

nebt (in^-f

anv in it."

I I I

iui neb am-/

(III fishes any in it,

I

.,-a_..

^.

A^v/WN rvs/\/\/s/s

not exist

ism.

W III aK 7(71 hefi

)rnis Les

r worn \ snak(

THK RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT.

89

In the third division are:— five islands (?) ; "the boat of Ra-Harmachis when he goeth forth to Sekhet-Aanre " ; a boat the master of which is the god Un-nefer ; and three small divisions formed by the " water of the sky." In the first are " beatified beings seven cubits high, and wheat three cubits high for spiritual beings who are made perfect "; the second is the place where the gods refresh themselves ; and in the third live the gods Seb, Shu and Tefnut.

After death the soul of the dead man was supposed to have many enemies to combat, just as the sun was supposed to spend the time between his rising and setting in fight- ing the powers of mist, darkness, and night. These he vanquished by the knowledge and use of certain "words of power." The deceased was also supposed to be con- demned to perform field labours in the nether-world, but to avoid this, stone, wooden, or Egyptian porcelain figures were placed in his tomb to do the work for him. After underKoinof all these troubles and trials the soul went into

The Soul Revisiting the Body in the Tomij. (From the Papyrus of Neb-seni, British Museum, No. 9900.)

the abode of beatified spirits, and there did everything wished by it, and remained in bliss until it rejoined its body in the tomb. During its wanderings it might enter successively

9© NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

into a phoenix {bennu), a heron, a swallow, a snake, a crocodile, etc.

In the hall of Osiris the soul was supposed to affirm before forty-two gods that it had not committed any of the forty-two sins which are detailed in good papyri at full length as follows : —

1. O thou that stridest, coming forth from Heliopolis, I

have done no wrong. "^

2. O thou that embracest flame, coming forth from

Cher-aba, I have not committed theft.

3. O Fentiu, who comest forth from Hermopolis, I have

committed no act of violence.

4. O Eater of Shadows, who comest forth from Qernet,

I have never slain men.

5. O Neha-hra, who comest forth from Re-stau, I have

never filched from the measures of corn.

6. O ye double lions, who come forth from the sky, I

have committed no fault.

7. O Eyes of Flame, who come forth from Seaut, I

have never stolen the property of the gods.

8. O Neba {i.e., Fire), who comest forth in retreating, I

have never spoken falsehood.

9. O Seizer of Bones, who comest forth from Suten-

henen, I have never stolen food to eat.

10. O Breath of Flame, who comest forth from the Het-

ka-Ptah (Memphis), I have spoken no evil.

11. O Qererti, who comest forth from the under.world, I have

committed no act of uncleanness.

12. O thou god whose face is turned behind thee, who

comest forth from thy shrine, I have never caused any one to weep tears of sadness.

* From the Papyrus of Ani, Brit. Mus. No. 10,470, i)lates 31, 32.

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT. 9T

13. O Basti, who comest forth from the tomb (?), I have

never eaten my heart {i.e.^ Hed).

14. O Legs of Flame, who come forth from the darkness

of night, I have never made an attack upon any man.

15. O Eater of Blood, who comest forth from the block of

sacrifice, I have never meditated upon iniquity.

16. O Eater of the intestines, who comest forth from the

Abode of the Thirty, I have never stolen tilled ground.

17. O Lord of Law, who comest forth from the abode of

Law, I have never entered into a conspiracy.

18. O thou that stridest backwards, who comest forth from

Bubastis, I have never accused any man of crime.

19. O Sertiu, who comest forth from Heliopolis, I have

never been angry without cause.

20. O god of two-fold evil, who comest forth from the no me

Atchi,"^ I have never committed adultery.

21. O Uamemti, who comest forth from Chebt, I have

never committed adultery.

22. O thou that observest what hath been brought into the

Temple of Amsu, I have never defiled myself.

23. O ye Chiefs, who come forth from the persea trees, I

have never caused terror.

24. O Chemi, who comest forth from Ku, I have never

transgressed.

25. 0 Reciter of words, who comest forth from Urit, I

have never spoken in hot anger.

26. O Babe, who comest forth from Uab,| I have never

made my ear {literally^ face) deaf to the sound of words of truth.

27. O Kenememti, who comest forth from Kenemmet, I

have never uttered curses.

28. O thou that bringest thy offering, who comest forth

from Seut, I have never put out my hand in a quarrel.

* The ninth nome of Lower Egypt.

t The 19th nome of Upper Egypt, capital Oxyrhynchos.

92 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

29. O thou that orderest words, who comest forth from

Unaset, I have never been an excitable and con tentious person.

30. O Lord of [various] aspects, who comest forth from

Netchefet, I hav(i never been precipitate in judgment.

31. O Secheriu, who comest forth from Uten, I have

never stirred up conspiracy.

32. O Lord of the double horns, who comest forth from

Senti, I have never multiplied my words against those of others.

33. O Nefer-Tmu, who comest forth from Het-ka-Plah

(Memphis), I have never meditated evil, and I have never done evil.

34. O Tmu in his seasons, who comest forth from 'I'attu, I

have never committed an act of wrong against the king.

35. O thou that workest in thy heart, who comest forth

from Sahu, I have never turned running water out of its course.

36. O Akhi, who comest forth from Nu, I have never been

arrogant in speech.

37. O thou who verdifiest mankind, who comest from Seu,

I have never blasphemed God.

38. O Nehebka, who comest forth from thy shrine, I have

never committed fraud.

39. O thou who art dowered with splendours, who comest

forth from thy shrine, I have never defrauded the gods of their offerings.

40. O Sertep, who comest forth from [thy] shrine, I have

never robbed the dead.

41. O thou that bringest thy arm, who comest forth from

the place of double truth, I have never robbed the child nor defiled the god of [my] town.

42. O Illuminator of the lands, who comest forth from Ta-

she (Fayyum), I have never slain the animals sncred to the god?.

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT. 93

It is tolerably evident then that grand tombs were not built as mere objects of pride, but as " everlasting habi- tations " which would serve to preserve the body from decay, and keep it ready to be re-inhabited by the soul at the proper season. Greek authors have written much about the beliefs of the Egyptians; but the greater number of their statements are to be received with caution. They wrote down what they were told, but were frequently misinformed.

The papyri which have come down to us show that the moral conceptions of the Egyptians were of a very high order : and works like the Maxims of Ptah-hetep and the Maxims of Ani* show clearly that a man's duty to his god and to his fellow-man was laid down in a distinct manner. Such works will compare very favourably with the Proverbs of Solomon and the Wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach.

The religious literature of the Egyptians includes a large number of works, of which the most important is the collection of chapters generally called the Book of the Dead ; in Egyptian its name \'i per e7n hru, "Coming forth by day." Selections from this work were written in the hieratic character upon coffins as early as the Xllth dynasty (b.c. 2500), and this practice was continued down to the second century of our era. The walls of tombs were covered with extracts from it, and scribes and people of rank had buried with them large rolls of papyrus inscribed with its principal chapters, and ornamented with vignettes exj)]ana- tory of the text which ran beneath. Some of the chapters in the work are of very great antiquity ; and so far back as B.C. 3500 the text w^as so old, and had been copied so often, that it w^as already not to be understood. Many parts of it are obscure, and many utterly corrupt ; but the discovery from time to time of ancient papyri with accurate readings tends to clear up many doubtful points, and to bring out the right meaning of certain parts of the w^ork. * See page 191.

94

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

The following is a list of the most important gods with their names in hieroglyphs ; it will be readily seen how very many of them are merely forms of the sun-god Ra, and how many of them have the same attributes : —

Chnemu,^ the 'Moulder,' Q

is represented

with the head of a ram, and is one of tlie oldest gods of

the Egyptian religion. He was thought

to possess some of the attributes of

Amen, Ra, and Ptah, and shared with

the last-named god the attrib*ute of

" maker of mankind." At Philae he is

represented making man out of clay on

a potter's wheel. Chnemu put together

the scattered limbs of the dead body of

Osiris, and it was he who constructed

the beautiful woman who became the

wife of Bata in the Tale of the Two

Brothers. Like Amen-Ra he is said to

be the father of the gods. His cult

had great vogue in the regions round

about the first cataract, where he was

always associated with Aneq and Sati.

In bas-reliefs he is usually coloured

green, and wears the atef crownf with

CHNEMU.

* The authorities for the figures of the gods are given by Lanzone in his Dizionario di Mifologia Egizia.

t The following are the crowns most commonly met with on the monuments : —

ffi. f-. M'

5 L/5 L,/' CJ ' M ■> Lii ' ,^' ^^V'

di' l^.

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT.

95

Ptah Q ( j.the 'Opener,' perhaps the oldest of all the gods of Egypt, was honoured with a temple and worshipped at Memphis from the time of the 1st dynasty. He is said to be the father of the gods, who came forth from his eye, and of men, who came forth from his mouth. He is repre- sented in the form of a mummy, and he holds a sceptre composed of | usr^ ' strength,'

-¥- anc/i, 'life,' and U fef, 'stability.' With reference to his connection with the resur- rection and the nether-world, he is called PTAH-SEKER-AUSAR, and is then repre- sented as a little squat boy, at times wearing a beetle on his head. He is at times repre- sented with Isis and Nephthys, and then appears to be a form of Osiris.

Tmu ^^^|, or Atmu !i-|v^l> ^■'-'^ **= ' Closer ' of the day or night.

PTAH.

TMU.

TMU.

96

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

MUT

the Iheban triad

the 'Mother,' was one of the divinities of

; she was supposed to represent Nature, the mother of all things.

Chepera O (I J^, the 'Creator,' was associated with Ptah, and was supposed to be the god who caused himself to come into existence. He is represented with a beetle for his head. In later days he was supposed to be the father of the gods and creator of the universe, and the attributes which had been applied to B.a during the Middle Empire were transferred to him. {See pp. 200-202.)

Bast^^*

^ (I was principally worshipped in Lower Egypt

at Bubastis, where a magnificent temple was built in her honour (see p. 130); she is represented with the head of a cat, and was associated with Ptah. The correct reading of her name appears to be Sechet, and she represents the flame of the S n.

13 AST. Ml'.

Nit, Jj, the 'Weaver,' was a counterpart of the

goddess Mut ; she is also identified with Hathor. She was the goddess of hunting, and is represented holding bows and arrows ; she is usually coloured green.

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT.

I

97

Ra, ^ J], the Sun-god, was the creator of gods and

men ; his emblem was the sun's disk. His worship was very ancient, and he was said to be the offspring of Nut, or the sky. He assumed the forms of several other gods, and is at times represented by the lion, cat, and hawk. Tn papyri and on bas-reliefs he is represented with the head of a hawk and wearing a disk, in front of which is an uraeus J. He was particularly adored at Thebes. When he rose in the morning he was called Heru-chuti or Harmachis ; and at night, when he set, he was called Atmu, or 'the closer.' During the night he was supposed to be engaged in fighting Apepi, the serpent, who, at the head of a large army of fiends, personifications of mist, darkness, and cloud, tried to overthrow him. The battle was fought daily, but Ra always conquered, and appeared day after day in the sky.

HORUS,

Heru, is the

and is also

represented as having the head of a hawk ; he was said to be the son of Isis and Osiris, and is usually called the "avenger of his father," in reference to his defeat of Set.

HORUS.

qS notes for travellers in EGYPT.

Amen-Ra n'----' ^ J), Mut, and Chonsu formed the

1 /www I i i

great triad of Thebes. Amen-Ra was said to be the son of

Ptah, and he seems to have usurped

the attributes of many of the gods.

The word Amen means ' hidden.' His

chief titles were "lord of the thrones

of the two lands," and " king of the

gods." He is represented as wearing

horns and feathers, and holding

'rule,' I 'dominion,' 1 'power,'

n 'stability.' The god Amsu

and

was

a form of Amen-Ra. The exalted position which Amen-Ra, originally a mere local deity, occupied at Thebes, will be best understood from the translation of a hymn to him written in hieratic during the XVHIth or XlXth dynasty :— amen-ra.

"Adoration'^ of Amen-Ra, the bull in Heliopolis, president of all the gods, beautiful god, beloved one, the giver of the life of all warmth to all beautiful cattle !

" Hail to thee, Amen-Ra, lord of the thrones of the two

lands, at the head of the Apts.t The bull of his mother,

at the head of his fields, the extender of footsteps, at the

head of the " land of the South," J lord of the Mat au, §

rince of Araby, lord of the sky, eldest son of earth, lord

* A P'rench version of this hymn is given by Grebaut in his Hymne h Amman- Ka, Paris, 1875. The hieratic text is published by Mariette, Les Papyrus Egyptiens du Miisce da Boulaq, pi. ii-ij.

t The great temple at Karnak.

X Ethiopia and Asia. § A country in Asia.

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT. 99

of things which exist, establisher of things, estabHsher oi all things.

"One in his times, as among the gods. Beautiful bull of the cycle of the gods, president of all the gods, lord of Law, father of the gods, maker of men, creator of beasts, lord of things which exist, creator of the staff of life, maker of the green food which makes cattle to live. Form made by Ptah, beautiful child, beloved one. The gods make adorations to him, the maker of things which are below, and of things which are above. He shines on the two lands sailing through the sky in peace. King of the South and North. the Sun (Ra), whose word is law, prince of the world ! The mighty of valour, the lord of terror, the chief who makes the earth like unto himself. How very many more are his forms than those of any (other) god ! The gods rejoice in his beauties, and they make praises to him in the two great horizons, at (his) risings in the double horizon oi flame. The gods love the smell of him when he, the eldest born of the dew,^ comes from Araby, when he traverses the land of the Mat'au, the beautiful face coming from Neter-ta.t The gods cast themselves down before his feet when they recognize their lord in his majesty, the lord of fear, the mighty one of victory, the mighty of Will, the master of diadems, the verdifier of offerings (?), the maker of t'efaii food.

" Adorations to thee, O thou maker of the gods, who hast stretched out the heavens and founded the earth ! The untiring watcher, Amsu-Amen, lord of eternity, maker of everlasting, to whom adorations are made (literally, lord of adorations), at the head of the Apts, established with two horns, beautiful of aspects ; the lord of the uraeus crown,

* Compare Psalm ex. 3.

t /.^., " Divine land," a name frequently given on the monuments to indicate the lands which lie to the south of Egypt between the Nile and the Red Sea

H 2

lOO NOTES FOR TRAVELl.LRS IN EGYPT.

exalted of plumes, beautiful of tiara, exalted of the white crown ; the serpent niehen and the two ursei are the (ornaments) of his face ; the double crown, helmet and cap are his decorations in (his) temple. Beautiful of face

he receives the atef cro\\n J^?> ; beloved of the south and

north is he, he is master of the sechti crown YJ . He receives

the amsu sceptre \^, (and is) lord of the and of

the whip. Beautiful prince, rising with the white crown /j,

lord of rayS; creator of light ! The gods give acclamations to him, and he stretches out his hands to him that loves him. The iiame makes his enemies fall, his eye overthrows the rebels, it thrusts its copper lance into the sky and makes the serpent Nak"^ vomit what it has swallowed.

* Nak is one of the names of Apepi, the demon of mist, cloud, and night, who was supposed to swallow up the sun daily; he was the enemy, par excellence, whom the Sun-god Ra was supposed to fight against and overcome. Apepi was represented under the form of a serpent with knives stuck in his back ^ijMih. Compare the following extract from the service for his destruction which was recited daily in the temple of Amen-Ra, at Thebes : " Fall down upon thy face, Apepi, enemy of Ra ! The flame coming forth from the eye of Horus comes against thee, a mighty flame which comes forth from the eye of liorus, comes against thee. Thou art thrust down into the flame of fire which rushes out against thee, a flame which is fatal to thy soul, thy intelli- gence, thy words of power, thy body and thy shade. The flame prevails over thee, it drives darts into thy soul, it makes an end of whatever thou hast, and sends goads into thy form. Thou hast fallen by the eye of Horus, which is mighty over its enemy, which devours thee, and which leads on the mighty flame against thee ; the eye of Ra prevails over thee, the flame devours thee, and nothing of thee remains. Get thee back, thou art hacked in pieces, thy soul is parched, thy name is buried in oblivion, silence covers it, it is overthiown; thou art put an end to and buried under threefold oblivion. Get thee back, retreat thou, thou art cut in pieces and removed from him that is in his shrine. O Apepi, thou doubly crushed one, an end to thee, an end to thee ! Mayest thou never rise up again ! The eye of Horus prevails over ihee

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT. lOI

"Hail to thee, Ra, lord of Law, whose shrine is hidden, master of the gods, the god Chepera in his boat; by the sending forth of (his) word the gods spring into existence. Hail god Atmu, maker of mortals. However many are their forms he causes them to live, he makes different the colour of one man from another. He hears the prayer of him that is oppressed, he is kind of heart to him that calls unto him, he delivers him that is afraid from him that is strong of heart, he judges between the mighty and the weak.

" The lord of intelligence, knowledge (?) is the utterance of his mouth. The Nile cometh by his will, the greatly beloved lord of the palm tree comes to make mortals live. Making advance every work, acting in the sky, he makes to come into existence the sweet things of the daylight ; the gods rejoice in his beauties, and their hearts live when they see him. O Ra, adored in the Apts, mighty one of risings in the shrine; O Ani,* lord of the festival of the new moon, who makest the six days' festival and the festival of the last quarter of the moon ; O prince, life, health, and strength ! lord of all the gods, whose appearances are in the horizon, president of the ancestors of Auker ;t his name is hidden from his children in his name 'Amen.'

" Hail to thee, O thou who art in peace, lord of dilation ot heart (/>., joy), crowned form, lord of the ureret crown, exalted of the plumes, beautiful of tiara, exalted of the white crown, the gods love to look upon thee ; the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt is established upon thy brow. Beloved art thou in passing through the two lands.

and devours thee daily, according to that which Ra decreed should be done to thee. Thou art thrown down into the flame of fire which feeds upon thee ; thou art condemned to the fire of the eye of Horus which devours thee, thy soul, thy body, thy intelligence and thy shade." — British Museum Papyrus, 10188, col. xxiv.

* I ([(j ^ , a form of Ra.

t A common name for a necropolis.

I02 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN FXYPT,

Thou sendest forth rays in rising from thy two beautiful eyes. The pat (ancestors, i.e.^ the dead) are in raptures of dehght when thou shinest, the cattle become languid when thou shinest in full strength ; thou art loved when thou art in the sky of the south, thou art esteemed pleasant in the sky of the north. Thy beauties seize and carry away all hearts, the love of thee makes the arms drop; thy beautiful creation makes the hands tremble, and (all) hearts to melt at the sight of thee.

"O Form, one, creator of all things, O one, only, maker of existences ! Men came forth from his two eyes, the gods sprang into existence at the utterance of his mouth. He maketh the green herb to make cattle live, and the staff of life for the (use of) man. He maketh the fishes to live in the rivers, the winged fowl in the sky; he giveth the breath of life to (the germ) in the egg, he maketh birds of all kinds to live, and likewise the reptiles that creep and fly; he causeth the rats to live in their holes, and the birds that are on every green twig. Hail to thee, O maker of all these things, thou only one.

" He is of many forms in his might ! He watches all people who sleep, he seeks the good for his brute creation. O Amen, establisher of all things, Atmu and Harmachis,* all people adore thee, saying, ' Praise to thee because of thy resting among us ; homage to thee because thou hast created us.' All creatures say ' Hail to thee,' and all lands praise thee ; from the height of the sky, to the breadth of the earth, and to the depths of the sea art thou praised. The gods bow down before thy majesty to exalt the Will of their creator ; they rejoice when they meet their begetter, and say to thee, Come in peace, O father of the fathers of all the gods, who hast spread out the sky and hast founded the earth, maker of things which are,

* These tlirce names are the names of the Sun-god at mid-day, evening and morning respectively.

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT. I03

creator of things which exist, prince, Hfe, health, strength ! president of the gods. We adore thy will, inasmuch as thou hast made us, thou hast made (us) and given us birth, and we give praises to thee by reason of thy resting with us. " Hail to thee, maker of all things, lord of Law, father of the gods, maker of men, creator of animals, lord of grain, making to live the cattle of the hills ! Hail Amen, bull, beautiful of face, beloved in the Apts, mighty of risings in the shrine, doubly crowned in Heliopolis, thou judge of Horus and Set in the great hall.* President of the great cycle of the gods, only one,| without his second, at the head of the Apts, Ani at the head of the cycle of his gods, living in Law every day, the double horizoned Horus of the East ! He has created the mountain (or earth), the silver, the gold, and genuine lapis lazuli at his Will .... Incense and fresh dntiX are prepared for thy nostrils, O beautiful face, coming from the land of the Mat'au, Amen-Ra, lord of the thrones of the two lands, at the head of the Apts, Ani at the head of his shrine. King, one among the gods, myriad are his names, how many are they is not known ; shining in the eastern horizon and setting in the western horizon, overthrowing his enemies by his birth at dawn every day. Thoth exalts his two eyes, and makes him to set in his splendours ; the gods rejoice in his beauties

which those who are in his exalt. Lord of the

sekti% boat, and of the dfet\\ boat, which travel over the sky for thee in peace. Thy sailors rejoice when they see Nak overthrown, his limbs stabbed with the knife, the fire devouring him, his foul soul beaten out of his foul body, and his feet carried away. The gods rejoice, Ra is satisfied,

* See page 113.

t Compare " The Lord our God is one," Deut. vi. 4.

X A perfume brought into Egypt from the East.

§ The boat in which Ra sailed to his place of setting in the West.

II The boat in which Ra sailed from his place of rising in the East.

I04 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Heliopolis is glad, the enemies of Atmu are overthrown, and the heart of Nebt-anch * is happy because the enemies of her lord are overthrown. The gods of Cher-aba are rejoicing, those who dwell in the shrines are making obeisance when they see him mighty in his strength (?) Form (?) of the gods of law, lord of the Apts in thy name

of ' maker of Law.' Lord of fefaii food, bull in

thy name of 'Amen bull of his mother.' Maker of mortals,

making become, maker of all things that are in thy

name of Atmu Chepera. Mighty Law making the body festal, beautiful of face, making festal the breast. Form of attributes (?), lofty of diadem ; the two uroei fly by his forehead. The hearts of the pdtu go forth to him, and unborn generations turn to him ; by his coming he maketh festal the two lands. Hail to thee, Amen-Ra, lord of the thrones of the two lands ! his town loves his shining." Another hymn to Amen-Ra reads as follows : —

1. Hail, prince coming forth from the womb !

2. Hail, eldest son of primeval matter !

3. Hail, lord of multitudes of aspects and evolutions !

4. Hail, golden circle in the temples !

5. Hail, lord of time and bestower of years !

6. Hail, lord of life for all eternity !

7. Flail, lord of myriads and millions !

8. Hail, thou who shinest in rising and setting !

9. Hail, thou who makest beings joyful !

10. Hail, thou lord of terror, thou fearful one !

11. Hail, lord of multitudes of aspects and divinities !

12. Hail, thou who art crowned with the white crown ;

thou master of the urerer crown !

13. Hail, thou sacred baby of Horus, praise !

14. Hail, son of Ra who sittest in the boat of millions of

years !

15. Hail, restful leader, come to thy hidden places !

* I.e., " the lady of life," a name of Isis.

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT. I05

16. Hail, lord of terror, self-produced !

17. Hail, tliou restful of heart, come to thy town !

1 8. Hail, thou that causest cries of joy, come to thy town

19. Hail, thou darling of the gods and goddesses !

20. Hail, thou dipper in the sea, come to thy temple !

21. Hail, thou who art in the Nether-world, come to thy

offerings !

22. Hail, thou that protectest them, come to thy temple !

23. Hail, Moon-god, growing from a crescent into an

illuminated disk !

24. Hail, sacred flower of the mighty house !

25. Hail, thou that bringest the sacred cordage of the

Sekti* boat!

26. Hail, thou lord of the Hennuf boat who becomest

young again in the hidden place !

27. Hail, thou perfect soul in the Nether-world !

28. Hail, thou sacred visitor of the north and south !

29. Hail, thou hidden one, unknown to mankind !

30. Hail, thou illuminator of him that is in the Nether-

world, that causest him to see the disk !

* The Sektet I I ^^ ^Q^ ^'^^ ^^^ boat of the sun in the

morninfT, just as the Mdti fl \_j^^ was the boat of the sun in

the evening. A hymn to the sun-god says : —

XCi - k em tuau em sekti

Risest thou in the morning in the ^^^'// boat ;

o D ^z:^ _M^ ^ w '^^^ J!y^ _m:i <=> I hetep-k em mdti em masher

Settest thou in the vidti boat in the evening,

§^^

t The lienmi V \U >s</Vg was the boat which was drawn

around the sanctuaries of the temples at dawn. Drawings of it are given by Lanzone, Dizionaj-to, plates CCLXV-CCCI.XVII.

io6

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

33- 34.

35.

36.

37.

31. Hail, lord of the a fef crown ^f, thou mighty one in

Het-suten-henen ! * Hail, mighty one of terror !

Hail, thou that risest in Thebes, flourishing for ever ! Hail, Amen-Ra, king of the gods, who makest thy

limbs to grow in rising and setting ! Hail, offerings and oblations in Ru-stau

{i.e., the passages of the tomb) ! Hail, thou that placest the urseus upon the head of its lord! Hail, stablisher of the earth upon its foundations !

38. Hail, opener of the mouth of the four mighty gods who

are in the Nether-world !

39. Hail, thou living soul of Osiris, who art diademed with

the moon !

40. Hail, thou that hidest thy body in the great coffin at

Heliopolis !

41. Hail, hidden one, mighty one, Osiris in the Netherworld !

42. Hail, thou that unitest his soul to heaven, thine enemy is fallen !

wife of Osiris,

Isis.

i

Auset, the mother of Horus and rj ^ , Ausar, was the daughter of Nut, or the sky ; she married her brother Osiris. Her sister Nephthys TT ^ J) ^^nd her brother Set likewise married one another. This last couple conspired against Isis and Osiris, and Set having induced his brother Osiris to enter a box, closed the lid down and threw it into the Nile ; the box was carried down by the river and finally cast up on the sea shore. Set having found the box once more, cut the body of Osiris into fourteen pieces, which he cast over the length and breadth of the land. As soon as

ISIS.

* Heracleopolis, the metropolis of the 20th nome of Upper Egypt.

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT.

107

Isis heard what had happened, she went about seeking for the pieces, and built a temple over each one ; she found all save one. Osiris, however, had become king of the nether- world, and vengeance was taken by his son Horus upon his brother Set. Osiris is usually represented in the form of a mummy, holding in his hands ( 'dominion,' ^ 'life,' y\ 'rule,' and ] 'power.' He is called 'the lord of Abydos,' 'lord of the holy land, lord of eternity and prince of everlasting,' 'the president of the gods,' 'the head of the corridor of the tomb,' ' bull of the west,' ' judge of the dead,' etc., etc.

The writers of Egyptian mythological texts always assume their readers to possess a knowledge of the history of the murder of Osiris by Set, and of the wanderings and troubles of his disconsolate wife Isis. The following extracts from Plutarch's work on the subject will supply certain informa- tion not given in the Egyptian texts.

" Osiris, being now become king of Egypt, applied him- self towards civilizing his countrymen by turning them from their former indigent and barbarous course of life ; he moreover taught them how to cultivate and improve the fruits of the earth ; he gave them a body of laws to regulate their conduct by, and instructed them in that reverence and worship which they were to pay to the gods; with the same good disposition he afterwards tra- velled over the rest of the world, inducing the people everywhere to submit to his discipline ; not indeed compelling them by force of arms, but persuading them to yield to the strength of his reasons, which were conveyed to them in the most agree- able manner, in hymns and songs accom- panied with instruments of music ; from

OSIRIS.

108 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

which last circumstance the Greeks conclude him to have been the same person with their Dionysus or Bacchus. During the absence of Osiris from his kingdom, Typhon had no opportunity of making any innovations in the State, Isis being extremely vigilant in the government, and always upon her guard. After his return, however, having first persuaded seventy-two other persons to join with him in the conspiracy, together with a certain queen of Ethiopia named Aso, who chanced to be in Egypt at that time, he contrived a proper stratagem to execute his base designs. For having privily taken the measure of Osiris's body, he caused a chest to be made exactly of the same size with it, as beautiful as might be, and set off with all the ornaments of art. This chest he brought into his banqueting room ; whereafter it had been much admired by all who were present, Typhon, as it were in jest, promised to give it to any one of them whose body upon trial it might be found to fit. Upon this the whole company, one after another, go into it. But as it did not fit any of them, last of all Osiris lays himself down in it ; upon which the conspirators immediately ran together, clapped the cover upon it, then fastened it down on the outside with nails, pouring likewise melted lead over it. After this they carried it away to the river-side, and con- veyed it to the sea by the Tanaitic mouth of the Nile ; which, for this reason, is still held in the utmost abomina- tion by the Egyptians, and never named by them but with proper marks of detestation. These things, say they, were thus executed upon the 17th day of the month Athor, when the sun was in Scorpio, in the 28th year of Osiris's reign ; though there are others who tell us that he was no more than twenty-eight years old at this time.

" The first who knew of the accident which had befallen their king, were the Pans and Satyrs who inhabited the country round Chemmis (Panopolis or Ahmim); and they

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT. I09

immediately acquainting the people with the news, gave the first occasion to the name of Panic Terrors, which has ever since been made use of to signify any sudden affright or amazement of a multitude. As to Isis, as soon as the report reached her, she immediately cut off one of the locks of her hair, and put on mourning apparel upon the very spot where she then happened to be, which accordingly from this accident has ever since been called Coptos, or the City of Mourning, though some are of opinion that this w^ord rather signifies Deprivation. After this she wandered everywhere about the country full of disquietude and per- plexity in search of the chest, enquiring of every person she met with, even of some children whom she chanced to see, whether they knew what was become of it. Now it so happened that these children had seen what Typhon's accomplices had done with the body, and accordingly acquainted her by what mouth of the Nile it had been con- veyed into the sea

"At length she received more particular news of the chest, that it had been carried by the waves of the sea to the coast of Byblos, and there gently lodged in the branches of a bush of Tamarisk, which in a short time had shot up into a large and beautiful tree, growing round the chest and enclosing it on every side, so that it was not to be seen ; and further, that the king of the country, amazed at its unusual size, had cut the tree down, and made that part of the trunk wherein the chest was concealed a pillar to support the roof of his house. These things, say they, being made known to Isis in an extraordinary manner, by the report of demons, she immediately went to Byblos ; * where, setting herself down by the side of a fountain, she refused to speak to any body excepting only to the queen's women who chanced to be there ; these she saluted and caressed in the kindest manner possible, plaiting their hair for them, and transmitting * I.e., the papyrus swamps.

no NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

into them part of that wonderfully grateful odour which

issued from her own body The queen therefore

sent for her to court, and after a further acquaintance with

her, made her nurse to one of her sons The

goddess, discovering herself, requested that the pillar which supported the roof of the king's house might be given to her; which she accordingly took down, and then easily cutting it open, after she had taken out what she wanted, she wrapt up the remainder of the trunk in fine linen, and pouring perfumed oil upon it, delivered it into the hands

of the king and queen When this was done, she

threw herself upon the chest, making at the same time such a loud and terrible lamentation over it as frighted the younger of the king's sons who heard her out of his life. But the elder of them she took with her, and set sail with the chest for Egypt

" No sooner was she arrived in a desert place, where she imagined herself to be alone, but she presently opened the chest, and laying her face upon her dead husband's, embraced his corpse, and wept bitterly.

" Isis intending a visit to her son Horus, who was brought up at Butus, deposited the chest in the meanwhile in a remote and unfrequented place ; Typhon, however, as he was one night hunting by the light of the moon accidentally met with it ; and knowing the body which was enclosed in it, tore it into several pieces, fourteen in all, dispersing them up and down in different parts of the country. Upon being made acquainted with this event, Isis once more sets out in search of the scattered fragments of her husband's body, making use of a boat made of the reed papyrus in order the more easily to pass through the lower and fenny parts of the country. For which reason, say they, the crocodile never touches any persons who sail in this sort of vessel, as either fearing the anger of the goddess, or else respecting it on account of its having once carried her. 1 o this occasion;

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT. Ill

therefore, it is to be imputed that there are so many different sepulchres of Osiris shewn in Egypt ; for we are told that wherever Isis met with any of the scattered limbs of her husband, she there buried it. There are others, how- ever, who contradict this relation, and tell us that this variety of sepulchres was owing rather to the policy of the queen, who, instead of the real body, as was pretended, presented these several cities with the image only of her husband ; and that she did this not only to render the honours which would by this means be paid to his memory more extensive, but likewise that she might hereby elude the malicious search of Typhon ; who, if he got the better of Horus in the war wherein they were going to be engaged, distracted by this multiplicity of sepulchres, might despair

of being able to find the true one

"After these things Osiris, returning from the other world, appeared to his son Horus, encouraged him to the battle, and at the same time instructed him in the exercise of arms. He then asked him, ' what he thought the most glorious action a man could perform ? ' to which Horus replied, ' to revenge the injuries offered to his father and

mother.' This reply much rejoiced Osiris We

are moreover told that amongst the great numbers who were continually deserting from Typhon's party was the goddess Thoueris, and that a serpent pursuing her as she was coming over to Horus, was slain by his soldiers. Afterwards it came to a battle between them, which lasted many days ; but victory at length inclined to Horus, Typhon himself being taken prisoner. Isis, however, to whose custody he was committed, was so far from putting him to death, that she even loosed his bonds and set him at liberty. This action of his mother so extremely incensed Horus, that he laid hands upon her and pulled off the ensign of royalty which she wore on her head ; and instead thereof Hermes clapt on an helmet made in the shape of an ox's head.

112 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

After this there were two other battles fought be- tween them, in both of which Typhon had the worst

"Such, then, are the principal circumstances of this famous story, the more harsh and shocking parts of it, such as the cutting in pieces of Horus and the beheading of Isis, being omitted." (Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride^ xii-xx Squire's translation.)

The following is an extract from a hymn addressed to Osiris by Isis and Nephthys (Brit. Mus. Papyrus No. io,i88):—

"O beloved of his father, lord of rejoicings, thou delightest the hearts of the cycle of the gods, and thou illuminatest thy house with thy beauties ; the c)cle of the gods fear thy power, the earth trembleth through fear of thee.

I am thy wife who maketh thy protection, the sister who pro- tecteth her brother; come, let me see thee, O lord of my love.

O twice exalted one, mighty of attributes, come, let me see thee ; O baby who advancest, child, come, let me see thee.

Countries and regions weep for thee, the zones weep for thee as if thou wert Sesheta, heaven and earth weep for thee, inasmuch as thou art greater than the gods ; may there be no cessation of the glorifying of thy Ka.

Come to thy temple, be not afraid, thy son Horus em- braces the circuit of heaven.

O thou sovereign, who makest afraid, be Lot afraid. Thy son Horus avenges thee and overthrows for thee the fiends and the devils.

Hail, lord, follow after me with thy radiance, let me see thee daily; the smell of thy flesh is like thai of Punt (/>., the spice land of Arabia).

Thou art adored by the venerable women, in peace ; the entire cycle of the gods rejoice.

Come thou to thy wife in peace, her heart flutters through her love for thee, she will embrace thee and not let thee depart from her ; her heart is oppressed because of hei anxiety to see thee and thy beauties. She has made an end

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT. II3

of preparations for thee in the secret house ; she has des- troyed the pain which is in thy hmbs and the sickness as if it never existed. Life is given to thee by the most excellent wife.

Hail, thou protectest the inundation in the fields of Aphroditopolis this day.

The cow {i.e., Isis) weeps aloud for thee with her voice, thy love is the limit uf her desire. Her heart flutters because thou art shut up from her.

She would embrace thy body with both arms and would come to thee quickly.

She avenges thee on account of what was done to thee, she makes sound for ihee thy flesh on thy bones, she attaches thy nose to thy face for thee, she gathers together for thee all thy bones."

In the calendar of the lucky and unlucky days of the Egyptian year, the directions concerning the 26th day of the month of Thoth, which is marked Q^Q^Q^? or "thrice unlucky," say, "Do nothing at all on this day, for it is the day on which Horus fought against Set. Standing on the soles of their feet they aimed blows at each other like men, and they became like two bears of hell, lords of Cher-aba. They passed three days and three nights in this manner, after which Isis made their weapons fall. Horus fell down, crying out, ' I am thy son Horus,' and Isis cried to the weapons, saying, ' Away, away, from my son Horus '

Her brother Set fell down and cried out, saying,

* Help, help !' Isis cried out to the weapons, 'Fall down.' Set cried out several times, ' Do I not wish to honour my mother's brother? ' and Isis cried out to the weapons, ' Fall down — set my elder brother free ' ; then the weapons fell away from him. And Horus and Set stood up like two men, and each paid no attention to what they had said. And the majesty of Horus was enraged against his mother Isis like a panther of the south, and she fled before him. On that day a terrible struggle took place, and Horus cut off the head of Isis; and Thoth transformed this head by

I

114 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

his incantations, and put it on her again in the form of a head of a cow." (Chabas, Le Cakndrier, p. 29.)

Nephthys, T1 rx Jjj Nebt-het, sister of Osiris and Isis, is

generally represented standing at the bier of Osiris lamenting him. One myth relates that Osiris mistook her for Isis, and that Anubis, the god of the dead, was the result of the union.

Set, y:v]) the god of evil, appears to have been wor- shipped in the earliest times. He was the opponent of Horus in a three days' battle, at the end of which he was defeated. He was worshipped by the Hyksos, and also by the Cheta ; but in the later days of the Egyptian empire he was supposed to be the god of evil, and was considered to be the chief fiend and rebel against the sun-god Ra.

Anubis, [I Jj, Anpu, the god of the dead, is

usually represented with the head of a jackal.

Seb, ^^ 1 ^, was the husband of Nut, the sky, and father of Osiris, Isis, and the other gods of that cycle.

NEBT-HET.

ANUBIS.

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT.

1^5

Thoth, a, 7^.; Tehuti, 'the measurer,' was the scribe of

the gods, and the measurer of time and inventor of numbers. In the judgment hall of Osiris he stands by the side of the balance holding a palette and reed ready to record the result of the weighing as announced by the dog-headed ape which sits on the middle of the beam of the scales. In one aspect he is the god of the moon, and is represented with the head of an ibis.

Chonsu,

was associated with Amen-Ra

TEHUTI. CHONSU.

and Mut in the Theban triad. He was the god of the moon, and is represented as hawk-headed and wearing the lunar disk and crescent. His second name was Nefer-hetep, and he was worshipped with great honour at Thebes.

Sebek, ^5\, the crocodile-headed god, was worshipped at Kom-Ombos and in the Fayyum.

I-em-hetep (Imouthis), li ^^^ _^, was the son of

Ptah. . ^

I 2

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

^ 0 "

ii6

Shu, K <2r^, and Tefnut, ~ ^ r^j? ^^e^e the children

of Seb and Nut, and represented sunHght and moisture respectively.

Athor, or Hathor, ^ , Het-Heru, 'the house of

Horus,' is identified with Nut, the sky, or place in which she brought forth and suckled Horus. She was the wife of Atmu, a form of Ra. She is represented as a woman wearing a headdress in the shape of a vulture, and above it a disk and horns. She is called ' mistress of the gods, 'lady of the sycamore,' 'lady of the west,' and 'Hathor of Thebes.' She is the female power of nature, and has some of the attributes of Isis, Nut, and Mut. She is often represented under the form of a cow coming out of the Theban hills.

HATHOR.

MAAT.

Maat, ^^ o Jj, the goddess of 'Law,' was the daughter of the Sun-god Ra ; she is represented as Avearing the feather [), emblematic of law

Hapi,

THE RELIGION AND GODS OF EGYPT.

A

117

, the god of the Nile, is represented wear-

ing a ckister of flowers on his head Mi] ; he is coloured red

and green, probably to represent the colours of the water of the Nile immediately before and just after the beginning of the inundation.

Serapis, i.e., Osiris-Apis, ji'ix ^^, was a god intro- duced into Egypt during the reign of the Ptolemies ; ''' he is represented with the head of a bull v/earing a disk and uraeus. He is said to be the second son of Ptah. The worship of Apis at Memphis goes back to the earliest times ; the Serapeum, discovered there by M. Mariette, contained the tombs of Apis bulls from the time of Amenophis III. (about B.C. 1550) down to the time of the Roman Empire. See page 244.

* " the Lagids, as well as the Seleucids, were careful of dis- turbing the foundations of the old religion of the country ; they

introduced the Greek god of the lower world, Pluto, into the

native worship, under the hitherto little mentioned name of the Egyptian god Serapis, and then gradually transferred to this the old Osiris worship." (Mommsen, Provinces of the Roman Empire^ Vol. IT., p. 265.)

ii8 LOWER EGYPT.

ALEXANDRIA.

Alexandria was founded B.C. 332 by Alexander the Great, who began to build his city on the little town of Rakoti, just opposite to the island of Pharos. King Ptolemy I. Soter made this city his capital : and having founded the famous library and museum, he tried to induce the most learned men of his day to live there. His son and successor Ptolemy II. Philadelphus, continued the wise policy of his father, and Alexandria became famous as a seat of learning. The keeper of the museum during the reign of Ptolemy III. Euergetes I. was Aristophanes of Byzantium. During the siege of the city by the Romans in the time of Caesar, B.C. 48, the library of the museum was burnt ; but Antony after- wards gave Cleopatra a large collection of manuscripts which formedthe nucleus of a second library.* In the early centuries of our era the people of Alexandria quarrelled perpetually among themselves ,t the subjects of dispute

* This collection numbered 200,000 MSS., and formed the famous Pergamenian library founded by Eumenes II., king of Pergamus, B.C. 197.

f " the Alexandrian rabble took on the slightest pretext to

stones and to cudgels. In street uproar, says an authority, himself Alexandrian, the Egyptians are before all others ; the smallest spark suffices here to kindle a tumult. On account of neglected visits, on account of the confisc9,tion of spoiled provisions, on <