ALBERT r: MANN LIBRARY New York State Colleges ,■■.• . . OF ■AGklCULTURE AND HOME ECONOMICS Cornell University DT 61 p je '"■"*" ""'"^''^i'V Lilirary Isypt, the land of the temple builders 3 1924 013 973 924 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013973924 EGYPT THE LAND OF THE TEMPLE BUILDERS BY WALTER SCOTT PERRY, M.A. DIRECTOR OF THE SCHOOL OF FINE AND APPLIED ARTS, PRATT INSTITUTE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. LECTURER ON THE HISTORY OF ART HONORARY SECRETARY OF THE EGYPT EXPLORATION FUND THIRD EDITION THE PRANG COMPANY NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON ATLANTA a Copyright, 1898, by THE PRANG COMPANY THE PREFACE. The purpose in this book is to convey to the reader, through descriptive text and many illustrations, a clear, though general, idea of the art of ancient Egypt. The book is intended primarily for teachers and for students of art history, who have not time for an exhaustive study of the subject; As an intelligent appreciation of the art of any people necessarily requires an acquaintance with their environment and civilization, the writer has brought into relief such facts as bear upon the life and religion, and the manners and customs, of this ancient people. Successive chapters trace, along evolutionary lines, the origin and development of Egyptian architecture, sculpt- ure, painting, and decoration, as revealed by the light of modern research and personal study. The illustrations include reproductions from care- fully-selected photographs and from originals made by the author. These reproductions have been arranged with care, that they may appear opposite the pages of text they illustrate, so that the one may supplement the other. THE CONTENTS. Chapter. Page. I. The Approach to the Pyramids . . . i II. The Pyramids of Gizeh .... III. The River Nile ..... IV. Egyptian Writing ..... V. Religion of the Ancient Egyptians . VI. The Temple of Edfu VII. Thebes — The Temples of Luxor and Karnak VIII. AsstJAN and Phil^ IX. The Temples of Denderah, Esneh, AND KoM Ombo 113 X. The Tombs of the Ancient Empire XL The Necropolis of Thebes XII. Early Development of the Column XIII. Sculpture ... XIV. Temple Decoration XV. The Applied Arts 10 18 33 41 57 66 97 126 161 193 210 233 250 THE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Frontispiece Frontispiece to Introduction Frontispiece to Text Page. MAP OF EGYPT . ROSETTA STONE ALEXANDRIA STREET IN CAIRO CAIRO: VIEW FROM THE MOKATTAM HILLS ROAD TO THE PYRAMIDS THE PYRAMIDS: VIEW FROM SOUTHEAST THE pyramids: VIEW FROM SOUTHWEST ASCENT OF THE PYRAMID OF CHEOPS . NILE DELTA FROM TOP OF PYRAMID OF CHEOPS THE DESERT FROM TOP OF PYRAMID OF CHEOPS OVERFLOW OF NILE: ASSIOUT EGYPTIAN village: KARNAK PLOWING METHOD OF DRAWING WATER MERCHANT BOATS EGYPTIAN VILLAGE NEAR LUXOR MOUND FROM TOP OF THE TEMPLE OF DENDERAH DENDERAH: TEMPLE AND MOUND OF ANCIENT CITY TEMPLE OF DENDERAH: EXTERIOR WALL DECORATION HIEROGLYPHICS: TEMPLE OF MEDINET-ABU . TEMPLE OF ABYDOS: RECORD OF THE KINGS OF EGYPT WALL DECORATION — TEMPLE OF THOTHMES III.: KARNAK WALL DECORATION — TEMPLE OF KHONSU: KARNAK OSIRIS, HATHOR, AND ISIS ..... TEMPLE OF ABYDOS: WALL DECORATION TOMB OF SETI 1.: WALL DECORATION WALL decoration: TEMPLE OF KOM OMBO . TEMPLE OF ABYDOS: WALL DECORATION IN SANCTUARY - vi 15 16 19 20 23 24 27 28 31 32 35 36 39 40 43 44 47 48 51 52 THE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. pylon: karnak landing on the river bank temple of edfu temple of edfu: view from top of main pylon plan of temple of edfu temple of edfu: first court donkey boy, azer girges, at luxor pylons temple of khonsu: karnak map of thebes temple ruins: karnak temple of luxor from the river . temple of luxor: pylon and obelisk interior of the temple of luxor temple of khonsu: karnak . great pylon temple of ammon: karnak first court — temple of ammon: karnak . great hall of columns temple of ammon: karnak hypostyle hall temple of ammon: karnak granite sanctuary: karnak . wall decoration: karnak temple of ammon and sacred lake: karnak ASSUAN ..... THE DESERT HIGHWAY: ASSUAN OBELISK IN QUARRY: ASSUAN RIVER NILE: PHIL^ IN DISTANCE ISLAND OF PHIL^ TEMPLES OF PHIL^ . HYPOSTYLE HALL TEMPLE OF ISIS: PHIL« . PHILAE: THE KIOSK . DENDERAH: PYLON AND TEMPLE . DENDERAH: MOUND OF ANCIENT CITY . TEMPLE OF DENDERAH: HYPOSTYLE HALL SMALL TEMPLE: DENDERAH TEMPLE OF ESNEH TEMPLE OF KOM OMBO TEMPLE OF KOM OMBO: WALL DECORATION BEDRASHEN NEAR SITE OF ANCIENT MEMPHIS VU Page. 55 56 N 59 60 63 64 67 68 71 72 75 76 79 80 ARNAK 83 84 87 88 91 « 92 95 96 99 100 103 104 • 107 108 III 112 115 116 119 120 123 ■ 124 . 127 Vlll THE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PYRAMID OF SAKKARAH MEMPHIS: COLOSSAL STATUE OF R AMESES II. STATUE OF Tl: CAIRO MUSEUM TEMPLE OF KOM OMBO: FOOD OFFERINGS TOMB OF Tl: SAKKARAH TOMB OF Tl: WALL DECORATION . PYRAMID OF CHEOPS ENTRANCE TO PYRAMID OF CHEOPS SECTION OF PYRAMID OF CHEOPS THE SPHINX .... TEMPLE OF THE PYRAMIDS . APIS TOMBS: SAKKARAH SARCOPHAGUS — APIS TOMBS: SAKKARAH TOMBS OF BENI-HASSAN .... EXTERIOR OF TOMB: BENI-HASSAN INTERIOR OF TOMB: BENI-HASSAN LUXOR ... . . DAHABIYEH ON THE NILE OPPOSITE LUXOR . OVERFLOW OF NILE: STATUES OF MEMNON . STATUES OF MEMNON THE RAMESSEUM AND TOMB FIELDS THE RAMESSEUM: COLOSSAL STATUE OF RAMESES II. EXCAVATIONS: MEDINET-ABU TEMPLE OF MEDINET-ABU TEMPLE OF DER-EL-MEDINET TOMB FIELDS: THEBES ROAD TO TOMBS OF BIBAN-EL-MULUK AT THE TOMBS OF THE KINGS: BIBAN-EL-MULUK ENTRANCE TO A TOMB: BIBAN-EL-MULUK TOMB OF SETI I.: BIBAN-EL-MULUK UNFINISHED WALL DECORATION: TOMB OF SETI I. INTERIOR OF THE TOMB OF NAKHT: THEBES TEMPLE OF MEDAMUT THE RAMESSEUM .... COLUMNS: TEMPLE OF LUXOR TEMPLE OF DER-EL-BAHRI . DER-EL-BAHRI: PROTO-DORIC COLUMNS Page. 128 132 136 139 140 143 144 148 156 160 163 164 167 168 172 175 176 179 180 183 184 187 188 191 192 195 196 199 200 THE LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. IX Page. LOTUS decoration: KARNAK . . ... 203 capital: phil^ .... ... 204 capital: phiL/E ........ 207 temple of phil^: east colonnade . ... 208 statues of ra-hotep and princess nefert: cairo museum 211 SHEIK-EL-BELED: CAIRO museum . ... 212 STATUE OF scribe: CAIRO MUSEUM . . . 215 SPHINXES OF HYKSOS PERIOD: CAIRO MUSEUM . . 2l6 ISIS AND HORUS: TEMPLE OF ABYDOS . . . 219 TEMPLE OF ABYDOS : WALL DECORATION .... 220 SANCTUARY: ABYDOS ........ 223 TEMPLE OF ABYDOS: WALL DECORATION .... 224 STATUE OF RAMESES II.: LUXOR 22/ ABU-SIMBEL ......... 228 AVENUE OF sphinxes: KARNAK . . . . . . 23I TEMPLE OF EDFU: SHRINE WITHIN THE SANCTUARY . 232 OFFERINGS TO OSIRIS: ABYDOS ...... 235 JEWELS OF QUEEN AAH-HOTEP, XVIIITH DYNASTY . . . 236 SETI I. MAKING OFFERINGS TO HORUS: KARNAK . . . 239 TEMPLE OF EDFU: WALL DECORATION . . . 24O HUNTING SCENE: MEDINET-ABU ...... 243 WALL DECORATION: TOMB OF NAKHT . . 244 TEMPLE OF EDFU: WALL DECORATION . . . . 247 PYRAMID AND NATIVE VILLAGE . . . . 248 CHARIOT: TOMB OF lOUIYA AND TOUIYOU . -251 TEMPLE OF DER-EL-BAHRI: WALL DECORATION . 252 WALL DECORATION: TOMB OF SETI I. 255 MUMMY cases: CAIRO MUSEUM . . 256 couch: tomb OF lOUIYA AND TOUIYOU . 259 coffer: tomb of IOUIYA AND TOUIYOU 26O PAINTED vases: TOMB OF IOUIYA AND TOUIYOU . . 263 PAINTED WOODEN BOXES: TOMB OF IOUIYA AND TOUIYOU 264 chair: tomb OF IOUIYA AND TOUIYOU . 267 CEREMONIAL ROBE: BOSTON MUSEUM ..... 268 ROSETTA STONE THE INTRODUCTION. THE primeval history of Egypt is beyond the reach of authentic data. The old sources of information must be regarded as furnishing both fact and fiction. Manetho, an Egyptian priest of the third century before Christ, wrote a history of Egypt, fragments of which, con- taining lists of the early kings, still exist. Greek historians, also, have left records of their travels in that country, but modern historians must rely chiefly upon inscriptions found on architectural monuments and upon papyri. Manetho arranged the kings, or "Pharaohs," of Egypt in thirty-one dynasties covering a period of time estimated at from three to four thousand years before Christ to the time of Alexan- der the Great, 332 b. c. Previous to this period there was a long period of culture and civilization, known as the pre- dynastic age. Many objects belonging to that period have been discovered. The thirty-one dynasties are divided into groups, known as the Ancient, the Middle, and the New Empires, and the Late Egyptian Period; but authors fail to agree upon the dates of these periods. Approximately, the dynasties and periods of Egyptian history are as follows: xii THE INTRODUCTION. Ancient Empire .... 34°° b. c. to 2200 B. c. Dynasties I. to X. inclusive. Middle Empire .... 2200 B. c. to 1600 B. c Dynasties XI. to XVII. inclusive. New Empire 1600 B. c. to 663 B. c. Dynasties XVIII. to XXV. inclusive. Late Egyptian Period . . 663 B. c. to 332 B. c. Dynasties XXVI. to XXXI. inclusive. Greek Period . . 332 B. c. to 30 B. c. Roman Period . . 30 b. c. to 395 A. d. Byzantine Period . 395 A. D. to 640 A. D. Mohammedan Period 640 A. D. to present time. Among the oldest monuments of Egypt are the pyramids of Gizeh, belonging to the IVth Dynasty. This and the following d3Tiasty mark a brilliant epoch in Egyptian art. The portrait-sculpture of this very early age is remarkable for fidelity to nature and refinement of execution. A period of several hundred years of political and religious dissension followed the Vth Dynasty and continued until the end of the Xth. Records of Egj^tian history during this time are almost entirely lost. ^e Xlth Dynasty, marking the beginning of the Middle Empire, ushered in a period of great prosperity. The Xllth Dynasty was one of the most brilliant in the history of Egypt. It was a time of great building activity and the development of the decorative arts. THE INTRODUCTION. XIU The Xlllth Dynasty maintained at first the high state of civilization of the preceding, but another long era of decline was at hand. Egypt became populated with many Semitic emigrants, who in time increased in number and power, finally conquering northern Egypt. They made Tanis their capital, and their rulers are known as Hyksos or Shepherd Kings. They reigned over Egypt for many gen- erations, adopting to some extent Egyptian customs. Under Semitic ru le Egypti an art reached the darkest period in its ^istory^ The invaders were finally expelled from the country, and Egpytian supremacy was re-established during the XVIIth Dynasty, about 1600 B. c. The XVIIIth Dynasty marks the beginning of the so-called New Empire. From the XVTIIth to the XXIst Dynasties great pros- perity and wealth existed in the kingdom. It was a time of foreign conquest. The great Theban temples, the prodigious dimensions of which have been the architectural wonder of the ages, were erected. Seti I. of the XlXth Dynasty built large temples at Karnak, Kurnah, and Abydos, and the deco- rations of these temples and of his tomb at Biban-el-Muluk are the best of this great period of art development. His son, Rameses II., the most celebrated of Egyptian k|ngs, showed remarkable building activity. The temples of Luxor and Abu Simbel, the Ramesseum, and temples at Karnak and Abydos are attributed to him. XIV THE INTRODUCTION. But a desire to multiply works rather than to excel in their quality, with the advent of a too bounteous symbolism, eventually led to an inevitable downfall in art. Sculpture became conventional in style. Under Rameses III. of the XXth Dynasty, building continued; with the close of this dynasty, however, in 950 B. c, the empire again fell to pieces: Thebes gave way to Tanis, the capital, during the XXIst Dynasty; and, under the following dynasty, Bubastis became the royal residence. Small independent principah- ties followed and, in 722 b. c, Egypt was governed by the Ethiopians, only to become, later, subject to the Ass)nrians. The foreign power at last being overthrown, Egypt became reunited and a new period of prosperity was established. The brightest part of this new or Renaissance period is covered by the XXVIth Dynasty, dating from 663 B. c. to the Persian conquest, 525 b. c. In 332 b. c, Egypt fell into the hands of the Greeks, who, ruling the country until thirty- two years before Christ, made it a kingdom of great pros- perity, at the same time respecting the customs and religion of the Egyptians. The Ptolemaic period was followed in 30 B. c. by the Roman. The Romans also sought to en- courage the art of the Egyptians. Christianity was early introduced and the edict of Theodosius the Great gave a final blow to paganism. After the division of the Roman Empire, 395 A. d., the Byzantines controlled Egj^t until THE INTRODUCTION. XV 640 A. D., when the all-conquering Mohammedans took pos- session; they still share supremacy under the rule of Great Britain. Thus have the nations of men followed one another in a gradual succession as they have taken possession of the fertile valley of the Nile. And as in the olden times men flocked thither to draw from the storehouse of the world's granary, so to-day they burrow among the ruins of her once-glorious temples and tombs for the art treasures that are still her own.* All nations, directly or indirectly, have borrowed from Egj^t of her arts and sciences, readapting them to meet new conditions. In studying the evolution of art, we must begin with Egypt and trace its embryonic life in her unrecorded past. If all nations owe to Egypt some- thing of their art-idea, to whom, in turn, is she indebted? That question may forever remain unanswered; but true it is that in the earliest times of which man has any record, Egypt had reached a high state of civilization, and equally true is it that her arts have culminated in the more perfect arts of the modern world. ♦Among other explorers and societies the Egypt Exploration Fund, with head- quarters in England and the United States, has been the means of many remarkable discoveries that have greatly enriched the museums. r EGYPT: The Land of the Temple Builders. I. THE APPROACH TO THE PYRAMIDS. More than three thousand miles of ocean rolls between the port of New York and the Rock of Gibraltar, that " Pillar of Hercules," guard- ing, like a crouching lion, the great Mediterra- nean. A fitting sentinel it is for a sea which, washing the shores of Europe, Asia, and Africa, is bounded by a territory where have been enacted so many important events in the great drama of the world's civilization. Nine hundred and twenty miles farther east- ward and Vesuvius cuts the horizon, its column of smoke brilliant in color before the rising sun. Southeastward are the Lipari Islands, where the volcanic cone of Stromboli — the ancient abode of ^olus, wind-god of the Greeks — rises abruptly 2 THE LAND OF THE TEMPLE BUILDERS. from the sea; and, farther on, by way of the Strait of Messina, Mount Etna is seen raising her lofty head and reddening the sky before the sinking sun. Somewhat over a thousand miles from Naples, the traveller looks out upon the low, level shore that marks the approach to the Nile country. Across the delta, one hundred and thirty miles farther, is Cairo, the gateway to the land of the great temple-builders of ancient Egypt. This city, belonging to the Turkish Empire and containing fully half a million inhabitants, is situ- ated at the upper angle of the Nile delta, which stretches its triangular form northward to the Mediterranean. Perhaps in no other place can be found a greater variety of pronounced racial types than is encountered in this cosmopolitan city of the East, where are seen people differing so widely in costume, in history, in thought, and in religion. The majority of the population con- sists of Turks and Arabs, the former occupying situations as government officials, soldiers, and tradesmen, while the latter fulfil the duties of ser- vants, donkey-boys, and shop-keepers. In addi- STREET IN CAIRO THE APPROACH TO THE PYRAMIDS. 5 tion, Europeans and Orientals from many regions, native Fellahs and Copts, Algerians, Moors, Jews, Negroes, — with a few resident, and many tourist, Americans, — all contribute to form an extraordi- narily mixed population. The eastern or older quarter of the town affords opportunity to study the many phases of oriental life ; for it is here that the people carry on their different trades and occupations. Here the streets are not only ill-paved, but too narrow to admit an ordinary carriage. Men, women, children, and animals jostle one another in the crowded thoroughfares ; and the noisy cries of venders, shop-keepers, and money-changers, min- gled with the braying of donkeys, increase the confusion. What offends the ear, however, is forgiven by the eye, in the feast of color that greets it on every side. Gay oriental stuffs, beautiful rugs and prayer-carpets, shining brass and copper ves- sels, as well as gold, silver, and tinsel ornaments, are heaped about in picturesque disorder. Countless little shops are supplied with all sorts of articles arranged to attract the purchaser. 6 THE LAND OF THE TEMPLE BUILDERS. The proprietor — seated cross-legged upon his rug-covered platform and within easy reach of his goods^^ loses no chance of importuning all passers-by to a close inspection of his wares. Above the shops are the balconies and latticed windows of the domestic quarters, which cut off from the gaze of the European the domestic life of the Mohammedan. Through these crowded streets, one threads his way to the plateau surmounting the Mokat- tam hills at the east of the town, whence may be gained a good idea of the appearance of the delta, the Nile valley, and the desert. The city lies stretched out at the feet of the observer, a mass of flat-roofed buildings, out of which, here and there, spring in clear relief the minarets of Mohammedan mosques. Beyond flows the Nile through fields of ripening grain, its surface dotted with the lateen sails of picturesque mer- chant-boats. Farther on, at the edge of the desert, rise the wonderful pyramids of Gizeh, glistening in the sun and piercing the sky with their immutable crests. From Cairo a well-constructed road shaded by ROAD TO THE PYRAMIDS THE APPROACH TO THE PYRAMIDS. 9 fine lebbek trees leads to these pyramids. The trip may be made by carriage in an hour and a half. The road spans the Nile by a long iron bridge and extends along the angle of the delta to the desert. The pyramids stand upon the edge of the desert on the western bank of the Nile, almost opposite the point where the river divides into its many mouths or outlets. At first the apparent size and distance of the three great pyramids are most deceptive. Being the only prominent objects in the landscape, they seem very near, when in fact they are several miles away. Upon approaching them, they ap- pear to increase rapidly in size and their group- ing and relationship change much with the observer's point of view. From the road, the two smaller pyramids are partly hidden by the great Cheops, creating the supposition that the bases of all three are in proximity to one another. From_ a point more nearly opposite, one is surprised to find how far apart they are in reality. A view from the southwest will bring them again so near to one another in appearance that their bases seem to overlap. II. THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZEH. It must be borne in mind that, while especial interest centres in the three great pyramids, there are many more of these massive burial vaults, both near the necropolis of the ancient city of Memphis and scattered along the plateau of the Libyan desert for a distance of twenty-five miles. The sides of the three great pyramids of Gizeh — Cheops, Chephren, and Mycerinus — face the four cardinal points of the compass. Cheops measures, approximately, seven hundred and fifty feet on each of the four sides. It is four hun- dred and fifty feet, in height and covers an area of nearly thirteen acres. Its estimated weight is about seven million tons. Let one consider any ground-area of thirteen acres of land with which he is familiar, and in imagination pile upon it, in pyramidal order, blocks of stone with r> ■ f, -r: X, a ■ 'i:' . //MM''' ASCENT OF THE PYRAMID OF CHEOPS THE PYRAlSlDS OF GIZEH. 1 3 an average thickness of three feet, until the apex shall reach a point four hundred and fifty feet from the foundation, and he will then have gained some idea of the colossal dimensions of this silent witness of more than five thousand years of human life and activity. The first requirement for the actual construc- tion of the pyramid appears to have been the levelling of the rock surface. This was probably followed by the excavation of the subterranean chambers and the building of a foundation of stone reaching up to the level of the surrounding sands. This foundation was then covered with a layer of stones about three feet thick. Stones for another similar layer were rolled up an incline of earth and put in place. Then other layers were added till the top was reached. The incline of earth was raised as needed for each platform and when all were in place the earth was removed. Thus the great pyramids may have reached their gigantic proportions. The summit was crowned with a pyramidal stone and the step-like spaces on the surface were filled so as to form a solid mass with four sloping sides. As in due course of time 14 THE LAND OF THE TEMPLE BUILDERS. this surface covering has disappeared, the summit is now accessible. But to cHmb to the top of one of these pyramids, under any circumstances, is no easy matter ; for the true steepness is not meas- ured by the slant of the long lines from the angles of the base to the apex, — as seen in the illustration, — but by the slope of the outline presented by a face view. The ascent is made upon one of the four sides, over steps or blocks of stone averaging at least three feet in height. Even with two or three Arab attendants the task is more than many travellers can endure in the hot tropical sun. The ambitious climber must rest often before he i-eaches the top. Yet he is amply repaid for his trouble. Looking off to the north and northeast, he sees spread before him the great delta of the Nile, extending far into the distance until it is lost in the northern horizon. Level as a floor, and dotted with small villages, this great arable tract is covered a large part of the year with a rich vegetation. Its soil, formed from the alluvial deposits of the river, yields an abundant harvest to the inhabitants, but unfortunately subjects 11 5 :% i.5 I 7-^ o c . s 1 < ;-/! EB THE PYRAMIDS OF GIZEH. 1 7 them to the baneful influences of a malarial atmosphere. To the south is the river Nile, hemmed in by the Arabian desert on the east and the Libyan desert on the west, the fertile soil on both sides varying in width from a few hundred feet to sev- eral miles ; and beyond is the great sea of drift- ing sands. East of the middle pyramid and in the immediate foreground, the mysterious figure of the Sphinx, sculptured from the solid rock and partly buried in the sands and the dust of ages, looks toward the rising sun. Turning toward the west and southwest, one views a scene strikingly unlike that of the lux- uriant fields bordering the river. Here all is desolation and dreary waste. The yellow-brown drifting sand shining under the glare of the noon- day sun, interspersed with barren rocks and dotted here and there with the crumbling re- mains of ancient tombs, is the very antithesis of the scene just beheld. The pyramids, built as tombs for the rulers of the IVth Dynasty, mark in the landscape the dividing line between life and death. III. THE RIVER NILE. The town of Assuan, situated at the first cata- ract, five hundred and eighty miles by river from Cairo, is one of the chief points of destination for all pilgrimages through the Nile valley. The trip to Assuan and back to Cairo may be made by an excursion steamer in three weeks, allowing for short visits to the various places of interest ; but a more ideal journey may be taken in the pict- uresque sail-boat peculiar to the Nile and known as. the dahabiyeh. The latter is a slow mode of travel governed entirely by winds, and consumes many weeks, but contributes more than a shorter voyage toward a full comprehension of the char- acter of the life along the river. Little wonder that to the ancient Egyptians the river Nile was a mystery they regarded with • a feeling of reverence, believing that a god dwelt within its waters ! For many hundred miles THE RIVER NILE. 21 from the mouth, no tributary breaks its winding outline. Onward it flows through rainless re- gions beneath an almost tropical sun, spreading abroad the fertile bounty which, for untold cen- turies, made Egypt the granary of the world. Tens of thousands of people still dwell upon its productive banks, drawing daily from its fountain of waters for purposes of irrigation and domestic consumption. Seemingly the river grows wider and deeper as it makes its way toward the Medi- terranean, although it actually loses one-third its volume. Every year, beginning in June, it slowly fills its bed between the steep alluvial banks, and then as deliberately spreads its turbid waters over the rich soil to the desert's edge. Having deposited its freight of vitalized earth, its mission accomplished, it gradually recedes; and, reaching its winding bed, again sinks many feet below the level surface of the land. The mean difference between the highest and lowest level of the river is thirty-eight feet at Thebes, twenty-five feet at Cairo, and five feet in the delta. The annual overflow of the Nile no longer turns its valley into a great lake, as it 2 2 THE LAND OF THE TEMPLE BUILDERS. must have done in earlier times ; for, through engineering skill, man now controls, to a certain extent, the waters of the river. By means of canals and embankments, these waters are con- ducted to various parts of the Nile valley, to be utilized according to agricultural requirements. The canals are sufficiently deep to supply some- what remote districts with water during the dry season. The productive soil left by the retreating Nile requires but the merest scratching of its yielding surface by the primitive plough to be made ready for the seed. Owing, however, to the absence of rain, the crops must be watered continually by artificial means; therefore, throughout the long days, hundreds of native workmen draw water from the river and raise it to the little canals, which, like the lines of a checkerboard, divide the arable land. The water is lifted from the river by means of a shadoof. This rude apparatus consists of a long pole like a well-sweep, with a bucket at one end and a ball of dried mud as a weight at the other. When the river is low, a man stationed THE RIVER NILE. 25 at the water's edge fills the vessel, raises it with his shadoof, and pours the water into a hole in the embankment above him. Other men above, each with a shadoof, successively dip and lift the water upward until the top of the embankment is reached. By a network of little canals, the water is conducted over a tract of cultivated soil. When this has been well watered, the supply is shut off by banking the main channel with earth, and the water directed to another part of the field. This process is continued until the entire tract has received its supply. Week after week this operation is repeated, furnishing employ- ment to many men, who receive from ten to fif- teen cents per day for their labor. Wells also are dug here and there, into which water perco- lates from the river. This water is drawn by means of a large wheel, to the rim of which are suspended earthen jars. The wheel is turned by another of rude gearing; to this is attached some animal, usually a buffalo, which slowly per- forms his part in furnishing the necessary motor power to set the wheels in motion. The life along the river is unique and inter- 26 THE LAND OF THE TEMPLE BUILDERS. esting. Flat-bottomed boats, freighted with mer- chandise brought by camels across the desert to Assuan, float lazily down the river, now and then catching a favoring wind and speeding swiftly round; the curves, their sails, like the wings of gigantic birds, silhouetted against the level shores and clear sky. Here and there along the banks may be seen women filling their water-jars or standing in picturesque groups with their dripping burdens resting upon their heads. In place of earthen jars, the men use the skin of an animal, which they hang upon their backs. Thus do these primitive people carry to their rude dwellings, for domestic purposes, the water of the Nile — not crystalline and clear like that of a spring, but freighted with the black mud of the river. But how do these natives build their houses and what is the character of their homes ? Grouped beneath the palm-trees, one finds irreg- ular structures consisting of walls built of Nile mud or of sun-dried bricks, and rising to a height^ of six to eight feet. They are divided from one another by crooked lanes, which intersect the THE RIVER NILE. 29 crowded settlement. Within the walls of such a dwelling lives the Egyptian of to-day, with his wife and children, in close companionship with his donkeys, his dogs, and his pigeons. Some- times a part of the enclosure is divided into com- partments or rooms, a few feet square, and is topped with a roof of straw. Scarcely an article of furniture redeems these comfortless dwellings. A raised platform of dried mud may form the bed for the master of the house ; a hemispherical mound of earth with openings, the crude stove. The latter is rarely in use, as the bread is baked at the public bakery whenever the family supply runs low. There is little wood ; the village refuse takes the place of fuel. An accumulation of dust several inches deep carpets the ground. Most of the village houses along the Nile are of this mud formation. In Cairo and in other large towns are buildings similar to those of European construction ; but, outside of these few cities, the greater proportion of the natives that inhabit the Nile country dwell with their animals in the most primitive mud structures. If one understands the construction of the 30 THE LAND OF THE TEMPLE BUILDERS. Egyptian dwelling of to day, he may more read- ily comprehend the origin of the mounds that cover the sites of ancient cities and oftentimes surround a temple, in some cases rising to a height varying from fifty to seventy feet. If the ancient Egyptian house crumbled to the extent of beins: uninhabitable, the debris was levelled and another habitation erected upon the same spot. Thus, through countless ages, the city gradually increased the height of its level above the river until it encircled the great temple. In later cen- turies, when the Egyptians cared not for the religion of their fathers, the temples were used as dwelling-places and in time became filled, and even covered, with accumulations from the ruins of many habitations. The excavations of these mounds have brought to light not only countless hieroglyphic in- scriptions upon temple walls and upon papyrus rolls, but long-buried household utensils and trinkets in great numbers. They have redis- covered Egypt to us, in that we are able to form from them a clear conception of the history and life of the ancient Egyptians. *Si»- ^ffj 4^« ■^W I ^'•If^ 'J IV. EGYPTIAN WRITING. The inscriptions upon the temple walls and upon papyrus rolls show that the Egyptians em- ployed three kinds of writing. The first, or oldest form, the hieroglyphic, is largely pictorial in character. Figures of men, birds, animals, and material objects are combined with various symbols. This form was usually adopted for temple writings. A more facile method naturally came about through the abbreviation of the original outline or pictorial symbol. That is, a part of the repre- sentation was used to symbolize a whole charac- ter. For instance, two curves combined somewhat like the figure J replace the early hieroglyphic drawing of the owl. This form of writing is known as the hieratic, and much of the writing upon papyrus is of this character. These two forms of writing became still further 34 THE LAND OF THE TEMPLE BUILDERS. modified and abbreviated until the original pic- torial form was almost entirely lost. One simple character, composed of a line only, came to stand for the original symbol. This style of writing was in use at least one thousand years before Christ, and was largely employed in commercial transactions, in correspondence, and in making contracts. It is known as the demotic. In the early centuries after Christ, a combina- tion of the demotic and the Greek, known as the Coptic, became common. A large proportion of the Coptic writings that have been preserved are of a religious character, many containing parts of the Old and of the New Testament. Happily, a clew to the reading of these writings came about through the discovery at Rosetta, in 1799, of a fragment of a black basalt slab measur- ing about two and one-half by four feet. On one face of this stone are three inscriptions: one in hieroglyphic, another in demotic, and a third in Greek. The translation of the Greek text ex- plained the purpose of the writing and also the fact that the same law was proclaimed in the three inscriptions. Through a series of years, scholars i) -^ ^ HIEROGLYPHICS : TEMPLE OF MEDINET-ABU EGYPTIAN WRITING. 37 gave careful study to these characters and finally succeeded in deciphering the whole Egyptian alphabet, thus rendering intelligible the innumer- able inscriptions found on the Egyptian temples and tombs. The chief credit for this work is due Jean Francois Champollion, although his work has been supplemented by that of many other students. While Egyptian inscriptions may now be trans- lated quite easily by Egyptologists, it should be remembered that, to acquire this facility, careful and untiring research and study were necessary; for, in their writings, the Egyptians employed a great many signs — fully two thousand in number. These arbitrary symbols were often supplemented by pictorial forms, that the meaning might be more easily determined. An elliptical ring or cartouche containing characters signifies the name of a king; although, occasionally, an inscription thus en- closed in an elongated space with rounded ends has reference to the gods. An inscription consist- ing entirely of these cartouches and cut in low relief upon a high wall among the ruins of Abydos, gives a partial chronological record of the kings of 38 THE LAND OF THE TEMPLE BUILDERS. Egypt from the time of Menes. This record is of great value, inasmuch as it verifies in point of time the reigns of the successive Egyptian kings referred to in various inscriptions found throughout Egypt. The atmospheric conditions of this rainless country — with its cloudless sky, its wide stretches of desert, and its tropical sun — have always been favorable to the preservation of the works of man. Drawings, carvings, paintings, and in- scriptions, made on stone from one to three thousand years before Christ, are nearly as per- fect to-day as when wrought by the Egyptian draughtsman. The hand of man, however, has proved more destructive to these records of countless generations than the forces of nature. The Assyrians, the Persians, the Mohammedans, and the disinterested natives have in turn played their part in the demolition of temples and works of art. Yet the visitor is amazed at the number, the clever workmanship, and the splendor of those which remain scattered throughout Egypt. WALL DECORATION — TEMPLE OF THOTHMES III.: KARNAK V. RELIGION OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. The religion of the ancient Egyptians is of a most interesting as well as complex character, differing throughout the empire with locality and period of time. The Egyptians saw divine power in everything, and divine attributes were usually given a personal form. The^e personal forms were provided with a symbolic head-dress, or were sometimes represented with the head of a beast or bird, to signify their rank among the gods and their relationship to supernatural powers. Ptah, the greatest of the gods, was the divine source of creative power, and was repre- sented in human form with the body swathed as a mummy. Ra, the god of the sun, who illu- mines the world, ranked next to Ptah. He was given human form with a hawk's head, and wore a sun-disk and the Urseus serpent. Hathor, the mother-god, a divine source of creative power. 42 THE LAND OF THE TEMPLE BUILDERS. wore the vulture cap, and was sometimes crowned with the horns of the cow and with the disk. In a country Hke Egypt, the sun, seemingly rising directly out of the desert, travelling all day without a cloud to darken its face, and sinking at night into the sands of the western horizon, pro- duces upon one an effect quite different from that experienced in northern latitudes, where, in a rainy season, it may be lost to view for many days at a time. No wonder the Egyptians made it an ob- ject of vital significance and worship. They could not comprehend its mysterious power; they felt that through the night it wrestled with the unseen god of darkness and, though van- quished, lived again. In the morning the sun- god rose as a child, Horus ; at mid-day it was the god Ra in the zenith of strength; and at night, the old man Turn, going down to repeat the conflict with the god of evil. Thus the sun became the symbol of resurrection ; though dy- ing at night, it was revitalized through the re- sources of nature which were presided over by the goddess Isis. fe A ^^^ - !a ''^^eri' *^^.:^A «-*