E G Y P T. 



Anoquitie*. 



cipal roemoriali of ancient times are to be louiul in the 

 more early inhabited places of the country. The re- 

 mains of Dendcrnh, iincicnlly Tentyriis, indicate 

 greater variety of ruins and wrecks of former arts than 

 any other place of Egypt. Though it does not appear 

 to have been the capital of any district, yet it must 

 have been a highly favoured residence, and under the 

 special protection of tin- kin:;-, anil nobles of the coun- 

 try. But the ruins of Thebes are peculiarly the objects 

 i>t our attention, as deriving a higher degree of interest 

 from the antiquity of the city, and the rank which it 

 lirld an the seatot royalty and science. 



1 it t-vt-n here one might l>c astonished to find such 

 scanty remains of a city, so great and so famous ; but 

 ancient towns, and even the most celebrated cities of 

 remote times, contained few buildings which were cal- 

 culated to stand the ravages of time. Excepting temples, 

 pnhKiT. and other public edifices, the other buildings 

 were composed of mud or some perishable materials, 

 which were easily swept away by the current of events. 

 And this may be assigned as the reason why cities, 

 like the far-famed Troy, liave been entirely destroyed, 

 and the place where they once stood scarcely ascertain- 

 ed. The situation of Thelies is sufficiently known, but 

 little more of it remains than the ruins of its public 

 buildings, its vaulted receptacles for the dead, and some 

 huge specimens of statuary, which command our admi- 

 ration. The colossal statue of Osyinandius, with the 

 two figures, one on each side, which are supposed to 

 represent his wife and daughter, are still seen, and have 

 often been described. Near the same city, an enormous 

 figure, 75 feet high, is described as the celebrated statue 

 of Memnon. Though all these representations are 

 only founded on conjecture, of one thing we are cer- 

 tain, that whomsoever this and the preceding statues 

 represent, they belong to ancient times, and are me- 

 morials of the progress which in those days had been 

 made in the fine arts. The excess which their propor- 

 tions bear to the productions of nature, is a proof of 

 rudeness of conception, and a deficiency in taste and 

 imitation. Still, however, in the remotest times, Egypt 

 was eminent for its knowledge and acquirements. 



The paintings in the tomb of Thebes have wonder- 

 fully preserved their colours, and are specimens of 

 Egyptian ingenuity. They have also a tendency to 

 exhibit the fashions and designs of furniture which 

 were known in those early times. Since the French 

 and British expeditions, we have imitations of Egyptian 

 vases and carpets, chairs and couches, as well as other 

 articles of Eastern production. The ruins of the temple 

 at Carnak, and the magnificent remains of Luxor, are 

 curious and astonishing ; but they are neither so chaste 

 nor elegant as the designs at Esnah, Etfu, or Tentyra. 

 Though all the Egyptian relics are ancient, yet there is 

 a difference in their style, and an evident progress from 

 the more rude to the more refined. Girgeh, which is 

 now the capital of Upper Egypt, is comparatively a 

 modern town, and not productive of antiquities ; but it 

 derived its name from a monastery dedicated to St 

 George, more ancient than the town, and built in an 

 early part of the Christian era. The Isle of Philoe, at 

 the entrance of the Nile into Egypt, is interesting for 

 many ancient remains, which have been well exhibited 

 by M. Denon, in his splendid and satisfactory account 

 of many striking remains and appearances of Egypt ; 

 and Klephantma cannot IK- (Kissed over without notice. 



Memphis has suffered so completely in the lapse of 

 ages, that, like many other ancient cities, it is a question 

 if some curiosity where it was situated. It is most 



probable, that it stood between the pyramids of Giaa Sututio. 

 ami Saccara ; and as it was of great extent, its suburbs Tr"* 1 

 may have stretched themselves toward U>th these places, A '"!"" 1 * 1 - 

 and comprehended within its bounds Mohannon ami 

 Metrahenny. Upon this supposition, those ancient de- 

 positories of the dead, which are found at the pyramids 

 of (ii/.a and Saccara, may have been the burying-places 

 of the dead ; without the walls of the city, according to 

 the practice of ancient times, ami in this situation, there 

 have been discovered vast excavations and numerous 

 mummies. In the article of antiquities, we speak not 

 of Damietta and Rosetta, though they were ancient sta- 

 tions upon the branches of the Nile; but they were 

 rather the resort of sea-faring men, than the abodes of 

 literature or science, and consequently afforded few 

 works of splendour or art to be handed down to sue- 

 ceeding times. 



Although Alexandria was built for the accommoda- 

 tion of trade, and became the emporium of foreign 

 merchandise ; yet it also became the residence of king.-. 

 and flourished with grandeur and the arts ; and now, 

 in its forlorn condition, it exhibits many curious re- 

 mains, which command our reverence, while they ex- 

 cite our regret. The ancient Pharos was a superb 

 building, worthy of kings, but it has long ago l>cen ut- 

 terly destroyed ; and the present Pharos is an inferior 

 fortification, at the end of a causeway projecting into the 

 sea. Upon the shore, to the eastward of this tower, 

 are two obelisks or Cleopatra's needles, above 70 feet 

 high ; one of them continues erect upon its basis, while 

 the other has been overthrown, and was partly sunk in 

 the sand, till Lord Cavan, after the British victories, 

 had it raised from the earth, with the view of transport- 

 ing it to Ixmdon. Not being able to have his design 

 accomplished, he deposited various specimens of British 

 and Turkish coins in the hole of tne pedestal, where 

 the shaft had been inserted, and covered them with a 

 marble slab, upon which was inscribed an account of 

 the Britisli exploits in subduing the French and reco- 

 vering Egypt for the Grand Signior. These obelisks 

 are inscribed with hieroglyphics, which might assign 

 them a very ancient origin ; but it is impossible to de- 

 termine whether they have a just claim to such an- 

 tiquity, or whether they were constructed to adorn the 

 royal buildings of the Ptolemies, and afterwards dedi- 

 cated to Cleopatra. As to the hieroglyphical figures, 

 they may only have been imitations, and performed 

 with the view of giving the obelisks an air of antiquity. 

 But to whatsoever age these or other obelisks of Kgypt 

 may have belonged, it will continue to be a matter of 

 astonishment, how such vast pillars were hewn out of 

 the rock, conveyed to their place of destination, and 

 in those times of little knowledge in mechanics, how 

 they were elevated, mid placed securely in an erect alti- 

 tude. 



Nearly on a line with Pharos, without the walls of Pompey's 

 ancient Alexandria, and not far from the lake iUareotis, pillar, 

 is the magnificent pillar of Pompey. Its height is 

 about 90 feet, whereof the pedestal is 1 0, the base above 

 5, the shaft rather more than 63, and the capital com- 

 pletes the rest of the measurement. Its principal parts 

 are of the Corinthian order, though the proportions and 

 omaments are of a mixed species. This superb monu- 

 ment has been ascribed to Ptolemy Philadelphia, in 

 memory of his beloved Queen Arsinoe ; and others have 

 assigned it to Ptolemy Euergetes. A few have sup- 

 posed, that it was erected for the Emperor Adrian or 

 Severus, while the power of Rome prevailed in Egypt ; 

 but the Greek inscription upon the column dedicates it 



