44" THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. XIII. 



sionally with the globe and horns of Athor ; and 

 she frequently appears under the form of a vulture, 

 which, with outspread wings, hovers over the King 

 as if to protect him. This confirms the statement 

 of Eusebius * , who observes that the image of the 

 Deity worshipped at the Egyptian city of "Eile- 

 thyas had the form of a flying vulture, whose wings 

 were inlaid with precious stones." She has also 

 the form of an asp, which, like the vulture, wears 

 the head-dress of Osiris, ~ the crown of the Upper 

 Country with two ostrich feathers. This asp is 

 frequently winged. It wears the Pshent, or crown 

 of the two regions ; or the crown of Upper Egypt 

 only, when opposed to the Genius of the Lower 

 Country, who, under the same form of an asp, has 

 that of Lower Egypt. The water-plants chosen 

 as the initials of the respective names of these 

 two Goddesses agree with the crowns they wear; 

 one signifying *' Upper," the other " Lower 

 Egypt," which are thus written in hieroglyphics 



or ||lk t^ ; the last two having 



^1^ 



in addition the bowl or basket, signifying " Lord." 

 Indeed, it is not altogether improbable that the 

 Goddess Eilethyia may have had the name Sarest, 

 ** the South," which her hieroglyphic, sometimes 



written thus H "^ , A^ , or A^ I , appears 

 + I ^1 ^^ 



* Euseb. Prcpar. Evangel, iii. 12. 



f IJ[)[)cr Egypt was called Mares, whence the Arabic name Marees 

 or Marecsec ajjplied to the south wind. 



