CHAP. XV. DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE. 275 



upon the day of the festival ; and if the king hap- 

 pened to be there, it was his privilege to perform the 

 appointed ceremonies. These consisted of sacri- 

 fices and prayers ; and the shrine was decked with 

 fresh-gathered flowers and rich garlands. An 

 endless profusion of offerings was placed before it 

 on several separate altars ; and the king, frequently 

 accompanied by his queen, who held a sistrum in 

 one hand, and in the other a bouquet of flowers 

 made up into the particular form required for these 

 religious ceremonies, presented incense and liba- 

 tion. This part of the ceremony being finished, the 

 king proceeded to the presence of the God (repre- 

 sented by his statue), from whom he was supposed 

 to receive a blessing, typified by the sacred tmi^ 

 the sign of Life. Sometimes the principal contem- 

 plar Deity was also present, usually the second 

 member of the triad of the place ; and it is pro- 

 bable that the position of the statue was near to 

 the shrine alluded to in the inscription of the Ro- 

 setta Stone. 



Some of the sacred boats, or arks, contained the 

 emblems of Life and Stability, which, when the veil 

 was drawn aside, were partially seen ; and others 

 presented the sacred beetle of the Sun, oversha- 

 dowed by the wings of two figures of the Goddess 

 Thmei or Truth, which call to mind the cherubim 

 of the Jews.* 



The dedication of the whole or part of a temple 

 was, as may be reasonably supposed, one of the 



* VidcC\Qm. Strom, v. p. 243., on the Ark of the Hebrews ami the 

 Adytum of the Egyptians ; and Woodcut No. 469. in the next page. 



T 2 



