230 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. XII, 



neously suppose that the statues of the Theban 

 Jupiter (Amun) "represented him with the liead 

 of a ram*," and that " Pan was called Mendest 

 by the Egyptians," and " figured by them, as by 

 the Greeks, with the head and legs of a goat," 

 we must despair of obtaining correct information 

 upon tlie subject before us, and only receive their 

 evidence after cautious investigation. That Nep- 

 tune and the Dioscuri were not known t to the 

 Egyptians is very probable ; and another remark 

 of Herodotus is equally consistent, tliat *' Isis was 

 the greatest of all the Deities §," and that she en- 

 joyed with Osiris the same honours throughout 

 every part of Egypt ; — a privilege not granted to 

 tlie other Gods. 1| But lie has confounded Pan, 

 whom lie allows to be one of the eight Gods^, 

 with jNIandoo **, an inferior Deity ; and Bubastis 

 (Diana) was not, as he affirms, the daughter of 

 Isis and Osiris, ft 



These instances of inaccuracy suffice to make us 

 careful in taking so dubious an authority ; and we 

 cannot even be certain that Buto held the rank he 

 gives her among the first class of Deities, tt 



If in every town or district of Egypt the principal 

 temple had been preserved, we might discover the 

 nature of the triad worshipped there, as w^ell as the 

 name of the chief Deity who presided in it, and thus 

 become better acquainted with the character of the 



* Herodot. ii. 42. f Herodot. ii.4G. 



J Herodot. ii. 43. and 50. Vide infra, Chap, xiii., on Anouke. 

 § Herodot. ii. 40. Lifrd, p. 378. || Herodot. ii. 42. 



IT Herodot. ii. 145. ** Herodot. ii. 46. 



ft Herodot. ii. 156. f J Id. 



