6 ARCHITECTURE. 
The porticoes were covered, and had a pillar at each corer, with 19 
columns between each of them. The Grecian porticoes being similarly 
arranged, were probably borrowed from these. | 
Near the southern temple commences a wall, in front of which runs a 
portico 228 feet long, formed by 32 columns richly ornamented with sculp- 
tures. On the opposite side of the fore court (the western) is a similar but 
shorter portico of 16 columns, which are 16 feet high, the proportion between 
the diameter and the height being as one tosix. The capitals are ornamented 
with palm leaves, and the ceilings and the main cornice are covered with 
hieroglyphies. At the northern end of the fore yard are two lions ina 
recumbent position, cut out of red granite, and behind them stand two 
obelisks of the same material, decorated with hieroglyphics. These obelisks 
are immediately in front of the first propylea, which are 118 feet long by 50 
feet high. The hieroglyphics, composed of figures 21 feet high, are ent in a 
recess, so that the most prominent parts do not project beyond the surface 
of the propyleum. Besides the western temple, the most recent of them all, 
which was built 2500 years before Christ, there is in front of the priests’ 
dwelling, on the eastern side of the second court-yard, a portico of 10 columns 
(pl. 6, fig. 9, and pl. 4, fig. 6) 28 feet 8 inches in height, and 13 feet in 
circumference. These columns, together with the ceiling and cornice, are 
decorated with hieroglyphics, and the capitals with designs derived from 
the foliation of plants. The portico is lighted by a skylight. The main 
temple of Osiris is divided into several compartments of about 19 feet in 
height. At the extremity of the temple is the sanctuary, with the statue 
and tomb of Osiris. The slabs in the ceiling are 15 to 16 feet long, by 3 to 
41 feet in thickness and width, and of about 17 tons weight each. 
The very remarkable sculptures of this temple show that the Jewish law- 
giver, who was conversant with the forms of the Egyptian religion, to a certain 
extent adopted its symbols in the Mosaic system. These hieroglyphics 
represent the cherubim, the ark of the covenant, the vessel in which Osiris 
came to Egypt, and the table with the sacred candlesticks and the show- 
bread. 
Besides the above-mentioned temples, the island of Phils contains on the 
east side of the temple of Osiris the ruins of another temple, the columns 
of which measure 40 feet, or more than any other upon the island. The 
eubes between the capitals and the architraves are remarkable for their 
height, which is more than a diameter of the column, a proportion greater 
than in any other monument. Among the ruins of a smaller temple on the 
south side of the island columns are found not more than 11 feet in height. 
All the aforesaid temples are built of a kind of whitish sandstone, which is 
almost as durable as granite, although the rocks of the island itself are 
composed of red granite. 
A portico of four columns and a few walls, all richly decorated with very 
elaborate sculptures, are the only marks of the spot once occupied by the 
city of Syene. The island of Elephantine contains the ruins of two temples, 
both of the same style of architecture. The one to the south is still in very 
good condition (pl. 4, jig. 1); it was consecrated to Kneph, the good spirit. 
6 

