ARCHITECTURE. 15 
hall (pl. 5, ig. 7 e), probably the room in which the inhabitants of the palace 
held their meetings. Behind this is another hall, 88 feet long by 49 feet 
wide, the columns of which are remarkable on account of their 16 flutes, and 
probably gave the idea of the Doric column. Besides these mentioned above, 
the palace contained a number of smaller rooms. According to Herodotus 
and Diodorus Siculus, this palace was built at the time of king Busiris I. 
that is, about 4500 B. c. 
Several other ruins are situated at the southern and northern ends of the 
inclosure of the palace, but they consist of little more than a few woman- 
headed sphinxes with the bodies of lions, the number of which originally 
amounted to about 60; among them the largest in the Thebaid (See History, 
Plates, Division IV. pl. 3, jig. 32). 
The ruins of Tentyra, or Denderah, which occupy an area of 2800 feet 
by 2400, and contain the northern temple, the temple dedicated to Typhon 
(Typhonium), the large temple, and the southern temple, are classed among 
the most elegant specimens of Egyptian architecture. The northern temple, 
not over 50 feet by 34, is peripteral, with 14 columns, and has not been com- 
pleted. The Typhonium, a temple dedicated to the evil principle, also perip- 
teral, is 105 feet by 55 feet, and similar to the temple at Edfou. Leaves of the 
lotus and other plants ornament the capitals, whose cubes show on all four 
sides the image of atyphon, enveloped in lotus leaves. Another Typhonium 
of great interest is situated on the mountain of Barkal. It is partly excavated 
in the rock, and contains two rooms. In the first, or pronaos, next to the pro- 
pyleeum, the architrave is supported by four rows of pillars, four in each row; 
in front of each pillar is a statue of the god Typhon, supporting a kind of 
cushion, upon which the architrave rests. PU. 4, jig. 8, shows a perspective 
view of the interior of this pronaos. 
The large temple of Tentyra was 245 feet long, by 128 feet wide, and 55 
feet high. The entrance door is 154 feet wide, and the ceiling of the portico 
(pl. 4, fig.5 a) rests upon 24 columns ranged in four rows, the capitals of 
which are composed of four heads of Isis, which support a cube, on the 
faces of which temples are represented (pl.5, fig.10.) The colossal head is 
partly hidden by a drapery painted with longitudinal stripes, exhibiting lotus 
leaves and pearls. The sculptures upon the cube represent offerings to Isis, 
who is nursing her son Horus. All the columns are covered with hiero- 
glyphics. The door jambs, like the building itself of sandstone, are framed 
in by the centre columns; the head-piece over the door is of granite. The 
walls of the portico are inclined on each side, to the extent of 103 feet. The 
rear portion, or the main temple, is about ten feet lower than the portico. 
It contains a ceiling painted with yellow stars on a blue ground; and also 
the famous zodiac, explained in the mythological part of this work. This 
zodiac is cut in stone; it begins with the lion, and ends with the scarabzeus 
in place of the crab, the constellations ranged around it. On the ceiling of 
the portico, are similar decorations executed in painting. The two corner 
pulars on the front (pl. 4, fig. 5 a), are ornamented with four rows of bas- 
reliefs representing the offerings of gifts to Osiris and Isis, the former of 
whom is represented sometimes with the head of a boar, sometimes with 
15 
