EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY. 4] 
many priests, who carry it by means of long poles. The centre seems to 
be occupied by a little temple, around which are grouped a number of 
figures and ornaments, as cherubim and other representations of a similar 
kind, while the prow and the poop are ornamented with rams’ heads. gs. 
4 and 5 are two other but simpler forms of this same vessel. The figure 
seen in the latter is probably intended for the body of Osiris, after he had been 
slain by his brother Typhon. It is uncertain whether it was placed there in 
commemoration of the act of launching it upon the waves of the Nile, or of 
Tsis’s devotion in carrying off the body after she had discovered it at Byblos. 
It was a favorite device of the Egyptians to represent the gods as going 
about in vessels; and they kept the idols generally in large boxes which 
were deposited in the sacred ship, whence they were removed during 
festival seasons or for sacrificial solemnities, and placed in the temples 
dedicated to them. | 
_ 2. Worsuie AND PriestHoop. Sacrifices, which were sometimes of a 
bloody character, and music constituted the main features of the worship 
performed in the numerous temples dedicated to the gods. Pl. 10, fig. 35, 
represents a sacrifice brought to Isis in one of her temples. 
A great variety of sacred vessels and utensils were employed in the 
temple service, most of which were wrought with great skill and taste. 
We have represented a few of them on our plates. J. 9, jig. 24, is a kind 
of cup; jigs. 25, 26, and 27, are two jugs and a pitcher, and jig. 28 an 
ancient flask or bottle. The most valued and esteemed vessels were the 
so-called Canope or sacred jugs (pl. 8, jigs. 26a, 6, and pl. 9, jigs. 15 
and 16). They were brass vessels wide in the body, with narrow necks and 
covers, made in the shape of the head of some deity: sometimes they were 
also covered with hieroglyphics. We cannot with certainty say for what 
purpose they were used, but it is probable they were employed as deposi- 
tories for the sacred water drawn from the Nile. They seem to have 
served in astronomical observations for measuring time in the manner of 
hour-glasses in which water was used instead of sand. This was done by 
placing one jug with a small hole at the bottom and filled with water, over 
another empty jug of the same size without an opening at the bottom. 
When the time for the astronomical observation had come, that is as soon 
as the watched for star made its appearance on the horizon, they removed 
the stopper from the aperture in the upper vessel. The water which now 
ran into the graded vessel beneath it, during the time which elapsed between 
the first appearance of the star and its reappearance on the following night, 
served as the standard by which to measure the course of every move- 
ment in the starry heavens. Not only the course and periods of the stars 
but also the length of the days and nights were calculated by the help of 
these little instruments, and those that were set aside for that purpose 
were ornamented with covers resembling a dog’s head or a dog sitting upon 
his haunches. 
The guardians of this mythological system and of the sacred rites con- 
nected with it, the priests, formed a separate caste. The cultivation of arts 
and sciences was their special province. All legislative and judicial power 
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