EGYPT. 



871 



Hums nf Temples at Ltuur. 



about 8 fefet square at the base, and 80 

 feet in height. Near the obelisks are two 

 statues, also of red granite, buried in the 

 sand to the chest, but measuring 22 feet 

 from thence to the lop of their mitres. 

 Having passed the gateway, which is it- 

 self a vast monument, adorned with groups 

 of good sculptures, the traveler enters a 

 ruined portico of vast dimensions, whence 

 he is conducted through a double row of 

 columns 22 feet in circumference, to a 

 court 160 feet long, and 40 wide, termi- 

 nated at each side by a row of columns. 

 Beyond this is another ])ortico of 32 col- 

 umns, and then is the adijlum, or interior 

 of the edifice. But Luxor and Karnac are but half of ancient Thebes. On the western side 

 of the river are structures equal in their style of architecture. The Memnonium, or Temple 



of JMemnon, looks towards the east, and is 

 fronted by a stupendous propylon, of which 

 234 feet are still remaining. The statue of 

 Memnon is overthrown and shattered. It was 

 26 feet broad between the shoulders, 54 feet 

 round the chest, and 13 from the shoulder to 

 the elbow. The statue commonly called that 

 of Memnon, is one of two, about 52 feet high. 

 The stones on which they rest are 30 feet 

 long, and 18 broad. These statues are muti- 

 lated. One of these, is that which emitted a 

 sound at the dawn of day. The fact is attested 

 by many writers who heard it, but the reason it 

 is hard to explain. The Necropolis or city of 

 the dead, is connected with t!)e great Egyptian 

 capital. The mountains were hollowed out for 

 the tombs of the inhabitants. These excavated 

 mountains contain halls and rooms innumerable. 

 The walls are freshly painted, and some of the 

 sarcophagi were monuments of art. The mum- 

 mies are sought with avidity as an article of 

 commerce. Some few of them have glass eyes 

 adapted u'ith great skill. There are other tem- 

 Ruias of the Temple oj Memnon. P'^s no less imposing in Structure and sculpture, 



than those described at Edfou, and many other 

 places. None of them can be described, and a sight of them is more like a wild dream than 

 reality. The pillars, sides, &c., are generally sculptured with hieroglyphics, those mysteri- 

 ous characters, that have for tens of centuries defied all skill to decipher imtil recent discov- 

 eries.* 



Near Medinet el Fayou travelers have thought they had discovered the ruins of the laby- 

 rinth ; this remarkable building is described in terms of admiration by an ancient Greek trav- 

 eler, Herodotus, as the greatest triumph of human industry and art ; it was composed of 12 



* Our limits allow only an extract, revealintr part of the 

 process of deciphering the hieroglyphics. The extract is 

 from Russell's Egypt, from which some of the above de- 

 tails are drawn. 



"When the French were in Egypt they discovered, in 

 the foundation of a fort, near Rosetta, a block or slab of 

 basalt, which presented an inscription in three distinct 

 languages, namely, the sacred letters, the letters of the 

 country, and the Greek. On examining, in their relative 

 situation, the parts corresponding to two passages of the 

 Greek inscription in which Aleyander and Alexandria oc- 

 curred, there were soon recognised (uo well-markrd 



groups of characters resembling each other, •which were, 

 therefore, considered as representing these names. A va- 

 riety of similar coincidences were detected, and especially 

 that belween a certain assemblage of figures and the 

 word Ptolemy, which occurred no fewer than fourteen 

 times; and hence, as the Greek was known to be a trans- 

 lation of the Etryptian symbols, the task of the decipherer 

 was limited to a discovery of the alphabetical power of 

 the several marks, or objects, wliich ilennled that particu- 

 lar name. It was by pursuing this path, that success was 

 ultimately attained. It was satisfactorily made out, that 

 hieiogl vphics not onlv expressed ideas, r,r rppresented 



