V. 
Stels. 
THE PYRAMIDS. 267 
StclP. InScvTHiA, and in many iVbr/Aer?2 couii- chap. 
tries, the File only appears*. In Greece v^ 
perhaps, although no instance is decidedly 
known, the simple Stele, without the pile, might 
serve to denote the grave of a deceased person \ 
The Pile, or Heap, was generally nothing more 
than a lofty mound of earth. More rarely, it 
was a magnificent pyramid. A square platform 
was left, in some instances, upon the tops of 
those Pyramids, as a pedestal for the Stele. This 
seems to have been the case upon the summit 
of the principal Pyramid of Djiza^. Hence Heimctk 
originated the appellation of Hermetic Stelce 
(because Hermes had the care of the dead), and 
all the Grecian Mythology connected with 
(3) See the account of the sepulchres at Telmessus, in the former 
Section, Ch. VIII. Vol.111. 8vo. edition. 
(4) See the Vignette to Chap. xi. Vol. I. 8vo. edition. 
(5) Ka) Irny^nv W alru yiviaSai, eta, tfix^u. Clem. j4lex. Strom, lib. v. 
Oxon. 1715. The ^reat Column at Alexandria, called ^' Pompey's 
Pillar" may possibly be an example of the Slel4, standing alone; as 
will be shewn in a subsequent Chapter. 
(6) Vansleh mentions marks of this kind, which he supposes were 
intended for a Colossus. " On remarque encore les enfonc^-ures qui y 
eont, lesquelles servoient pour tenir fernie la base du Colossc qui y 
estoit pose." Relation d'Egypte, p. 141. Paris, 1677. It was in all 
probability n Stele; but we did not perceive any such appearance; 
neither did Pecocke, as he confesses, p. 43. vol, I. DescrijH. of the East, 
Land. 1743. 
