350 
i 
EGYPT. 
it is the figure of a king, or a divinity. Ts it the ftatue 
of Memnon, or that of Ofymandyas ?—the defcriptions 
hitherto given of this monument throw more confufion 
than light upon this queftion. If it be the ftatue ot 
Memnon, which is the decided opinion of Denon, every 
traveller for two thoufand years mu ft have miftaken the 
obje< 5 l of their curiofity. One foot of this (latue remains, 
which is broken off', and in good prefervation ; and it 
may give to ps in Europe a fcale of companion of the 
monuments of this fpecies, and may ferve as a compa¬ 
nion to the coloffal feet which are in the court of the Ca¬ 
pitol at Rome. The fpot where this figure ftood might 
be either a temple or a palace, or both at the fame time ; 
for, if the bas-relief would belong more properly to a 
royal refidence, the figures of eight priefts, which are in 
the front of two porticoes in the inner part, would pecu¬ 
liarly indicate a temple, except indeed they were intro¬ 
duced to remind the fovereign that, conformably to the 
law of the times, the priefts ought always to ferve and 
a (lift in the pxercife of monarchical power. This ruin, 
which is fituated on the (lope of the mountain, and has 
never been inhabited in later times, is fo well preferved 
in the parts that are ftill (landing, that it appears more 
like a new and unfinifhed building : feveral columns are 
feen here to their very bafes; their proportions are grand, 
but the (tile, though purer than that of the firft-men- 
tioned temple, is, however, not comparable to one of a ( 5 - 
milar kind at Tentyra, neither for the majefty of the ge¬ 
neral delign, nor for the delicacy in the execution of par¬ 
ticular parrs. 
In the adjacent plain, is the Memnonium, and its two 
coloffal ftatues, in a fitting pofture ; between which, ac¬ 
cording to Herodotus, Strabo, and thofe who have co¬ 
pied the relation of thefe writers, ftood the famous ftatue 
of Ofymandyas, the largeft of all the coloffal figures in 
Egypt. Ofymandyas had prided himfelf fo much on the 
execution of this bold defign, that he had caufed an in- 
-fcription to be engraven on the pedeftal of the ftatue, in 
w hich he defied the power of man to deflroy this monu¬ 
ment, as well as that of his tomb ; the pompous defcrip- 
tion of which now appears only a fantaftic dream. The 
two outermoft ftatues ftill left (landing, are doubtlefs 
thofe of the wife and the daughter of this prince men¬ 
tioned by Herodotus as the mother and foil ; but that of 
the king himfelf has difappeared : the fcythe of time, 
and the corroding tooth of envy, appear to have united 
in compafling its deftrmftion, Nothing of it now remains 
but a liiapelefs rock of granite; fo that it requires the 
perfevering fcrutiny of the amateur, accuftomed to this 
kind of examination, to diftinguifh any portions of the 
figure which have" efcaped deftmdlion ; and even thofe 
are fo infignificant, that they can throw but little light on 
its original dimenfions. The two ftatues ftill exifting are 
in the proportion of from fifty to fixty-five feet in height, 
feated, as they are, with their two hands on their knees ; 
all that remains of them fliews a feverity of (tile, and a 
ftraightnefs of pofition. The bas-reliefs, and the final 1 
figures cindered round the feat of the fouthernmoft of 
thefe ftatues, are not deftitute of elegance and delicacy in 
the execution. On the leg of the ftatue the moft to the 
north, ihe names of the many illuftrious and ancient tra¬ 
vellers who came to hear the myfticai'found of the ftatue 
of Memnon, are written in Greek. We may here fee 
the great influence which celebrity exercifes over the 
minds of men, fmce, when the ancient Egyptian govern¬ 
ment and the jealoufy of the priefts no longer forbade 
ftrnngers to touch thefe monuments, the love of the mar¬ 
vellous retained its empire over the minds of thofe that 
came hither as vifitors. Thus, in the age. of Adrian, 
which was enlightened by philofophy, Sabipa, the wife 
of tliis enjperor, and herfelf a literary woman, conde- 
fcended, along with the learned men who accompanied 
her, to acknowledge that (lie had heard founds which no 
phyfical.caufe could have produced. “ But the vanity 
of infcribing one’s name on fuch antiquities, (fays Denon,) 
might very eafily have produced the firft on the lift, and 
the natural defire of becoming an affociate in this kind of 
glory might have added the reft, and this is doubtlefs the 
reafon ot the numberlefs infcriptions of names which,we 
find here,-, with fo many dates, and in fo many languages.” 
Thefe coloffal figures have nothing of expreflion or ac¬ 
tion to feduce the judgment ; but yet their proportions 
are faultlefs, and their fimplicity of attitude have fome- 
tliing of majefty and ferioufnefs, which cannot fail to 
ftrike the beholder. If the limbs of thefe figures had 
been diftorted in-order to exprefs fome violent paffion, 
the harmony of their outline would have been loft, and 
they would be lefs confpicuous at the dillance at which 
they begin to ftrike the eye, and produce their effedl on 
the mind of the fpedlator ; for they may be diftinguiflied 
at the diftance of four leagues. To pronounce upon the 
character of thefe ftatues, it is neceffary to have feen 
them at feveral intervals, and to have long reflected on 
them ; and after this it often happens, that what is at 
firft confidered as the work of the infancy cf art, becomes 
afligned to its maturer age. If the group of the Laocoon, 
which fpeaks to the foul as well as to the eyes, were ex¬ 
ecuted in a proportion of fixty feet, it would lofe all its 
beauty, and would not prefent fo ftriking a mafs of vvorlc- 
manfliip as this; in fliort, if thefe ftatues were more 
agreeable, they would -be lefs beautiful, as they would 
then ceafi? to be, what they now are eminently monumental; 
a character which fliould belong peculiarly to that out¬ 
door fculpture, which is intended to harmonize with ar¬ 
chitecture, a (tile of fculpture which the Egyptians have 
carried to the higheft (late of perfection. “ I again ex¬ 
amined (fays Denon) the block of granite, which lies 
between thefe two ftatues, and I am convinced that it is 
the ruins of the famous coloffal ftatue of Ofymandyas, 
who, on the infeription, braved both the ravages of time, 
and the pride of men. I am likewife perfuaded, that in 
a much later period, travellers have chofen to imagine 
one of the yet remaining ftatues to be that of Memnon, 
that they might not be fuppofed to have come away from 
Egypt without feeing it, and, according to the ufual pro- 
grefs of enthuftafm, that they have fancied they heard 
the found which it was famed for uttering at the rijing of 
the fun.” 
In this part of the territory of ancient Thebes, and at 
the diftance of three quarters of a league from the river, 
are the ruins of a large temple, which has not been no¬ 
ticed by any traveller; and which may give anideg of 
the immenfity of that city on the left fide of the Nile, 
fince, if we fuppofe that it was the laft edifice towards 
the eaft, it is more than two leagues and an half diftant 
from Medinet-Abu, where the moft weftern temple is fi¬ 
tuated. 
In the ancient Necropolis, or City of the Dead, are in¬ 
numerable fubterranean habitations, once the burial 
places of the Theban commonalty. Strong in thefe 
dreary retreats, the prefent lawlefs inhabitants come opt, 
like f'pedfres, only to alarm men; culpable by their many 
other crimes, they conceal and fortify their depredations 
in the obfeurity of thefe excavations, which are fo nu¬ 
merous as of themfelves to atteft the immenfe popula¬ 
tion of ancient Thebes. It was acrofs thefe humbler fe- 
pulchres, that the magnificent fovereigns of Egypt were 
carried, two leagues from the palace, into the (ilent val¬ 
ley that was to become for the future their peaceful 
abode ; and which is ftill dignified by the name of “the 
tombs of the Theban kings.” This valley to the north- 
weft of Thebes becomes infenfibly narrower, and flanked 
as it is with perpendicular rocks, whole ages have been 
able to produce only very flight alterations of its ancient 
form. Towards the extremity, the opening between the 
rocks even now offers fcarcely (pace enough to pafs by 
the tombs, fo that the fumptuous proceflions which no 
doubt accompanied the ceremony of royal interment, 
in li ft have produced a ftriking contrail with the frowning 
afperity of thefe arid rocks; if, however, they went by 
