jz A C H 
comparable to the moft celebrated monuments of antiquity. 
It is coriftrucled with dones of a furprifirig fize, on which 
are fculptured innumerable figures.” Though this town 
be fallen from its ancient fplenddur, it is hill one of the 
moft beautiful of Upper Egypt. According to Mr. Sava- 
ry, an Arab prince commands there, and the police is well 
attended to. The ftreets are wide and clean, and commerce 
and agriculture flourifti. It has a manufactory of cotton, 
(tuffs, and pottery, which are conveyed overall Egypt. It 
is the fame that Herodotus calls Chemmis, and Strabo 
Panopolis, or the City of Pan, who was worfhipped there. 
Herodotus fays, that Perfeus was a native of this city, and 
that his deicendants had eftablilhed feftivals there in his 
honour. It has loft its ancient edifices, and much of its 
extent; the ruins-of the temple, defcribed by Abulfe- 
da, being without its limits, to the north. Nothing re¬ 
mains of it but fome (tones, of fuch magnitude that the 
Turks have not been able to move them. They are co¬ 
vered with hieroglyphics. On one of them are traced 
four concentric circles, in a fquare. The' innermoft of 
thefe contains a fun. The two fucceeding ones, divided 
into twelve parts, contain, one, twelve birds, the other, 
twelve animals almoft effaced, which appear to be the figns 
of the zodiac. The fourth has no divifions, and prefents 
twelve human figures; which Mr. Savary imagines to re- 
prefetit the twelve gods, the twelve months of the year, 
and the twelve figns of the zodiac. The Egyptians, fays 
Herodotus, are the firft who divided the year into twelve 
months, and employed the names of the twelve gods. The 
four feafons occupy the angles of the fquare, on the fide 
of which may be diftinguiihed a globe with wings. Mr; 
Savary thinks it probable that this ftone belonged to a 
temple dedicated to the fun, that the whole of thefe hiero¬ 
glyphics mark his paffage into the ligns of the zodiac, and 
his courfe, whofe revolution forms the year. The co¬ 
lumns of this temple have been partly broken to make 
lime and millftones. Some qf them have been tranfported 
into one of the mofques of Achmim, where they are placed 
without tafte ; others are heaped up in the fquares of the 
town. 
Mr. Savary tells us of a ferpent which is worfhipped 
here, and is the wonder of the country. ii Upwards of a 
century ago (fays he), a religious Turk called Scheilk Ha- 
ridi died here. He paffed for a faint among the Maho¬ 
metans; who raifed a monument to him, covered with a 
cupola, at the foot of the mountain. The people flocked 
from all parts to offer up their prayers to him. One of 
their priefts, profiting by their credulity, perfuaded them 
that God had made the foul of Scheilk Haridi pafs into the 
body of a ferpent. Many of thefe are found in the The- 
bais, which are harmlefs; and he h'ad taught one to obey 
his voice. He appeared with his ferpent, dazzled the vul¬ 
gar by his furprifing tricks, and pretended to cure all dif- 
orders. Some lucky inftances of fuccefs, due to nature 
.alone, and fometimes to the imagination of the patients, 
gave him great celebrity. He foon confined his ferpent 
Haridi to the tomb, producing him only to oblige princes 
and perfons capable of giving him a handfome recom- 
pence. The fucceffors of this prieft, brought up in the 
fame principles, found no difficulty in giving fanition to 
fo advantageous an error. They added to the general per- 
fuafion of his virtue that of his immortality. They had 
the boldnefs even to make a public proof of it. The 
ferpent was cut in pieces in prefence of the emir, and 
placed for two hours under a vafe. At the inftant of lift¬ 
ing up the vafe, the priefts, no doubt, had the addrefs to 
fubftitute one exaftly refembling it. A miracle was pro¬ 
claimed, and the immortal Haridi acquired a frefh degree 
of confideration. This knavery procures them great ad¬ 
vantages. The people flock from all quarters to pray at 
this tomb ; and, if the ferpent crawls out from under the 
(hone, and approaches the fuppliant, it is a fign that his 
laalady will be cured. It may be imagined, that he does 
not appear till an offering has been made proportioned to 
the quality and richnefs. of the different perfons. In 
A C H 
extraordinary cafes, where the fickperfon cannot be cured 
without the prefence of the ferpent, a pure virgin mull 
come and- folicit him. To avoid inconveniences on this 
head, they take care to choofe a very young girl indeed. 
She is decked out in her beft clothes, and crowned with 
flowers. She puts herfelf in a praying attitude; and, as 
the priefts are inclined, the ferpent comes out, .makes cir¬ 
cles round the young fuppliant, and goes and repofes on 
her. The virgin, accompanied by a vaft multitude, car¬ 
ries him in triumph amidft the general acclamation. No 
human reafoning would perfuade thefe ignorant and cre¬ 
dulous Egyptians that they are the dupes of a few impof- 
tors: they believe in the ferpent Haridi as firmly as in the 
prophet.” 
ACHONRY, a fmall town of Ireland, in the province 
of Connaught and county of Sligo, feated on the river 
Shannon. 
ACHOR,yf [achor, Lat. Gr .furfur.] A fpeeies 
of the Herpes. It appears with a crufty fcab, which 
caufes an itching on the furface of the head, occafioned 
by a fait (harp ferum oozing through the (kin. 
Achor, yi Ladtumen: abas, acores, cerion; favus. The 
crujla ladiea of authors, and in England the scald head. 
Trallian fays, that it is a fore on the outlide of the head, 
full of little perforations, which difcharge a humour like 
ichor, whence its name. He farther fays, that the cerion 
refembles an achor; but that the mouths of the perfora¬ 
tions are larger, refembling the cells of a honey-comb, 
whence the name; the matter is alio nearly of the confid¬ 
ence of thin honey. When thefe difeafes fpread, the fe¬ 
rum, which oozes out, dries, and forms a (cab. 
The achor differs from the favus and tinea only in the 
degree of virulence. It is called favus when the perfo¬ 
rations are large; and tinea when they are like thofe made 
by moths in cloth : but generally by tinea is underftood a 
dry fcab on the hairy fcalp of children, with thick fcales 
and an offenfive fmell; when this diforder affedts the face, 
it is called crufta laftea or milk-scab. Mr. Bell, in his 
Treatife on Ulcers, fays, that the tinea capitis & crufta 
ladtea, may both be reduced to the fame fpeeies of herpes, 
viz. the herpes pufulofus, they being naturally the fame, 
differing only in fituation ; the tinea is on the hair-fcalp, 
and the crufta laHea on the face. Dr. Cullen places this 
difeafe under ulcus, as a fynonyme; where alfo he pla¬ 
ces the crufta ladtea, the clafs locales, and order dialyfes. 
When it happens to children, if in other refpedts they are 
healthy, the beft treatment, befides keeping the belly mo¬ 
derately lax, is cleanlinefs and a moderate diet. An iffue 
may be made and continued till the diforder is cleared, 
and the ftrength of the conftitution is eftablilhed; keep 
the hair fhort, and wadi the head with foap fuds. Some 
inftances of this fort are very difficult of cure, and attended 
with violent itching, a pale countenance, &c. but (till the 
fame method generally fucceeds in all the fpeeies and de¬ 
grees of virulence. Small dofes of calomel maybe given 
as an alterative rather than as a laxative, and the vin. an- 
tim. in fuch dofes, at proper intervals, as the ftomach will 
eafily retain. Externally^unguent e pice may be ufed two 
or three times in a week, "or cream mixed with chalk in 
fine powder. If the humour is repelled, give warm fudo- 
rifics until it returns. Scabby eruptions on children (hould 
not be repelled when about the mouth, ears, or indeed on 
any part of the body. Though thefe eruptions depend 
not on the habit, but the difficulty of paffing through the 
(kin, yet cold bathing (hould not be ufed. Cleanlinefs 
and a frequent life of the warm bath are of great fervice. 
The practice of tearing up the roots ot the hair is ufe- 
lefs, therefore cruel. Keep the hair fhort, and walli the 
part with aq. pur. ffe i. in quafolut. eft gr. x. hydrargyji 
muriati. 
AfcHOR, a valley of Jericho, lying along the river Jor¬ 
dan, not far from Gilgal; fo called from Achan, the trou- 
bier of Ifrael, being there (toned to death. 
Achor, in mythology, the^God of Flies; to whom, 
according to Pliny, the inhabitants of Cyrene facrificed. 
