In the tract between the pyramids of Sakkarali and Abu-Sir are the remains of theSerapeum, and the burial- place of the bulls Apis, both discovered by M. Mariette. The}' are inclosed by a great wall, having been con- nected, for the Serapeum was the temple of Apis. The tomb is a great subterranean gallery, whence smaller passages branch off, and contains man}^ sarcophagi in which the Inills were entombed. Serapis was a form of Osiris, his name being Osir-hapi, or Osiris Apis. In ascending the river we arrive at the ancient Ahnas, supposed by some to be the Hanes of Isaiah, and about sixty miles above Cairo, at Beni-Suweif, the port of the province of the Fejum. In tiiis province are supposed to be the remains of the famous Labyrinth of Moeris, probabl}- Amen-em-ha III, and not far off, also, ma}' bs traced the site of the Lake Moeris, near the ancient Arsinoii, or Crocodilopolis, now represented b}' Medinet el-Feyum. The next objects of peculiar inte.cst arc the grottoes of Beni-Hassan, which are monuments of the l"2th dynasty, dating about B.C. 2000. Here are found two columns of an order which is believed to be the prototype of the Doric. On the walls of the tombs are dei)icted scenes of hunting, fishing, agriculture, etc. There is also an interesting representation of the arrival of certain foreigne s, sup- posed to be Joseph's brethren — at least illustrative of their arrival. In the town of Asyut, higher up the riv- er, is seen the representative of the ancient Lj'copolis. It was an important place i)500 years ago, and has thus outlived Thebes and Memphis, Tanis and Pelusium.
Further on, a few miles south-west of Girga, on the border of the Libyan desert, is the site of the sacred city of Abydus, a reputed burial-place of Osiris, near which, also, must have been situated the very ancient city of This, which gave its name to the 1st and 2d dy- nasties. About forty miles from Abydus, though near- ly in the same latitude, is the village of Denderah, fa- mous for the remains of the temple of Atlior, the Egyp- tian Venus, who presided over the town of Tentyra, the capital of the Teutyrite nome. This temple dates from the time of the earlier Ciesars, and the names of the last Cleopatra, and Cicsarion her son, are found in it. See Denderah.
About twenty miles still higher up the Nile than Denderah, and on the western bank, are the ruins of Thebes, the No-Amon of the Bil)le. In the hiero- glj'phic inscriptions the name of this place is written Al'-T, or with the article prefixed T-AP, and AMEN- HA, the abode of Amen. The Copts write the for- mer name Tape, which becomes in the Memphitic dia- lect Thaba, and thus explains the origin of tiie Greek Qi'ljlai. The time of its foundation is unknown, but remains have been found which are ascribed to the close of the 11th dynasty, and it probably dates from the commencement of that first Diospolits line of kings. Under the 18th and two following dynasties it attained its highest prosperity, and to this period its greatest monuments belong. The following is a de- scription of this celebrated locality by ]\Ir. Poole : " The monuments of Thebes, exclusive of its sepul- chral grottoes, occupy a space on both sides of the riv- er, of which the extreme length from north to south is about two miles, and the extreme breadth from east to west about four. The city was on the eastern bank, where is the great temple, or, rather, collection of temples, called after El-Karnak, a modern village near bj'. The temple of El-Karnak is about half a mile from the river, in a cultivated tract. More than a mile to the south-west is the temple of El-Uksur, on the bank of the Nile. On the western b:.nk was the suburb bearing the name Memnonia. The desert near the northernmost of the temples on this side almost reaches the river, but soon recedes, leaving a fertile plain generall}' more than a mile in breadth. Along the edge of the desert, besides the small temple just mentioned as the northernmost, are tlie Kameseum of El-Kurneh, and that of Medinet-Habu less than a mile farther to the south-west, and between them, but with- in the cultivated land, the remains of the Amenophi- um, with its two gigantic seated colossi. Behind thesa
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ItCdturation of tlie J'/v^'iiiun, ur Chue of tlie Teuiple of Kl-tksur, or Luxor.
EGYPT
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EGYPT