DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.6553#0093
58
APPENDIX.
According to Herodotus, Asycliis, the successor of Mycerinus,
added lofty propylsea to the eastern front of the Temple of Vulcan,
and also, from a desire to surpass in magnificence his predeces-
sors, constructed a Pyramid with bricks, upon which was this
inscription: — "Do not degrade me, by comparing me with the
Pyramids built with stone, which I excel, as much as Jupiter excels
the other gods; for those, who built me, thrust poles into the lakes,
and, collecting together the mud, which adhered to them, they made
bricks, and thus they constructed me." The Pyramid in question
has been supposed by Mr. Hamilton, and by other good authori-
ties, to have been built by Asychis; and, in support of that opinion
it may be observed, that it is the most considerable Pyramid built
with bricks, and that it is near the other Pyramids formed of
stone, with which it might have been compared ; and also that it
is within a short distance of the Temple of Vulcan, which Asychis
had so considerably embellished. The solidity of its construction
is likewise remarkable. Not a single brick appears to have
settled from its place ; and, although the boasting terms of the
inscription have excited much surprise, it is difficult to imagine a
mass more solid, and also more durable, as long as it was pro-
tected, by an external casing of stone, from the effects of the
atmosphere. It is certainly, therefore, as superior to those built
with common stone rubble, as Jupiter may be supposed to have
been to the other gods. The pre-eminence attributed to it may
also have been enhanced by the grandeur of the portico or temple,
by which it was distinguished, and which was probably adorned
with sculpture and with hieroglyphics, executed with the greatest
care and skill. As the whole of the bricks are not composed of
alluvial soil, the latter part of the inscription can only refer to
those formed of the mud or clay drawn out of one of the sacred
lakes; and it is to be observed, that the Acherusia of Diodorus
was at no great distance in the direction of Memphis, and that
the boundaries of another lake are to be traced to the northward
of the ruins, supposed to be those of the Temple of Vulcan, near
that city. If it be urged that this Pyramid could not have been
built by Asychis, because, from having been cased, it must have
had the appearance of stone, it may be remarked that all the
brick Pyramids at present existing in Egypt (which are four,
exclusive of some small buildings at Thebes) appear to have been
covered with stone; and likewise, that the above-mentioned
inscription would have been unnecessary, had the material, of
which the Pyramid was formed, been apparent. After a few days'
APPENDIX.
According to Herodotus, Asycliis, the successor of Mycerinus,
added lofty propylsea to the eastern front of the Temple of Vulcan,
and also, from a desire to surpass in magnificence his predeces-
sors, constructed a Pyramid with bricks, upon which was this
inscription: — "Do not degrade me, by comparing me with the
Pyramids built with stone, which I excel, as much as Jupiter excels
the other gods; for those, who built me, thrust poles into the lakes,
and, collecting together the mud, which adhered to them, they made
bricks, and thus they constructed me." The Pyramid in question
has been supposed by Mr. Hamilton, and by other good authori-
ties, to have been built by Asychis; and, in support of that opinion
it may be observed, that it is the most considerable Pyramid built
with bricks, and that it is near the other Pyramids formed of
stone, with which it might have been compared ; and also that it
is within a short distance of the Temple of Vulcan, which Asychis
had so considerably embellished. The solidity of its construction
is likewise remarkable. Not a single brick appears to have
settled from its place ; and, although the boasting terms of the
inscription have excited much surprise, it is difficult to imagine a
mass more solid, and also more durable, as long as it was pro-
tected, by an external casing of stone, from the effects of the
atmosphere. It is certainly, therefore, as superior to those built
with common stone rubble, as Jupiter may be supposed to have
been to the other gods. The pre-eminence attributed to it may
also have been enhanced by the grandeur of the portico or temple,
by which it was distinguished, and which was probably adorned
with sculpture and with hieroglyphics, executed with the greatest
care and skill. As the whole of the bricks are not composed of
alluvial soil, the latter part of the inscription can only refer to
those formed of the mud or clay drawn out of one of the sacred
lakes; and it is to be observed, that the Acherusia of Diodorus
was at no great distance in the direction of Memphis, and that
the boundaries of another lake are to be traced to the northward
of the ruins, supposed to be those of the Temple of Vulcan, near
that city. If it be urged that this Pyramid could not have been
built by Asychis, because, from having been cased, it must have
had the appearance of stone, it may be remarked that all the
brick Pyramids at present existing in Egypt (which are four,
exclusive of some small buildings at Thebes) appear to have been
covered with stone; and likewise, that the above-mentioned
inscription would have been unnecessary, had the material, of
which the Pyramid was formed, been apparent. After a few days'