CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

Antiquity of Egypt. — Historical Sources. — Character of the Land. — Influence of Climate and Natural
Phenomena upon Ancient Inhabitants and their Art. —The Pharaoh, his Divine and Absolute Char-
acter — The Aristocracy. —Curious Beliefs with Regard to the Future Life. — The Ka. — Impor-
tance and Durability of the Tomb and its Statuary. —Construction of the Tomb. —The Serd&b.—
Tomb Reliefs. —Provision made for Funereal Services. —The Pyramids. —Pyramid Temples.—
Absence of Statues in the Pyramids. — The Sphinx. — The Mysterious Character of the Egyptian
Gods. — The Innumerable and Multifarious Forms given them. —Animal-headed Divinities. —De-
pressing Influence of Symbolism on Art. —Prosaic Character of Egyptian Myth. —Materials used
for Sculpture. —Absence of Marble. —Methods of Working. —The Attendant Difficulties. —Di-
visions of Egyptian History.

The hoary civilization on the banks of the Nile was regarded with wonder,
even by the nations of antiquity. Homeric verse sings the "hundred-gated
Thebes." Solon, the Attic law-giver, and, according to tradition, Pythagoras,
the Samian philosopher, drank at the fountain of Egyptian wisdom. Plato,
filled with marvel at the stability of the empire, tells us that the statues in
his day were like those produced thousands of years before.

For our knowledge of the land, its customs and religion, we were long
dependent upon the reports of Greek and Roman travellers alone. Plato,
Herodotos, Diodoros Siculus, and others contributed towards clearing up the
mystery hanging over its past, but in narratives colored deeply by their
°wn national peculiarities. Much we owe to Manetho, an Egyptian priest of
high rank, who lived in the early part of the third century B.C., and wrote a
history of his people in Greek, by order of the Greek ruler of Egypt. But the
study of the excavated monuments has thrown still greater light on that
obscured past. From them the CEdipus of modern research has wrung many
truths of deep import, not the least of the results being the light thrown on
the spirit and motive of sculptures heretofore enigmatical. The enduring
colossus ; the tiny statuette found with the mummy ; the tomb written all over
with painted relief; the towering obelisk; the papyrus-roll, revealing the lore of
ancient Egypt; the brilliant mummy-case; and the hieroglyphic story read at
ast from the very heart of the pyramids, — have aided in filling out the picture

those ancient days, so that many customs seem as vivid as though they were
but of yesterday.

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