CHAPTER VI. MANNERS OF THE AEGYPTIANS. CHAP. VI. Exclusiveness of the Aegyptians prior to the Persian conquest.-Their AFRICA. manners and customs, ancient and peculiar.-Aegyptian castes.-Two castes omitted by Diodorus.-Seven castes in India, according to Megasthenes.-The seven Aegyptian castes, according to Herodotus.-I. The PRIESTS, or piromis.-Colleges at Memphis, Thebes, Heliopolis, and Sais. Estates for their maintenance.-Daily allowance of beef, geese, and wine.-Fish and beans denied.—Shaved their bodies every third day. Wore garments of linen, and shoes of byblus.-Washed four times in 24 hours.-II. The SOLDIERS, a military race divided into the Hermotybies, and Calasires.-Chiefly quartered in Lower Aegypt.-Not allowed to trade. Each man in possession of twelve acres of land.-Royal bodyguard composed of 2000 men, changed annually.-Daily rations of 5 lbs. of bread, 2lbs. of beef, and a quart of wine.-Garrisons on the frontiers. -Five inferior castes, including the masses, very imperfectly distinguished by ancient writers.-Every man obliged to show once a year that he lived by honest means.-III. The HERDSMEN probably included husbandmen, nomades, and the marsh-men of the Delta.-IV. The SWINEHERDS, a Pariah caste.-V. The TRADERS probably included several subdivisions which were all hereditary.--VI. The INTERPRETERS, first originated in the reign of Psammitichus.-VII. The STEERSMEN, or navigators of the Nile.-Great extent of the river navigation.—Physical characteristics of the Aegyptians.-Described by Herodotus as being swarthy, and curly-headed.- Represented in the paintings as being of a red brown colour.-Probably brown like the modern Copts.-Different complexions of the people.-Hair of the mummies either crisp or flowing. Average height.-Fulness of the lips, and elongation of the eye. -Intermediate between the Syro-Arabian and the Aethiopian type.Good health of the Aegyptian people.-Thickness of their skulls.Population of Aegypt.-Manners and customs of the Aegyptians.— Singularly contrary to those of other nations.-Herodotus's memoranda of the several contrasts.-Markets attended by the women.-The woof pushed downwards in weaving.-Burdens carried on men's heads and women's shoulders.-Meals taken outside the house.-No priestesses.Daughters, and not sons, obliged to support their parents.-Priests shave their heads.-Laity leave their hair to grow whilst mourning for near relations.-Live with animals. Make their bread of spelt.-Knead with their feet.-Circumcision practised.-Rings and sail sheets fastened outside their boats.-Writing and ciphering from left to right.-Dress of the Aegyptians, a linen tunic and white woollen mantle.-Equipment of the marines in the navy of Xerxes.-Social customs.-Married only one wife.-Mode of salutation.--Reverence for the aged.--Especial cleanliness.-Scoured brazen cups, and wore clean linen.-Circumcision. -Regarded the Greeks as impure.-Food of the Aegyptians.-Beef.— CHAP. VI. AFRICA. Geese.-All fish and birds not accounted sacred.-Bread made of spelt, and called zea.-Wine from the grape probably imported from Greece. -Phoenician palm wine, and wine made from barley.-Radishes, onions, and garlic. Marsh-men of the Delta lived on the lotus, the stalk of the byblus, and dried fish.-Extracted an oil from the sillicyprion, called Kiki. Strange custom of carrying round the image of a corpse at drinking parties. Extraordinary preservation of a very ancient dirge called Maneros, which resembled the Greek Linus.-Question as to whether it may not have originated in the death of the first-born at the exode of the Israelites.-Aegyptian manner of mourning for the dead.-Embalming, a regular profession in Aegypt.-Models kept by the embalmers of the three different modes.-Description of the most expensive style.Middle way of embalming.-Cheapest method.-Recovered bodies of persons killed by crocodiles, or drowned in the Nile, regarded as sacred, and embalmed in the best manner at the public expense.-Art of medicine subdivided into numerous branches.-Purging generally practised. -Science of geometry originated in the yearly re-measuring of the land after the inundations.-Character of the Aegyptian writing. Two kinds of letters noticed by Herodotus, the sacred or hieratic, and the common or demotic.-General sketch of the three modes of Aegyptian writing.I. The Hieroglyphic, including pictures representing objects, pictures representing ideas, and pictures representing sounds.-II. The Hieratic, or sacred writing, a species of short-hand hieroglyphics.-III. The Enchorial, or common writing.-Aegyptian mode of building the merchant barge, called a baris.-Hull formed of short planks, joined together like bricks. Generally towed up stream.-Down stream were tugged by a hurdle at the prow, and steadied by a stone at the stern.- Feticism of the Aegyptians.-Animals did not abound in Aegypt, but all considered sacred, whether wild or domesticated.-Curators appointed over each species. Maintained by the vows of parents.-The murder of an animal, if wilful, punished by death, if accidental, by a fine, but the murderer of the Ibis, or hawk, always executed.-Cats sacred to Bubastis, or Pasht. -Number diminished by the males killing the kittens, and the cats rushing into fires. Embalmed and buried at Bubastis. Dogs. Ichneumons.- Field Mice.-Hawks. — Bears. The bird Ibis.-Two species, the black and the white Ibis.-Bulls sacred to Apis.-Cows sacred to Isis.--Burial of kine.-No cattle killed by the Aegyptians.Established mode of sacrifice.-Crocodiles, Herodotus's description of their nature and habits.-Singular affection for the trochilus.-Worshipped in the neighbourhood of Thebes, and Lake Moeris.-Killed and eaten at Elephantine.-Caught by means of a hook baited with a chine of pork. Hippopotamus. — Otter. - Lepidotus. - Eel.-Fox-goose.Phoenix, its picture as seen by Herodotus.-Story told of it by the Heliopolitans.-Horned serpents. Fish, strange account of their generation. Musquitoes infecting the marshes. Exclusiveness of the Persian THE Aegyptians prior to the reign of PsammitiAcgyptians chus, B. c. 680, presented the same attitude towards prior to the the Greeks,' as the Chinese have presented towards conquest. European strangers; and even down to the reign of Amasis, B. c. 570, the city of Naucratis was like the port of Canton, the only mart in Aegypt where Greek merchants were permitted to trade. Amasis 1 ii. 151. however encouraged the Greeks to settle in his AFRICA. dominions,' and after the Persian conquest, B. c. 530, CHAP. VI. the country was thrown equally open to the enterprising trader or philosophic traveller, and Herodotus was enabled to traverse the entire extent of Aegypt from the mouths of the Delta to the cataracts of Syene. customs peculiar. The people, thus exposed to the inquiring gaze of Their manour author, attracted his attention to an extraordi- ners and nary degree. Their climate, their river, and their ancient and manners and customs were all strange and peculiar.2 They considered themselves to be the most ancient people in the world next to the Phrygians, and they had retained their ancient usages and acquired no new ones,* either from the Greeks or from any other nation. Before however we treat of these particulars, it may be advisable to notice the division of the people into castes, their physical characteristics, and the probable amount of population in ancient times. 5 castes. omitted Diodorus. The Aegyptians, according to Herodotus, were Aegyptian divided into seven classes, or castes, namely, 1. the Priests, 2. the Soldiers, 3. the Herdsmen, 4. the Swineherds, 5. the Tradesmen, 6. the Interpreters, and, 7. the Steersmen, or Navigators. Diodorus, Two castes after the Priests and Soldiers, only names the Hus- by bandmen, the Shepherds, and the Artificers, and omits the Interpreters and Steersmen altogether.' We shall have occasion to compare his account with that of Herodotus further on. Megasthenes, in re- Seven castes ference to India, tells us that the whole population according to there was divided into seven castes, viz. the Philo- Megasthe sophers, who sacrificed and prepared the feasts of the dead; the Farmers; the Shepherds and Hunters; the Artisans, Innholders, and bodily Labourers of all kinds; the Military; the Inspectors; and the Counsellors and Assessors of the king. In the present day there are four Indian castes, viz. the Brah 2 ii. 35. 1 ii. 178, 179. in India, nes. AFRICA. mins, the Cshatriyas, the Vaisyas, and the Sudras. CHAP. VI. The first is taken from the mouth, the organ of the intellectual part, and comprises priests and philosophers; the second is taken from the arms, or defending part, and comprises magistrates and soldiers; the third is taken from the thigh, or supporting part, and comprises farmers and merchants; and the fourth is taken from the feet, or labouring part, and comprises artisans, labourers, and common people. We shall now notice each of the Aegyptian castes in the order laid down by Herodotus. The seven castes. 1 I. The PRIESTS were undoubtedly the principal caste. The first step taken by the patriarch Joseph after his elevation, was to connect himself with the priest caste by marrying the daughter of the high priest of On, or Heliopolis. The priests bore the Aegyptian title of Piromis, which, according to Herodotus's translation, signified "a noble and good man," but most likely referred not to their moral character, but to the nobleness of their descent; and we find that during the seven years' famine in the time of Joseph, they were the only class who were not driven by necessity to part with their estates.3 Colleges at The principal colleges of the priests were of course Memphis, connected with the temples of the great cities. Heliopolis, Herodotus mentions those of Pthah at Memphis, of Thebes, and Sais. Estates for their main tenance. Amun at Thebes, of Ra, or Phrah, at Heliopolis, and of Neith at Sais. Many priests were employed for the service of each deity, of whom one was appointed to be chief or high priest, and the sacerdotal office of the father was inherited by his son.* tensive estates were attached to every temple, and therefore belonged to each college of priests in Ex 1 Gen. xli. 45. Poti-pherah, the name of the high priest, is evidently compounded of Rê, or Ra, which, with the Coptic article prefixed, becomes Phréh, or Phrah, the Sun, or Helios. See p. 455. Poti-pherah was priest of the Sun. 2. 143. In the Coptic the word Piromi merely signifies "the man ;” Pi being the definite article, and romi signifying "man." Either therefore Herodotus did not understand the language, or, in the old Aegyp tian language, the word "man" had become a title of honour. Cf. Jablonsky, Proleg. § 18. 3 Gen. xlvii. 22. 4 ii. 37. 3 Out of CHAP. VI. lowances of common, and Herodotus expressly alludes to the AFRICA. steward or bursar of the college of priests at Sais,' who had been appointed to manage the revenues, and likewise belonged to the priest caste. this common fund the necessaries of life were supplied to the priests and their families belonging to each temple, so that none were obliged to expend any portion of their private property. A large Daily alquantity of beef and geese was cooked every day, beef, geese, and allowed to each of them, together with a cer- and wine. tain measure of wine made of grapes; but they were never permitted to eat fish, and they considered Fish and beans to be so very impure that they abhorred the denied. very sight of those vegetables. They shaved the Shaved whole of their bodies every third day, to prevent every third any lice or other impurity being found upon them, day. when engaged in the service of the gods. They They Wore garwore garments made of linen only, and not the linen, and woollen mantle worn by the other classes; their f shoes were made of the papyrus, or byblus plant. They washed themselves twice every day and twice Washed every night, and, in a word, performed a great in twentynumber of ceremonies." 4 beans their bodies ments of shoes of byblus. four times four hours. SOLDIERS, race, divid II. The SOLDIERS were a military race, like the II. The Rajpoots of Hindustan, and certainly, as well as the a military priest caste, were one of the most distinguished races ed into the of the nation. They were divided into the Hermo- Hermotytybies and the Calasires.' The Hermotybies when the Cala2 ii. 37. Compare Heeren's Egyptians, chap. ii. 1 ii. 28. 3 Fish were considered to be neither a dainty nor a necessary kind of food, and their species were especially abhorred, from their having devoured that part of the body of Osiris which Isis was unable to discover. Those who had been initiated in the Greek mysteries were also forbidden to taste beans, because Demeter considered them to be impure, at the same time that she blessed mankind with all other kinds of seed for his use. Cf. Baehr. 5 The lice of modern Aegypt are not always to be avoided, even by the most scrupulous cleanliness, yet a person who changes his linen after two or three days' wear is very seldom annoyed by them, as they are generally found in the linen, and do not attach themselves to the skin. Lane's Modern Egyptians, vol. i. ii. 57. We learn from Mr. Bowditch that the priests in Ashantee are also hereditary; and they are exempted from all taxes, regularly supplied with meat and wine, consulted by the king before he undertakes a war, and shave their heads carefully and frequently. 7 ii. 164. bies and sires. |