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Egyptian, AlyÚTTIOS. The Coptic language is, at base, a dialect of ancient Egyptian; many of the nouns and verbs found in the hieroglyphic texts remain unchanged in Coptic, and a large number of others can, by making proper allowance for phonetic decay and dialectic differences, be identified without difficulty.

The Coptic dialect of Upper Egypt, called "Sahidic" Dialects of Coptic. (from Arab. ), or Theban, was the older and richer dialect; that of Lower Egypt was called Boheiric, from the province of Boheirâ in the Delta. The latter dialect has been wrongly called Bashmuric, and as it appears to have been exclusively the language of Memphis, it has obtained generally the name "Memphitic"; the dialect of Bushmur on the Lake of Menzalch appears to have become extinct about A.D. 900, and to have left no traces of itself behind. The Coptic translation of the Bible was considered by Renaudet, Wilkins, Woide, and George, to be as old as the second century of our era; more modern scholars, however, are inclined to assert that it is not older than the eighth century. For an account of the revival of Coptic studies in Europe, see Quatremère, Recherches Critiques et Historiques sur la Langue et la Littérature de l'Egypte, Paris, 1808, and for a list of the printed literature of the Copts, see Stern, Koptische Grammatik, pp. 441-447. The recognition of the fact that a knowledge of Coptic is most valuable as a preliminary to the study of hieroglyphics, probably accounts for the large and increasing share of the attention of scholars which this language receives.

MUMMIES OF ANIMALS, REPTILES, BIRDS,

AND FISHES.

The most common of the animals, reptiles, birds, and fishes which the Egyptians regarded as emblems of or sacred to the gods, and therefore mummified with great reverence and care, were :-Bull, Antelope, Jackal, Hippopotamus, Cat, Monkey or Ape, Crocodile, Ichneumon, Hedgehog, Shrewmouse, Ibis, Hawk, Frog, Toad, Scorpion, Beetle, Snake, and the Latus, Oxyrhynchus and Silurus fishes.

Greek legends concerning

the cat.

Mummies of animals,

etc.

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Apis Bull, in Egyptian Hap, mummies are tolerably common; they were mummified with great honour, and buried in sarcophagi at Ṣakkârah. The oldest are probably those of the XVIIIth dynasty.

Antelope, in Egyptian

kahes or

3

Imaḥet', mummies are rare; a good specimen is

B.M. No. 6783a.

Cat, in Egyptian

màu, mummies are very

common, and exhibit many methods of bandaging with linen of two colours; they were placed in bronze or wooden cases, made in the form of a cat, the eyes of which were inlaid with obsidian, rock-crystal, or coloured paste. Wooden cat-cases often stand on pedestals, and are painted white, green, etc. Mummified kittens were placed in rectangular bronze or wooden cases, which, at times, are surmounted with figures of cats. Diodorus says (I., 83) that when a cat died all the inmates of the house shaved their eyebrows as a sign of mourning, and although the statement by the same writer that the Egyptians slew a Roman who had accidentally killed a cat may be somewhat exaggerated, there is no doubt that the animal sacred to Bast was treated with great respect in Egypt, and that dead bodies of the animals were sent to be buried, after embalmment, to Bubastis. The cat was fed with specially prepared bread soaked in milk, and chopped fish.

Crocodile, in Egyptian

emsuḥ, mummies

of a large size are not common; small crocodiles, lizards, and other members of that family were embalmed and placed in rectangular bronze or wooden cases, the tops of which were frequently surmounted by a figure of this reptile in relief.

Ichneumon mummies were placed in bronze cases, made in the shape of this animal.

Shrew-mice mummics are not common; they were placed in rectangular bronze cases, surmounted by a figure of this animal,

Ibis, in Egyptian

habu, mummies,

embalmed, and buried in earthenware jars, stopped with plaster, are very common.

The Hawk, in Egyptian - bak, when mummified, was placed either in a rectangular bronze case or in a bronze case in the form of a hawk.

Frogs, in Egyptian

Δ

heget, and Toads, when embalmed, were placed in cases made of bronze or steatite.

Scorpion, in Egyptian

Serq, mummies are

very rare; they were placed in rectangular cases, inscribed with the name of Isis-Serq, which were surmounted by figures of the scorpion, with the head of a woman wearing disk and horns (B.M. No. 11,629).

Beetle, in Egyptian 8

rarely

or

Xeper,

etc.

abeb, mummies were deposited in cases of wood (B.M. No. 8654a) or stone (B.M. No. 2880). Snake mummies are very common, and were either Mummies placed in rectangular bronze or wooden cases, or wrapped of reptiles, in many bandages and laid in pits. Bronze snake-cases usually have a figure of the snake coiled up in relief upon them, but sometimes the head, which is human and erect, wears the double crown and uræus (B.M. No 6881c); one example having the head of a hawk is also known (B.M. No. 6879). The uræus serpent, in Egyptian Ārārt, was the most commonly mummified.

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Fish were mummified largely, and were either placed singly in cases of bronze or wood, or several were bandaged up in a bundle and laid in a pit prepared for the purpose. Many fish were known to the Egyptians, and the commoner

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Juheb, all meḥi,
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aba,

närt,

Il barei, IKAA baka, and

Jobetu; the usual name for fish in general was

Scenes on

a cippus of Horus.

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These curious and interesting objects are made of basalt and other kinds of hard stone, and calcareous stone; they are in the shape of a rounded tablet, and vary in size from 3 in. x 2 in., to 20 in. x 16 in.; the Metternich stele is, however, very much larger. The scenes engraved upon them represent the triumph of light over darkness, the victory of good over evil, and cippi were used as talismans by those who were initiated into the mysteries of magic, to guard them from the attacks of noxious beasts, and from the baneful influence of Set, the god of all evil. To give an idea of these magical objects, a description of an example, in a good state of preservation, now in the British Museum (No. 957a) is here appended.1 On the front, in relief, is a figure of Horus, naked, standing upon two crocodiles, which are supported by a projecting ledge at the foot of the stele. Horus has the lock of hair, emblematic of youth, on the right side of his head, and above him, resting on the top of his head, is a head of Bes, also in relief. His arms hang at a little distance from his sides; in the right hand he holds two serpents, a scorpion, and a ram or stag, and in the left two serpents, a scorpion, and a lion. On the right is a sceptre, upon which stands the hawk of Horus wearing horns, disk and feathers, and on the left is a lotusheaded sceptre with plumes and two menats (see p. 265). To the right and to the left of the god, outside the sceptres, are eight divisions; those on the right represent:

1. Oryx, with a hawk on his back, in front is inscribed

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, "Horus, lord of Hebennu," i.e., the metro

polis of the sixteenth nome of Upper Egypt.

A faulty copy is given in Wilkinson, The Ancient Egyptians, Vol. III.,

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"lord of

2. Ibis-headed god, Thoth,

Chemennu, lord of divine words," and the god Her-shef

hawk-headed, wearing the triple crown

3. "Ḥeka, lord of enchantments,"

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hawk

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headed, holding a serpent in each hand; "Neith, mighty lady,

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4. Hawk-headed god, mummified, wearing disk and holding a serpent in each hand; the inscription is "Chensu, lord of Sam-beḥutet."

5. Isis,

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, with the body of a hippopotamus,

holding a snake; on her head she wears a disk and horns.
6. Ptaḥ, in the form of a squat child standing on a
pedestal with four or five steps; the inscription is

Ptaḥ ser aa, "Ptaḥ, prince, mighty.

7. The goddess Serqet, scorpion-headed, holding a serpent

with both hands; the inscription is of "Serget,

lady of life."

8. Goddess, wearing disk and serpent, a, on her head, Scenes on standing between two serpents; the inscription reads

"Nebt hetep."

The eight scenes on the left hand side of Horus repre

sent :

1. Goddess, having a disk and two scorpions on her head, which is in the form of two serpents' heads, standing on a crocodile; she holds a serpent in her right hand, and a serpent and a scorpion in the left; on the crocodile's head is a bird. The inscription reads,

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2. Crocodile, with disk and horns, on a stand; behind it a serpent Usert, The inscription reads, god......"

“great

3. Isis suckling Horus among papyrus plants, under a canopy formed by two serpents, called Nechebet

and Uatchet, wearing the crown of Upper and Lower

a cippus of

Horus.

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