when the historian visited the country, and the whole of the environs thence obtained the name of the Tyrian camp. There was also in the same spot a small temple dedicated to Venus the stranger*; and this goddess, Herodotus, with the vanity of a Greek, conjectures to be the Grecian "Helen †, who was said to have lived some time at the court of Proteus." "On inquiring," he continues,

* Probably alluded to by Horace :

"Oh quæ beatam, Diva, tenes Cyprum, et

Memphin carentem Sithonia nive."- Od. lib. iii. 26. 10.

Strabo also mentions it. Lib. xvii.

Strabo says some consider this Venus to be a Greek goddess, and others suppose the temple to be dedicated to the moon.

rounded by a river, “ κατα τον πρώτον των τοικων (κ) τον βασιλεα . . πολιορκούντα τειχος υπο ποταμου τεριρρύτον. On the second wall were the captives led by the king, “ τα τε αιδοια και τας χειρας ουκ εχοντας,” as at Medeenet Haboo; and in the centre of the area was an altar in the open air" vaιeptov," showing this court was also hypæethral in the centre. "Kara δε τον τελευταίον τοιχον υπαρχειν ανδριαντας καθημενους δυο,” L and M, the head of the latter of which is now in the British Museum; "map' ois elσoδους τρεις (Ν, Ο, F) εκ του περιστύλου, καθ' ας οικον υπαρχειν υποστυλον (α) ωδείου τροπον κατεσκευασμενον, εκαστην πλευραν έχοντα διπλεθρον.” R and s are pedestals, perhaps belonging to some of the statues he mentions. "ens δ' υπαρχειν περίπατον οικων παντοδαπων πληρη,” perhaps referring to the whole space containing the chambers u, v, Y, Z. “ εξης δ' υπάρχειν την ιεραν βιβλιοθηκην ” (υ or v) “ συνεχεις δε ταύτῃ των θεων απαντων εικόνας, του βασιλέως, ομοίως δωροφορούντος α προσήκον ην εκαστοις,” which is referred to in the sculptures of w and x. Whether his description of the parts beyond this are correct we cannot decide, as the chambers are entirely destroyed, and the general plan is scarcely to be traced; and, as it is probable Hecatæus, who is his authority, was not admitted beyond the great Hall Q, the information obtained of this part must have rested solely on report. Indeed, in this portion, he appears to have united or confounded two buildings, the temple of Remeses the Great, and that of Remeses III. at Medeenet Haboo; though with the exception of the measurement of the areas (four plethra square), his description of the first part of the Tomb of Osymandyas agrees very closely with the edifice before us; but we may be allowed to question its having been a tomb, or having been erected by that monarch. T, Battle scene, where the testudo occurs.

"concerning her, the priests gave me the following information:-Paris (or Alexander) having carried off Helen from Sparta, was returning home, when, meeting with contrary winds in the Ægean, he was driven into the Egyptian sea; and as they continued unfavourable, he proceeded to Egypt, and putting into the Canopic mouth of the Nile, landed at the Tarichæa*, near a temple of Hercules, which still exists there. If on any occasion a slave fled for refuge to this shrine, and, in testimony of his consecrating himself to the service of the god, submitted to be marked with certain characters, no one was permitted to molest him; and the same custom has been strictly observed, from its first institution to the present period. The servants of Paris, aware of the privileges of the temple, fled thither from their master, and with a view of injuring him became suppliants to the deity. They revealed the whole affair concerning Helen, and the wrong he had done to Menelaus; and they not only related it to the priests, but also to Thonis, who was governor of that mouth of the river.

"Thonis instantly despatched a courier to Memphis, with this message to the king:- A certain Trojan is arrived here, who has perpetrated an atrocious crime in Greece. He has seduced the wife of his host, and has carried her away, with a quantity of treasure. Adverse winds have forced him hither shall I suffer him to depart without molestation, or shall I seize his person and pro

*Or the Salt-pans.

perty?' Upon this, Proteus gave an order that whoever the man was, who had thus violated the rights of hospitality, he should be arrested and brought before him. Thonis therefore sent Paris, with Helen and all his wealth, to Memphis, and detained his ships. As soon as he was admitted into the presence of the king, Proteus inquired who he was and whence he came. Paris faithfully related the name of his family and country, and from what place he had set sail. But when he was questioned concerning Helen, and how he had obtained possession of her person, he hesitated in his answers, and endeavoured to conceal the truth, till the slaves who had deserted him explained all the circumstances of his guilt. Proteus thereupon pronounced this sentence, If I did not consider it a very heinous crime to put any stranger to death, who may have been driven on my coast by contrary winds, I would assuredly, thou worst of men, avenge the Greek whose hospitality thou hast betrayed in a most treacherous manner : thou hast seduced his wife; and not contented with this, thou hast carried her off by stealth, and still detainest her; and, as if this crime was not sufficient, thou has robbed his house. However, as I think it right not to put a stranger to death, I suffer thee to depart; but this woman and the wealth thou hast brought I forbid thee to take: these shall remain with me till the Greek himself shall come and demand them. In three days leave my coast with thy companions, or expect to be treated as enemies.'

"Helen was therefore detained by Proteus till the arrival of Menelaus, who, finding at the capture of Troy, that his wife was not in the possession of Paris, but had been left by him in Egypt, repaired to the court of the Egyptian king. On his arrival, he related the object of his journey. He was received with great hospitality, and Helen, who had been treated with respect, was restored to him with all his treasure. He then returned to

the coast, intending to set sail immediately: but the winds were contrary; and Menelaus, forgetting the gratitude he owed to his benefactors, clandestinely seized two children of the country, and offered them as a sacrifice.* This was no sooner made known to the Egyptians than they resolved on punishing the perpetrator of so great an outrage; but as he fled by sea to Africa, they were unable to overtake him, and Menelaus escaped their indignation, and the punishment his perfidy deserved."

The fable related by the Greeks of the wonderful powers of Proteus, in assuming a multiplicity of shapes, is thought by Diodorus† to be explained from a custom common to the Egyptian kings of adorning their heads with various figures and emblematic devices, intended to strike the beholders with awe; but this is neither satisfactory nor probable. The head-dresses of the kings represented in the sculptures, when offering to the

gods, are numerous and varied (especially in the later times of the Ptolemies and Cæsars): yet such slight changes could never account for a similar fable among the Egyptians, who were fully acquainted with the intention of every vesture and crown of ceremony.

Rhemphis, or Rhampsinitus, succeeded Proteus. He does not appear to have been distinguished for the extent of his conquests abroad, but he surpassed all his predecessors in the immense wealth he possessed, and in his fondness for riches. Diodorus considers him of so avaricious a character that he was unwilling to employ any of the treasure he had amassed either for the service of the gods or the benefit of his subjects; but the monuments he erected at Memphis disprove this statement, and claim for him a place among the patrons of religion, and the encouragers of art. "The western vestibule of the temple of Vulcan," says Herodotus, was added by his order, as were two colossal statues, twenty-five cubits in height, which stand in front of it. The northern statue (or that on the left entering) is called by the Egyptians summer, the other to the south, winter; and though they treat the latter with no manner of respect, they reverence the former, and even worship it."

Herodotus concurs in representing Rhampsinitus as the most opulent of all the Egyptian kings who reigned before or after him; and if he does not state the amount of his wealth, which the former historian calculates at no less than 400,000