strictly confined to the figure of a square, the quadrangular form was always preferred, and no instance occurs of a round camp like that of the Lacedæmonians. It was forbidden to the Spartan soldier, when on guard, to have his shield, in order that, being deprived of this defence, he might be more cautious not to fall asleep; and the same custom appears to have been common also to the Egyptians, since we find the watch on duty at the camp gates are only armed with swords and maces, though belonging to the heavy-armed corps, who, on other occasions, were in the habit of carrying a shield. * The field encampment was either a square or a parallelogram, with a principal entrance in one of the faces; and near the centre were the general's tent, and those of the principal officers. In form, it resembled a Roman camp; but the position of the general's tent agreed with the Greek custom mentioned by Homert, and differed from that of the Romans, who placed the prætorium on the side most distant, or least exposed to attack, from the enemy. The general's tent was sometimes surrounded by a double rampart or fosse, enclosing *Vide wood-cut, No. 71. † Hom. Il. 0, 222.: « Στη δ' επ' Οδυσσηος μεγακητεῖ νηῒ μελαινῇ Or general's tent. Pope, viii. 270. two distinct areas, the outer one containing three tents, probably of the next in command, or of the officers on the staff; and the guards, like the Roman excubiæ, slept or watched in the open air. Other tents were pitched without these enclosures; and near the external circuit, a space was set apart for feeding horses and beasts of burthen, and another for ranging the chariots and baggage. It was probably near the general's tent, and within the same area, that the altars of the gods, or whatever related to religious matters, the standards, and the military chest, were kept; and we find an instance of persons kneeling before certain sacred emblems beneath a canopy, within an enclosure similar to that where the tent stood. To judge from the mode of binding their prisoners, we might suppose they treated them with unnecessary harshness and even cruelty, at the moment of their capture, and during their march with the army; and the contempt with which they looked upon all foreigners, whom they stigmatised by the name of impure gentiles, did probably lead many of the soldiers to commit acts of brutal severity. They tied their hands behind their backs, or over their heads, in the most strained positions, and a rope passing round their neck fastened them to each other; and some had their hands enclosed in an elongated fetter of wood *, made of two opposite segments, nailed to * Vide wood-cut, No. 92. at the end of Chap. IV. gether at each end; such as are still used for securing prisoners in Egypt, at the present day. In the capture of a town some were beaten with sticks, in order to force from them the secret of the booty that had been concealed; many were compelled to labour for the benefit of the victors; and others were insulted by the wanton soldiery, who pulled their beards and derided their appearance. But when we remember how frequently instances of harsh treatment have occurred, even among civilised Europeans, at an epoch which deemed itself much more enlightened than the fourteenth century before our era, we are disposed to excuse the occasional insolence of an Egyptian soldier; and the unfavourable impressions conveyed by such scenes are more than counterbalanced by the proofs of Egyptian humanity, as in the sea-fight above mentioned. Indeed, I am inclined to think the captives bound beneath the chariot of the conqueror in his triumph† a licence of the sculptors, who, as Gibbon‡ observes, "in every age have felt the truth of a system, which derives the sublime from the principle of terror." The custom of dragging behind a chariot the murderers of a friend was usual among the Thessalians; and the early Greeks insulted the dead on the field of battle, and mutilated their bodies to This is the usual mode in the East of eliciting the truth at the present day. + At Medeenet Haboo and Karnak. Gibbon, vol. ii. 64. note. satiate their revenge. But this shameful practice was afterwards abandoned; and though the Persians had treated the body of Leonidas in a barbarous manner, the Spartans refused to retaliate the insult on a subsequent occasion, when Mardonius was defeated and slain at Platæa. And if Alexander imitated the ungenerous conduct of Achilles, and dragged the body of Bessus behind his chariot, it was a singular instance: and, generally speaking, none but barbarous nations were guilty of similar enormities. I cannot therefore suppose that the Egyptians, who surpassed all others in the practices of civilised life, were in the habit of indulging in wanton cruelty, and much less do I believe that the captives represented on the façades of their temples, bound at the feet of the king, who holds them by the hair of the head, and with an uplifted arm appears about to immolate them in the presence of the deity, were intended to refer to a human sacrifice*: but rather that the subject was a religious allegory, purporting to be an acknowledgment of the victory he had obtained by the assistance of the Deity, -in short, an emblematic record of his successes over the enemies of Egypt; and this is strongly confirmed by the fact of our finding the same subject on monuments erected by the Ptolemies and Cæsars.† * Herodotus justly blames the Greeks for their ignorance of the Egyptian character, in taking literally their allegorical tales of human sacrifices, ii. 45. + At E'Dayr, near E'sné, at Dendera, and other places. RETURN, AND TRIUMPH. On returning from war, the troops marched according to the post assigned to each regiment, observing the same order and regularity as during their advance through the enemy's country: and the allies who came with them occupied a position towards the rear of the army, and were followed by a strong corps of Egyptians. Rewards were afterwards distributed to the soldiers, and the triumphant procession of the conqueror was graced by the presence of the captives, who were conducted in bonds beside his chariot. On traversing countries tributary to, or in alliance with, Egypt, the monarch received the homage of the friendly inhabitants, who, greeting his arrival with joyful acclamations and rich presents, complimented him on the victory he had obtained; and the army, as it passed through Egypt, was met at each of the principal cities by a concourse of people, who, headed by the priests, and chief men of the place bearing bouquets of flowers, green boughs, and palm branches, received them with loud acclamations, and welcomed their return. Then addressing themselves to the king, the priests celebrated his praises; and, enumerating the many benefits he had conferred on Egypt * * Vide Mr. Burton's Excerpta, plate 36. ASHMOLEAN OXFORD MUSEUM |