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here was dedicated to Antaeus,* the Libyan wrestler, who fought with Hercules. In the plain close by it is said by Diodorus that the battle between Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, and Set or Typhon, the murderer of Osiris, took place; Typhon was overcome, and fled away in the form of a crocodile. In Christian times Antaeopolis was the seat of a bishop.

Tahtah, 291 miles from Cairo, contains some interesting mosques, and is the home of a large number of Copts, in consequence of which, probably, the town is kept clean.

Sûhâg, 317 miles from Cairo, is the capital of the province of Girgah; near it are the White and Red Monasteries.

The Dêr al-Abyad or "White Monastery," so called because of the colour of the stone of which it is built, but better known by the name of Amba Shenûdah, is situated on the west bank of the river near Sûhâg, 317 miles from Cairo. "The peculiarity of this monastery is that the interior was once a magnificent basilica, while the exterior was built by the Empress Helena, in the ancient Egyptian style. The walls slope inwards towards the summit, where they are crowned with a deep overhanging cornice. The building is of an oblong shape, about 200 feet in length by 90 wide, very well built of fine blocks of stone; it has no windows outside larger than loopholes, and these are at a great height from the ground. Of these there are twenty on the south side and nine at the east end. The morastery stands at the foot of the hill, on the edge of the Libyan desert, where the sand encroaches on the plain... . . The ancient doorway of red granite has been partially closed up." (Curzon, Monasteries of the Levant, p. 131.) There were formerly six gates; the single en

*He was the son of Poseidon and Ge, and was invincible as long as he remained in contact with his mother earth,

trance now remaining is called the "mule gate," because when a certain heathen princess came riding on a mule to desecrate the church, the earth opened and swallowed her up. The walls enclose a space measuring about 240 feet by 133 feet. The convent was dedicated to Shenûti,* a celebrated Coptic saint who lived in the fourth century of our era. Curzon says (op. cit., p. 132) . . . . . . “The tall granite columns of the ancient church reared themselves like an avenue on either side of the desecrated nave, which is now open to the sky, and is used as a promenade for a host of chickens. . . The principal entrance was formerly at the west end, where there is a small vestibule, immediately within the door of which, on the left hand, is a small chapel, perhaps the baptistery, about twenty-five feet long, and still in tolerable preservation. It is a splendid specimen of the richest Roman architecture of the latter empire, and is truly an imperial little room. The arched ceiling is of stone; and there are three beautifully ornamented niches on each side. The upper end is semicircular, and has been entirely covered with a profusion of sculpture in panels, cornices, and every kind of architectural enrichment. When it was entire, and covered with gilding, painting, or mosaic, it must have been most gorgeous. The altar on such a chapel as this was probably of gold, set full of gems; or if it was the baptistery, as I suppose, it most likely contained a bath of the most precious jasper, or of some of the more rare kinds of marble, for the immersion of the converted heathen, whose entrance into the church was not permitted until they had been purified with the waters of baptism in a building without the door of the house of God" (p. 135). The library once contained over a hundred parchment books, but these were

Shenûdah, Coptic yeпort Shenûti, was born A.D. 333; he died at midday on July 2, A.D. 451, aged, it is said, 118 years!

destroyed by the Mamluks when they last sacked the

convent.

In this monastery the bodies of Saint Bartholomew and Simon the Canaanite are said to be buried, but the body of its founder was laid in the monastery which stood on the Mountain of Athribis, a name derived from the Egyptian

Het-erpāt,

The Dêr al-Ahmar or "Red Monastery," so called because of the red colour of the bricks of which it is built, was also built by the Empress Helena; it is smaller and better preserved than the White Monastery, and was dedicated to the Abba Bêsa, the disciple and friend of Shenûti. The pillars of both churches were taken from Athribis, which lay close by; the orientation of neither church is exact, for their axes point between N.E. and N.E. by E. The ruined church of Armant near Thebes is built on the same model.

All lovers of Coptic buildings will be grateful to Lord Cromer for the promptitude which he has shown in connection with the repairing of these monasteries, which contain the two most important churches in Egypt. Mr. Somers Clarke called attention to the ruined state of the monasteries, and very soon after Herz Bey, Architect to the Comité de Conservation, took steps to preserve the buildings and to clear out the squalid houses which had been built up within the walls. The Egyptian Government granted £E.4,000 for the work of restoration, and to this sum the Coptic Patriarch added £E.1,000.

A few miles south of Sûhâg, on the east bank of the river, lies the town of Akhmîm, called Shmin or Chmim, ayeen, xee, (hence Khemmis) by the Copts, and Panopolis by the Greeks; Strabo and Leo Africanus say that it was one of the most ancient cities of Egypt. The ithyphallic god Amsu, or Menu, identified by the Greeks with Pan, was

worshipped here, and the town was famous for its linen weavers and stone cutters. Its Egyptian name was

Apu.

Of this city Herodotus (ii, 91) says: "There is a large city called Chemmis (ie., Panopolis), situate in the Thebaic district, near Neapolis, in which is a quadrangular temple dedicated to Perseus, the son of Danaë; palm-trees grow around it, and the portico is of stone, very spacious, and over it are placed two stone statues. In this enclosure is a temple, and in it is placed a statue of Perseus. The Chemmites affirm, that Perseus has frequently appeared to them on earth, and frequently within the temple, and that a sandal worn by him is sometimes found, which is two cubits in length; and that after its appearance, all Egypt flourishes. They adopt the following Grecian customs in honour of Perseus they celebrate gymnastic games, embracing every kind of contest; and they give as prizes, cattle, cloaks, and skins: When I enquired why Perseus appeared only to them, and why they differed from the rest of the Egyptians, in holding gymnastic games; they answered,' that Perseus derived his origin from their city; for that Danaus and Lynceus, who were both natives of Chemmis, sailed from them into Greece'; and tracing the descent down from them they came to Perseus; and that he coming to Egypt, for the same reason as the Greeks allege, in order to bring away the Gorgon's head from Libya, they affirmed that he came to them also and acknowledged all his kindred; and that when he came to Egypt he was well acquainted with the name of Chemmis, having heard it from his mother : they add, that by his order they instituted gymnastic games in honour of him." Akhmîm is still famous for its linen weavers, who seem to have inherited the skill of their predecessors in making many-coloured woven fabrics. The city is also famous as the birth-place of Nonnus, the poet, A.D. 410, and as the burial-place of Nestorius, A.D. 450. This wretched man was banished first to Petra, in Arabia,

and then to the Oasis of Khârga in 435; he was seized by the Blemmyes and carried off, but eventually found his way to Panopolis. He was again banished and tortured by sufferings and privations, and at length died of a disease in the course of which his tongue was eaten by worms; his religious opponents declared that rain never fell on his tomb. In ancient days Akhmîm had a large population of Copts, and large Coptic monasteries stood close by.

Al-Menshah, on the west bank or the river, 328 miles from Cairo, stands on the site of a city which is said to have been the capital of the Panopolite nome; its Coptic name was Psôi, w. In the time of Shenûti the Blemmyes, a nomad warlike Ethiopian tribe, invaded Upper Egypt, and having acquired much booty, they returned to Psôi or Menshâh, and settled down there.

Girgah, on the west bank of the river, 341 miles from Cairo, has a large Christian population, and is said to occupy the site of the ancient This, whence sprang the first dynasty of historical Egyptian kings. A few miles further south is Al-Balyanâ, commonly, but erroneously pronounced Baliâna, where travellers usually start for Abydos.

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