οπικών γραμμάτι

Extract from Tzetzes work on the Iliad.

αντ' αυτών ζω. Αερογραμματέα

the study of hieroglyphics, it is given here, together with the scholia on it, from the excellent edition of the Greek text, by Lud. Bachmann, Scholia in Homeri Iliadem, Lipsiae, 1835, pp. 823, § 97 and 838, with an English translation.

"Ομηρος δε, παιδευθείς ακριβώς δε πάσαν μάθησιν εκ των συμβολικών Αιθιοπικών γραμμάτων, ταυτά φησιν· οι γάρ Αιθίοπες στοιχεία γραμμάτων ούκ έχουσιν, αλλ' αντ' αυτών ζωα παντοία, και μέλη τούτων και μόριαβουλόμενοι γαρ οι αρχαιότεροι των ιερογραμματέων τον περί θεών φυσικών λόγον κρύπτειν, δι' αλληγορικών και συμβόλων τοιούτων και γραμμάτων τοις ιδίοις τέκνοις αυτά παρεδίδουν, ως ο ιερογραμματεύς Χαιρήμων φησί:

Ι. και αντί μεν χαράς, γυναίκα τυμπανίζουσαν έγραφαν:
2. αντί λύπης, άνθρωπον τη χειρί το γένειον κρατούντα, και προς

γήν νεύοντα:
3. αντί δε συμφοράς, οφθαλμόν δακρύοντα:
4. αντί του μη έχειν, δύο χείρας κενας εκτεταμένας:
5. αντί ανατολής, όφιν εξερχόμενον έκ τινος οπής:
6. αντί δύσεως, εισερχόμενον
7. αντί αναβιώσεως, βάτραχον:
8. αντί ψυχής, ιέρακα· έτι και αντί ηλίου και θεού·
9. αντί θηλυγόνου γυναικός, και μητρός και χρόνου και ουρανού,

γύπα: το. αντί βασιλέως, μέλισσαν: ΙΙ. αντί γενέσεως και αυτοφυών και αρρένων, κάνθαρον: 12. αντί γης, βούν: 13. λέοντος δε προτομή πάσαν αρχών και φυλακήν δηλοί κατ' αυτούς: 14. ουρά λέοντος, ανάγκης 15. έλαφος, ενιαυτόν: 16. ομοίως και ο φοίνιξ 17. ο παίς δηλοί τα αυξανόμενα 18. ο γέρων, τα φθειρόμενα: 19. το τόξον, την οξείαν δύναμιν και έτερα μυρια εξ ών "Ομηρος

ταυτά φησιν· εν άλλη δε τόπιν, είπερ αιρείσθε, έδων εκ του Χαιρήμονος, και τας των γραμμάτων αυτών εκφωνήσεις Αιθιοπικώς είπαν

extract.

Transla “ Now, Homer says this as he was accurately instructed tion of the

de in all learning by means of the symbolic Ethiopian characters

For the Ethiopians do not use alphabetic characters, but depict animals of all sorts instead, and limbs and members of these animals; for the sacred scribes in former times desired

statements

w

@mmad

to conceal their opinion about the nature of the gods, and therefore handed all this down to their own children by allegorical methods and the aforesaid symbols and characters, as the sacred scribe Chaeremon says." 1. “And for joy, they would depict a woman beating a Accuracy,

of Tzetzes' tambourine."

[The drum or tambourine was used in the temples proved.

for festival services, and a woman beating a tam-
bourine is the determinative of the words | Dog
seķer, “ to beat a tambourine,” and

ind oo
țechennu.]
2. “For grief, a man clasping his chin in his hand and
bending towards the ground.”

(A man, seated, with his hand to his mouth, oh

is the determinative of the word
chaànáu, “grief.” A seated woman with head
bent and hands thrown up before her face, is the

determinative of g 59 hath, " to weep."] 3. “For misfortune, an eye weeping.”

[The weeping eye PTT is the determinative of the

common word 2 TT rem,“ to weep.”] 4. “For want, two hands stretched out empty."

[Compare who åt, “not to have,” “to be without.”

Coptic &T.] 5. “For rising, a snake coming out of a hole.”

[Compare tara per, “ to come forth, to risc”

(of the sun).] 6. “For setting, (the same] going in."

[Compare >= zos ūg, “to enter, to set” (of

the sun).] 7. "For vivification, a frog.”

[The frog man ha hefennu, means 100,000, hence

Accuracy of Tzetzes' statements proved.

8. "For soul, a hawk; and also for sun and god."

Compare A ba, “ soul,” neter, “ god,” and

Heru, “ Horus” or “the Sun-god.”] 9. “For a female-bearing woman, and mother and time and sky, a vulture.”

mut, “mother," is the common meaning of a vulture, and at times the goddess Mut seems to be identified with 9 nut, “the sky." Horapollo says that the vulture also meant "year" (ed. Leemans, p. 5), and this statement is borne out by the evidence of the hieroglyphics, where we find that

no=fo renpit, “ ycar."] 10. “For king, a bee.”

[Compare Hus suten net, “ king of the North and

South.”]
II. “For birth and natural growth, and males, a beetle."

[The beetle xeperà was the emblem of the god

Chepers , who is supposed to have created
or evolved himself, and to have given birth to
gods, men, and every creature and thing in earth
and sky. The word means “ to become,”
and in late texts o cheperu may
be fairly well rendered by "evolutions." The -
meaning male comes, of course, from the idea
of the ancients that the beetle had no female.

See infra, under Scarab.]
12. “For earth, an ox.”

1988 aḥet means field, and 18 507means “ox”;

can Chaeremon have confused the meanings of

these two words, similar in sound ?] 13. “And the fore part of a lion signifies dominion and protection of every kind.”

statements proved.

[Compare D hā, “chief, that which is in front, Accuracy

of Tzetzes' duke, prince."] 14. “A lion's tail, necessity.”

[Compare o pe, “to force, to compel, to be

strong.”]
15, 16. “A stag, year; likewise the palm.”

[Of the stag meaning "year" I can give no example.

The palm branch for renpit, is the common

word for "year.”] 17. “The boy signifies growth."

[Compare , which is the determinative of words

meaning “youth” and juvenescence.] 18. “The old man, decay.”

[Compare an, the determinative of 17

dau, “old age.”] 19. “The bow, the swift power."

[The Egyptian word for bow is a peț.

Compare . pet,“ to run, to flee away."] “And others by the thousand. And by means of these characters Homer says this. But I will proceed in another place, if you please, to explain the pronunciation of those characters in Ethiopic fashion, as I have learnt it from Chaeremon."

In another place ? Tzetzes says, “ Moreover, he was not Extract uninitiated into the symbolic Ethiopian characters, the 'Tzet nature of which we will expound in the proper places. All this demonstrates that Homer was instructed in Egypt,” ναι μήν ουδε των Αιθιοπικών συμβολικών γραμμάτων αμύητος γέγονε, περί ών εν τοις οικείους τόπους διδάξομεν οποία εισί. και ταύτα δε τον "Ομηρον εν Αιγύπτω παιδευθήναι napadeckvúovol, and upon this the scholia on Tzetzes say : Περί των Αιθιοπικών γραμμάτων Διόδωρος] μεν επεμνήσθη, και μερικώς είπεν, αλλ' ώσπερ εξ ακοής άλλου μαθών και ουκ

ακριβώς αυτός επιστάμενος [εί] καί τινα τούτων κατέλεξεν ώσπερ εν οις διδε παρρησιάζεται. Χαιρήμων δε ο ιερογραμματεύς όλην βίβλον περί των τοιούτων γραμμάτων συνέταξεν. άτινα, εν τοις προ[σφόροις] τόποις των Ομηρείων επών å[kpi]Béotepov kaì matutépws épô. “Diodorus made mention of the Ethiopian characters and spoke particularly, yet as though he had learnt by hearsay from another and did not understand them accurately himself, although he set down some of them, as though he were talking confidently on subjects that he knew. But Chaeremon the sacred scribe compiled a whole book about the aforesaid characters, which I will discuss more accurately and more fully in the proper places in the Homeric poems.” It is much to be regretted that Chaeremon's work, if he ever fulfilled his promise, has

not come down to us. Greek One of the most valuable extracts from the works of translation of Egyp

"Greek and Roman writers on Egypt is that from a translation tian text by of an Egyptian obelisk by Hermapion, preserved by Herma

Ammianus Marcellinus ;? unfortunately, however, neither the name of Hermapion's work nor the time in which he lived is known. This extract consists of the Greek translation of six lines of hieroglyphics: three lines are from the south side of the obelisk, one line from the east side, and a second and a third line from the other sides. A comparison of the Greek extract with any inscription of Rameses II. on an obelisk shows at once that Hermapion must have had a certain accurate knowledge of hieroglyphics; his translation of the lines, however does not follow consecutively. The following

examples will show that the Greek, in many cases, represents Compari- the Egyptian very closely. Tével "Hrcos Baoilei 'Papéotni son of δεδώρημαί σοι ανά πάσαν οικουμένην μετά χαράς βασιλεύειν,

na w Sopom with the Egyptian

(min In Tamillo de

pion.

Gree

translation

"H

text.

to thee all lands and foreign countries with rest of heart, O king of the north and south, Usr-maāt-Rā-setep-en-Rā,

| Hermann, p. 146, 11. 12-22 ; Bachmann, p. 838, 11. 31-37.
? Liber XVII. 4.