work of the same person who constructed those at Abydos and at Thebes; for in those places, it is said, are some Memnonia. At Abydos Osiris is worshipped; but in the temple of Osiris no singer, nor player on the pipe, nor on the cithara, is permitted to perform at the commencement of the ceremonies celebrated in honour of the god, as is usual in rites celebrated in honour of the gods." (Bk. XVII. I, 44, Falconer's translation.) The principal monuments which have been brought to light by the excavations of M. Mariette at Abydos are:

I. The Temple of Seti I.,* and the Temple of Rameses II.

The Temple of Seti I., better known as the Memnonium, is built of fine white calcareous stone upon an artificial foundation made of stone, earth and sand, which has been laid upon a sloping piece of land; it was called Menmāt-Rā,† after the prenomen of its builder. The Phoenician graffiti show that the temple must have ceased to be used at a comparatively early period. It would seem that it was nearly finished when Seti I. died, and that his son Rameses II. only added the pillars in front and the decoration. Its exterior consists of two courts, A and B, the wall which divides them, and the façade; all these parts were built by Rameses II. The pillars are inscribed with religious scenes and figures of the king and the god Osiris. On the large wall to the south of the central door is an inscription in which Rameses II. relates all that he has done for the honour of his father's memory, how he erected statues of

* The plans of the principal temples of Egypt printed in this book are copied from those which accompany the Rapport sur les Temples Egyptiens adressé à S.E. Le Ministre des Travaux Publics par Grand Bey. This gentleman's plans were made as recently as 1888, and are more complete than the more elaborate drawings given by Lepsius in his Denkmäler, and by other savants.

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him at Thebes and Memphis, and how he built up the sacred doors. At the end of it he gives a brief sketch of his childhood, and the various grades of rank and dignities which he held. In the interior the first hall, C, is of the time of Rameses II., but it is possible to see under the rough hieroglyphics of this king, the finer ones of Seti I.; this hall contains twenty-four pillars arranged in two rows. The scenes on the walls represent figures of the gods and of the king offering to them, the names of the nomes, etc., etc. The second hall, D, is larger than the first, the style and finish of the sculptures are very fine, the hieroglyphics are in relief, and it contains 36 columns, arranged in three rows. From this hall seven short naves dedicated to Horus, Isis, Osiris, Amen, Harmachis, Ptaḥ, and Seti I. respectively, lead into seven vaulted chambers, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, beautifully shaped and decorated, which are dedicated to the same beings. The scenes on the walls of six of these chambers represent the ceremonies which the king ought to perform in them; those in the seventh refer to the apotheosis of the king. At the end of chamber G is a door which leads into the sanctuary of Osiris, L, and in the corridor M is the famous TABLET OF ABYDOS, which gives the names of seventy-six kings of Egypt, beginning with Menes and ending with Seti I. The value of this most interesting monument has been pointed out on p. 3.

The Temple of Rameses II. was dedicated by this king to the god Osiris; it lies a little to the north of the temple of Seti I. Many distinguished scholars thought that this was the famous shrine which all Egypt adored, but the excavations made there by M. Mariette proved that it was not. It would seem that during the French occupation of Egypt in the early part of this century this temple stood almost intact; since that time, however, so much damage has been wrought upon it, that the portions of wall which now remain are only about eight or nine feet

high. The fragment of the second Tablet of Abydos, now in the British Museum, came from this temple. The few scenes and fragments of inscriptions which remain are interesting but not important.

A little to the north of the temple of Rameses II. is a Coptic monastery, the church of which is dedicated to Amba Musas.

FARSHÛT AND KASR ES-SAYYÂD.

FARSHUT, 368 miles from Cairo, on the west bank of the river, called in Coptic Bepoort, contains a sugar factory.

KASR ES-SAYYAD, or "the hunter's castle," 376 miles from Cairo, on the east bank of the river, marks the site of the ancient Chenoboscion. The Copts call the town щепеснт.

KENEH AND THE TEMPLE OF DENDERAH.*

Keneh, 405 miles from Cairo, on the east bank of the river, is the capital of the province of the same name. This city is famous for its dates, and the trade which it carries on with the Arabian peninsula.

A short distance from the river, on the west bank, a little to the north of the village of Denderah, stands the Temple of Denderah, which marks the site of the classical Tentyra or Tentyris, called TENTWpe by the Copts, where the goddess Hathor was worshipped. During the Middle Empire quantities of flax and linen fabrics

* The Greek Tentyra, or Tentyris, is derived from the Egyptian