Chapter XVIII: Appendix: II

DECIPHERMENT OF THE HIEROGLYPHS.

The idea long prevailed that the hieroglyphic characters were ideographic—_i.e._ that they represented ideas, not sounds; and any attempt at decipherment was hopeless. Before the end of last century, however, a hint had been thrown out that the characters might prove to be phonetic—_i.e._ representing sounds like the letters of our ordinary alphabets. And a further suggestion had been offered that the words enclosed within ovals might be the names of royal personages. But unless some means existed of comparing those names with the same names written in a known language, not a single hieroglyph could be read. The discovery of the Rosetta stone in 1799 supplied the means required. On that stone was engraved an inscription in three characters—the hieroglyphic, the demotic or popular Egyptian, and the Greek. Scholars, however, turned their attention at first rather to the comparison of the demotic and the Greek, as the idea still prevailed that the hieroglyphs were not phonetic. It happened, also, that the beginning of the hieroglyphic and the end of the Greek inscription were wanting, which added greatly to the difficulty of comparing the texts. Thus ‘the seals of the mysterious book were still unclosed’ when Champollion began his labours. He succeeded in identifying the names of Ptolemy and Cleopatra, and by comparing them with each other and with their Greek counterparts he identified ten letters which were clearly phonetic. The first and second characters in the king’s name were found in their right places in that of the queen, and the initial letter of Cleopatra did not occur in the name of Ptolemy, etc. By the examination and comparison of other proper names other letters were determined, and a phonetic alphabet gradually acquired. But the formidable task remained of examining, reducing to order, and deciphering the vast mass of characters that were still unread.

The fact is that in the Egyptian hieroglyphic writing, hundreds of characters are employed as well as the letters of the alphabet; these characters represent syllables, words, or ideas, and could be used instead of the letters, almost at the pleasure of the writer. This gradually became apparent to Champollion, and as, fortunately, there are a very great number of copies extant of the same MSS., he was able, by laborious and persevering collation of those MSS., to determine the phonetic value of a great number of characters. To use a familiar illustration, it is as though two copies of an English sentence were compared by a foreigner who was acquainted only with the alphabet; in one of them occurred the word _three_ and the word _and_, whilst in the other copy, in the places occupied by those words, appeared the character 3 and the character &; or in an astronomical treatise, he would find the words _sun_ and _Taurus_ interchangeable with the signs ☉ and ♉. It would clearly be possible for him to read the four signs into the words for which they respectively stand, by a comparison of copies. The only difference is that the use of signs, whether for syllables, words, or ideas, is carried to such an immense extent in the old Egyptian writing, that their decipherment was a work of the most arduous kind. Champollion, nevertheless, succeeded in recovering and reading the old Egyptian language to a great extent, and his work has been ardently carried forward by his successors. The language, however, even when deciphered and read, must have remained unintelligible, if modern Coptic (the descendant of the ancient tongue) had not afforded the key to its translation.

INDEX.

Aahmes, conqueror of the Hyksos, 87, 93.
——— his mummy discovered, 94.
Aahmes, admiral of the fleet, exploits of, 90 _seq_.
Aah-hotep, queen, 87.
Aarsu, the Syrian, 210.
Abydos, shrine of Osiris, 6.
——— ruins of, 10, 11.
——— tablet of, 151.
——— visit of Rameses II. to, 152 _seq_.
Abu-simbel, rock-temples and colossal statues at, 166, 167.
Agesilaus of Sparta in Egypt, 284.
Alexander the Great in Egypt, 286.
Alexandria founded, 286.
Amasis, King; his policy and character, 275, 277.
Amen, god of Thebes, 49, 132, 223.
Amen-Ra, hymn to, 222, 223.
Amen, great temple of, at Thebes, (Karnak), 55, 65, 95, 128, 151.
Amenemhat I., instructions of, 51 _seq_.
——— conspiracy against, 52, 53.
——— pyramid of, 64.
Amenemhat III. notes rise of Nile, 70.
——— constructs Lake Mœris and the Labyrinth, 71, _seq_.
Amenemhib, inscription of, 112, 123.
Amenhotep I., 93, 94.
Amenhotep II., 124.
Amenhotep III., his campaigns in the South, 128.
——— his buildings at Thebes, 128.
——— colossi of, 129 _seq_.
Amenhotep, architect, 128 _seq_.
Ameni, inscription of, 66, 67.
Amenritis, queen of Ethiopia, 265.
Amenti, scenes in, depicted, 192 _seq_.
Amu, the, 26, 76.
Amyrtæus, 283.
Animal worship, 198 _seq_.
Antef, the family, 43,
——— festal dirge of house of, 44, 45.
Apepi, serpent of evil, 195, 196.
Apepi, Hyksos king; his embassy to the ruler of the South, 83.
Apis, sacred bull of Memphis, 199.
Apis-worship, development of, 243, 244.
Apollonius of Tyana on animal worship, 200 _note_.
Apries, King (Hophra), 272 _seq_.
Ark, the sacred, 179.
Art, excellence and defects of, 201, 202.
Assyrian empire, first, 239.
——— second, rise of, 253.
——— ——— fall of, 269.
Assyrians first enter Egypt, 259.
——— finally expelled, 264.
Assur-bani-pal, king of Assyria, 259 _seq_.
Ata, King, 16.
Aten the Disk, worship of, 133 _seq_.
Atet, Princess, tomb of, 33.
Avaris, fortified by the Hyksos, 81.
siege and capture of, 90, 91.
Azotus, siege of, 267.

Baba-Abana, inscription of, 89.
Babylon, conflicts with Assyria, 215, 239.
——— empire of, 269.
——— fall of, 276.
Bai-en-neter, decree of King, 15.
Bast or Pasht, the goddess, 238 _note_.
Beni-Hassan, rock tombs of, 75.
Biban-el-Moluk; tombs of the kings, 171.
Book of the ‘Manifestation’ or ‘Coming forth into Day’;
commonly called ‘Book’ or ‘Ritual of the Dead,’ 10.
Bubastis, city of, 238.

Cambyses invades and conquers Egypt, 277.
——— his disaster, cruelty and madness, 279.
——— his end, 280.
Chaldea, early civilisation of, 215.
Columns, Hall of, at Karnak, 151.
Confession, the Negative, 67, 68.
Crown, double, of Egypt, 16.
Cyrene, Greek colony of, 273.
Cyrus, King, 276.

Darius, king of Persia, 280.
Dodecarchy, the, 263.

Esar-haddon, king of Assyria, 259.

Famine, many years of, 89.
Fayoum, oasis of, 70.
Funeral celebrations, 39, 190, 191.

Ghizeh, pyramids of, 18 _seq._
Gods, representation of, 119,192 _seq._
Greece, early, as known to the Egyptians, 281.
——— influence of Egypt on, 282.
——— alliances between Egypt and, 280, 283, 284.
Greek mercenaries, 264, 266.
Greek merchants and colonists, 267, 273.

Hammamat, valley of, 46, 149.
Hanno, expedition of, 47.
Harper, Lay of the, 191, 192.
Hatasu, Queen; her pride and ambition, 96.
——— splendid temple of, 97.
——— her expedition to Punt, 99 _seq_.
Hebrew colonists in Goshen, 89.
——— reduced to bondage, 204.
——— exodus of, 205.
Herodotus, the historian, 44, 69, 71, 200, 218, 263, 266, 277.
Her-hor, priest-king, his family vault, 230, 234.
Herusha, the, 26, 27.
Hezekiah, alliance with Tirhakah, 256, 257.
Homer, his acquaintance with Egypt, 281.
Hophra, _see_ Apries.
Horse, first appearance of, 80.
Horus, the god, son of Isis, 3 _seq_.
Horus, King, 139.
Houses and gardens, 180 _seq_.
Hyksos, invasion of, 80.
——— rule and expulsion of, 81 _seq_.

Immigrants, Asiatic, 76, 77.
Invocation, customary funeral, 39.
Isis, the goddess, 2 _seq_.
——— Lamentations of, 2 _seq_.
Israelites in Canaan, 215.
Israelitish empire, 241.

Jeremiah in Egypt, 273.
Jerusalem, siege and destruction of, 273.
Jeroboam in Egypt, 242.
Joseph in Egypt, 89.
Josiah, King, 268.

Kadesh, battle of, 159.
Kames, Prince, 86.
Karchemish, battle of, 270.
Khafra, pyramid and statue of, 23.
Khamus, Prince, priest of Apis, 199.
Khem, ‘lord of the mountain,’ 49.
Khemi, a name of Egypt, 69.
Kheta (Hittites), campaign of Seti I. against, 144.
——— war of Rameses II. with, 156 _seq_.
——— treaty of Rameses with, 169 _seq_.
Khetasir, king of Kheta, 156, 168, 169.
Khnumhotep, family and tomb of, 75.
Khons, the god, 49, 222 _note_.
——— oracle-temple of, 222, 225.
——— visit of, to Bakhten, 227, _seq_.
Khufu, great pyramid of, 22, 23.
Khu-en-aten, new religion of, 133.
——— family life of, 135, 136.
Kom-es-Sultan, mound of, 11.
Koptos, town of, 46, 214.

Labyrinth, The, 71.
Lebanon, visit of Seti I. to, 145.
Libyan invasion of Egypt, 207 _seq_.
Luxor, temple of, 128, 175.

Magic, practice of, 221, 222.
Manetho, the historian, 81 _note_.
Marmaiu, Libyan king, 207.
Mashuasha, defeat of, 213.
Medinet Habou, temple of, 218.
Megiddo, battle of, 109.
Meidoom, early tombs at, 30.
Memnon, statues of, 130.
Memphis, founded by Mena, 12.
Mena, first king of Egypt, 1, 12.
Mendes, ram of, 199.
Menephtah I. defeats the Libyans, 209 _seq_.
Menkaura, his pyramid and sarcophagus, 24.
Mentuhoteps, princely family of, 46.
Mentuhotep, a great noble, 74, 75.
Mercenary troops, 209, 246, 264.
Merienra, King; sepulchre and mummy of, 25.
Mesopotamia, campaigns in, 94, 110.
Migdol, battle of, 217.
Mines of copper and _mafek_, 17, 65, 214.
Mnevis, sacred bull of Heliopolis, 199.
Mœris, Lake, 71.
Momemphis, battle of, 264.
Morality, standard of, 67, 68.
Moses, 205.
Mut, the Divine Mother, 49.

Naharina, _see_ Mesopotamia.
Nahum, the prophet, 262, 269.
Napata, city of, 238, 265.
Necho, Assyrian viceroy at Memphis, 260.
Necho, King, defeated at Karchemish, 270.
——— his naval expedition, 271.
Necropolis of Memphis, 15.
Nectanebus, last native king, 284, 285.
Nefert, Princess, statue of, 34.
Nefe-rmat, tomb of, 33.
Nefer-tai, wife of Khu-en-aten, 136.
Nefertari, wife of Rameses II., 167.
Neith, the goddess, 265, 266 _note_.
Negroes (or Nahsi), 12, 69, 128, 165.
Negro queen, visit of, 137.
Nile, Egypt the gift of, 69.
——— rise of, recorded, 70.
——— Hymn to the, 223, 224.
Nineveh, fall of, 269.
Nitocris, Queen, 41.
Nomes, Egypt divided into, 42.
Nubia, added to Egypt, 68.
Nut—the Heaven—mother of Osiris, 3 _note_, 25 _note_, 196.
Nutmeramen, King; dream of, 252.

Oasis of Amen, 278, 286.
——— Fayoum, 70.
Obelisks of Heliopolis, 10, 64, 65.
——— of Hatasu, 97.
——— of Thothmes III., 116.
Ochus, King of Persia, 285.
Oracle-temple of Khons, 222, 225.
On (Heliopolis), ancient city of, 7 _seq._, 64, 250.
Osiris, myth of, and Isis, 2 _seq_.
——— judgment of the spirit before, 5, 67, 192.

Palestine or Canaan, land of, 107, 113, 124, 144, 215.
Pa-Ra, City of the Sun, 6, 64, 250.
Pa-Ramessu, city of Rameses, poetical description of, 163, 164.
Pasht or Basht, the goddess, 238 _note_.
Pelusium, battle of, 277.
Pentaur, heroic poem of, 160 _seq_.
Pepi, King; sepulchre and mummy of, 25.
Persian empire, rise of, 276.
Persians first enter Egypt, 277.
——— final conquest by, 285.
Philistines, nation of, 240, 241.
Phœnicians, the, 113, 143, 156, 170, 240.
Phœnix, story of the, 9.
Philo of Alexandria on the sacred animals, 200.
Piankhi, the Ethiopian king, 246.
——— inscription of, 247 _seq_.
Pinotem II., his wife and child, 234.
Pithom, store-city, 205.
——— site of, identified, 205 _note_.
Priesthood of Egypt, 8.
——— growth of power at Thebes, 229.
Priest-kings, 230 _seq_.
Priest-kings, their family tomb, 233.
——— discovery of mummies there, 234 _seq_.
Princess, the possessed, of Bakhten, 226 _seq_.
Prosopis, battle of, 209.
Psamtek (Psammetichus) I., 263.
——— II., 271.
——— III., 277.
Ptah, the god, 2, 12, 208.
Ptah-hotep, maxims of, 34, 35.
Punt; expedition of Sankhkara, 47.
——— ——— of Hatasu, 99, _seq_.
Pyramid builders, 17 _seq_.
Pyramid of Sakkara, 16.
——— the Great, 22, 23.
——— of Khafra, 23.
——— of Menkaura, 24.
——— of Amenemhat I., 64.
Pyramids, construction of, 22, 29, 30.
——— names of, 39.

Ra, worship of, at On, 2, 49.
——— his triumph over Apepi, 196.
Raamses, store-city, 205.
Ra-hotep, statue of Prince, 34.
Rameses I., 142.
Rameses II., childhood of, 146.
——— visit to Abydos, 152 _seq_.
——— invocation of his father, 155.
——— war with the Kheta, 156 _seq_.
——— danger and prowess of, 159.
——— campaigns and exploits, 165 _seq_.
——— architectural achievements, 163, 167, 175.
——— colossal statues of, 14, 167.
——— fate of his mummy, 172.
Rameses III., drives back invading tribes, 213.
——— repels great invasion of confederates, 217.
——— victories and spoils, 218.
——— conspiracy against, 220 _seq_.
——— tomb of, 224.
Ramessidæ, successors of Rameses III., 225 _seq_.
Rameses IX., violation of tombs discovered under, 226.
Rameses XII., the god Khons sent to Bakhten by, 226 _seq_.
Ramesseum, the, 189.
Rampsinitus, Rameses III. so called by the Greeks, 218.
Rome, Egypt a province of, 287.

Sais, city of, 265.
——— visit of Cambyses to, 278.
Sakkara, pyramids of, 16.
Samaria taken by Sargon, 255.
Saneha, story of, 55 _seq_.
San-Tanis or Zoan, 162 _seq_.
Scythians, the, in Asia, 267.
Seb, Earth-god, father of Osiris, 2, 3 _note_.
Sechet, the goddess, _see_ Pasht.
Sefek, ‘Lady of Writings,’ 119.
Sekenen-Ra, a patriot, 85.
Semem-kheftu-ef, tame lion of Rameses, 157, 166, 167.
Semnut, architect of Hatasu, 98.
Senefru, King, 17.
Serapeum, the, 243.
Sesostris, of the Greeks, 220.
Set, brother and foe of Osiris, story of, 2, 3.
Seti I., his campaign in Palestine, 144.
——— against the Kheta, 144 _seq_.
——— triumph of, 145, 147.
——— his Hall of Columns and his temple at Abydos, 151.
Seti Menephtah II., 209.
Setnekht, founder of Dynasty XX., 210, 211.
Shebek, King, (So or Sabaco), 255.
Sheshenk I., (Shishak), 242.
——— his campaign in Judæa, 242, 243.
Slavery in Egypt, 116, 117, 203, 204.
Solomon, king of Israel, 241.
Solon in Egypt, 281, 282.
Sphinx, the Great, 21.
Superstition, growth of, 222.
Symbolism in religion, 197.
Symbols, animals as, 198, 199.

Taa, the family of, 86 _seq_.
Tafnekht, a prince of the north, 24 _seq_.
Tai-ti, Queen, 132, 172.
Ta-khent or Nubia, 68.
Ta-neter, the ‘divine land,’ 47.
Tel-el-Amarna, site of city of Khu-en-aten, 134.
Temples, Egyptian, 176 _seq_.
Thebes, first mention of, 43.
——— in her magnificence, 186, 187.
——— Western, the City of the Dead, 187 _seq_.
——— sack of, by Assur-bani-pal, 261, 262.
Thi, tomb of, 36, 38.
Thinis-Abydos, twin cities of, 6.
Thoth, the god, 75 _note_, 192.
Thothmes I., campaign in Mesopotamia, 94.
Thothmes II., 96.
Thothmes III., his boyhood, 97.
——— coronation of, 103.
——— enters Palestine, 107.
——— his victorious campaigns in Asia; extent of empire, 109-111.
——— his wealth, and gifts to the temples, 113-115.
——— heroic song in honour of, 120, 121.
——— fate of his mummy, 123, 124.
Thothmes IV., dream of, 125 _seq_.
Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, 253.
Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia and Egypt;
his long conflict with Assyria, 259 _seq_.
Trade, manufactures, and amusements of the people, 182-186.
Tum, the god, worship of, 49 _and note_.
Tutankh-amen, King, 137.

Uahpra, _see_ Apries.
Uah-hor-penres, priest of Neith, 278 _note_.
Una, inscription of, 26.
Unas, King, 25.
University, ancient, of On, 8.
Usertesen I. associated with his father, 51.
——— his obelisk and other buildings, 64, 65.
Usertesen III., conquers Nubia, 68, 69.

Wady Maghara, mines in the valley of, 17, 65.

Zedekiah, king of Judah, 272.
Zoan, city of, 162 _seq_., 169, 237, 257.

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