Passing up the Nile, on the same side of it, and nearly opposite Luxor
and Karnak, is the village of Erment, the ancient _Hermontis_, which is
still graced with a small temple to the goddess Reto. “The group of
pillars in the outer court,” says Taylor, “charmed us by the richness
and variety of their designs. No two capitals are of similar pattern,
while in their combinations of the papyrus, the lotus and the palm-leaf,
they harmonize one with another and as a whole. The abacus, between the
capital and the architrave, is so high as almost to resemble a second
shaft. In Karnak and the Memnonium it is narrow, and lifts the ponderous
beam just enough to prevent its oppressing the lightness of the capital.
I was so delighted with the pillars of Hermontis that I scarcely knew
whether to call this peculiarity a grace or a defect. I have never seen
it employed in modern architecture, and judge therefore that it has
either been condemned by our rules or that our architects have not the
skill and daring of the Egyptians. We reached Esneh the same night, but
were obliged to remain all the next day in order to allow our sailors to
bake their bread. We employed the time in visiting the temple, the only
remnant of the ancient Latopolis, and the palace of Abbas Pasha, on the
bank of the Nile. The portico of the temple, half buried in rubbish,
like that of Dendera, which it resembles in design, is exceedingly
beautiful. Each of its twenty-four columns is crowned with a different
capital, so chaste and elegant in their execution that it is impossible
to give any one the preference. The designs are mostly copied from the
doum-palm, the date-palm, and the lotus, but the cane, the vine, and
various water-plants are also introduced. The building dates from the
time of the Ptolemies, and its sculptures are uninteresting. We devoted
all our time to the study of the capitals, a labyrinth of beauty, in
which we were soon entangled. The governor of Esneh, a most friendly and
agreeable Arab, accompanied us through the temple, and pointed out all
the fishes, birds and crocodiles he could find, to him the most
interesting things in it.” The same day they also visited the rock tombs
of El-Kab, the ancient Eleuthyas, which are among the most curious in
Egypt. “There are a large number of these, but only two are worth
visiting, on account of the light which they throw on the social life of
the Egyptians. The owner of the tomb and his wife, a red man and a
yellow woman, are here seen, receiving the delighted guests. Seats are
given them, and each is presented with an aromatic flower, while the
servants in the kitchen hasten to prepare savory dishes. In other
compartments, all the most minute processes of agriculture are
represented with wonderful fidelity. So little change has taken place in
three thousand years, that they would answer, with scarcely a
correction, as illustrations of the Fellah agriculture of modern Egypt.”
The northern part of Nubia abounds in Egyptian remains, such, for
example, as the temples of Dabod, Kalabshee, Dakkeh, Dendoor, Sebooa,
&c., &c.; and the whole valley of the Nile is filled with the ruins of
cities whose names have hardly survived their overthrow. Noticing but
two or three more of these ruins, we will then pass on to other themes.