Volume I Number 42
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SECOND-CLASS MATTER, COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION,
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SECRETARY, W. D. MOFFAT; TREASURER, J. S. CAMPBELL; ASST. TREASURER
AND ASST. SECRETARY, H. A. CROWE.
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_Editorial_
It was no easy matter for Mr. Elmendorf to present the subject of Egypt
in an article of only 2,500 words. He has confined himself in his
characteristic interesting manner to the impressions of a traveler. Of
the great store of archæological treasures in Egypt, the monuments,
statues, tablets, tombs, inscriptions--in fact all that is comprehended
under the name Egyptology--Mr. Elmendorf could say nothing. These are
subjects for the historical student rather than for the traveler. And
they will be taken up in turn in The Mentor of some later date when we
will approach the subject of Egypt from the standpoint of the historical
student. There is, however, one question that readers of Mr. Elmendorf's
article are apt to ask--in fact ordinary curiosity would prompt the
inquiry. The monuments of Egypt are covered with historic records in the
form of inscriptions. These records are hieroglyphic. They are what some
people call "picture writings." The natural question is "How were these
hieroglyphics deciphered." The answer is interesting, and it seems to us
that both question and answer belong in the number of The Mentor with Mr.
Elmendorf's article.
* * * * *
The River Nile separates at its delta into two branches. The eastern
stream enters the Mediterranean at Damietta. The western stream enters
the great sea at Rosetta. It was near this latter town that an officer
in Napoleon's army discovered, in August, 1799, the key to Egyptian
hieroglyphics. It is called the Rosetta Stone, and it is now in the
British Museum.
* * * * *
For years the hieroglyphic was an unknown language, and the history of
Egypt, except such as is contained in the Bible, was a blind book. The
Rosetta Stone was found to contain an inscription in three different
languages--the Hieroglyphic, the Demotic, which was the common language
of the Egyptians, and the Greek. When these inscriptions were examined,
it was discovered that they were each a translation of the other. There,
then, was the clue which opened up the whole field of Egyptian history.
* * * * *
Dr. Young, in 1814, began the work of deciphering hieroglyphics by
this clue. He worked on various inscriptions, especially the pictorial
writings on the walls of Karnak. The value of this discovery may be
appreciated when we consider that its discovery has enabled scholars
to translate hieroglyphics almost as easily as they would any of the
classic writings. The actual inscription on the Rosetta Stone is not so
important in itself. It is a decree issued in honor of Ptolemy Epiphanes
by the priests of Egypt assembled in a synod of Memphis on account of
the remission of arrears on taxes and dues. It was put up in 195 B. C.
Since the discovery of the Rosetta Stone other tablets containing
more important inscriptions have been found, but the unique value of the
Rosetta Stone lies in the fact that it contains a corresponding Greek
inscription, thereby affording a clue to the meaning of the hieroglyphics.
* * * * *
The stone is black basalt, three feet seven inches in length, two feet
six inches in width, and ten inches thick. After it was found by the
French it was transferred to the British, and in 1802, it was brought to
England, where it was mounted and placed in the British Museum.
* * * * *
The Rosetta Stone is a corner stone of Egyptology. And the revelations of
early Egyptian history and life, brought to light by means of it, have
cleared some of the mystery of Egypt and have made known much of its
history.
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[Illustration: VIEW OF CAIRO, EGYPT]
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_EGYPT, THE LAND OF MYSTERY_ _Cairo_
------------------------------- ONE -------------------------------
Cairo is the capital of modern Egypt, and the most populous city in
Africa. By the Arabs it is called Maçr-el-Qâhira or simply Maçr. It is
situated on the Nile, extending along the east bank of that river for
about five miles. Cairo itself is really the fourth Moslem capital of
Egypt. The site of one of those which preceded it is partly included
within its walls, while the other two were a little to the south. Jauhar
or Gohar-el-Kaid, the conqueror of Egypt for the Fatimite calif El-Moizz,
in 968 founded El-Qâhira, "The Victorious." This name was finally
corrupted into Cairo.
The city was founded on the spot occupied by the camp of the conqueror.
It grew larger and more important as the years went by. In 1175 the
Crusaders attacked Cairo; but were repulsed. The town prospered; but in
1517 it was conquered by the Turks. Thereafter it declined. The French
captured the city in 1798. The Turkish and English forces drove them out
in 1801, and Cairo was then handed over to Turkey.
A few years later Mehemet Ali became the Turkish viceroy. This man was
a bold and unscrupulous schemer. He was born in Macedonia, and became
colonel of the troops of the Turkish sultan and was stationed in Egypt.
In 1805 he was appointed governor. Two years later England tried to get
possession of the country; but he foiled the British.
The Mamelukes, the former rulers of Egypt, had been conquered by Napoleon
and were forced to acknowledge Mehemet Ali as master of Egypt. But they
were still powerful, and their plots hindered the plans of the ambitious
viceroy. So one day in 1811 Mehemet gave a great feast in the citadel in
Cairo, to which the Mamelukes were all invited. Four hundred and fifty
of them accepted and rode, a magnificent cavalcade, up to the citadel
through a deep, steep passageway leading from the lower town.
The lower gates of the street were suddenly closed. Behind the walls
were the armed men of Mehemet Ali. Point-blank they fired into the crowd
of horsemen. The slaughter was kept up until all were dead. Tradition
says that one man escaped by leaping his horse over a wall. Thus Mehemet
became ruler indeed of Egypt.
Under his rule Cairo grew up. He is supposed to have watched over the
welfare of his people; but, according to one historian, "they could not
suffer more and live."
Ismail Pasha, the first of the khedives (keh-deeves') modernized
Cairo. Coming from Paris filled with progressive but reckless ideas of
civilization, he resolved to transform the ancient city by the Nile into
an African metropolis. The festivities he organized on the occasion
of the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 are said to have cost twenty
million dollars. He built the opera house of Cairo, and had Verdi, the
famous composer, write the opera "Aïda" especially to be produced there
in 1871. His extravagances plunged Egypt into debt, but in 1882 Cairo was
occupied by the British, and under their rule Egypt came gradually from
under this heavy burden of indebtedness.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 42, SERIAL No. 42
COPYRIGHT, 1913. BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
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[Illustration: PYRAMIDS, EGYPT]
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_EGYPT, THE LAND OF MYSTERY_ _The Pyramids_
------------------------------- TWO ------------------------------
"All things fear Time; but Time fears the Pyramids," says the ancient
proverb. The pyramids are for eternity. They alone of all man's works
seem able to conquer time. They are mute witnesses to the greatness and
majesty of Egypt five thousand years ago. The Egyptian pyramids are
royal tombs, the burial vaults of kings. A pyramid was constructed of
horizontal layers of rough-hewn blocks with a small amount of mortar. The
outside casing was of massive blocks, usually greater in thickness than
in height. Inside of each pyramid, always low down, and usually below the
ground level, was built a sepulchral chamber. This room, which contained
the body of the king, was always reached by a passage from the north,
sometimes beginning in the pyramid face, sometimes descending into the
rock on which the pyramid was built. To build but a single one of these
huge tombs must have taken thousands of slaves many years, and there
are seventy-six of them in existence today. What a record of toil and
suffering for the vanity of kings!
The oldest of these pyramids is the Step Pyramid of Sakkara. It is
supposed to be the oldest building of stone in the world. It lies near
the vanished city of Memphis, the capital city of King Menes, the first
Egyptian monarch whose name is known to history, and the founder of the
earliest known dynasty, variously estimated to have been from 5702 to
2691 B. C.
The greatest and most famous pyramid is the Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops)
at Gizeh. It was originally four hundred and eighty feet high; its base
covers an area of thirteen acres; and each side is seven hundred and
fifty-five feet long. The ancient builders were so accurate in their
work that modern engineers have discovered an error of only sixty-five
one-hundredths of an inch in the length of the sides of the base, and
of one-three-hundredth of a degree in angle at the corners. The base is
practically a perfect square.
The Pyramid of Khufu is the only surviving wonder of the Seven Wonders
of the ancient world. One hundred thousand men worked for twenty years
to build this tomb, which contains two million three hundred thousand
limestone blocks, of an average weight of two and a half tons. How the
tremendous undertaking was ever accomplished is one of the mysteries of
the world. But even this huge tomb was no protection against robbers. The
body of King Khufu has disappeared, stolen from its famous resting place
centuries ago.
To ascend the pyramid one has to climb steps, narrow and about three feet
apart. For a small fee the Arabs help the tourist to the top, from where
the view is well worth the trouble. The blocks that formed the point
of the pyramid have been removed, and the summit is a level platform
thirty-six feet square.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 42, SERIAL No. 42
COPYRIGHT, 1913. BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
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[Illustration: THE SPHINX, EGYPT]
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_EGYPT, THE LAND OF MYSTERY_ _The Sphinx_
------------------------------- THREE ------------------------------
Battered and broken by the attacks of time and man, buffeted by the
desert winds, flat faced, and almost featureless, the Sphinx is still the
possessor of its mighty secret--the mystery of the ages. "It is still
able to express by the smile of those closed lips the inanity of our most
profound human conjectures."
Everyone knows about the Sphinx at Gizeh near the Great Pyramids. This is
proved by the common use of the word "sphinxlike," applied to that which
holds, but will not disclose, mystery. But not everyone knows the reason
for the form of the Sphinx, half human and half beast.
Sphinx is the Greek name for a compound creature with a lion's body and
a human head. The Greek sphinx had male wings and a female bust. The
sphinx of Egypt was wingless, and was called "Androsphinx" by Herodotus.
In Egypt the sphinx was usually designed as lying down. The heads of the
Egyptian sphinxes are royal portraits, apparently intended to represent
the power of the reigning Pharaoh.
The most famous sphinx is the great Sphinx of Gizeh. No one knows who
formed this gigantic figure of mystery nor when it was made. It was cut
from a ridge of natural rock, with patches of masonry here and there to
carry out the effect. The body is one hundred and forty feet long, and it
faces eastward, looking out over the valley of the Nile. It has been said
that the Sphinx was probably intended to be the guardian of the entrance
to the Nile Valley.
The name of the Sphinx in Egyptian was "Hu." The inscriptions in the
shrine between its paws say that it represented the sun god Hormakhu.
In the long past days of Egypt's grandeur the Sphinx was a central
feature of the grandest cemetery the world has ever seen. This was the
cemetery of Memphis, the metropolis of Egypt. The city of Memphis was
the chief city of King Menes, who founded the earliest known dynasty.
Now the only things that mark the site of the vanished metropolis are
two colossal but fallen statues of Egypt's vainest king, Rameses II, the
Great.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 42, SERIAL No. 42
COPYRIGHT, 1913. BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
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[Illustration: TEMPLE OF LUXOR, EGYPT]
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_EGYPT, THE LAND OF MYSTERY_ _The Temple of Luxor_
------------------------------- FOUR ------------------------------
The ancient Egyptians had a great many gods; but the greatest of all was
the Sun God. His name was Amun, and this meant "the hidden or veiled
one." All worship of this god was mysterious and shrouded in darkness.
In that way the priests held their power over the people. It was at old
Thebes that the greatest temples of the Sun God were built. For about
two thousand years Thebes was the capital of the powerful Egyptian
Pharaohs. It was called Weset and Nut, which means "The City." The Greeks
gave it the name of Thebai. Now this once great and important city has
disappeared except for its ruins.
The little village of Luxor occupies the southern part of ancient Thebes.
It is on the east bank of the Nile, four hundred and fifty miles from
Cairo. Its name, Luxor, is a corruption of the Arabic El-Kusur, meaning
"The Castles," and referring to the many-columned courts of the abandoned
temples.
The great king of Egypt, Amenophis III, built the temple of Amun about
which Luxor has grown up. He did not finish it, and Rameses II added to
it a huge columned court. But this temple was never altogether completed.
Still, it measures almost 900 feet from front to rear.
Rameses II also erected outside some colossal statues and a pair of
obelisks. One of these obelisks now stands in the Place de la Concorde in
Paris. It was taken there in 1831.
The chief religious festival of Thebes was that of "Southern Opi," the
ancient name of Luxor. The sacred ships of the gods, which were kept in
the temple of Karnak, were then taken in procession to Luxor and back.
Most of the old village of Luxor lay inside the courts of the temple. The
Christians built churches within the temple. Luxor was also called Abul
Haggag, from a Moslem saint of the seventh century. His tomb stands on a
high heap of debris in the court of Rameses.
Today Luxor is a tourist center, and several fine hotels have been
erected to accommodate the many visitors to the famous ruins. Nearly all
the debris has been cleared away by the _Service des Antiquités_, which
took up this work in 1885. Most of the natives thereabout are engaged
in the manufacture of forged antiques, which they sell to the unwary
traveler.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 42, SERIAL No. 42
COPYRIGHT, 1913. BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
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[Illustration: KARNAK--VIEW FROM SACRED LAKE, EGYPT]
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_EGYPT, THE LAND OF MYSTERY_ _Karnak_
------------------------------- FIVE ------------------------------
A little village with a big ruin,--that is Karnak. Karnak itself is a
town of only twelve thousand people in upper Egypt, which has given
its name to the northern half of the ruins of ancient Thebes. The most
important of these ruins are the ruins of the temple of Amun. These are
to other ruins what the Grand Canyon of the Colorado is to other gorges.
Many of Egypt's kings contributed to build the temple of Amun at Karnak.
Karnak represents colossal antiquity. Here are to be found the highest
columns on earth. They are one hundred and thirty-four in number; but
many have crumbled and fallen to earth. The large columns were nearly
twelve feet thick and sixty-two feet high. On top of each a hundred
men could have stood. Each column was made up of many half-drums put
together, and on them are raised reliefs, once painted with bright
colors, picturing the events in the reigns of the various kings of Egypt.
But now their glory has departed. The walls of the temple have fallen,
and all that we can see is a mass of ruins, resembling the litter of an
avalanche.
Tribute from all the world once poured into the coffers of the priests of
Amun. The Egyptian kings gave them a great share of the spoils of their
conquering raids, and Rameses III gave ninety thousand of his prisoners
of war to them for slaves. Finally these priests became so rich and
powerful that the high priest of Amun took the throne and became ruler of
the Egyptians.
In 1899 a great calamity came upon the ruins of the temple. Eleven of the
standing columns fell. These were all restored by 1908, and the work of
excavation, strengthening, and reconstruction is still going on.
Beside the temple of Amun at Karnak there are two other ruins of
importance. A temple of the god Mut, built by Amenophis III, and restored
by Rameses II and the Ptolemys, has almost disappeared, except for a well
preserved gateway and the plan of the foundations. The other ruin, the
temple of Khuns, was built by Rameses II and his successors.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 42, SERIAL No. 42
COPYRIGHT, 1913. BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
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[Illustration: THE GREAT DAM, ASSOUAN, EGYPT]
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_EGYPT, THE LAND OF MYSTERY_ _The Dam at Assouan_
------------------------------- SIX ------------------------------
There are many ancient and awe-inspiring monuments in Egypt; but one work
of modern times there does not suffer in comparison with the greatest
things that the Pharaohs have left us. The tombs, the pyramids, and the
obelisks were built at the cost of terrible suffering, merely to satisfy
the vanity of selfish kings; but this great work has given life to the
land, enriched the population, and made their labor far lighter. It is
the dam at Assouan.
Assouan, or Aswan, is a town of upper Egypt on the east bank of the River
Nile below the first cataract. It has of late grown very popular as a
winter health resort, and many large modern hotels are now situated there.
At the beginning of the cataract, three and a half miles above the town,
is the dam of Assouan. This is a mile and a quarter long from shore to
shore. It was finished in December, 1902. This dam controls the water of
the Nile, and makes possible the irrigation of vast areas of land that
had hitherto been dead and unproductive. Water is very valuable in Egypt.
Before the dam was built a boat had to be hauled up the rapids of the
first cataract by hundreds of natives. It was an all-day task. Now a
canal with four locks quietly and quickly takes vessels to the upper
level of the Nile.
The dam has transformed the river above it into a huge lake. Many former
islands have been wholly or partly submerged. The Isle of Philæ is the
most important of these. The goddess Isis was worshiped there, and there
were temples erected to her. One rocky point of the island is still above
water. The rest of Philæ is an Egyptian Venice. Water paves the courts of
the temples and gives added beauty to the relics of the past.
Opposite Philæ, on the east bank of the Nile, is the village of Shellal.
This town is the southern terminus of the Egyptian railway, and the
starting point of steamers for the Sudan.
Near Assouan are the quarries from which the old Egyptians took granite
for their obelisks. There is still one obelisk all carved and shaped,
ready to be taken from the rock. When an obelisk was shaped, holes were
bored in the rock all along the line of separation. Wedges of wood were
driven into these holes and soaked with water. The wet wood expanded, and
the great obelisk was broken from the mother rock. It was then ready to
be shipped to its destination.
PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 42, SERIAL No. 42
COPYRIGHT, 1913. BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.
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