3 of Aegypt. to the same custom.' We shall presently perceive AFRICA. that our author attributes much of the good health CHAP. VI. enjoyed by the Aegyptians, especially those engaged in agriculture, to their practice of purging themselves every month for three successive days.2 Concerning the population of Aegypt, Herodotus Population tells us that in the time of Amasis there were 20,000 towns, a statement which is startling from the magnitude of the numbers. Diodorus tells us, that under the Pharaohs there were 18,000 towns, all of which were registered in the sacred records; but that in the time of the Ptolemies only 3000 remained. He adds that, according to an ancient census, the population once amounted to seven millions, but that under the Ptolemies it was only three millions. It is impossible to know how many trifling hamlets or small military stations were dignified by the name of towns, but the statement of Diodorus, that the population of Aegypt anciently amounted to seven millions, is, perhaps, as near an approximation to the truth as can be attained. 4 and cus Singularly We now turn to the manners and customs of the Manners Aegyptians. Herodotus was so struck by the con- toms of the trariety between their usages and those of other Aegyptians. nations, that, as a sort of introduction to his general contrary to account, he prefixes a list of the contrasts between other nathe Aegyptians and the Greeks, which we accord- tions. ingly present to the reader at length. those of attended by pushed The women of Aegypt, unlike those of other Markets countries, attend the markets and other places of the women. traffic themselves, whilst the men stop at home and work at the loom. In weaving, the Aegyptians The woof throw the woof downwards, whilst other nations downwards throw it upwards. The men carry burdens on their heads, but the women on their shoulders. They carried on take their meals outside their houses, but for the and woother deeds of nature they seclude themselves in shoulders. their dwellings, alleging that whatever is indecent, Meals taken 2 ii. 77. 3 ii. 177. 4 Diod. i. 31. 1 iii. 12. in weaving. Burdens men's heads men's outside the house. esses. Daughters, and not sons, obliged to sup port their parents. Priests heads. their hair to mourning near relations. Live with animals. 1 AFRICA. though necessary, ought to be done in private, but CHAP. VI. that whatever is decent should be done in public. No women are allowed to serve the office of priestess to any male or female deity; but men are employNo priest- ed for both offices. Sons are not compelled to support their parents unless they choose; but daughters are obliged whether they choose or not. Priests in other countries wear long hair; but those of Aegypt shave their heads. People in other countries shave shave their their heads upon the death of their nearest relations; Laity leave but the Aegyptians suffer their hair to grow both on grow whilst their heads and faces, though at other times they are accustomed to shave. Other people live apart from animals; but the Aegyptians live with them. Other people feed on wheat and barley; but the Aegyptians considered it a very great disgrace to Make their make food of either kind of grain, and make bread of spelt, which they call zea. The Aegyptians Knead with knead the dough with their feet, but mix clay Circumci and take up dung with their hands. Other people sion prac- reject circumcision, but the Aegyptians practise it. Every Aegyptian man wears two garments, but the women only one. Other men fasten the rings and sheets of their sails outside the boat, but the AeThe Greeks in and cipher Writing and ciphering move the hand from right to left, but the Aegyptians move theirs from left to left to right. right, and in doing so, say that they are acting correctly, and the Greeks otherwise.3 bread of spelt. their feet. tised. Rings and sail sheets fastened inside their boats. gyptians fastened theirs inside. Writing ing from Dress of the Such are the disjointed memoranda which our author apparently jotted down during his journeys in Aegypt. We now proceed to enter upon his more detailed description of this extraordinary people. The dress of the Aegyptians consisted of a linen tunic called a calasiris, which was fringed round tunic, and the legs. Over this calasiris they wore a white a linen 4 Cairo and other towns, took their meals in the front of their shops, exposed to the view of any one who passed. It seems however certain that women sometimes held inferior offices in the Aegyptian temples. Cf. Herod. ii. 54. 2 ii. 35. 4 3 ii. 36. A fringe was left to the linen, and formed a border to the tunic. woollen mantle, but never carried their woollen AFRICA. clothes into the temples, nor were buried in them, CHAP. VI. for that would have been accounted profane. In white woolthis particular they agreed with the worshippers of len mantle. Orpheus and Dionysus, who were Aegyptians and Pythagoreans; for it was regarded as a profane thing to bury any one in woollen garments who had been initiated into those mysteries, and a religious reason was given for the prohibition.' The Aegyp- Equipment tians who served in the navy of Xerxes wore quilted marines in helmets, and carried hollow shields with large rims, the navy of boarding pikes, and large hatchets; the greater number also wore breastplates, and carried large swords.3 of the toms. wife. salutation. Of the marriages of the Aegyptians we only learn Social custhat they did not practise polygamy, but that each Married man had only one wife, like the Greeks. In their only one salutations they resembled no Greek nation, for in- Mode of stead of addressing one another in the streets, they made obeisance by suffering their hands to fall down as far as their knees. In their reverence for the Reverence for the aged. aged however they resembled the Lacedæmonians. In the streets when the young men met their elders they turned aside to allow them to pass; and in the assemblies they rose from their seats on the approach of their seniors." All impurities were Especial carefully avoided. They all drank from cups of Scoured brass, which were fresh scoured every day; their and clean linen garments were constantly fresh washed; and linen. it was for the sake of cleanliness that they practised Circumcircumcision, thinking it better to be clean than handsome. The mere brushing of a hog against 7 6 This statement of Herodotus, like most others, is confirmed by the 1 ii. 81. monuments. 2 Helmets were rarely of metal, but were generally thick, and well padded, and were thus an excellent protection without inconveniencing the wearer by their weight in that hot climate. Helmets of brass however are mentioned by Herodotus (ii. 151) as being worn by the twelve kings. 4 ii. 92. 3 iii. 89. ii. 80. "Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man." Levit. xix. 32. 6 Other drinking vessels were however used besides those of brass. Joseph had a cup of silver (Gen. xliv. 2, 5). Perhaps, as Sir J. G. Wilkinson remarks, Herodotus did not obtain admittance to the higher classes of Aegyptian society. 7 ii. 37. cleanliness. brazen cups, cision. Regarded AFRICA. their garments they considered to be an impurity, CHAP. VI. which could only be removed by plunging into the river. No Aegyptian, man or woman, would kiss a the Greeks Greek, nor use the knife, spit, or caldron of a Greek; as impure. neither would they taste of the flesh of a pure ox, that had been slaughtered or divided by a Greek knife. This repugnance seems to have arisen from their reverence for cows, and for cattle generally.2 Food of the Beef. Geese. birds not ac counted sacred. Of the food of the Aegyptians, we have seen that Aegyptians. the flesh of oxen and geese was eaten by the priests, and was probably much esteemed by all classes. From the meat of most other animals they probably abstained, from religious motives. Fish and birds, excepting such as were accounted sacred, were also eaten, either roasted or boiled, though the priests All fish and entirely abstained from fish of every kind. Some birds, such as quails, ducks, and those that were smaller, were salted and then eaten raw; some fish also were dried in the sun and then eaten raw, others were salted in brine. Swine they would never eat, Bread made excepting at one particular festival. Wheat and barley were not used for food, but their bread was made from spelt, which some called zea. Beans were not cultivated,' and vines did not grow in Aegypt.s Wine made from the grape was however drank by the priests, and was probably imported from Hellas;' the large quantity of wine drank at the festival of Bubastis, 10 was probably the Phoenician palm wine, which was brought in carthen jars twice every year,' and much esteemed.12 Home-made wine was produced from barley.13 Radishes, onions, and garlic of spelt, and called zea. Wine from the grape, probably imported from Greece. Phoenician and wine made from barley. 11 13 ii. 77. The Aegyptians frequently drank wine to excess; both Mycerinus and Amasis were very partial to it. Some very laughable scenes are depicted on the frescoes and sculptures, and have been copied by Wilkinson (Ancient Egyptians, vol. i.). Gentlemen are carried home by their servants, whilst even the ladies are represented in such a deplorable state, that it is evident the painters have sacrificed their galfantry to their love of caricature. Some ladies call the servants to support them as they sit; others with difficulty prevent themselves from falling on those behind them; faded flowers in their hands are strikingly illustrative of their own sensations; and a reluctant servant, who takes a formed an important part of the food of the lower AFRICA. orders.1 CHAP. VI. Radishes, Marshmen lived on the stalk of the The Aegyptians who lived in the marshes of the Delta, observed the same customs as the other onions, and Aegyptians, but they also obtained food from the garlic. lotus and byblus in the following manner. When of the Delta the inundation of the Nile was at its height, and lotus, the the plains were like a sea, great numbers of a spe- byblus, and cies of lily sprung up in the water. This lily re- dried fish. sembled a poppy, and the Aegyptians called it the lotus. The Aegyptian marshmen, above mentioned, gathered this lotus and dried it in the sun, and then pounded the middle, or pith, and made bread of it and baked it. The root also of the lotus was fit for food, and was tolerably sweet; it was round and about the size of an apple. Other lilies, like roses, likewise grew in the river. Their fruit was contained in a separate pod, which sprung up from the root in a form very much like a wasp's nest. The kernels in the pod were the same size as olive stones, and were eaten both fresh and dried. The byblus [from which papyrus was made] was an annual plant, and the marshmen obtained food from it in the following manner. They first pulled it up, and then cut off the top part, which they employed for various purposes; but the lower part, which was about a cubit long, they both sold and ate. The most delicate manner of dressing the byblus was to stew it in a hot pan. Some of the marshmen lived 3 2 basin to one fair reveller, arrives rather too late. Rowlandson himself could not have depicted the scene more broadly. The Aegyptian beer, or barley wine, was declared by Diodorus to be capital, (i. 34,) and it was doubtless far better than the Greek ale, which was held in contempt. (Cf. Aesch. Supp. v. 960.) Aristotle, as quoted in Athenaeus, (Deip. i. 25,) describes those who got drunk with wine as lying on their faces, and those who got drunk with beer as lying on their backs. 1 ii. 125. 2 i. e. the combs have holes for the honey, as these lotuses have for the seeds, or kernels. 3 Herodotus here distinguishes two kinds of lotus, and there is no doubt of their identity. The one first mentioned is the Nymphea Lotus; the other, "like roses," is the Nymphea Nelumbo of Linnaeus, or Nelumbium Speciosum. They cannot be more accurately, or clearly, described than they have been by Herodotus. |