The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ancient Egypt, by George Rawlinson

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Title: Ancient Egypt

Author: George Rawlinson

Other: Arthur Gilman

Release Date: April 20, 2005 [EBook #15663]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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[Illustration: GREAT HALL OF COLUMNS AT KARNAK (RESTORED.)]

ANCIENT EGYPT

BY

GEORGE RAWLINSON, M.A.

CAMDEN PROFESSOR OF ANCIENT HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD AND
CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF TURIN; AUTHOR OF "THE FIVE
GREAT MONARCHIES OF THE ANCIENT EASTERN WORLD." ETC., ETC.

_WITH THE COLLABORATION OF_

ARTHUR GILMAN, M.A. AUTHOR OF "THE STORY OF ROME," ETC.

_TENTH EDITION_

LONDON T. FISHER UNWIN

PATERNOSTER SQUARE, E.C.

COPYRIGHT BY T. FISHER UNWIN, 1886 (For Great Britain)

TO REGINALD STUART POOLE, KEEPER OF COINS IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM,
AND CORRESPONDENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF
MUCH HELP AND MUCH PLEASURE DERIVED FROM HIS EGYPTIAN LABOURS.

CONTENTS.

I.

THE LAND OF EGYPT 1-22

General shape of Egypt, 1--Chief divisions: twofold division, 2;
threefold division, 3--The Egypt of the maps unreal, 4--Egypt, "the gift
of the river," in what sense, 5, 6--The Fayoum, 7--- Egyptian
speculations concerning the Nile, 7, 8--The Nile not beautiful, 8--Size
of Egypt, 9--Fertility, 10--Geographical situation, 11, 12--The Nile, as
a means of communication, 12, 13, Phenomena of the inundation, 13,
14--Climate of Egypt. 14--Geology, 15--Flora and Fauna, 16, 17--General
monotony, 19--Exceptions, 20-22.

II.

THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT 23-45

Origin of the Egyptians, 23--Phenomena of their language and type,
24--Two marked varieties of physique. 25--Two types of character: the
melancholic, 25, 27: the gay, 27-29--Character of the Egyptian religion:
polytheism, 30, 31--Animal worship, 31-33--Worship of the monarch,
33--Osirid saga, 34, 35--Evil gods, 36--Local cults, 37--Esoteric
religion, 38; how reconciled with the popular belief, 39--Convict