thstanding the efforts made
by his widow to break the agreement, the treaty was kept, and on this
marriage Cyrene again formed part of the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt.

The black spot upon the character of Philadelphus, which all the blaze
of science and letters by which he was surrounded can not make us
overlook, is the death of two of his brothers: a son of Eurydice, who
might, perhaps, have thought that he was robbed of the throne of Egypt
by his younger brother, and who was unsuccessful in raising the island
of Cyprus in rebellion; and a younger brother, Argasus, who was also
charged with joining in a plot; both lost their lives by his orders.

It was only in the beginning of this reign, after Egypt had been for
more than fifty years under the rule of the Macedonians, that the evils
which often follow conquest were brought to an end. Before this reign
no Greek was ever known to have reached Elephantine and Syene or Aswan
since Herodotus made his hasty tour in the Thebaid; and during much of
the last reign no part of Upper Egypt was safe for a Greek traveller,
if he were alone, or if he quitted the highroad. The peasants, whose
feelings of hatred we can hardly wonder at, waylaid the stragglers, and
Egyptian-like as the Greeks said, or slave-like as it would be wiser to
say, often put them to death in cold blood. But a long course of good
government had at last quieted the whole country, and left room for
further improvements by Philadelphus.

Among other buildings, Philadelphus raised a temple in Alexandria to the
honour of his father and mother, and placed in it their statues, made of
ivory and gold, and ordered that they should be worshipped like the
gods and other kings of the country. He also built a temple to Ceres and
Proserpine, and then the Eleusinian mysteries were taught in Alexandria
to the few who were willing and worthy to be admitted. The southeast
quarter of the city in which this temple stood was called the Eleusinis;
and here the troop of maidens were to be seen carrying the sacred basket
through the streets, and singing hymns in honour of the goddess; while
they charged all profane persons, who met the procession, to keep
their eyes upon the ground, lest they should see the basket and the
priestesses, who were too pure for them to look upon.

In this reign was finished the lighthouse on the island of Pharos, as
a guide to ships when entering the harbour of Alexandria by night. The
navigation of th