, furniture, and
ornaments, which had been handed down from father to son, with the
crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. These were drawn in waggons through the
streets of Rome in triumph; and with them were shown in chains to the
wondering crowd Alexander Helius and Cleopatra Selene, the children of
Cleopatra and Antony.

Augustus threatened a severe punishment to the Alexandrians in the
building of a new capital. Only four miles from the Canopic or eastern
gate of Alexandria he laid out the plan of his new city of Meopolis, on
the spot where he had routed Mark Antony's forces. Here he began
several large temples, and removed to them the public sacrifices and the
priesthood from the temples of Alexandria. But the work was carried
no farther, and soon abandoned; and the only change made by it in
Alexandria was that the temple of Serapis and the other temples were for
a time deserted.

The rest of the world had long been used to see their finest works of
art carried away by their conquerors; and the Egyptians soon learned
that, if any of the monuments of which they were so justly proud were
to be left to them, it would only be because they were too heavy to be
moved by the Roman engineers. Beside many other smaller Egyptian works,
two of the large obelisks, which even now ornament Rome, were carried
away by Augustus, that of Thutmosis IV., which stands in the Piazza del
Popolo, and that of Psammetichus, on Monte Citorio.

Cornelius Gallus, the prefect of Egypt, seems either to have
misunderstood, or soon forgotten, the terms of his appointment. He set
up statues of himself in the cities of Egypt, and, copying the kings
of the country, he carved his name and deeds upon the pyramids. On this
Augustus recalled him, and he killed himself to avoid punishment. The
emperor's wish to check the tyranny of the prefects and tax-gatherers
was strongly marked in the case of the champion fighting-cock. The
Alexandrians bred these birds with great care, and eagerly watched their
battles in the theatre. A powerful cock, that had hitherto slain all
its rivals and always strutted over the table unconquered, had gained a
great name in the city; and this bird, Eros, a tax-gatherer, roasted
and ate. Augustus, on hearing of this insult to the people, sent for the
man, and, on his owning what he had done, ordered him to be crucified.
Three legions and nine cohorts were found force enough to keep this
great kingdom in quiet obedience to their new