XV

THE Egyptians, who would deem it sacrilege to taste an onion or a leek, have in our enlightened times been guilty of barbarity which equals that of the monsters of fable (1-32). A festival at Ombi was lately interrupted by the Tentyrites : one of whom, after his party had been put to flight, was overtaken, torn in pieces and devoured (33-92). Other nations are said to have fed on the flesh of man, but only when driven to it by famine: rage and hate move the Egyptians to crimes which others only commit in the madness of despair (93-131). Man is made for society and sympathy; yet man has been known to do what brute beasts will not do, to prey upon his own kind (131—174).

The poet seems to have been led to choose this subject partly by the hatred and contempt which Romans, after the battle of Actium, entertained for the Egyptians (cf. 1 26. 130. IV 24. Aen. VIII 685-713. Hor. c. 1 37. epod. 9. Prop. IV =III II 29-58. Ov. m. xv 826-8. Luc. VIII 541-550. x 58-80. anth. lat. 462 R), and partly by his own observation of their manners (45 quantum ipse notavi).

With the whole satire compare [Quintil.] decl. XII ‘pasti cadaveris' (verses 20, 102, 122, with the notes).

On the Egyptian worship cf. XII 28 n. XIII 93 n. exodus 8 26. wisdom II 15. 12 24 and 27. Rom. I 23 Wetstein. Hdt. II. Manetho in Müller's fragm. hist. II. Cic. n. d. 1 §§

81 82. 101. DS. 1 11—26. 83-90. Strabo p. 803. Plut. Is. et Os. ed. Parthey esp. 71-75. Iamblichus de mysteriis Aegyptiacis recogn. Parthey Berl. 1857. See R. S. Poole in dict. Bible Egypt.'

VM. 1 2 3 the senate commands the temples of Isis and Serapis to be demolished; no workmen daring to touch them L. Aemilius Paulus the consul (either 182 or 168 B. C.) lays the axe to the doors. Tert. apol. 6 the consuls Piso and Gabinius B. C. 58 overthrow the altars of Serapis and Isis and Arpocrates cum suo cynocephalo (Anubis). id. ad nat. I 10. Serv. Aen. VIII 698 Varro dedignatur Alexandrinos deos Romae coli. DCass. XL 47 3 calls the decree of the senate B. C. 53 for the destruction of temples of Serapis and Isis a répas. ib. XLII 26

§ 2 B.C. 48 they were again destroyed in consequence of prodigies; ib. XLVII 15 § 4 B.C. 43 the triumvirs built the first temple of Isis for public worship, the first solemn state recognition of it.

DCass. Liv 6 § 6 B. C. 2r of Augustus τά τε ἱερὰ τὰ Αἰγύπτια ἐπεσιόντα αὖθις ἐς τὸ ἄστυ ἀνέστειλεν, ἀπειπὼν μηδένα μηδ ̓ ἐν τῷ προαστείῳ αὐτὰ ἐντὸς ὀγδόου ἡμισταδίου ποιεῖν. Tac. ann. II 85 A.D. 19 actum et de sacris Aegyptiis Iudaicisque pellendis. Suet. Tib. 36 externas caerimonias, Aegyptios Iudaicosque ritus compescuit, coactis qui superstitione ea tenebantur religiosas vestes cum instrumento omni comburere. Ios. ant. XVIII 3 8 4 2 Roman matron debauched in the temple of Isis by a lover disguised as Anubis. Tiberius crucified the priests, cast the statue into the Tiber, and overthrew the temple.

Of the emperors, Otho, Domitian, Commodus, Caracalla, Alexander Severus, are known as devotees of Isis.

Luc. x 17. 175-191 represents curiosity as a main motive for visiting Egypt (177-8 vulgique edissere mores | et ritus formasque deum).

1-32 the Egyptians regard it as a sin to eat an onion or a leek, but feed without abhorrence on human flesh of all marvellous stories told by Ulixes to the Phaeacians none are so strange as those of Cyclopes and Laestrygones, but deeds of horror not less atrocious have been witnessed in Egypt, not in a fabulous antiquity, but in our own civilised days.

1 VOLUSI BITHYNICE one Bithynicus in Mart. VI 50 5.

2 AEGYPTUS PORTENTA COLAT Cypr. quod idola di non sint 4 Aegyptia portenta, non numina. Cic. Tusc. v § 78 Aegyptiorum morem quis ignorat? quorum inbutae mentes pravitatis erroribus quamvis carnificinam prius subierint, quam ibim aut aspidem aut faelem aut canem aut crocodilum violent, quorum etiamsi imprudentes quippiam fecerint, poenam nullam recusent.

PORTENTA Aen. VIII 698 omnigenumque deum monstra et latrator Anubis.

CROCODILON ADORAT Hdt. II 68 description of the crocodile. 7o its capture. 69 § 1 τοῖσι μὲν δὴ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἱροί εἰσι οἱ κροκόδειλοι, τοῖσι δ ̓ οὔ, ἀλλ ̓ ἅτε πολεμίους περιέπουσι. οἱ δὲ περί τε Θήβας καὶ τὴν Μοίριος λίμνην οἰκέοντες καὶ κάρτα ἥγηνται αὐτοὺς εἶναι ἱρούς. § 2 ἐκ πάντων δὲ ἕνα ἑκάτεροι τρέφουσι κροκόδειλον, δεδιδαγμένον εἶναι χειροήθεα, ἀρτήματά τε λίθινα χυτὰ καὶ χρύσεα ἐς τὰ ὦτα ἐνθέντες καὶ ἀμφιδέας περὶ τοὺς προσθίους πόδας, καὶ σίτια ἀποτακτὰ διδόντες καὶ ἱρήϊα, καὶ περιέποντες ὡς κάλλιστα ζώοντας· ἀποθανόντας δὲ ταριχεύοντες θάπτουσι ἐν ἱρῇσι θήκῃσι. § 3 οἱ δὲ περὶ Ελεφαντίνην πόλιν οἰκέοντες καὶ ἐσθίουσι αὐτούς, οὐκ ἡγεόμενοι ἱροὺς εἶναι. Bodies of

men killed by crocodiles sacred ib. 90. crocodiles buried in the vaults of the labyrinth ib. 148. Plut. Is. et Os. 50 the Apollinopolitans on a set day hunted and ate the .crocodile. Strabo 817 city of crocodiles Tμŵσa Tò Onplov: city of Apollo Tоλeμοûσα тоîs Kрoкodelλols. 811 Arsinoe, formerly 'city of crocodiles;' for in this nome they exceedingly honour the crocodile, and in this lake they have a sacred one, fed by himself, which is tame to the priests; it is called Suchos: it is fed with bread, meat and wine, continually brought by strangers who come to the sight. 812 for instance our host, a man of distinction, as he shewed us the curiosities of the place (uvorajwyŵr huâs), went with us to the lake, taking from dinner a cake and roast meat and jug of honey-and-water (μeλikpáтov). We found the creature lying on the brink. The priests went up to it, and some opened its mouth, while one put in the cake, then the meat, and then poured in the μeλiкρaтov. The crocodile then plunged into the lake and hastened to the other side. When another visitor came, likewise bearing an offering, the priests ran round and came up to it and again in like manner presented the gifts. Steph. Byz. Acóσπolis tame crocodiles worshipt in caves and tanks. Wilkinson anc. Eg. I ser. III 76 at Maabdeh, opposite the modern town of Manfaloot, are extensive grottoes, cut far into the limestone mountain, where numerous crocodile mummies have been found, perfectly preserved and evidently embalmed with great care.'

3 PAVET veretur.

SATURAM SERPENTIBUS IBIN Hdt. II 75 § 2 λόγος δέ ἐστι ἅμα τῷ ἔαρι πτερωτοὺς ὄφις ἐκ τῆς ̓Αραβίης πέτεσθαι ἐπ' Αἰγύπτου, τὰς δὲ ἴβις τὰς ὄρνιθας ἀπαντώσας ἐς τὴν ἐσβολὴν ταύτης τῆς χώρης οὐ παριέναι τοὺς ὄφις, ἀλλὰ κατακτείνειν. § 3 καὶ τὴν ἰβιν διὰ τοῦτο τὸ ἔργον τετιμῆσθαι λέγουσι Αράβιοι μεγάλως πρὸς Αἰγυπτίων· ὁμολογέουσι δὲ καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι διὰ ταῦτα τιμᾶν τοὺς ὄρνιθας τούτους. 76 § Ι εἶδος δὲ τῆς μὲν ἔβιος τόδε μέλαινα δεινῶς πᾶσα, σκέλεα δὲ φορέει γεράνου, πρόσωπον δὲ ἐς τὰ μάλιστα ἐπίγρυπον, μέγαθος ὅσον κρέξ. § 2 an account of the tame ibis. The voluntary slaughter of any sacred animal was punished by death, the involuntary by a fine; but even the involuntary slaughter of ibis or falcon entailed death without hope of reprieve (ib. 65 § 5). Cic. n. d. I § 10 ibes maximam vim serpentium conficiunt: avertunt pestem ab Aegypto, cum volucres angues ex vastitate Libyae vento Africo invectas interficiunt atque consumunt. Mummies in Thebes, Abydus, Hermopolis,

Memphis.

4 CERCOPITHECI a long-tailed ape. Mart. XIV 2022 'simius' si mihi cauda foret, cercopithecus eram. Other apes wor

shipt: the xuvoKépaλos in Hermopolis, the knπos in Babylon at Memphis Strabo 812. ib. 699 ζῷον ἀνθρωπονουστότατον. He describes the mode of capture. ib. 703 larger than the biggest dog, white except in face, which is black, with a tail more than two cubits in length; very tame, not malicious or thievish.

5 DIMIDIO MAGICAE RESONANT UBI MEMNONE CHORDAE Memnon in the Aethiopis of Arctinus, son of Aurora and Tithonus, slain by Achilles before Troy; he afterwards received the gift of immortality. By the Alexandrine writers this legend was connected with the statue of the king Amunoph III. Pausan. I 42 § 2 ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐ Μέμνονα οἱ Θηβαῖοι λέγουσι, Φαμένωφα δὲ εἶναι τῶν ἐγχωρίων, οὗ τοῦτο τὸ ἄγαλμα ἦν. cf. CIG 4727 ἔκλυον αὐδήσαντος ἐγὼ 'πὺ λίθω Βάλβιλλα | φώνας τᾶς θείας Μέμνονος ἢ Φαμένωθ. The first writer who speaks of the musical sound is Strabo 816, who himself heard it at dawn, but does not call the statue Memnon's. He saw B.C. 24 two colossal statues, one erect, the other broken from its pedestal by an earthquake (that recorded by Eus. a. u. c. 728 B.C. 26 Thebae Aegypti usque ad solum dirutae); it was from the portion of the latter which remained on the base that the sound (ψόφος ὡς ἂν πληγῆς où μeɣáλns) was believed to proceed. He was there with Aelius Gallus and speaks with great caution. Upon the statue may now be traced the names of more than a hundred visitors, including Hadrian and Sabina, the earliest of which inscriptions belong to A. D. 65, the latest to A.D. 196; Hadrian and Sabina paid a long visit A.D. 130; his record is of imperial simplicity (CIG 4728) IMPERAT· ÁI PIANOC. The inscriptions, some in verse, are in Gr. or Lat., except one which is supposed to be Phoenician; they generally give the name of the witness, the time of day (dawn, as befits the son of Aurora CIG 4747 weLV, εἰναλίη Θέτι, Μέμνονα καὶ μέγα φωνεῖν | μάνθανε μητρῴῃ λαμтádi Оаλтóuevov) and the year. When the statue was restored (probably by Septimus Severus, who carefully inspected it Spartian. 17) it ceased to be vocal. Sir D. Brewster 'ascribed these sounds to the transmission of rarified air through the crevices of a sonorous stone ...the sudden change of temperature which takes place at the rising of the sun.' The same effect of the morning heat on the chilled air in rock crevices was noticed by Humboldt on the banks of the Oronooko. A very large number of the inscriptions belong to Hadrian's reign, and so does our satire. see CIG 4719-4761. CIL III 30-66.

DIMIDIO MEMNONE 57. VIII 4 n. Curios iam dimidios. cf. III 219 mediam. Cicero, having seen a half-length of his brother Quintus painted ingentibus lineamentis (Macr. II 3 § 4) said frater meus dimidius maior est quam totus.

6 VETUS THEBE CENTUM IACET OBRUTA PORTIS II. IX 381-3 Θήβας | Αἰγυπτίας ὅθι πλεῖστα δόμοις ἐν κτήματα κεῖται, αἴθ ̓ ἑκατόμπυλοί εἰσι.

OBRUTA Strabo 815-6 in his time traces (xvn) of its greatness were shewn to a length of 80 stadia. νυνὶ δὲ κωμηδὸν συνοικεῖται. Inscriptions on the statue of Memnon (CIG 4730. 4741. 4746. 4749) falsely ascribe to Cambyses [B.C. 525] the ruin of the statue, asserting that when complete it spoke articulate words. Germanicus A.D. 19 visited Tac. an. 11 60 61 veterum Thebarum magna vestigia and the statue of Memnon.

7 in one place cats, in another fish from the Nile, in another hounds are worshipt, while the goddess of the chase, Diana, is neglected.

AELUROS Evagr. VI 23 § 5 αἴλουρον...κάτταν ἡ συνήθεια Méye. The cat was unknown to Greeks and Romans; no skeleton has been found in Pompeii; in the fable of the town and country mouse men and dogs, not cats, are the enemies feared. faelis, though used to represent alλoupos, is rather a weasel. Mummies of cats and dogs are found together at Thebes; numerous mummies in the 'cave of Artemis' Scheckh Hassan. Hdt. 11 66 § 1 number of cats kept down by two causes: the males kill the young. § 2 the cats, in spite of all precautions, leap into the flames when there is a fire. § 3 ἐν ὁτέοισι δ ̓ ἂν οἰκίοισι αἰέλουρος ἀποθάνῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτομάτου, οἱ ἐνοικέοντες πάντες ξυρέονται τὰς ὀφρὺς μούνας, παρ' ὁτέοισι δ ̓ ἂν κύων, πᾶν τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὴν κεφαλήν. 67 § ι ἀπάγονται δὲ οἱ αἰέλουροι ἀποθανόντες ἐς ἱρὰς στέγας, ἔνθα θάπτονται ταριχευθέντες, ἐν Βουβάστι πόλι· τὰς δὲ κύνας ἐν τῇ ἑωυτῶν ἕκαστοι πόλι θάπτουσι ἐν ἱρῇσι Onkyo. In fact mummies both of cats and dogs are found everywhere. Timokles in Ath. 300 πŵs åv μèv ovv owσelev ißis n κύων; | ὅπου γὰρ εἰς τοὺς ὁμολογουμένους θεοὺς | ἀσεβοῦντες οὐ διδόασιν εὐθέως δίκην, | τίν ̓ αἰελούρου βωμὸς ἐπιτρίψειεν ἄν; Cic. n. d. 1 § 81 firmiores enim videas apud eos [Egyptians and Syrians] opiniones esse de bestiis quibusdam quam apud nos de sanctissimis templis et simulacris deorum. § 82 many of the most sacred fanes have been plundered by Romans; at vero ne fando quidem auditum est crocodilum aut ibim aut faelem violatum ab Aegyptio. § 101 possum de ichneumonum utilitate, de crocodilorum, de faelium dicere. DS. 1 83 § 1 names among animals worshipt not only in life but after death the cat, the dog, the ibis, the crocodile. § 2 endowments in land for maintaining the service; vows for the recovery of their children paid in gold and silver to the keepers of the sacred animals [cf. Hdt. II 65 §§ 3 4]. § 3 cats and ichneumons summoned by a whistle and fed with bread sopt in milk or with pieces of fish. § 4 this service is performed with great state; the