Egypt and its monuments (1908) (14774699664)

Identifier: egyptitsmonument00hich (find matches)

Title: Egypt and its monuments

Year: 1908 (1900s)

Authors: Hichens, Robert Smythe, 1864-1950

Subjects:

Publisher: New York, Century Co.

Contributing Library: The Library of Congress

Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

Text Appearing Before Image:

hanges whenterror and sorrow come, I felt as if Hathors face ofstone had changed upon its column, looking towardthe Nile, in obedience to the anguish in her heart; Ifelt as if Denderah Avere a majestic house of grief. SoI must always think of it, dark, tragic, and superb.The Egyptians once believed that when death came toa man, the soul of him, which they called the Ba,winged its way to the gods, but that, moved by a sweetunselfishness, it returned sometime to his tomb, to givecomfort to the poor, deserted mummy. Upon the lidsof sarcophagi it is sometimes represented as a bird,flying down to, or resting upon, the mummy. As Iwent onward in the darkness, among the columns, overthe blocks of stone that form the pavements, seeingvaguely the sacred boats upon the walls, Horus andThoth, the kins^ before Osiris; as I mounted and de-scended with the priests to roof and floor, I longed,instead of the clamor of the bats, to hear the lightflutter of the soft wings of the Ba of Hathor, flying 60.

Text Appearing After Image:

^r> DENDERAH from Paradise to this sad temple of the desert to bringher comfort in the gloom. I thought of her as a poorwoman, suffering as only women can in loneliness. In the museum at Cairo there is the mummy of thelady Amanit, priestess of Hathor. She lies thereupon her back, with her thin body slightly turned to-ward the left side, as if in an effort to change her posi-tion. Her head is completely turned to the same side.Her mouth is wide open, showing all the teeth. Thetongue is lolling out. Upon the head the thin, brownhair makes a line above the little ear, and is minsjled atthe back of the head with false tresses. Round theneck is a mass of ornaments, of amulets and beads.The right arm and hand lie along the body. The ex-pression of the lady Amanit is very strange, andvery subtle; for it combines horror—which impliesactivity—with a profound, an impenetrable repose, farbeyond the reach of all disturbance. In the temple ofDenderah I fancied the lady Amanit ministering sa

egypt and its monuments 1908 historical images of dendera temple book illustrations images from internet archive library of congress nile egypt

1908

Library of Congress

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