and Fourier. Among these young students were, Malus, Lancret, Jomard, Samuel Bernard, Corabæuf, Jollois, Devilliers, Dupuis, &c. To the last three we are indebted for the discovery of another Zodiac at Dendera, which is on a much grander scale than the former. Scarcely had M. M. Jollois and Devilliers heard, at Syout, of the discovery that had just been made of these monuments of Thebais than they formed the project of exploring them; they went to Qene, a modern town, two leagues from Dendera, situated on the opposite border of the Nile. General Belliard, who commanded there, approved of the object of their journey, and promised them an escort every time they should go to Tentyris; but these visits became so frequent that they were unwilling to make such constant use of this favour. A boatman, whom they bribed at a high price for the additional risk in trespassing on the General's orders, carried them to the western border of the Nile; whence they proceeded to the examination of the monuments they intended to take drawings of, in defiance of the heat and the pestilential vapours of a burning climate, and the privation of repose, so desirable near the torrid zone, to which may be added the fear of encountering the Arabs.

The last danger was perhaps the greatest, and it was to guarantee their safety in this particular, that General Belliard ordered them not to leave Qene without an escort. One of them, descending into a gloomy and encumbered hall, shuddered with horror at finding his feet resting on a dead body. By the light of his flambeau he discovered that a man, with his hands bound, had been strangled about two years since; he was most probably some unfortunate traveHer, who had been robbed and assassinated by the Arabs, and then precipitated into this vault to prevent all traces of the crime. This man had perished in this inhospitable clime a victim to the admiration he felt on bebolding this ancient monument! These sorrowful reflections did not cool the zeal of the young students, and it is to their exertions we owe the only faithful copies of the Egyptian Zodiac.

When they had penetrated through the rubbish that surrounded the temple, which did not promise any thing to indemnify them for the trouble of their journey, a new appearance suddenly presented itself; which we give in the words of M. Dubois-Aymé :-"I was slowly advancing, when, at the mo

ment of attaining the eminence, I raised my eyes and beheld six female heads of a colossal size. My imagi nation thus suddenly awakened did not permit the perception of any other object; I remained for an instant motionless with astonishment. I knew that I should find a temple in this place; this was all I had remembered; I had no anticipation of the dimensions and figures that were before me. When I recovered my surprise, I perceived on further advancing, the majestic facade of the temple, and the numerous ornaments that form its decoration. I cannot describe my feelings; I exclaimed aloud, 'How beautiful! and repeated it to my Qaouâs, as if they could understand me."

After passing a door, the effect of which is grand and imposing, the portico of the grand temple is discovered. The entablature is supported, sixty feet high, by the six colossal figures of Isis before mentioned. The beholder feels as if he were suddenly transported into a fairy region, and is struck with admiration.

All the walls, interior as well as exterior, according to the Egyptian cus tom, are ornamented and entirely covered with sculpture; even the columns are so decorated. These sculptures were formerly stained with different colours, and part of them is still in a good state of preservation. It was thus, undoubtedly, the Egyptians recorded their remarkable events: these impressions were their sacred language, the walls were their books. On these monuments were found two inscriptions, which led several persons to attribute them to the Greeks or the Romans.

The Gothic architecture, the elevated vaults arched on the outside, and the shape of the columns, resemble the Roman and the Grecian, rather than the Egyptian edifices. As the Greeks were unacquainted with hieroglyphical symbols, how could they have covered thousands of square feet of surface at an enormous expense? The whole of the edifice is constructed of a fine and compact freestone, and has survived the lapse of ages. The Zodiacs, of which we are treating, do not resemble the modern. The Egyptian Virgo has no wings; it is a female figure, holding an ear of corn in her hand, the presage of harvest.

The Sagittarius of the Greeks is not winged, neither has it two faces; and the Bull is without the posterior part of the body, &c. It is not possible to be deceived; no one of its parts bears the impression of the Grecian chissel.

The whole forms a mass of architecture made to triumph over time; and while these ancient monuments still exist, those built since the time of Alexander are buried in the dust.Besides, how are we to believe in the non-existence of these superb edifices, which Herodotus represents as very ancient even in his time? And is it possible that, unknown to the universe, a vanquished nation should receive from its conquerors, without their having deigned to speak of them, monuments, that in splendour aud extent surpass all that is most admirable elsewhere? The two inscriptions do not prove, that we are indebted to the Grecians and Romans for these temples; they are, simply, the dedications of flattery to formidable enslavers. What would be said in future ages to the men, who should affirm against historical evidence, that Napoleon constructed the Louvre, grounding his belief on the cyphers that are engraved on every part of the palace?

But this is too seriously discussing au opinion, that does not bear even the appearance of truth; and which, after all, decides nothing, with regard to the antiquity of the Egyptians. But supposing this Zodiac to have been invented by them, and afterwards imistated by the Greeks, of which the spheres of Eudoxus and Eratosthenes are examples, still the glory of the invention must be conceded to the Egyptians, and the distant period to which we are compelled to recur, in order to interpret the astronomical facts they represent, is an additional proof of their high antiquity.

The whole of the buildings consist of several interior halls. A staircase, that is impassable on account of the fallen rubbish, leads to the terrace, on which has been built, by the Arabs, a village, consisting of a few miserable huts; the terrace can only be ascended by means of a steep eminence, 'composed of heaped-up rubbish. The village was built in this asylum, because the horses of the Bedouins cannot climb the dangerous path.

One of the Zodiacs is placed beneath the portico. It is carved on the sides of the ceiling; six of the signs commencing with the Lion, are on a fillet, and appear retiring from the temple; while the other six, on a parallel fillet, seem entering; so that these twelve signs, in the order they are represented on the Zodiac, and a crowd of other emblematic devices that are mixed with them, form a grand procession. We are indebted to Mr. Fourier for an ingeni.

ous remark, which serves to explain the whole scene, which represents the ap pearance of the heavens at the heliacal rising of Sirius, the Sun being in the Constellation of Cancer. The symbolical figures are evidently intended to represent the characteristic epoch of the inundation of the Nile; this pheno menon, which occurs annually, shortly after the Summer Solstice, is the cause of the great fecundity of the soil; in every age, the inhabitants have celebrated its return by festivities; and it is one of the events represented by the Zodiac.

On the terrace of the temple is a pavillion, with three divisions: the first is without a roof, and leads into the second, which has two windows, and thence into the third, which receives light from the door only; all the walls are covered with beautifully carved figures; the painting has yielded to the influence of time, or has been destroyed by the smoke of the flambeaus used by travellers in their researches. It is in the middle division that the Circular Zodiac is situated. The ceiling of this hall is divided into two equal parts, by a figure, carved in a kind of cylindrical niche, and its feet are in the very finest style of sculpture. Along each side runs a border of hieroglyphics; and in the left space is the Zodiac we are going to describe, an Engraving of which we have inserted in the present Number.

A medallion, covered with sculpture, is supported by twelve figures, each in the attitude most appropriate to the action represented; a circular band or border, on which hieroglyphics are engraved, entirely surrounds the medallion; on its circumference, is a row of figures, with their heads turned towards the centre; they are all of the same height, and form a circular procession, about five feet in diameter. In the interior of this circle are a great number of symbolical devices, the greater portion of which are representations of the Constellations, the most conspicuous being the twelve signs of the Zodiac, with precisely the same forms and attributes as they are represented on the Great Zodiac of the Portico. And as the ranging them in a circle would prevent the possibility of distinguishing which of the signs took the lead, the artist, in order to shew that the Lion is the conductor or chief of the procession, has turned the figures of the Twins and of Cancer, that bring up the rear, so as to draw them nearer the centre. Thus, the curve of the twelve Constellations is very nearly

spiral, with a single revolution, and the Cancer and the Lion are placed on the same radius of this circumference.

It is obvious, that the signs of the Zodiac in this representation are intended as a fac-simile of those carved on the sides of the portico; it is, also, a procession, in which each figure faces the back of the preceding; and this order is equally observed with the unknown figures that are on the Zodiac. They are so placed, that the Sun performs his revolution, commencing with the Lion, and terminating with the Cancer.

In the two Zodiacs of Dendera, the Constellations do not bear any relation to the size and distance observed in the celestial hemisphere. It is evident, that the astronomical figures, here represented, are not intended for images of the heavens: the Circular Zodiac is not a planisphere, though that name has been frequently given to it. But it is not the less certain, that the subjects transmitted to posterity, by the aid of the chissel, are astronomical, and that the Zodiacal Constellations are of Egyptian invention: and that, at Dendera, the Lion is the sign that in ancient times presided in the heavens at the commencement of the inundation of the Nile. Among the twelve large figures, that appear to sustain the Zodiac on the outside of the medallion, are two emblems, that greatly assimilate to the beams of a balance. They are placed at the opposite extremities of a diameter, that pass from the Scorpion to the Bull. These emblems are evidently intended to indicate the two signs of the Equinox. In the same contour there are two hieroglyphical devices, also, opposite to each other, that [square with a diameter extending from the Lion to the Water-bearer, which were then the Solstitical signs. These four emblems are the only ones carved in the spaces left between the twelve large figures. The position in which they are placed is too remarkable to leave a doubt, as to the intention of the artist, which was to indicate the Solstices and the Equinoxes. Though the medallion is not a planisphere, all the signs, that characterise the state of the heavens at the period it was constructed, are there assembled.

7

It was exceedingly difficult to copy on the spot the multitude of figures represented in these two compartments. To say nothing of the danger of the enterprise, it was necessary to remain in a very irksome position, to observe cafefully all the proportions of

size and distance between unintelligible. and fantastical figures, and to work only during those hours, that a proper light was thrown upon the sculpture. We ought not, therefore, to reproach M. M. Denon and Hamilton with the frequent misrepresentations found in their copies; but we must pay our tribute of applause to M. M. Jollois and Devilliers, whose designs were executed with extreme fidelity, which is the more praiseworthy, because, while they were occupied in this dangerous undertaking, they could have no idea, that France would one day possess these very Zodiacs, and that their works would be tried by so rigorous a test.

The antiquity of this monument, or rather of the time to which we must refer to find that state of the heavens represented in these works, is very easily ascertained. We know that the changes produced in the celestial ap pearances of the heliacal risings of Sirius are the effects of the precession of the equinoxes. We must go back, at least eight hundred years, perhaps more, before our era, to find the celes tial phenomena: represented in these monuments. We are led by these ob servations to a most remarkable histo rical fact; that Egypt, thirty centuries ago, was in the very highest state of prosperity, and that the arts and sciences were there cultivated with the greatest success. But the temples of Esné prove a still greater antiquity.

The circular Zodiac of Dendera is, as has been before mentioned, carved in a kind of compact freestone, the ciel ing of the hall is composed of three great stones, so admirably cemented together, that the places where they were joined were not discovered until measures were commenced to remove them. One of these stones bears almost the whole of the zodiacal medal lion, besides eight of the twelve large figures which seem to support it: the whole forms a long square, about twelve feet in length, and six in breadth; the second stone, which occupies the middle of the cjeling, is of finer and more dense free-stone, it contains the res mainder of the Zodiac and the four other large figures that sustain that part, the grain of the stone being closer, the sculpture is more delicate and better preserved. The same stone, when it formed part of the cieling, contained also the beautiful figure of Isis, that reaches along the small axis of the hall, and a part of the hierogly phical figures of the remainder of the cieling that is covered by the third stone. These three stones are of very

nearly the same dimensions, three feet in thickness, and each of them weigh ing about forty thousand pounds weight. France is actually in possession of the first, and part of the second stone, containing all the Zodiac, the twelve large figures that appear to attach it to the cieling, and the hieroglyphics that belong to them.

M. Lelorrain furnished by M. Saulnier with saws and other engines and instruments, made at Paris expressly for the occasion, was employed by him to convey the circular Zodiac, as uninjured as possible, from Egypt into France, his letters of recommendation procured him an introduction to the Pacha, from whom he obtained a firman, and commenced his undertaking with the utmost ardour. He laboured to reduce the thickness of the stones by about a foot, and sawed off the piece he wished to possess by sacrificing some ornaments of very little importance. He had intended to possess himself of the whole of the cieling, but the fear of failing in his principal object, if he attempted the execution of so grand a project, led him to secure the Zodiac: his prey would certainly have escaped him, but for this precaution. An attempt to convey it from the terrace of the temple by means of the stair-case, which was rendered impassable by the fallen rubbish, would have been useless; M. Lelorrain therefore caused it to be drawn on a machine down a steep declivity, which is used instead of a road to reach the terrace. The larger stone of the two is about eight feet long, and six wide; the other is only half the width, but about the same length. The whole is about six thousand pounds weight.

Mr. Salt, the English Consul-general in Egypt, who conceived that he alone had a right to any part of the monuments at Dendera, made use of his diplomatic authority to seize the prize, that had nearly cost M. Lelorrain his life; for his health had been unequal to the heat of the season and the labonr necessary to ensure the success of his enterprize. The Pacha of Egypt was constituted judge of the dispute by the complaining parties, and he decided in M. Lelorrain's favour. The Pacha was astonished that Europeans should so warmly dispute for that which is a matter of perfect indifference to the inhabitants of Egypt, and he declared, laughingly, that if the stones of his country were often to cause such high disputes, he must beg of the Porte to send him an assistant to terminate them. It is very probable that M. Lelorrain

would have totally failed in his undertaking had he persisted in his attempt of carrying away the whole cieling. While he was at work an Anglo-American Envoy arrived at the temple as a virtuoso; M. Lelorrain naturally presumed that this person would not fail to speak of what he had seen on his arrival at Cairo, and this intimation would have proved a great impediment to his success. He therefore only se cured the Zodiac, and the event justi fied his caution. The remainder of the eieling might surely be obtained; and as the King of France has purchased this interesting remain of antiquity, and has placed it in the Louvre, where it is fixed for the benefit of the public, surely he will not fail to possess him self of every thing appertaining to this extraordinary specimen of the prospe rity of ancient Egypt.

The Temple of Dendera was also vi sited by that enterprizing traveller, M. Belzoni, and we will give his interesting account in his own words.

"On the 18th July, 1816, at night, we arrived at Dendera.

"On the 19th, early in the morning, my curiosity was at a high pitch, the noted temple of Tentyra being the only thought I had in my head. Accordingly we set off on asses, as usual, and proceeded to the ruins, nearly two miles from the Nile. Little could be seen of the temple, till we came near to it, as it is surrounded by high mounds of rubbish of the old Tentyra. On our arriving before it, I was for some time at a loss to know where I should begin my examination. The numerous objects before me, all equally attractive, left me for a while in a state of suspense and astonishment. The enormous masses of stone employed in the edifice are so well disposed, that the eye dis covers the most just proportion every? where. The majestic appearance of its construction, the variety of its ornaments, and, above all, the singu larity of its preservation, had such au* effect on me, that I seated myself on the ground, and for a considerable time was lost in admiration. It is ther first Egyptian temple the traveller sees 3 on ascending the Nile, and it is certainly the most magnificent. It has an advantage over most others, from the good state of preservation it is in.

"This is the cabinet of the Egyptian arts, the product of study for many centuries, and it was here that Denon thought himself in the sanctuary of the arts and sciences. The front is adorned with a beautiful cornice, and

a frieze covered with figures and hieroglyphics; over the centre of which the winged globe is predominant, and the two sides are embellished with compartments of sacrifices and offerings. The columns that form the portico are twenty-four in number, divided into four rows, including those in the front. On entering the gate the scene changes, and requires more minute observation. The quadrangular form of the capitals first strikes the eye. At each side of the square there is a colossal head of the goddess Isis with cows' ears. There is not one of these heads but is much mutilated, particularly those on the columns in the front of the temple facing the outside: but notwithstanding this disadvantage, and the flatness of their form, there is a simplicity in their countenance that approaches to a smile. The shafts of the columns are covered with hieroglyphics and figures, which are in basso relievo, as are all the figures in the front and lateral walls. The front of the doorway, which is in a straight line with the entrance and the sanctuary, is richly adorned with figures of smaller size than the rest of the portico.

The ceiling contains the Zodiac,inclosed by two long female figures, which extend from one side to the other of it. The walls are divided into several square compartments, each containing figures representing deities and priests in the act of offering or immolating victims. On all the walls, columns, ceiling, or architraves, there is no where a space of two feet, that is not covered with some figures of human beings, animals, plants, emblems of agriculture or of religious ceremony. Wherever the eyes turn, wherever the attention is fixed, every thing inspires respect and venerarion, heightened by the solitary situation of this temple, which adds to the attraction of these splendid recesses. The inner apartments are much the same as the portico, all covered with figures in basso relievo, to which the light enters through small holes in the walls: the sanctuary itself is quite dark. In the corner of it I found the door, which leads to the roof by a staircase,

the walls of which are also covered with figures in basso relievo. On the top of the temple the Arabs had built a village, I suppose to be the more elevated, and exposed to the air; bat it is all in ruins, as no one now lives there. From the top I descended into some apartments on the east side of the temple. There I saw the famous Zodiac on the ceiling. The circular form of this Zodiac led me to suppose, in some measure, that this temple was built at a later period than the rest, as nothing like it is seen any where else. In the front of the edifice there is a propy læon, not inferior to the works in the temple; and, though partly fallen, it still shows its ancient grandeur. On the left, going from the portico, there is a small temple surrounded by columns. In the inside is a figure of Isis sitting with Orus in her lap, and other female figures, each with a child in her arms, are observable. The capitals of the columns are adorned with the figure of Typhon. The gallery or portico, that surrounds the temple, is filled up with rubbish to a great height, and walls of unburnt bricks have been raised from one column to another. Farther on, in a right line with the propylæon, are the remains of an hypæethral temple, which form a square of twelve columns, connected with each other by a wall, except at the door-way, which fronts the propylæon. The eastern wall of the great temple is richly adorned with figures in intaglio relevato : they are perfectly finished: the female figures are about four feet high, disposed in different compartments. Behind the temple is a small Egyptian building, quite detached from the large edifice; and from its construction I would venture to say, that it was the habitation of the priests. At some distance from the great temple are the foundations of another, not so large as the first. The propylæon is still standing in good preservation. My principal object did not permit me to stay here any longer; but I do not know that I ever quitted a place with so much regret and so much wish to remain."