[848] Among those no doubt now at Rome.
[849] This description is illustrated by the remains of the great temple at Philæ, dedicated to Ammon Osiris.
[850] οὐδὲ γραφικόν. These words have been understood by some writers as signifying that there were no paintings, but Letronne has clearly shown that they do not convey this meaning.
[851] George (Syncellus, or companion of the Patriarch), a writer of the eighth century, and who had the reputation of being well versed in history, says that “Ptolemy Philadelphus collected all the writings of Greeks, Chaldæans, Egyptians, and Romans, and had such of them as were not Greek translated into that language, and deposited 100,000 volumes at Alexandria. M. Letronne is disposed to think that Hipparchus, Eratosthenes, Ptolemy, and others borrowed from these sources.
[852] “Sesoosis (Sesostris) raised two obelisks of hard stone, 120 cubits in height, on which were inscribed the greatness of his power, the amount of his revenue, and the number of the nations which he had conquered. At Memphis, in the temple of Vulcan, he erected monolithe images of himself and his wife, 30 cubits in height, and images of his sons, 20 cubits in height,” in memory of his escape from fire when his brother Armais attempted to burn him with his wife and children. Diod. Sic. i. 57.
[853] Probably the statue of Venus bore a crescent on the forehead.
[854] We have reason to be surprised that Strabo, who had seen the pyramids, has said so little concerning them. Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus enter into more particulars, and in general are more exact. Some idea of the immense labour required may be obtained from considerations such as follow:—
The base and height being given, we find for the solid contents—
| cubic yards. | |
| 1. of the great pyramid | 2,864,000 |
| 2. of Chephren | 2,056,000 |
| 3. of Mycerinus | 211,000 |
So that if a wall of (three metres) about 9-1/4 feet in height, and a foot in thickness, were built with the materials of these pyramids, we should have a wall—