The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1892-06-29
The Nerald and Nelr5.
Contributed
What They Are, and What They Represent.
OUR EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS.


oUn EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS.
What They Are, and What They Represent.
still through Egypt's desert places
Flows tie lordly Nile,
From its bank the great stone faces
Gaze with patient SMILE.
Still the pyramids inperous
Pierce the cloudless skies,
And the Sphinx stares with impcri"us
Solemn. stony eyes.
LoNGt ELLow.
AS we have before our eyes daily
here in Newberry somewhat rude pic
lures, it is true, of the three most strik-
ing Egyptian monuments-the Pyra-
mids, Sphinx and the Obelisk, or
Egyptian Needle-it may interest some
Of your readers to know something
about them, and what they represent.
They constitute subject full OF inter-
est, about which the most dlstln-
guished writers have grown eloquent,
though We find them serving IN this
picture the very prosy purpose OF
yankee advertisement for brand OF
-four. What a descent from the sub
lime to the ridiculous; or rather, per-
haps, from the poetic and romantic to
the utilitarian. These are all three
leading monuments Of ancient Egyp-
tian civilization; some of them over
five thousand years old; and yet in a
wonderful state Of preservation. No
monuments built in our day, with. all
our boasted civilization and progress
over by-gone ages, are likely to last
half 80 long. The most wonderful
monuments of Greece and Rome,
though constructed at much later
period, are not nearly so we'll preserved.
The Parthenon at Athens and the Col
liseum at Rome are both in ruins, while
these Egyptian monuments are good
for another five thousand years.
The Pyramids were built as tombs or
monuments to the dead, and are found
in various places in Egypt. The most
famous are those in group with the
Sphinx near Cairo, and which we gen-
orally hear spoken Of and see written
about as "The Pyramids" But there
are many others. Of this group, the
largest, "the great Pyramid" is called
the Pyramid of Cheops, one Of the most
ancient kings Of Egypt, by whom it
was built to serve rs his tomb. 1t was
constructed, according to the best in
formation, about three thousand years
before the Christian era. 1t covers an
area OF twelve to thirteen acres of
ground. It was originally 4I9 feet
high, and is still 450. Until the Wash
ington monument was completed it
was the highest structure in existence,
higher than the dome of st. Peters or
the spire of Strasbourg cathedral. Near
the center of this massive structure,
reached by narrow winding passage,
are the sepulchral chambers, where
the embalmed bodies of the person or
persons for whom the monument was
constructed were deposited. In the
great Pyramid of Cheops Two OF these
sepulchral chambers have been dis
covered, the larger called the kings
chamber and the smaller the queens.
Not far from this great Pyramid is the
next largest, called "Cephren," who
was the brother and successor Of Che
ops.
But short distance from this group
Of pyramids is the famous Sphinx, Of
which I fear we get very poor idea
from our picture here in Newberry.
The Sphinx was fabulous monster Of
ancient mythology, supposed to have
been guilty Of many terrible deeds.
The Greeks pictured the Sphinx in
various ways, but usually with the
head and breast Of a woman and the
winged body of lion; sometimes also
with female face, the breast, feet and
claws of lion, the tail of g. serpent,
and the wings Of bird. This mon
ster is supposed in Greek mythology
TO have come from the renotest parts
of Ethiopia. The Egyptians repre-
sented the Sphinx somewhat differ
emily, with the head of man, wearing
beard and cap, and the body of a lion.
So it is represented in this famous
monument, though the cap and beard
are we'll nigh worn off by time and the
vandalism of travellers. 1t is carved
out of solid rock, the famous Egyptian
granite, on cliff overlooking the val
vey Of the Nile. To give an idea of its
dimensions l may state that it meas
ures 2S feet and 6 inches from the top
of the forehead to the chin. The total
length Of the body, which is in the
form of crouching lion, is l46 feet.
Across the shoulders it measures Sc
feet, and its paws are extended 50 feet.
There seems to be something pecu-
lisrly inspiring to writers in the sad
snd earnest countenance ofthe Sphinx.
"Eothen" describes this countenance
as follows:
Laugh and mock if you will at the
worship of stone idols, but mark ye
this, ye breakers Of images, that in one
regard the stone idol bears awful SEM
blance of Deity-unchangefulness in the
midst OF change-the same seeming
will and intent forever and ever mex
orable. Upon ancient dynasties Of
Ethiopian kings, upon Greek and
Roman, upon Arab and Ottoman con-
querors, upon Napoleon dreaming Of
an Eastern empire, upon battles and
pestilence, upon the ceaseless misery