Under the long reign of the great conqueror Harnesses II., the
Sesostris of the Greeks, as well as under his successor M e n e p h t a h ,
II. (possibly, as Lepsius considers, the Pharaoh of the Exodus), there
is a considerable falling off from the accomplished forms of the preceding
periods. Egyptian artists now indulge merely in external
grandeur, whilst expression and individuality are neglected. The
taste for colossal statuary of enormous size, which always announces
an inroad of barbarism into art, prevails in the time of the great
Conqueror. The artist no longer aims to create satisfaction, but
only to excite wonder in the heart of a spectator. The overcoming
of mechanical difficulties becomes his highest goal;—a certain sign
that engineer’s work is more appreciated by the people than artistic
merit. It is remarkable that the deterioration of style, which thenceforward
continues for many centuries, appears just under the reign
of R am e s s e s II., who brought Egypt into close Contact with Asiatic
nations through matrimonial alliances74 and by conquest: in confirmation
of which Asiatic infiltration, we perceive that, about his
time, several words, avowedly Shemitic, were introduced into the
body of the Egyptian language,75 and Asiatic divinities were imported
into the Egyptian pantheon; thus for instance A t e s h , or
Analha, the goddess of love, adored on the: banks of the Euphrates,
had temples dedicated to her at Thebes;76 Baal entered into Nilotic
theognosy; Astarte soon after had a P h oenician temple at
Memphis ; the goddess Kïoun-t, with her companion Renpo, appears
on steles.77 But this intercourse with foreign nations, and pharaonic
domination over a portion of Asia, exercised no good influence
and I designated them, in Types, proceed from emasculation ; otherwise, that, at some period
of his adult age, he became (not voluntarily like O r i g e n , who was imbued with Matthew
xix. 12) an Eunuch; which probable circumstance would also explain the condign vengeance
wreaked by him on the god Amun and its votaries, to whom he doubtless owed his
treble voice. My own experiences during 28 years in the Levant entirely corroborate the
view taken (loc. cit.) by Mariette r —
“ Nous avons, de notre temps même, quelques exemples de ces alliances. Dans ce cas,
les infortunés que la civilisation musulmane admet dans son sein à de si révoltantes conditions,
épousent des veuves, leurs compatriotes ou leurs alliées, aux enfants desquelles ils
transmettent les bénéfices des charges élevées que, malgré leur mutilation, il leur est permis
de remplir.* H est probable que si Akhenaten éprouva réellement le malheur dont ses traits
semblent révéler l’évidence, ce fut pendant les guerres d’Aménophis I II au milieu des
peuplades dû Sud. L’usage de mutiler les prisonniers et les blessés est, parmi ces peuplades,
aussi ancien que le monde.”— G. R. G.]
74 He married the daughter of his greatest enemy, the king of the Khetas, (Hittites ?),
Shemitic Asiatics. •
75 B i r c h , Crystal Palace Catalogue, p. 251.
76 D e R o u g e , Notice sommaire, p. 16.
77 L a n c i , Lettre à M. Prisse d’Avenues, Paris, 1847, pp. 17—20, Pl. II. : — and * P r i s s b ,
Continuation des Monuments de Champollion, 1848, fol.