Combs. The earliest form of comb known dates from what is usually called the "Pre-historic " period, and is made of ivory, with rude but vigorous carvings of animals on the back. Specimens of this period are very rare. The later kind is of wood, with teeth on both sides exactly like our modern tooth comb, except that the teeth are sometimes wider on the one side than on the other. The flat surface along the centre is frequently ornamented with carving or inlay.

Cones. See FUNERARY CONES.

Copper. The copper used by the Egyptians in the making of their bronze came chiefly from the Wady Magharah, in the peninsular of Sinai. Many traces of ancient mining operations have been found among the rocks of this district. (See BRONZE.)

Coptic. Roughly speaking Coptic is the modern survival of the ancient Egyptian language, and the knowledge of it is invaluable for the study of hieroglyphs. The Coptic characters are modifications of the Greek letters, to which six signs were added from the

пероцпотсірє ги пточнОТИ ТПОЛІС

Demotic, in order that those sounds which had no equivalent in Greek could be expressed. There were two dialects-called the "Boheiric," from Bohêra, a province in the Delta, and the "Sahidic," which last was the older and fuller.

Coptos. Greek name for Qebt, capital of the fifth nome of Upper Egypt, the modern Kuft. Chief deity, Amsu. It was one of the most important towns of ancient Egypt, as it was to this town that the trade from Kosseir, on the Red Sea, came.

Cosmetics. Perfumes to give an agreeable smell to the body were much in request, as also different kinds

of oils and unguents for rubbing into the skin. "Sweet oil on their heads and on their new head-dresses' was required on great festivals by all who could afford it. Cakes of ointment were placed on the heads of guests at feasts, and to be anointed with the oil of Qemi was considered an especial honour. Alabaster pots containing unguent have been found in the tombs. Black and green paint were also in use for the eyes.

Cow. This animal was sacred to Hathor, the goddess who is sometimes represented with a cow's ears, or even the whole head. The cow also represented Nut, the sky goddess (q.v.), and at times Isis is also connected with it. In the "Book of the Dead" seven mystic names are given to the divine cow, who is there the wife of the bull Osiris. (See MEHURT.)

Crocodile. In old times there were innumerable crocodiles in the Nile, and the Egyptians went out to hunt them. But there are no representations on tomb-walls of this hunting, possibly because of religious scruples, as the animal was sacred to Sebek (q.v.). The animal is often depicted in the water beneath boats, and some scenes show him seized by a hippopotamus.

Crocodilopolis. Anciently called Shed. It was the capital of a province of the Fayûm known as Ta she, "the land of the Lake," probably a reference to Lake Moeris.

Crown.

4.4.4. X. M... 4.2.4 are the crowns most frequently

seen on the monuments. The head-dress formed an important and significant part of the king's royal uniform, and many are the varieties of crown pictured

upon tomb and temple walls. The festival crown seems to have been the Pschent (No. 7), which was a combination of the white crown of Upper Egypt (No. 4) and the red crown of Lower Egypt (No. 6). On warlike occasions and even in times of peace, the king is seen wearing the Khepersh (No. 3) or war helmet. The "keeper of the king's diadem held a high position at court under the Old Empire; but the office was done away with during the New Empire. The gods are always depicted as wearing crowns, and many of them are most complicated, as Nos. 15 and 16; No. 18 is one which is frequently seen on kings as well as gods, it is known as the Atef crown. The queen's head-dress represented a vulture with his wings spread round her head in the act of protection.

Cubit. This measure of length was approximately 20.6 inches. It varied slightly, however, at different periods as employed by different architects.

Cusae. The Greek name for Kes, the capital of the fourteenth nome of Upper Egypt, the modern Kusiyeh. Chief deity, Hathor.

Cynocephalus (Aāni). The dog-headed ape, sacred to Thoth, under which form the god is sometimes represented. Thoth being a moon

god, the cynocephali are frequently represented with the lunar disk on their heads. The Hermopolitan ennead was sometimes represented by nine cynocephali, that is, Thoth and eight other deities; but sometimes the eight apes attend Amen. They are called "watchers for the dawn." Nine cynocephali were said to open the gates in the

66

Cynocephalus.

west for the setting sun, and each is then called by a name : Opener of the earth," "Soul of the earth," "Heart of the earth," etc. They are thus

represented in the illustrations to a work frequently inscribed on the walls of royal Theban tombs, relating to the passage of the sun during the hours of night, and called "The book of that which is in the underworld." the judgment scene represented in papyri of the "Book of the Dead," and on the walls at Dêr el Medineh, a cynocephalus is seated on the balance in the middle of the beam of the scales in which the heart of the deceased is being weighed, while Thoth stands by with palette and reed pen waiting to record the result. In this case the cynocephalus may represent equilibrium, which would naturally be a quality of the god Thoth.

D

Dance. Dancing as a spectacle was a favourite amusement of the old Egyptians, but it is improbable that it was a pastime, at least among the upper classes. The performers were usually women, and the dance would seem to have been more a rhythmic movement than anything involving much energy. Dancing women are usually seen in representations of feasts. They appear also in funeral processions, and in every case are accompanied by music and clapping of the hands.

There were apparently war dances and harvest dances performed by men, which were probably national dances. A picture on a tomb wall at Beni Hasan represents such a war dance.

Darius. See PERSIAN DYNASTY.

Decree of Canopus. A stela in the Cairo Museum on which is inscribed in hieroglyphs, demotic, and Greek the decree made at Canopus by the Egyptian priests, in council assembled, concerning the festivals which were to be held in honour of Ptolemy Euergetes and his queen Berenice. Mention is also made of the great benefits which this ruler had conferred upon the country, and a statement is added requiring that the tri-lingual copy of this inscription shall be set up in every temple in the country.

Delta. The flat alluvial land in Lower Egypt lying between the great arms of the Nile, immediately north of Memphis. This district from its likeness to the Greek letter A, received the name of the Delta.

Demons in the modern sense of the word-irredeemably evil spirits-figure largely in Graeco-Egyptian magical papyri in which the greater part of the spells are addressed to demons. Much importance was attached to the names of the demons and their right pronunciation. (See MAAT KHERU.)

Demotic. The name given to a cursive modification of the hieratic (q.v.) used for the vulgar dialect; it is not found until the XXVth Dynasty. It was introduced about B.C. 900 and was in use until the fourth century A.D. Composed of the same mixture of signs as the hieratic, it is extremely difficult to decipher, owing partly to

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by 11 — 31 74111

the similarity of signs which have separate hieratic equivalents, and partly to the fact that the writing is thick and careless. Like its parent the hieratic it reads from right to left.

Professor H. Brugsch has published a demotic grammar, but very little advancement is made in the study of