According to Manetho's account, the temples to which the remains described by Denon belong, were erected by the first dynasties of the Pharaohs, or about 2,200 before Christ : these first structures, however, were destroyed by the inva ding shepherds, as before noticed. These usurpers were, in turn, driven out by the Pharaohs, who were restored to their throne about 2,000 years B.C., and thereupon set about rebuilding the temples, the remains of which are seen at this day.
The character of Egyptian architecture is that of massy grandeur and severe simplicity, as exhibited in the simple, well-defined outline, and in the colossal dimensions of their temples, and the immense blocks of material employed in their construction. The great object of the builders seems to have been, that the strength and durability portrayed in the pro ligious magnitude of their structures should serve to typify their own greatness. They did not consider, when they were erecting their temples, that they were building them for an age, but tin. eternity ; nor, comparatively speaking, were they deceived in the estimate of their works ; for now, after the lapse of three or four thousands of years, we have stone portions which are likely to last as many more centuries, unless wantonly destroyed by the hand of man. I fad, indeed, the buildings only to contend with the ravages of time, we should have many a structure perfect. where it is now a heap of ruins ; had it not been for the reckless destruction of these wonderful monuments by Cambyses, it is questionable whether they would not all have been entire at the present day, and certainly in a better state of preservation than many tnodern buildings which have not numbered as many tun years as the former have centuries. Even now', the carving, and, in some instances, paintings, to be seen in the ruins, are as fresh and bright as if only just executed.
The immense size of the stones employed, and the mecha nical art necessary for transporting them from the quarry, and afterwards raising theta to the required elevation in the temples, when building, cause these sacred structures to appear like works of superhuman labour. In every degree, they exhibited a solemn majesty of style, and imposing grandeur ; while austere simplicity, combined with order, uniformity, and regularity-, pervade the whole design.
This, with the solidity and massiveness of the parts, and the prodigious ditnensionsof the stones, imparted an air of the most impressive and awful sublimity on the mind of the beholder.
Belzoni, who visited Egypt, observes, in his enthusiastic manner, when entering this magnificent temple—" I was lust in a mass of colossal objects, every one of which was more than sufficient of itself to attract my attention ; seemed alone in the midst of all that is most sacred in the world ; a forest of enormous columns, adorned all round with beautiful figures, and various ornaments, from top to bottom ; the graceful shape of the lotus, which forms the bell-shaped capitals, and which is so well-proportioned to the columns ; the friezes, also adorned in every part with symbolical figures in low relief, representing battles, pro cessions, triumphs, priests, and sacrifices ; all relating to the ancient history of the country. The walls of the sanc tuary., usually funned of red porphyry granite ; the high portal, seen at a distance from the openings of this vast labs rinth of sacred edifices on each side of me, had such an effect upon my soul as to separate me in imagination from the rest of mortals, exalt me on high above all, and cause me to forget entirely the trifles and follies of life!" "It further appears," he says, on entering the city of Thebes, "like entering a city of giants, who, after a long conflict, were all destroyed. leaving ruins of their various temples as the only proof of their former existence." Champollion exclaims of Carnae, " These porticos must be the work of men one hundred feet in height ;" and Denon adds, "Such struc tures appear like dreams, or the works of giants !" Of the impression made upon the mind of Denon by these stupendous structures we have sufficient evidence in his work on the subject ; the few following passages have been selected from a multitude of a similar kind.
Of the portico of I lennopolis, he says, "This was the first monument which gave me an idea of the ancient Egyptian architeenure, the first stones that I had seen which had preserved their original distinction without being altered or deformed, and had remained there for four thousand years ; here I fancied I saw cngraven on every stone the words Posterity—Eternity. It gave an idea of the immense range
and high perfection to which the arts had arrived in this country. If a peasant should be drawn out from his mud cottage, and placed before such au edifice as this, would he not believe that there must exist a wide difference between .himself and the beings who were able to construct it, and, without any idea of architecture, would he not say, `This is the work of a god ; a man could not dare to do it, or inhabit it.'" This is his first impression, nor is his admiration less apparent at the close of his researches ; novelty may excite wonder and interest, but merit alone can maintain them. At a later period, the description of Tentyra calls forth the following remarks :— " Nothing is more simple and Letter put together than the few lines which compose this architecture. The Egyp tians borrowing nothing from the sty les of other nations, have here added no foreign ornament, no superfluity of materials : order and simplicity are the principles v. hich they have followed and they have carried them to sublimity. At this point they have stopped, and have attached so much importance to preserving the unity of design, that though they have loaded the walls of these edifices with bas-reliefs, inscriptions, historical and scientific representations, none of these rich additions intersects a single line of the general plan, all of which are religiously preserved unbroken ; the sumptuous decorations which appear to the eye when close to the building, all vanish at a short distance, and leave full to view the grand elements of architectural composition which are dictated by sound reason. It never rains in this climate, all that is wanted therefore is a covering of plat bands to give shade, but beyond this neither roof nor pen diment are added ; the plain-slope is the principle of solidity ; they have therefore adopted this form for every main sup porter, doubtless with the idea that stability is the first impression that architecture should give, and is an essential constituent of this art. With these people the idea of the immortality of the Deity is presented by the eternity of his temple ; these ornaments, which are always rational, always consistent, always significant, demonstrate a steadiness of principle, a taste founded upon truth and a deep train of reasoning ; and if we even hail not a full of the eminent height to which they had attained in the abstract sciences., their architecture alone, in the state in which we now find it, would give the observer of the present day a high opinion of the antiquity of this nation, of its cultivation, and the impressive gravity of its character." Of Carnac he at last exclaims—" One is fatigued to describe, and to read, and to think, of stall a conception; after having seen it, one can hardly credit the reality of the existence of so many structures collected in one spot. of their size, of the determined resolution (constance obstihee) whieh exacted their erection, and of the incalculable expense of such magnificence." Of' the testhetic character of Egyptian architecture, our author observes :—" These monuments, (Tentyra.) which imprinted on the mind the respect due to a sanctuary of the divinity, were the open volumes in which science was unfolded, morality dictated, and the useful arts promulgated ; everything spoke, every object was animated with the same mind. The opening of the doors, the angles the most private recess, still presented a lesson, a precept of admirable har mony; and the lightest ornament on the gravest feature of the architecture, revealed under living.images the abstract truths of astronomy." " Painting added a further charm to sculpture and archi tecture, and produced at the saute tune au agreeable richness, hick did not injure either the general simplicity or the gravityy of the whole. To all appearance, painting in Egypt was then only an auxiliary ornament, and not a particular art ; the sculpture was emblematical, and, if I may so call it. architectural.