. Reptiles and birds. A popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting. Birds; Reptiles. THE IBIS. Egyptians. They set it up in their temples as a divinity, and allowed it to multiply in their cities to such an extent that, if we can helieve Herodotus and Strabo, it actually impeded the traffic. Whoever killed an Ibis, even by accident, at once be- came the victim of a mad crowd, who stoned him pitilessly ; and the dead bird was embalmed with the greatest care, and then placed in earthen pots hermetically sealed, which were ranged in
. Reptiles and birds. A popular account of the various orders; with a description of the habits and economy of the most interesting. Birds; Reptiles. THE IBIS. Egyptians. They set it up in their temples as a divinity, and allowed it to multiply in their cities to such an extent that, if we can helieve Herodotus and Strabo, it actually impeded the traffic. Whoever killed an Ibis, even by accident, at once be- came the victim of a mad crowd, who stoned him pitilessly ; and the dead bird was embalmed with the greatest care, and then placed in earthen pots hermetically sealed, which were ranged in special catacombs. A large number of mummies of the Ibis have been found in the neeropoles of Thebes and Memphis, and several specimens of them are to be seen in the Museum of Natural History at Paris. The Egyptian worship of the Ibis is a certain and in- contestable fact. Less cer- tain, however, is the origin of these honours. Herodotus has given an explanation, obscure enough, it is true, but which, however, was adopted by his suc- cessors, and for a long time accepted by our savants. "The Arabians assure us," says Herodotus, "that the great veneration which the Egyptians render to the Ibis is caused by the gratitude which they feel towards them for ridding the country of minged ; According to tradition, these "winged serpents" came iato Egypt from Arabia at the commencement of spring. They always followed the same route, and invariably passed through a certain defile, where the Ibis waited for them and destroyed them. Herodotus adds that, having gone to Arabia to obtain some certain information about these "winged serpents," he saw, lying on the ground near the city of Buto, " an immense quantity of bones and vertebrae unmistakably those of the winged ; Since the time of Herodotus, a great many authors, probably on. Fig. 136. —Sacred Ibis Qbis religiosa. Cm.). \. Please note that these images are extracte
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecad, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectreptiles
