. The eastern nations and Greece. to the present day no native prince has satupon the throne of the Pharaohs.^ Upon the extension of the power of the Macedonians and theGreeks over the East through the conquests of Alexander the Great(Chapter XXV), Egypt willingly accepted them as masters; and forthree centuries the valley was the seat of the renowned Grasco-Egyptian empire of the Ptolemies. The Romans finally annexed theregion to their all-absorbing empire (30 ). The mission of Egypt among the nations was fulfilled; it had litthe torch of civilization in ages inconceivably remote, and had
. The eastern nations and Greece. to the present day no native prince has satupon the throne of the Pharaohs.^ Upon the extension of the power of the Macedonians and theGreeks over the East through the conquests of Alexander the Great(Chapter XXV), Egypt willingly accepted them as masters; and forthree centuries the valley was the seat of the renowned Grasco-Egyptian empire of the Ptolemies. The Romans finally annexed theregion to their all-absorbing empire (30 ). The mission of Egypt among the nations was fulfilled; it had litthe torch of civilization in ages inconceivably remote, and had passedit on to other peoples of the West. II. THE CIVILIZATION 31. The Government. From first to last the government of ancientEgypt bore a sacred character. The Pharaoh was regarded as divine,as the son and representative of the sun-god. Three thousand yearsand more after Menes, Alexander the Great, after his conquest of the 1 See Herodotus, iv, 42. 2 See Ezek. xxx, 13 : There shall be no more a prince out of the land of §32] THE EGYPTIAN SYSTEM OF WRITING 35 country, thought to strengthen his position by causing himself to beproclaimed the son of the highest of the Egyptian gods (sect. 283). The authority of the divine Pharaoh was in theory absolute, but inpractice was limited by a nobility and a powerful priesthood.^ Thenation seemed almost to exist for the god-king. The construction ofhis pyramid tomb, or his vast rock sepulcher and its attached temple,laid under heavy tribute the labor and resources of the nation. Taxes were paid in kind, that is, in the products of field andworkshop, for the ancient Egyptians did not, until late in theirhistory, use coined money. All the salaries of officials and the wagesof workmen were paid in the provisions or articles received by thegovernment in payment of tribute or taxes. This system necessitated Fig. 23. Forms of Egyptian WritingThe top line is hieroglyphic script; the bottom line is the same text in hieratic the erectio
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