SIZING UP THE SPHINX, two French scientists

measure its great head in this sketch by the artist,

Vivant Devon, who accompanied Napoleon's
army. The French, like many earlier conquerors,
were awestruck by Egypt's architectural splen-
dours. Recalling the arrival of the French at Luxor
in 1799, Denon wrote, "The army, at the sight
of its scattered ruins, halted of itself and, by
one spontaneous impulse, grounded its arms."

flanked by a bodyguard and attended by ranks of
courticrs. Here he received ambassadors f r o m the
courts of Babylonia, Crete, the Hittitcs and other
nations; here he accepted rich tribute brought by
newly conquered chicftains in exotic dress.
Set apart f r o m the pageantry of state were the
pharaoh's private apartments—his robing chamber,
bedroom and bath, and the adjoining quarters of
the royal harem. Opening off the apartments was
the Balcony of Appearances. From this vantage-
point, on festive or solemn occasions, the monarch
displayed himself to crowds in a court below, and
f r o m it he bestowed gifts and decorations upon de-
serving retainers.
T h o u g h extremely remote in time, the civilization
of ancient Egypt is in some respects more intimately
k n o w n today than that of any other nation of an-
tiquity. The Old Testament is rich in references
to Egypt. In addition, history and literature written
by the Egyptians themselves have endured in the
stone of temples, monuments and tombs, and on
papyrus scrolls.
The fundamental conservatism of the ancient
Egyptians also helped to preserve the evidences of
their civilization. Although they were subjected to
alien rulers in their latter days and assaulted on
every hand by foreign influences, they clung tena-
ciously to the customs and beliefs of their past.
Thus many remains of their culture lasted virtual-
ly intact almost until m o d e r n times, to be observed
first-hand and recorded by writers of the rising
Western world.
The Egyptians themselves were responsible for
the preservation of many artifacts of their civiliza-
tion because of their distinctive attitude towards
death. Since they viewed death as an extension of
life, they prepared for it elaborately. Any man who
could afford a proper t o m b spared neither energy
nor expense to furnish it with the many things
thought indispensable for living in the hereafter.
Geography and climate assisted in the preservation
process. Most of the land bordering the Nile is des-
ert, receiving little or no rainfall. The remains of
the past, blanketed by dry sand, rested undisturbed
through the millennia. Even the most perishable
materials—delicate fabrics, articles of fragile wood,
papyrus—survived relatively unscathed.
As a result of these two factors—religion and cli-
mate—Egypt remained a huge and unique storehouse
of antiquity. Its artifacts span all the periods f r o m
primitive prehistory to the sophisticated and mag-
nificent age of the pharaohs. Scenes painted on the
walls of tombs f r o m dynastic days onwards faith-
fully depict many details of Egyptian life. Their
subjects range f r o m the lowly tasks of farmers and
servants and the happy games of children to the
p o m p and ceremony that attended gods and kings.
Small wooden models reproduce dwellings, ships,
soldiers in battle gear; butchers, bakers and brewers
in their shops. Although the t o m b furnishings—
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