e which Philometor built there
should be dedicated in the Greek language. Of the temples hitherto built
by the Ptolemies, in the Egyptian cities, every one seems to have had
the king's name and titles, and its dedication to the gods, carved on
its massive portico in hieroglyphics; but this was in a Greek city, and
it was dedicated to Isis and Serapis, on behalf of Philometor and his
queen, in a Greek inscription.

[Illustration: 227.jpg TEMPLE OF APOLLONOPOLIS]

Philometor also built a temple at Antseopolis to Antaeus, a god of whom
we know little, but that he gave his name to the city; and another to
Aroeris at Ombos; and in the same way he carved the dedications on the
porticoes in the Greek language. This custom became common after that
time, and proves both the lessened weight which the native Egyptians
bore in the state, and that the kings had forgotten the wise rules of
Ptolemy Soter, in regard to the religious feelings of the people. They
must have been greatly shocked by this use of foreign writing in the
place of the old characters of the country, which, from having been used
in the temples, even for ages beyond the reach of history, had at last
been called sacred. In the temple at Antoopolis we note a marked change
in the style of building. The screen in front of the great portico is
almost removed by having a doorway made in it between every pair of
columns.

It is to this reign, also, that we seem to owe the great temple at
Apollinopolis Magna, although it was not finished till one or two
reigns later. It is one of the largest and least ruined of the Egyptian
temples. Its front is formed of two huge square towers, with sloping
sides, between which is the narrow doorway, the only opening in its
massive walls. Through this the worshipper entered a spacious courtyard
or cloister, where he found shade from the sun under a covered walk on
either side. In front is the lofty portico with six large columns, the
entrance to the body of the building. This last is flat-roofed, and far
lower than the grand portico which hid it from the eyes of the crowd in
the courtyard. The staircases in the towers are narrow. The sacred rooms
within were small and dark, with only a glimmering flame here and there
before an altar, except when lighted up with a blaze of lamps on a
feast-day. As a castle it must have had great strength; from the top
and loopholes of the two towers, stones and darts might be hurled at the
enemy; and as