rians, thus disposing of the identification of the Akaivasha with
the Achaians, and making them the ancient representatives of the town
of el-Aghwat (Roman Agbia) in Tunis. But several difficulties might be
pointed out which are in the way of an acceptance of this view, and it
is probable that the older identifications with Greek tribes must still
be retained, so that Meneptah's Akaivasha are evidently the ancient
representatives of the Achai(v)ans, the Achivi of the Roman poets. The
terminations _sha_ and _na_, which appear in these names, are merely
ethnic and locative affixes belonging to the Asianic language system
spoken by these tribes at that time, to which the language of the Minoan
Cretans (which is written in the Knossian hieroglyphs) belonged. They
existed in ancient Lycian in the forms _azzi_ and _nna_, and we find
them enshrined in the Asia Minor place-names terminating in _assos_
and _nda_, as Halikarnassos, Sagalassos (Shakalasha in Meneptah's
inscription), Oroanda, and Labraunda (which, as we have seen, is the
same as the [Greek word], a word of pre-Hellenic origin, both meaning
"Place of the Double Axe") The identification of these _sha_ and _nal_
terminations in the Egyptian transliterations of the foreign names, with
the Lycian affixes referred to, was made some five years ago,* and is
now generally accepted. We have, then, to find the equivalents of
these names, to strike off the final termination, as in the case of
Akaiva-sha, where Akaiva only is the real name, and this seems to be
the Egyptian equivalent of _Axaifol_, Achivi. It is strange to meet with
this great name on an Egyptian monument of the thirteenth century B.C.
But yet not so strange, when we recollect that it is precisely to that
period that Greek legend refers the war of Troy, which was an attack
by Greek tribes from all parts of the AEgean upon the Asianic city
at Hissarlik in the Troad, exactly parallel to the attacks of the
Northerners on Egypt. And Homer preserves many a reminiscence of early
Greek visits, peaceful and the reverse, to the coast of Egypt at this
period. The reader will have noticed that one no longer treats the siege
of Troy as a myth. To do so would be to exhibit a most uncritical mind;
even the legends of King Arthur have a historic foundation, and those of
the Nibelungen are still more probable.

* See Hall, Oldest Civilization of Greece, p. 178/.

[Illustration: 368.jpg Page Image to display Greek words]