Egyptian religious poetry

26 EGYPTIAN RELIGIOUS POETRY

The Old Kingdom faded gently out of existence, and Egypt fell into the hands of Syrian overlords, but the change was so gradual that it appears to have taken place without battles or bloodshed. At all times Lower Egypt, ie. the Delta, was almost as closely connected with Palestine and Syria as with Upper Egypt. A Syrian overlord, with a vassal king at Memphis calling himself Pharaoh, could rule the country with ease ; for Memphis-at the head of the Delta was an ideal place from which to govern both Upper and Lower Egypt. But when the capital was moved farther south to Herakleopolis, the Delta fell more and more under Syrian influence, and the Pharaoh became a mere chieftain of a small principality. Little is known of this the First Intermediate Period, for the people of the North were savages in comparison with the Egyptians, and the country lapsed into ignorance and barbarism.

It was not until the princes of the South founded the xith dynasty at Thebes that Egypt began to rise from the depth into which she had fallen. The xith dynasty showed the way, and the xiith dynasty emerged as one of the greatest periods of Egyptian history. Under the powerful Pharaohs of the xiith dynasty Egypt was peaceful and prosperous. Not only was the sculpture of the most magnificent, but the minor arts, such as jewellery, have never been surpassed for beauty of design and excellence of craftsmanship. Trade at this time was extensive, and Egyptian objects have been found as far afield as Malta and south Russia. The influx of foreign ideas and foreign peoples is perhaps the origin of the great output of fine literature which characterizes the xiith dynasty. The poem of the “ Man and His Soul”’, the Triumph-song of Senusert III, the story of Sinuhé, the hymn to the Crowns, and many others, show Egyptian literature at its best.

At the end of this splendid period Egypt sank again into