part of the design, was installed by NECTANEBO II (r.
360–343 B.C.E.). Other sections of the temple include the
chamber of linens, and the throne of the god. A double
chapel of KHONS(1) and Hathor is located alongside the
chapel of the throne of RÉand the chapel of “the Spread
Wings,” a Horus cultic sign. Another chamber also hon-
ors the god MIN.
The temple of Horus at Edfu holds the cosmological
records of “the Adoration of the Sanctified Deity Who
Came into Being at the First Occasion.” PTA Hwas wor-
shiped there also as the SCARAB, the “Divine Beetle.”
Other reliefs show “the Stretching of the Cord over the
Temple,” “the Foundation of the Great Seat,” a procession
of the Builder Gods, and seated figures representing the
Ogdoad. Another relief depicts 30 deities in “the Adora-
tion of the Great Seat.” Temple services recorded in the
book were supposedly dictated by the god THOTHtothe
SAGES OF MEHWERET, the ancient scholars and devotees.
Building texts displayed include “the Sacred Book of the
Primeval Age of the Gods” and the “Coming of Ré into
his Mansion of Ms-nht.”
See also FESTIVALS;TEMPLES.
Edku This was a salt lake in Egypt’s Delta region.
See also LAKES.
Edwin Smith Papyrus A text called “the Secret Book
of Physicians,” dating to the Third Dynasty (2649–2575
B.C.E.) and containing 38 sections. Each of these separate
elements was presented with five headings: title, symp-
toms, diagnosis, opinion, and treatment. “The opinion”
phase of medical care is related to the physician’s ability
to state: “This is an infection with which I shall or shall
not attempt treatment.”
Also called “the Surgical Papyrus,” the present form
was a copy made in the period of the New Kingdom
(1550–1070 B.C.E.). It opens with a section on the heart
and pulse, but the main sections concern general trauma
and orthopedic surgical procedures. There are specific
detailed references to organs, with anatomical awareness
evident. There are even references to depressed skull
injuries and fractures of the vertebrae, dislocation of the
jaw, and traumatic paraplegia. These sections establish
clear relationships between symptoms and trauma. The
priests early on in Egypt understood relationships
between injuries and movements and encouraged obser-
vations and patient care. The use of hemayet(Arabic hel-
bahoil) was prescribed for the preservation of the skin of
geriatric patients.
See also MEDICINE;PER ANKH.
Egypt The nation called “the gift of the Nile” and evolv-
ing in isolation on the northeastern section of the African
continent. The name Egyptis the modern version of
Aigyptos, the Greek word derived from the Egyptian for
the city of MEMPHIS, Hiku Ptah, the “Mansion of the Soul,
or ka,of PTAH.” Egyptians call their land Msr today, and in
Pharaonic times it was designated Khem or Khemet.GEOGRAPHICAL DESIGNATIONS
Egypt has always been a narrow, fertile strip of land along
the Nile River surrounded by deserts, called the Red
Lands, or Deshret. The northern border was the Mediter-
ranean Sea, called the UAT-UR or Wadj-ur, the “Great
Green.” The southern border was the first cataract at
ASWANuntil the Middle Kingdom (2040–1640 B.C.E.),
although the armies of the Early Dynastic Period
(2920–2575 B.C.E.) and Old Kingdom (2575–2134 B.C.E.)
conducted trading and punitive expeditions and even
erected fortified settlements and centers south of Aswan.
During the Middle Kingdom the southern border was
extended some 250 miles, and in the New Kingdom
(1550–1070 B.C.E.) the southern outpost was some 600
miles south of Aswan.
Egypt was composed of the Nile Valley, the Delta, the
FAIYUM, and the eastern (Arabian or Red Sea) desert. The
LIBYAN DESERTserved as the border on the west. Tradi-
tionally there has been another geographic duality in
Egypt: the Upper and Lower Kingdoms, now called
Upper and Lower Egypt.
Lower Egypt, located in the north and called Ta-
Meht, is believed to have encompassed the land from the
Mediterranean Sea to ITJ-TAW Y (Lisht) or possibly to
ASSIUT. There isevidence that Lower Egypt was not actu-
ally a kingdom when the armies of the south came to
dominate the region and to bring about a unified nation
(c. 3000 B.C.E.). A depiction of a ruler can be seen on a
major historical source from the period, but no events or
details are provided. The only rulers listed by name from
the late Predynastic age (before 3000 B.C.E.) are from the
south. The concept of Lower Egypt starting as a kingdom
with its own geographical and social uniqueness quite
probably was a fabrication with religious and political
overtones. The Egyptians grasped a great sense of sym-
metry, and the idea of two parallel geographical units
united to form one great nation would have appealed to
them.
It is not certain that there was any sort of provincial
designation in the northern lands in the Predynastic
Period either. The nomes, or provinces, date to the first
dynasties, and it is possible that Lower Egypt was not one
unified region at all. Whether a confederation of small
groups or a people under the command of a single king,
Lower Egypt called the city of BUTOits capital (Pe in
Egyptian), then SAIS.
Lower Egypt was always dominated by the Delta,
originally formed by perennial swamps and lakes. It
turned into seasonally flooded basins as the climate stabi-
lized and inhabitants left an impact on the region. Origi-
nally as many as seven river branches wound through
this area, and the annual inundation of the Nile depositedEgypt 115