This famous lake, according to Herodotus, with whose account Diodorus
Siculus and Mela agree, was entirely an artificial excavation, made by
king Moeris, to carry off the overflowing waters of the Nile, and
reserve them for the purposes of irrigation. It was, in the time of
Herodotus, 3,600 stadia or 450 miles in circumference, and 300 feet
deep, with innumerable canals and reservoirs. Denon, Belzoni, and other
modern travelers, describe it at the present time as a natural basin,
thirty or forty miles long, and six broad. The works, therefore, which
Herodotus attributes to King Moeris, must have been the mounds, dams,
canals, and sluices which rendered it subservient to the purposes of
irrigation. These, also, would give it the appearance of being entirely
the product of human industry.




THE COLOSSAL SPHINX.


The Egyptian Sphinx is represented by a human head on the body of a
lion; it is always in a recumbent position with the fore paws stretched
forward, and a head dress resembling an old-fashioned wig. The features
are like those of the ancient Egyptians, as represented on their
monuments. The colossal Sphinx, near the group of pyramids at Jizeh,
which lay half buried in the sand, was uncovered and measured by
Caviglia. It is about 150 feet long, and 63 feet high. The body is made
out of a single stone; but the paws, which are thrown out about fifty
feet in front, are constructed of masonry. The Sphinx of Sais, formed of