30 mars 1932

Commentaire

Trouvé dans Piankoff, Alexandre, Notes sur les monastères de st Antoine et st Paul, Egypte (cote bib. byzantine: M/ EC VII 9)

Transcriptions des lettres et dédicaces

Dear Mr Whittemore

30-3-32

The discovery of Father Golubovitch seems to be promising. Could you ask him to give an exact ref. to the passage where Bernardo is mentioned – the number of the manuscript, & the name of the library – I want all that as a refference ! Perhaps he could find out also what were the Franciscans doing in Egypt in the 17th cent. : had they a special mission, or they came from the reunion of the churches ?

No, Franfort does not say anything about the destruction. I do not think it is possible to determine the date when the destruction of the Osireion started. But we can be fairly sure as to the date when it could have started.

The official suppression of oracles all over the Roman Empire took place in 359 A.D. This was due to a political scandal related by Amienus Marcellinus : the Emperor, Constantius II & the Caesar Julianus were informed that a number of people inquired from oracles as to the date of the Roman Empire & who will be the next Emperor ; this led to the abolition of all oracles. Abydos is mentioned in A. Marcellinus as the one which was fairly well known in Rome. Now, we know that about 600 Moses expelled demons out of the temple or temples at Abydos – this means, that in the temple or temples were already abandoned, & probably the most precious stones were being carried out… the demons interfered, the Church stepped in and banished them. Probably the work of demolition was continued for generations.

I do not wonder personally that you have not discovered any of the mill-stones taken out of the Osireion. It was certainty worth wile to look for them, but their complete disappearance is easily explained – first the distance which separates us from this destruction is more than 1000 years ! Many things have happened – the temple of Osiris has completely disappeared, the two pilars of the temple of Seti I, where are they ? The temple of Ramses II is only a ground plan. And second – perhaps they were carried away and sold for a few milliems to Alexandria or to Rome… ? Please send me all the informations about the Osireion, i.e. date of Pots and coins – I am now deep in the Osireion and badly want all evidence !

I am going to look up all the Arabs to see whether they know anything of Abydos in the Middle Ages.- But Arab historians are so disappointing !

Now about fishes : the most complete study is by Gaillard – Recherches sur les poissons – and P. Montet, les poissons employés dans l'écrit. hier. Bulletin Institut fr. Arch. Orient. XI, p. 44-5

Although we are poor, and our salary is hardly sufficient for food, and I want a coat, as I have nothing to put on my back for the spring and summer season – The only consolation being that if we were in America we should go scot free being we are so much below any taxable level – still I want Shenuda in Coptic pub. here at Geuthner's, which is on Crum's list – and which Bo refuses to buy as he is interested in icons and Russian books which you will receive in the shape of a very long list. But I want Shenuda – as he acted in the 6th century and destroyed temples and the whole procedure was not very far from Abydos – so please write to him accordingly

Bo told Rayevsky about the crystals.

And now I must tell you that I have been terribly offended by your last letter : do you really believe me to be able to send you clippings about peace & Briand ? Do you really think that I had time to read about his passing away ? Do I look like somebody to be interested in Briand and the Geneva conference ?

I hope you shall appease my wrath by writing again very soon !

No clippings this time !

With love Alex