commerce and an entrepot between Asia and Europe, but also a centre of intellectual culture.  The policy of Alexander to remove the barriers between the Greeks and the Asiatics, and to pave the way for the union of the races of his vast empire, was continued by the Lagidae dynasty in Egypt.  With her independence and native dynasties, Egypt had also lost her political strength and unity; she retained, however, her ancient institutions, her customs, and religious system.  The sway of Persian dominion had passed over her without overthrowing this huge rock of sacerdotal power which, deeply rooted with many ramifications, seemed to mock the wave of time.  Out of the ruins of political independence still towered the monuments of civilisation of a mighty past which gave to this country moral independence, and prevented the obliteration of nationality.  It would have mattered very little in the vast empire of Alexander if one province had a special physiognomy.  It was different, however, with the Lagidae:  their power was concentrated in Egypt, and they were therefore compelled to obliterate the separation existing between the conquering and the conquered races, and fuse them, if possible, into one.  A great obstacle which confronted the Macedonian rulers in Egypt was the religion of the country.  The interest and the policy of the Lagidae demanded the removal of this obstacle, not by force but by diplomacy.  Greek gods were therefore identified with Egyptian; Phtah became Hephaestos; Thot, Hermes; Ra, Helios; Amon, Zeus; and, in consequence of a dream which commanded him to offer adoration to a foreign god, Ptolemy Soter created a new Greek god who was of Egyptian origin.  Osiris at that period was the great god of Egypt; Memphis was the religious centre of the cult of Apis, the representative of Osiris, and who, when living, was called Apis-Osiris, and when dead Osiris-Apis.  Cambyses had killed the god or his representative:  it was a bad move.  Alexander made sacrifices to him:  Ptolemy Soter did more.  He endeavoured to persuade the Egyptians that Osirapi or Osiris-Apis was also sacred to the Greeks, and to identify him with some Greek divinity.  There was a Greek deity known as Serapis, identified with Pluton, the god of Hades.  Serapis, by a clever manouvre, a coup de religion, was identified with Osiris-Apis.  The lingual similarity and the fact that Osirapi was the god of the Egyptian Hades made the identification acceptable.

Like true Greek princes, the Ptolemies had broad views and were very tolerant.  Keeping the Greek religion themselves, they were favourably disposed towards the creeds of other nationalities under their dominion.  Thanks to this broad-mindedness and tolerance which had become traditional in the Lagidas family, and which has only rarely been imitated—­to the detriment of civilisation—­in the history of European dynasties, Oriental and Hellenic culture could flourish side by side.  This benign government