HELIOPOLIS OBELISK. The only remaining and erect obelisk at Heliopolis. It has one column of hieroglyphs on each face and was erected by Usertesen I. of the XIIth dynasty. Its companion fell in 1160 A. D. and has completely disappeared. Its apex was originally covered with a capping of gilded bronze, which was still seen by the Arabic physician Abd-el-Latîf in the thirteenth century A. D. ^{9} HERMONTHIS. See under Erment. ^{87} HERSCHEL, Sir John Fred. William. A famous English astronomer. Died May 11, 1871. ^{13} {124}HIERATIC. A more cursive form of the Hieroglyphic script, with fewer characters, and signs drawn only in outline. It was mostly used for state documents, letters, and scientific and religious papyri. The form of the characters varies according to the individual handwriting of the scribe. The Hieratic, like the Demotic, is always written from right to left. It was the second kind of Egyptian writing, and its alphabet is as follows. ^{34} [Illustration] HIEROGLYPHIC. The name for the monumental language of ancient Egypt. The words are composed of hieroglyphs or "sacred carvings", which were at first quite simple but in the time of the Ptolemies became very complicated and enigmatical. The alphabet is given above under: Hieratic. Besides the simple letters there are also some two thousand syllabic signs and ideographs. The characters were written either {125}horizontally from left to right [thus in the hieroglyphic type of this book] or from right to left [thus on pages 71, 75, and 76], or else vertically, with the characters below each other, from left to right or from right to left. Hieroglyphic was the writing of the priests. HITTITES. The biblical name of an Asiatic people, the hereditary foes of the Egyptians. They were called by them Kheta, which see. ^{36 37} HOMER. The famous Greek poet, author of the Iliad and the Odyssey. ^{2 37} HOR-HUD·T. The name of Horus as he was worshiped at Edfu. ^{31} HOR-KHUTI, or HOR-EM-KHUTI. The sun-god at his appearance in the horizon in the morning and at noon. From this word, which means "_Horus of the two horizons_", the Greeks coined the word Harmachis. ^{29 30} HOR-NUB. "_The golden Horus._" This title may also be translated "the victorious Horus", referring in the first place to the victory of this god over the devil, Set (cf. page 87), and then to the personal bravery of his representative on earth, the king. ^{60 64 68} HOR-RÂ. A form of the solar deity, a combination of Râ and Horus. ^{30}