Need a vacation but don’t have the funds? Take a trip through space and time on the Internet highway. Visit ancient Egypt, realm of The Scorpion King.

Land of the Pharos
by Cornelia Amiri 

Need a vacation but don’t have the funds? Take a trip through space and time on the Internet highway. Visit ancient Egypt, realm of The Scorpion King. 

Mysteries in Stone
****

Four stars for a site to honor the Rosetta stone, which made the translation of hieroglyphs possible and preserved the ancient Egyptians’ history as superbly as mummification preserved their bodies. Click on the Glossary Of Major Gods for a scorpion quick and succinct summary of the deities of the pharos. Click on The Sorrow Of Isis page for an excerpt of Sir E.A. Willis Budge’s The Gods Of The Egyptians. 

http://www.mysteries-in-stone.co.uk/


Walk Like an Egyptian
***

Three stars for a rocking site. The Bangles music and lyrics greet you as animated graphics walk like an Egyptian across your computer screen. Click on Egypt At Night for stunning photos of ancient Egyptian nightlife. 

http://12121.hostinguk.com/egypt.htm


Ancient Egyptian Virtual Temple 
*****

Five stars for the temple to goddess Sekhmet, the right eye of Ra, a goddess with the head of a lioness. On the sidebar menu click on culture and daily life to visit an ancient nobleman’s villa complete with furnishings and ancient Egyptians going about their daily routines. As an added bonus click on the names of Sekhmet for a few of the over 200 names of the goddess. My favorite titles are At Whose Wish The Arts Were Born and Lady Of The House Of Books. 
http://showcase.netins.net/web/ankh/


Ankhesenamun and Children of the Sun 
****

Four stars for this site on Pharo Akhenaten, husband to the famed beauty Nefertiti. He had nine gracious daughters of his flesh. Click on Daughters Of The Sun for fascinating details. These golden skinned princesses embodied the future of the Aten cult and the glorious XVIII Dynasty. They shine always and forever as the children of the sun.

http://www.angelfire.com/ne2/SheritrasAkhet/children.html


Guardian’s Egypt
*****

Five stars for a full color Eye of Horus graphic which greets all who enter. Click on Pyramids then go to Guardian’s Bent Pyramid. Now, for the first time, you can enter and explore the inside of Pyramid at Dahshur. Click on mummies for everything you ever wanted to know about Egyptian afterlife. Check out Faces Of The Pharaohs, for reconstructions based on authentic monuments and human remains. Click on hieroglyphics for an on-line beginner course deciphering the language of the pharos. If you have school age children the Kid's Section is perfect for fun activities. Make egyptology a family event. Vivid, stunning photos throughout the site transport you to Egypt.

http://www.guardians.net/egypt/


The Tomb
***

Three stars for an online story with cute colorful graphics. After clicking on the character introductions the story begins with Kaden guiding the teens through Akinohotepu's Palace. When that episode comes to an end click on chapter two. With the site under construction the tale stops there.

http://www.angelfire.com/pa3/whitewolffie/tomb.html


After Life, Coffins, Mummies, Mask 
****

Four stars for gorgeous full color photos of coffins, murals, mummies, and gold mask, which illustrate interesting articles on mummification and other funeral practices. Click on the link titled, Egyptian Book of the Dead for an English translation in plan text. 

http://www.crystalinks.com/egyptafterlife.html

Leaning on her stack of books and scrolls, my muse, Clio, Zeus’ daughter, the muse of history, glanced at me and said, "You're quiet today?" 

"My tooth hurts." I rubbed my poor swollen jaw. 

"Ancient Egyptians had many problems with their teeth." Clio primly tiled her chin in the air. 

"I know. Sand got into the corn during grinding," I quipped, "Not that I plan to ever write a novel set in Ancient Egypt."

"But, if you do, your heroine should have a toothache. Heroines get headaches, why not tooth aches?" Clio’s eyes beamed. 

"You have a point," I agreed. 

"Tell me about your Egyptian heroine." she probed. 

"There is no heroine. But, if there were she would be a pharaoh’s daughter, betrothed to a foreign ruler. I could begin with the wedding scene." The image of a gold bangled Egyptian princess with snakehead bracelets formed in my mind.

"I like it." Clio thumped one finger against her chin. "What’s the plot?" Her tone held an intense eagerness. 

"There is no plot," I firmly stated. "No novel. I am not writing about ancient Egypt." I shook my head for emphasis. "The time period is too involved. I’ve told you that before."

"Egypt. Such a mystic and exotic culture," Clio said on a sigh. 

"It is, isn’t’ it?" I could hear the wondrous tone in my voice and I knew she was getting to me again. 

"Just think. It would give you a great opportunity to complain about your toothache." Her eyes sparkled as she smugly smiled. 

I eagerly nodded in agreement. "I can throw in ancient tooth ache remedies."

"They might even help your teeth." Clio shrugged as she flashed a toothy grin.

"It wouldn’t hurt to just scan the net and see what history had left me to work with," I decided. 

"Not at all," Clio added.

"Clio, I am beginning to agree with you. Something is terribly wrong."

"I am an expert. A muse. If you can’t trust me who can you trust?" Clio smiled.

The words don’t trust anyone, ran through my head. This didn’t seem right at all. But I was interested. "Clio, I’ll consider working on the pharos daughter wed to a foreign prince story, but only consider it. I’ll do a little research, but I’m not promising to write a book or even a short story on it. I want to make that clear," I said emphasizing each word. 

"Of course, Cornelia," Clio said sweetly.

I placed my fingers on the computer keyboard and typed in Ancient Egypt in the search field. What could it hurt? 

I surfed to an article and began reading, "Mummies have been found with cavities and abscess teeth. Ancient Egyptian teeth specialist drained abscesses using a fire drill: a sharp heated utensil that was inserted into the abscess. But for all their advancements, the ancient Egyptians thought worms caused toothache."

I turned to Clio as she leaned over my shoulder reading the screen. "This is disgusting. Clio, what do they mean by a fire drill? I thought fire drills were used to start fires."

"How would I know? I’m Greek. We didn’t stick fire drills in people’s mouths. Regular physicians treated us and fixed loose teeth with gold wires."

"Didn’t that hurt?"

"I imagine. I don’t really know. I’m a goddess. I have perfect teeth." She grinned and flashed her pearly whites.

I laughed, turned back to the screen and read, "Swollen gums were treated with a potion of cumin, incense, and onion. Ooh, that sounds awful." A bitter taste formed in my mouth. I continued reading, "Opium was given for sever pain."

"Those were the days," Clio said in a mocking tone. 

"Look Clio." I read, "For toothaches they gargled a brew of mashed cloves, vinegar, and water." I gulped then asked, "Clio, do you think I should try it?"

"I wouldn’t." Her face squeezed into a funny statement as if she were sucking a lemon. "It sounds disgusting."

"It does, doesn’t it?" I stumbled onto a web site that listed ancient Egyptian names. "This is interesting. Here’s a female name, Seshat. How does that sound? It means female scribe."

A soft trill of giggles interrupted my thoughts. Clio was in the corner laughing behind her scrolls. 

"You think this is funny now, but don’t forget it took you over a month to interest me in ancient Egypt. I made you work for it this time."

Clio’s laughter raised in volume. "Sore looser," she balked.

"Irritating muse." I retorted then turned back to the Internet. After all, now that I had started looking into ancient Egypt I couldn’t easily turn away. I noticed my toothache had gone. But don’t tell Clio. She will promote historical research as a way to relive tooth pain.