May 30, 2026
PAPYRUS
Plutarch tells us that the vessel on which the Egyptian goddess Isis embarked on her voyage to search for the remains of Osiris, was constructed of the Reeds of the Papyrus (Papyrus antiquorum), and that the crocodiles, out of respect and fear of the goddess, dared not approach the bark.
The Papyrus is the Rush described in the Hebrew Scriptures by the word Gôme, and in an ark of Gôme the mother of the infant Moses put her babe, and laid it in the Flags by the brink of the river Nile. The ancient Egyptians plaited the stems of the Papyrus not only into little boats, but into sails, mats, and sandals. The fabrication in particular of little boats appears to have been practised by them to an immense extent, and to have commenced in the very earliest days of the nation. M. de Castelnau says that the Reed-boats still in use amongst the Peruvians exactly resemble the pictured representations of the Egyptian ones, as preserved on the walls of the tomb of Rameses III. at Thebes. Bundles of Papyrus-stems furnished models for the shafts of some of the pillars of the ancient Egyptian temples, and the bases of these were ornamented with representations of the sheaths that encircle the foot of the flower-stalk. The Papyrus-plant supplied the material of which the famous paper, both rough and fine, was manufactured in ancient times. Papyrus paper made 2000 years B.C., or anterior to the time of Abraham, is still in existence. It was an article of commerce long before the time of Herodotus, and it remained in use till the seventh century. This Papyrus paper was prepared from the white pith of the stoutest stems of the Reeds which grew in great abundance in the pools caused by the overflowing of the Nile.
Plutarch relates, that when Agesilaus visited Egypt, he was so delighted with the chaplets of Papyrus sent him by the king, that he took some home when he returned to Sparta.