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One of the passages in the Odyssey alluding to the primitive mode of fastening the valves or folding-doors of a house runs thus:—

“Whilst to his couch himself the prince addressed,

The duteous nurse received the purple vest:

The purple vest with decent care disposed,

The silver ring she pulled, the door reclosed;

The bolt, obedient to the silken cord,

To the strong staple’s inmost depth restored,

Secured the valves.”

Most of the other great nations of antiquity resembled either the Egyptians or the Greeks and Romans, more or less closely, in their domestic and domiciliary arrangements; or, at any rate, so far as such humble matters as locks and keys are concerned, we need not seek far from those nations for examples. The Nineveh and other Assyrian explorations have, however, revealed many curious and unexpected facts; from the temples and the palaces we may by and by penetrate into the houses and rooms of the citizens sufficiently to know how their doors were fastened. In the mean time ancient Egypt awaits our notice.