Page:A History of Art in Ancient Egypt Vol 1.djvu/355

 The Tomb under the New Empire. 265 several generations. Each temple was begun and finished by the king who planned it, so far at least as construction was concerned. In those cases where the decoration was left incomplete at the death of the royal builder, his successor finished it in his name. In these decorations the founder of the temple was represented either worshipping the gods, or in the eventful moments of his military career, or in his great hunts ; and thus, while yet alive, he laid the foundations of an edifice destined to carry the memory of his glory and piety down to the latest posterity." ^ i'j / 'ill .5»44lAii:^'^ji^'^>^ '^ - ? ''i ' ■i r Fig. 173. — Rameses III. hunting ; from Medinet-Abou. Surrounded on all sides by tombs and packed Into a com- paratively narrow space, these temples are separated from the Bab-el-Molouk only by the slopes of the surrounding El-Assassif. The oldest of them is that at Dayr-el-Bahari. It was built by the regent Hatasu, of whose career we know enough to strongly excite, but too little to satisfy, our curiosity. We know that 1 Mariette, Deir-el-Bahari^ § i. (Atlas, folio, Leipsic, 1877, with 40 pages letterpress, 4to.). VOL. I. M M