Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/471

 I THE NECROPOLIS OF THEBES. 888 other conquered peoples. Once cleared of the accumulated refuse, the temple of Me<linct-Abu, the " book of the conquests and triumphs of Ramses III., roaster of the sword on earth," will become the most complete, the most valuable and interesting of all the Egyptian sanctuaries. Close by stands the almost Greek temple of Deir-el-Medineh, built by Ptolehiy Philopator, and the Ramcsscum with its triumphal gateway, adorned with four colossal decapitated figures. This is the edifice described by Diodorus under the name of the " tomb of OsjTnondias." In one of the temple courts lies the broken pink granite statue of Ramses II., formerly a monolithic block 55 feet high, weighing over one thousand tons, consequently heavier than the largest block in the temples of Baalbek, but at least a third less than the erratic boulder on which has been erected the equestrian statue of Peter the Great. Between the Ramesseum and the temples of Medinet-Abu stood several colossal statues. Of these two only are still erect, those that became so famous in ancient times under the name of the statues of Memnon, but which in reality represent the Pharaoh Amenhotep II., seated in the hieratic attitude with his hands resting on his knees. Both are nearly 65 feet high with their pedestals, which, however, have sunk deep into the alluvial soil. The colossus which the Greeks and the Romans visited in crowds, and which they covered with writings in prose and verse, is the northernmost of the two. Its celebrity was due to the sound which it emitted, like that of the chord of a lyre when it breaks, and which, according to some authorities, began to vibrate in harmonious sighs as soon as the first rays of the sun dispersed the morning dew. But after Septimius Severus caused a fracture in the statue to be clumsily repaired, its voice was hushed for ever. No sound is any longer heard at dawn ; but in the temple of Kamak there are some granite blocks which still emit sonorous vibrations when lit up by the morning sun. North and west of the Ramesseum and of the temple of Seti which crowns the Kamak eminence are situated the rocks and ravines honeycombed with under- ground structures. Above the plain rises a hill of pyramidal form, shaped by the hand of nature into vast parallel flights of steps. According to some writers this characteristic form served as the model for the artificial pyramids raised over the royal tombs. Thus was realised at Memphis, as well as at Thebes, the formula of the ritual pronounce<l by the god of the lower regions : " I have set apart a dwelling unto thee in the mountain by the west." The winding gorge ramifying amid these cliffs bears the name of Biban-el- Moluk, that is. " Gates of the Kings." It presents an imposing aspect with its bare rocky sides scored by vertical fissures, giWng access to the royal tombs. Towards the extremity of the gorge is situate<l the sepulchral cave of Seti I., discovered by Belzoni in 1818, and remarkable especially for its painted bas- reliefs, one of which represents the "four races of the world" — Rotu, ^Vmu, Nahesu, and Tamahu, that is to say, the Egj-ptians, Asiatics, Negroes, and Libyans^ marching in solemn procession at the obsequies of Seti. At the opening of the gorges between the Kumah and Assassif hills, Marietta