Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/804

780 780 EGYPT [MEDEENET-HABOO. broken, but afterwards restored. These colossi stand about a quarter of a mile to the south-east of the mound whers are the scanty remains of the temple. They are of hard gritstone, monolithic, and about 47 feet in height, with pedestals about 12 feet high. They represent Amenophis III. seated on his throne. Smaller though colossal standing statues of the king s mother, Queen Mut-em-wa, and of his wife, Queen Tai, rest against the space between the sides of the throne and the legs of the great statues, one at either extremity ; while there are remains of two other statues of Queen Tai, of smaller size, standing between the feet of each colossus. The colossi are a little less than GO feet apart, a distance judiciously chosen, so that they should neither seem smaller than they actually are, by being placed too far from each other, nor should be so near as to appear but a double statue. The Vocal Memuon is the more northern of the two statues. It was broken in the midst either by the barbarism of Cambyses, or by an earthquake, more probably the former (comp. Paus. Attic, i. 42), but long afterwards repaired. It presents iu consequence a very shattered appearance, and the other colossus gives us a better idea of what the pair must anciently have been. Many Greek and Latin inscriptions on the Vocal Statue record the visits of those who were with Hadrian, aud of others, and relate that they heard the voice of Memnon. There is thus satis factory evidence to show that some sound was frequently heard here at sunrise ; and the only dispute is whether it was produced by a physical cause, or was an imposture of the priests. That it was a natural occurrence does not seem impossible from the examples we have of sounds resembling that which is described as having been heard here by the ancients. Less than half a mile from the mound of the Ameno- phium, in a south-westerly direction, within the desert, is the group of temples known as those of Medeenet-Haboo. This name is that applied by the Arabs to a town, which appears to be that called Papa in the Roman times. The ruins of its houses obstruct the temples, more especially the larger of the two. The smaller temple is nearer to the river, to the eastward of the other. We first enter a ruined court, which was never completed, and which had a colonnade of which two columns alone yet stand, at its end, a little before the first propylon of the temple, which bears the names of Ptolemy Lathyrus and Auletes among the sculptures of its gateway. Beyond this is a court which had a colonnade on each side, and a propylon, much smaller than the other at the end. Most of its columns have fallen, and the propylon has also suffered much. On the latter we see the names of Tahraka, or Tirhakah the Ethiopian, and later sovereigns. Beyond this is another court, and then the chambers of the temple. The chief of these is an isolated sanctuary, with a gallery around it having square pillars and fluted columns like those of certain of the tombs at Benee-Hasan. The sanctuary is ornamented with sculp tures of sovereigns of Dynasty XVIIL, including Queen Hatshepu. To the south of this temple is a very remarkable struc ture, which differs from any other ancient monument in Egypt. It is supposed to have been a palace. 1 After passing between what seem to have been lodges, we arrive at the main part of the edifice. This consists of two towers on each side of a court, ending in another tower, 1 The size and character of the only chambers in the temples which could have been used for habitation render it most improbable that any but priests and scribes resided in them; and it is most likely that the royal abodes were, usually extensive pavilions constructed of no stronger materials than the houses of the people, and this view the representations of the tombs seem to support. The temples, however, were called palacec beneath which is a gateway conducting to the great temple. On the front of each of the two towers first mentioned Ramses III. is represented slaying his enemies before Amen-ra, and below is a series of captured chiefs. The inscriptions that remain tell us that these are the chiefs of the Kheta, or Hittites, the Amari, or Amorites, the Takkaru, or Teucrians, the Shardana of the sea, or Sardones, the Tuirsha of the sea, or Etruscans, and of other peoples. On the walls of the chambers are curious sculptures usually supposed to represent the private life of Ramses III., but probably of a mythological import. Among these the king is portrayed playing at a game like that of draughts with a goddess, while another stands by him. The great temple of Medeenet-Haboo is directly behind the palace through which was, as already mentioned, the approach to it, and is a monument of the same king, Ramses III., a sovereign inferior alone as a conqueror to Ramses II., the greatest ruler of Egypt. Both the magnificence of its architecture, and the high interest of its sculptures, render it one of the most interesting edifices at Thebes. The first propylon cannot be less than 200 feet wide. It is partly destroyed, and much of it is hidden by the re mains of the town. On its wings the king is represented slaying prisoners before the gods, and acts of worship are also depicted. The court, of which this propylon is the front, is about 110 feet in length and 135 in breadth, and has a colonnade on either side, forming a gallery. The gallery on the right side consists of seven Osiridean pillars, that on the left of eight columns having capitals of the form of the papyrus-flower, affording a remarkable example of the irregularity of Egyptian architecture. At its end is a second propylon, on the left wing of which Ramses III. is represented bringing captives of the Takkaru, or Teucrians, before Amen-ra. Passing through the granite portal of this propylon we enter the second or peristyle court, the finest part of the temple, This court measures about 123 feet in length, and about 133 or somewhat more in width, thus exceeding in size the first court, contrary to the usual practice of ancient Egyptian architects. It has a single colonnade at the front and on either side, and a double one at the end. The colonnade at the front and that facing it are each of eight Osiridean pillars, while that behind the latter is of columns with capitals of the papyru-bud, and the side colonnades consist each of five similar columns, one of which, on the left side, has fallen. The Christian inhabitants of the town, the ruins of whose church are seen in the court, defaced many of the sculptures, and particularly the Osiridean pillars ; neverthe less the general effect is not lost, and one is struck by a simple grandeur, which is unsurpassed in any similar Egyptian structure. The sculptures of the walls are of especial interest. On the back of the left wing of the propylon a series of sculptures relating to the wars of Ramses III. begins and extends along the wall on the left side of the court. The rout of the Rebu or Lebu, the Libyans, is depicted, the triumphal return of the king, the bringing of prisoners before him on the field of battle, and the like; and besides these are subjects portraying cere monies. On the right side-wall is a curious representation of the celebration of the Panegyry of Amen-ra Ka-mut-f, which, from the detail in which it is given, affords us con siderable insight into the manner in which such solemnities were kept (Anc. Ey., iv. pi. 76). On the end wall, and on part of each side wall, are depicted the many children of Ramses III. A door in the end wall conducts to the inner part of the temple, which occupies but little less space than the two courts just described. It is in a very ruined condition.