The Pharaoh And The Priest Part 141

This building alone occupied two hectares of s.p.a.ce, and the gardens and ponds around it about twenty. Before the temple stood two pylons forty metres high. The forecourt, surrounded by a corridor resting on columns, occupied nearly one hectare, the hall of columns in which were a.s.sembled the privileged cla.s.ses was half a hectare in extent.

This was not the edifice yet, but the approach to it.

That hall, or hypostyle, was more than a hundred and fifty yards long and seventy-five yards in width, its ceiling rested on one hundred and thirty-four columns. Among these the twelve central ones were fifteen yards in circ.u.mference and from twenty to twenty-four metres high.

The statues disposed in the temple near the pylons, and at the sacred lakes accorded in size with all other parts of Karnak.

In the immense gate the worthy Herhor, the high priest of that temple, was waiting for Rameses. Surrounded by a whole staff of priests Herhor greeted the pharaoh almost haughtily, and while burning a censer before the sovereign he did not look at him. Then he conducted Rameses to the hypostyle and gave the order to admit deputations within the wall of the temple.

[Ill.u.s.tration: General View of the Ruins of Karnak]

In the midst of the hypostyle stood the boat with the mummy of the departed sovereign, and on both sides of it, two thrones of equal height stood opposed to each other. On one of these Rameses took his place surrounded by nomarchs and generals, on the other sat Herhor surrounded by the priesthood. Then the high priest Mefres gave Herhor the mitre of Amenhotep and the young pharaoh for the second time beheld on the head of the high priest the golden serpent, the symbol of regal authority.

Rameses grew pale from rage, and thought: "Shall I need to remove the ureus and thy head at the same time?"

But he was silent, knowing that in that greatest of Egyptian temples Herhor was lord, the equal of the G.o.ds, and a potentate perhaps greater than the pharaoh.

During this time when the people filled the court, behind the purple curtain dividing the rest of the temple from mortals were heard harps and low singing. Rameses looked at the hall. A whole forest of mighty columns covered from above to the bases with paintings, the mysterious lighting, the ceiling far up near the sky somewhere, produced on him an effect that was crus.h.i.+ng.

"What does it signify," thought he, "to win a battle at the Soda Lakes? To build an edifice like this is an exploit!--But those priests built it."

At that moment he felt the power of the priestly order. Could he, his army, or even the whole people overturn that temple? And if it would be difficult to deal with the edifice would it be easier to struggle with its builders? The voice of the high priest Mefres roused him from disagreeable meditations.

"Holiness," said the old man; "thou most worthy confidant of the G.o.ds"

(here he bowed to Herhor); "ye nomarchs, scribes, warriors, and common people,--the most worthy high priest of this temple, Herhor, invites you to judge, according to ancient custom, the earthly acts of the late pharaoh, and to acknowledge or deny to him burial."

Anger rushed to the head of Rameses. "It was not enough that they insulted him in that place, but in addition they dare to discuss the deeds of his father, to decide as to his burial."

But he calmed himself; that was only a formality, as ancient, in fact, as the Egyptian dynasties. It related not to judgment, but to praise of the departed.

At a sign given by Herhor the high priests took their seats on stools.

But neither the nomarchs nor the generals surrounding the throne of Rameses were seated; there were not even stools for them.

The pharaoh fixed in his memory that insult also; but he had so mastered himself now that it was impossible to learn whether he noticed the disregard shown those near him.

Meanwhile the holy Mefres dwelt on the life of the deceased pharaoh.

"Rameses XII.," said he, "did not commit any of the forty-two sins, hence the court of the G.o.ds p.r.o.nounces a gracious verdict regarding him. And since, moreover, the royal mummy, thanks to the exceptional care of the priests, is provided with every amulet, prayer, direction, and spell, there is no doubt that the late pharaoh is now in the dwelling of the G.o.ds, sitting at the side of Osiris, and is himself Osiris.

"During his earthly life the divine nature of Rameses XII. was made manifest. He reigned more than thirty years. He gave the people profound peace and erected or finished many temples. Besides, he was himself a high priest and surpa.s.sed in piety the most pious. During his reign honor to the G.o.ds and elevation of the sacred priestly order held the chief position. Therefore he was beloved of the heavenly powers, and one of the Theban G.o.ds, Khonsu, at the prayer of the pharaoh, was pleased to go to the country of Buchten, and expel an evil spirit from the king's daughter."

Mefres drew breath and continued,--

"When I have shown your worthinesses that Rameses XII. was a G.o.d, will ye inquire with what object that higher being came down to the Egyptian land and spent some tens of years here?

"He did so to reform the world, which, through decay of faith, is much corrupted. For who is occupied in devotion to-day, who thinks of obeying the will of the G.o.ds in our time?

"In the distant north we see the great a.s.syrian people who believe only in the power of the sword, and who, instead of giving themselves to devotion and wisdom, are subjecting other nations. Nearer to us are Phnicians, whose G.o.d is gold, and whose wors.h.i.+p is mere fraud and usury. There are others also: the Hitt.i.tes on the East, the Libyans on the west, the Ethiopians on the south, and the Greeks of the Mediterranean,--those are barbarians and robbers. Instead of toiling they rob, instead of working wisdom they drink, play dice, or sleep like tired animals.

"In the world there is only one really wise and pious people, the Egyptians; but see what is happening among us. Because of the influx of infidel foreigners, religion has fallen here also. n.o.bles and officials at their wine cups revile eternal life and the G.o.ds, while the people throw mud at sacred statues and make no offerings to temples.

"Excess has taken the place of devotion, riot the place of wisdom.

Each man wants to wear immense wigs, and anoint himself with rare perfumes; he would have tunics and ap.r.o.ns woven with gold, wear chains and bracelets set with jewels. A barley cake suffices him no longer: he wants wheaten bread with milk and honey; he washes his feet in beer and quenches his thirst with wine from foreign countries.

"Because of this all n.o.bles are in debt, the people are beaten and overloaded with labor; here and there rebellions break out. What do I say! here and there? During a certain time through the length and the breadth of Egypt, thanks to secret disturbances, we hear the shout: 'Give us rest after every six days of labor! Do not beat us without judgment! Give each man of us a plot of land as his property!'

"This is a declaration of ruin for Egypt, against which we must find rescue. The rescue is only in religion, which teaches that the people should labor. Holy men, as persons knowing the will of the G.o.ds, should indicate the labor, and it is the duty of the pharaoh and his officials to see that this labor is carried out actually.

"Religion teaches all this; according to these principles Rameses XII., who was equal to the G.o.ds, governed Egypt. We high priests, knowing his devotion, will cut out the following inscription on his tomb and on the temples:

"'The bull Horus, the mighty Apis who united the crowns of the kingdom, the golden falcon wielding the sabre, the conqueror of nine nations, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, the ruler of two worlds, the son of the sun, Amen-Mer-Rameses, beloved of Amon-Ra, the lord and ruler of the Theban region, the son of Amon-Ra received as son by Horus, and begotten by Hormach, King of Egypt, ruler of Phnicia, lord of nine nations.'"[40]

[40] Authentic tomb inscription.

When this proposal was confirmed by a shout of those a.s.sembled, dancers ran out from behind the curtain and performed a sacred dance before the sarcophagus, and the priests burned incense. Then they took the mummy from the boat and bore it to the sanctuary of Amon into which Rameses XIII. had not the right to enter.

The service ended soon after and the a.s.sembly left the temple.

While returning to the palace of Luxor the young pharaoh was so sunk in thought that he hardly saw the immense throng of people and did not hear the shouts which rose from it.

"I cannot deceive my own heart," thought Rameses. "The high priests insult me; this has not happened to any pharaoh till my time; more, they point out to me the way in which I can gain their favor. They wish to manage the state, and I am to see that their commands are accomplished.

"But it will be otherwise: I shall command and ye must accomplish.

Either my royal foot will be planted on your necks or I shall perish."

For two days the revered mummy of Rameses XII. remained in the temple of Amon, in a place so sacred that even high priests might not enter, save only Herhor and Mefres. Before the deceased only one lamp was burning, the flame of which, nourished in a miraculous manner, was never extinguished. Over the deceased hung the symbol of the spirit, a man-headed falcon. Whether it was a machine, or really a living being, was known to no one. This is certain, that priests who had the courage to look behind the curtain stealthily saw that this being kept one place in the air unsupported while its lips and eyes continued moving.

The continuation of the funeral began, and the golden boat carried the deceased to the other side of the river. But first it pa.s.sed through the main street of Thebes surrounded by an immense retinue of priests, wailers, warriors, and people, amid incense, music, wailing and chanting. This was perhaps the most beautiful street in all Egypt. It was broad, smooth, lined with trees. Its houses, four and even five stories high, were covered from roof to foundation with mosaic or with bas-reliefs in colors. It looked as if those buildings had been hung with immense colored tapestry or hidden by colossal pictures representing the work and occupations of merchants, artisans, mariners, also distant lands and their people. In one word that was not a street, but a colossal gallery of pictures, barbarous as to the drawing, but brilliant in colors.

The funeral procession advanced about two kilometres from the north to the south, keeping more or less the centre of the city, then it turned westward toward the river.

In the middle of the river opposite this point was a large island connected by a bridge of boats with the city. To avoid accidents the generals in command reformed the procession; they put four people in a rank, ordered them to move very slowly and forbade them to keep step.

With this object the different bands of music at the head of the mult.i.tude each played different music.

After a couple of hours the procession pa.s.sed the first bridge, next the island, then the second bridge, and was on the western bank of the river.

If we might call the eastern part of Thebes the city of G.o.ds and kings, the western quarter was that of tombs and mortuary temples.

The procession advanced from the Nile toward the Libyan hills by the middle road. South of this road, on an eminence, stood a temple, commemorating the victories of Rameses III., the walls of which are covered with pictures of conquered nations: Hitt.i.tes, Amorites, Philistines, Ethiopians, Arabs, Libyans. A little lower down rose two colossal statues of Amenhotep II., the height of which, notwithstanding their sitting posture, was twenty metres. One of these statues was distinguished by the miraculous property that when struck by the rays of the rising sun it gave out sounds like those of a harp whenever chords snap in it.

Still nearer the road, but always on the left, stood the Ramesseum, a beautiful though not very large temple which was built by Rameses II.

The entrance to this edifice was guarded by statues with the royal insignia in their hands. In the forecourt towered the statue of Rameses II. to the height of sixteen metres.

The road rose gradually, and a very steep eminence became more and more visible; this was as full of holes as a sponge: those holes were the tombs of Egyptian officials. At the entrance to them, among steep cliffs stood the very strange temple of Queen Hatasu. This temple was four hundred and fifty yards long. From the forecourt, surrounded by a wall, there was an entrance by steps to the second court surrounded by columns; under this was a subterranean temple. From the court of columns the pa.s.sage rose by steps again to a temple cut out in the cliff under which was another subterranean temple. In this way the temple was of two stories, each of which was divided into an upper and a lower part. The stairs were immense, without railing, but furnished with two rows of sphinxes; the entrance to each stairway was guarded by two sitting statues.

At the temple of Hatasu began the gloomy ravine which led from the tombs of high dignitaries to those of the pharaohs. Between these two quarters was the tomb of the high priest Retemenof, the corridors and chambers of which occupied about one hectare of subterranean area.

The road to the ravine was so steep that men had to help the draught bulls, and push the funeral boat forward. The procession moved, as it were, along a cornice cut into the cliff side; at last they halted on a broad platform some hundreds of feet above the ravine counting from the lower bed of it.

Here was the door leading to the underground tomb which during his thirty years' reign the pharaoh had made for himself. This tomb was a whole palace with chambers for the pharaoh, for his family and servants, with a dining-room, bedchamber and bath, with chapels consecrated to various G.o.ds, and finally with a well at the bottom of which was a small chamber where the mummy of the sovereign would rest for the ages.