ites, distributed over the
various hours in such a manner that it seemed impossible to find leisure
for any fresh occupation without encroaching on the time allotted to
absolute bodily needs. The high priest rose each morning at an appointed
hour; he had certain times for taking food, for recreation, for giving
audience, for dispensing justice, for attending to worldly affairs, and
for relaxation with his wives and children; at night he kept watch, or
rose at intervals to prepare for the various ceremonies which could only
be celebrated at sunrise. He was responsible for the superintendence of
the priests of Amon in the numberless festivals held in honour of the
gods, from which he could not absent himself except for some legitimate
reason. From all this it will be seen how impossible it was for a lay
king, like the sovereign ruling at Tanis, to submit to such restraints
beyond a certain point; his patience would soon have become exhausted,
want of practice would have led him to make slips or omissions,
rendering the rites null and void; and the temporal affairs of his
kingdom--internal administration, justice, finance, commerce, and
war--made such demands upon his time, that he was obliged as soon as
possible to find a substitute to fulfil his religious duties. The force
of circumstances therefore maintained the line of Theban high priests
side by side with their sovereigns, the Tanite kings. They were, it is
true, dangerous rivals, both on account of the wealth of their fief and
of the immense prestige which they enjoyed in Egypt, Ethiopia, and in
all the nomes devoted to the worship of Amon. They were allied to the
elder branch of the ramessides, and had thus inherited such near rights
to the crown that Smendes had not hesitated to concede to Hrihor the
cartouches, the preamble, and insignia of the Pharaoh, including the
pschent and the iron helmet inlaid with gold. This concession, however,
had been made as a personal favour, and extended only to the lifetime of
Hrihor, without holding good, as a matter of course, for his successors;
his son Pionkhi had to confine himself to the priestly titles,* and his
grandson Painotmu enjoyed the kingly privileges only during part of his
life, doubtless in consequence of his marriage with a certain Makeri,
probably daughter of Psiukhannit L, the Tanite king. Makeri apparently
died soon after, and the discovery of her coffin in the hiding-place at
Deir el-Bahari reveals the fact of