ggested, as in earlier times, by the needs of the royal
soul, with this difference--that the Thebans set themselves to render
visible to his eyes by paintings that which the Memphites had been
content to present to his intelligence in writing, so that the Pharaoh
could now see what his ancestors had been able merely to read on the
walls of their tombs. Where the inscribed texts in the burial-chamber
of Unas state that Unas, incarnate in the Sun, and thus representing
Osiris, sails over the waters on high or glides into the Elysian fields,
the sculptured or painted scenes in the interior of the Theban catacombs
display to the eye Ramses occupying the place of the god in the solar
bark and in the fields of laid. Where the walls of Unas bear only the
prayers recited over the mummy for the opening of his mouth, for the
restoration of the use of his limbs, for his clothing, perfuming, and
nourishment, we see depicted on those of Seti I. or Ramses IV. the
mummies of these kings and the statues of their doubles in the hands
of the priests, who are portrayed in the performance of these various
offices. The starry ceilings of the pyramids reproduce the aspect of the
sky, but without giving the names of the stars: on the ceilings of some
of the Ramesside rock-tombs, on the other hand, the constellations are
represented, each with its proper figure, while astronomical tables give
the position of the heavenly bodies at intervals of fifteen days, so
that the soul could tell at a glance into what region of the firmament
the course of the bark would bring him each night. In the earlier
Ramesside tombs, under Seti I. and Ramses II., the execution of these
subjects shows evidence of a care and skill which are quite marvellous,
and both figures and hieroglyphics betray the hand of accomplished
artists. But in the tomb of Ramses III. the work has already begun to
show signs of inferiority, and the majority of the scenes are coloured
in a very summary fashion; a raw yellow predominates, and the tones of
the reds and blues remind us of a child's first efforts at painting.
This decline is even more marked under the succeeding Ramessides; the
drawing has deteriorated, the tints have become more and more crude,
and the latest paintings seem but a lamentable caricature of the earlier
ones.

The courtiers and all those connected with the worship of
Amon-Ra--priests, prophets, singers, and functionaries connected with
the necropolis--shared the s