ed fish-ponds full of
fish; he added farms and villages to those he already possessed, and
each reign saw the list of his possessions increase. He had his own
labourers, his own tradespeople, his own fishermen, soldiers, and
scribes, and, presiding over all these, a learned hierarchy of divines,
priests, and prophets, who administered everything. This immense domain,
which was a kind of State within the State, was ruled over by a single
high priest, chosen by the sovereign from among the prophets. He was the
irresponsible head of it, and his spiritual ambition had increased
step by step with the extension of his material resources. As the human
Pharaoh showed himself entitled to homage from the lords of the earth,
the priests came at length to the conclusion that Amon had a right
to the allegiance of the lords of heaven, and that he was the Supreme
Being, in respect of whom the others were of little or no account, and
as he was the only god who was everywhere victorious, he came at length
to be regarded by them as the only god in existence. It was impossible
that the kings could see this rapid development of sacerdotal power
without anxiety, and with all their devotion to the patron of their
city, solicitude for their own authority compelled them to seek
elsewhere for another divinity, whose influence might in some degree
counterbalance that of Amon. The only one who could vie with him at
Thebes, either for the antiquity of his worship or for the rank which he
occupied in the public esteem, was the Sun-lord of Heliopolis, head of
the first Ennead. Thutmosis IV. owed his crown to him, and 'displayed
his gratitude in clearing away the sand from the Sphinx, in which
the spirit of Harmakhis was considered to dwell; and Amenothes
III., although claiming to be the son of Amon himself, inherited the
disposition shown by Thutmosis in favour of the Heliopolitan religions,
but instead of attaching himself to the forms most venerated by
theologians, he bestowed his affection on a more popular deity--Atonu,
the fiery disk. He may have been influenced in his choice by private
reasons. Like his predecessors, he had taken, while still very young,
wives from among his own family, but neither these reasonable ties, nor
his numerous diplomatic alliances with foreign princesses, were enough
for him. From the very beginning of his reign he had loved a maiden who
was not of the blood of the Pharaohs, Tii, the daughter of Iuia and his
wife Tu