hidden in his shrine and surrounded by priests. The rites prescribed for
these occasions are graven on the walls of the hypostyle hall in which they
were performed. These being over, king and god together take their way to
the sanctuary. At the door which leads from the public hall to the
mysterious part of the temple, the escort halts. The king crosses the
threshold alone, and is welcomed by the gods. He then performs in due order
all the sacred ceremonies enjoined by usage. His merits increase by virtue
of his prayers; his senses become exalted; he rises to the level of the
divine type. Finally he enters the sanctuary, where the god reveals himself
unwitnessed, and speaks to him face to face. The sculptures faithfully
reproduce the order of this mystic presentation:--the welcoming reception
on the part of the god; the acts and offerings of the king; the vestments
which he puts on and off in succession; the various crowns which he places
on his head. The prayers which he recites and the favours which are
conferred upon him are also recorded upon the walls in order of time and
place. The king, and the few who accompany him, have their backs towards
the entrance and their faces towards the door of the sanctuary. The gods,
on the contrary, or at least such as do not make part of the procession,
face the entrance, and have their backs turned towards the sanctuary. If
during the ceremony the royal memory failed, the king needed but to raise
his eyes to the wall, whereon his duties were mapped out for him.

[Illustration: Fig. 108.--Obelisk of Ûsertesen I., of Heliopolis.]

Nor was this all. Each part of the temple had its accessory decoration and
its furniture. The outer faces of the pylons were ornamented, not only with
the masts and streamers before mentioned, but with statues and obelisks.
The statues, four or six in number, were of limestone, granite, or
sandstone. They invariably represented the royal founder, and were
sometimes of prodigious size. The two Memnons seated at the entrance of the