382 



NORTH-EAST AFEICA. 



The Necropolis of Thebes. 



The Thebes of the left bank was rather a city of the dead than of the living. 

 Nevertheless the portion of the plain where the ground begins to rise towards the' 

 Libyan escarpments also abounds in monuments, mostly, however, of a sepulchral 



Fig. 114.— Ruins of Thebes: Propylon, ok JSTortherv Gate. 



character. An eminence bearing the Arabic name of Medioet-Abu is covered with 

 temples containing painted and sculptured historical pictures, on which are depicted 

 with extraordmary accuracy the types and costumes of Hittites, Amorrheans, 

 l^hilistines, Teucrians, Danaans, Etruscans, Sards, Ethiopians, Arabs, Libyans and 



