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, or Northern Gate.

character. An eminence bearing the Arabic name of Medinet-Abu is covered with temples containing painted and sculptured historical pictures, on which are depicted with extraordinary accuracy the types and costumes of Hittites, Amorrheans, Philistines, Teucrians, Danaans, Etruscans, Sards, Ethiopians, Arabs, Libyans and