THEBES (0CjOa1), the Greek name of the ancient capital of Upper Egypt. It occurs in Homer (11. ix. 385-4) where it has the epithet EKarburvXos, "hundred-gated," probably derived in the first place from the gateways of its endless temples, for Thebes was never a walled city with gates, though its vast temple enclosures in different quarters would form as many fortresses in case of siege or tumult. Its Egyptian name was Wesi (or Wis?), later Ne, "the city" (sometimes Ne-Amun, hence No-Amon in Nahum iii. 8). Ammon, Amen-Ra, or Amenrasonther ("Ammon Ra king of the gods") was its deity, with his consort Mut and their child Khons. Mont also was a local deity and Hathor pre sided over the western cliffs of Thebes. In very ancient times the city lay on the east bank, the necropolis on the west. The chief nucleus of the ancient Wesi was a town about the temple of Karnak: it probably reaches back to the prehistoric period. At Drab abu'l nagga, opposite to it, are tombs of its princes under the VIth Dynasty. The temple of Karnak is no doubt of im memorial antiquity. In it Senusret I. dedicated statues to his predecessors of the Vth Dynasty who had probably showed their devotion to Ammon in a substantial manner, and Cheops of the IVth Dynasty is named in it. After the end of the Old Kingdom Thebes grew from an obscure provincial town to be the seat of a strong line of princes who contended for supremacy with Heracleopolis and eventually triumphed in the XIth Dynasty. The most important monument of the Middle Kingdom now extant at Thebes is the funerary temple of Mentuhotep III. at Deir el Bahri. The name Amenemhet, so common in the XIIth Dynasty, shows the importance of the Theban god at this time. It was, however, the early rulers of the XVIIIth Dynasty down to Tethmosis III. who developed Karnak, and on the west bank built the great funerary temple of Deir el Bahri and smaller temples as far south as Medinet Habu, and began the long series of royal tombs in the lonely Valley of the Kings far back in the desert. Amenophis III. continuing, transformed western Thebes monumentally : built three great temples in addition, that of Mont on the north of Karnak, the temple of Mut on the south and the temple of Ammon at Luxor, and connected the last two with the state temple of Karnak by avenues of sphinxes. The city
and its monuments now covered an area about three miles square. After this Thebes experienced a serious set-back with the heresy of Ikhnaton, the son of Amenophis III. He moved his capital northward to Akhetaton (El Amarna) and strove to suppress the worship of Ammon, doing infinite damage to the monuments of Thebes by defacing his name and figure. After about twenty years, however, the reaction came, Thebes was again the capital, and a little later under Seti (Sethos) I. and Rameses II. of the XXth Dynasty it was raised to greater architectural magnificence than ever. These two kings built the great columnar hall of Karnak, added a large court with pylons to Luxor, and on the west bank built the funerary temple of Seti at Kurna, and the Ramesseum with its gigantic colossus, besides other edifices of which only traces remain. Under the XVIIIth and XIXth Dynas ties Thebes was at the height of its greatness. Conquering Pharaohs brought home trains of prisoners and spoil, embassies came thither of strange people in every variety of costume and of every hue of skin, from Ethiopia, Puoni (Punt), Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, Libya, and the islands of the Mediterranean, bringing precious stones, rare animals, beautiful slaves, costly garments and vessels of gold and silver. The tombs of the XVIIIth Dynasty on the west bank and the sculptures in the temples reflect the brilliancy of these days, but with Rameses II. came the turning-point of its glories, and the efforts of all his successors combined could add little to the wonders of Thebes. The temple and tower of Rameses III. (XXth Dynasty) at Medinet Habu, his tomb in the Biban el Moluk, the temple of Khons (Rameses III. and later) and the court of Sheshonk I. (XXIInd Dynasty) at Karnak are the only great achievements.