gods and at the same time humoured the growing communities of priests by erecting and enlarging temples. He gave special recognition to Osiris at sacred Abydos, where many Egyptians of all ranks continued to seek sepulture; to Amon, the family deity at Karnak; and to Hcr-shef at Heracleopolis. Ptah, the god of the artisans, appears to have been neglected, which seems to indicate that he had absorbed, or was absorbed by, Her-shef, whom he so closely resembles.
This Amenemhet is credited with having erected the great Labyrinth in the vicinity of Lake Moeris. The mosque-building Arabs must have used it as a quarry, for no trace of it remains. It appears to have been an immense temple, with apartments for each of the Egyptian gods. “All the works of Greece”, declared Herodotus, “are inferior to it, both in regard to workmanship and cost.” The Greek historian was of opinion that it surpassed even the Pyramids. There were twelve covered courts with entrances opposite to each other—six to the north and six to the south, and the whole was enclosed by a wall. Of the three thousand apartments half were underground. “The numerous winding passages through the various courts”, Herodotus wrote, “aroused my warmest admiration. I passed from small apartments to spacious halls, and from these to magnificent courts, almost without end. Walls and ceilings were of marble, the former being sculptured and painted, and pillars of polished marble surrounded the courts. At the end of the labyrinth stood Pharaoh’s Pyramid, with figures of animals carved upon its casement. “No stranger”, Strabo informs us, “could find his way in or out of this building without a guide.” The brick pyramids of the Twelfth Dynasty were also constructed with winding passages to baffle the tomb robbers; but they were “jerry
