the priests came at length to the conclusion that Amon had a right
to the allegiance of the lords of heaven, and that he was the Supreme
Being, in respect of whom the others were of little or no account, and
as he was the only god who was everywhere victorious, he came at length
to be regarded by them as the only god in existence. It was impossible
that the kings could see this rapid development of sacerdotal power
without anxiety, and with all their devotion to the patron of their
city, solicitude for their own authority compelled them to seek
elsewhere for another divinity, whose influence might in some degree
counterbalance that of Amon. The only one who could vie with him at
Thebes, either for the antiquity of his worship or for the rank which he
occupied in the public esteem, was the Sun-lord of Heliopolis, head of
the first Ennead. Thûtmosis IV. owed his crown to him, and 'displayed
his gratitude in clearing away the sand from the Sphinx, in which
the spirit of Harmakhis was considered to dwell; and Amenôthes
III., although claiming to be the son of Amon himself, inherited the
disposition shown by Thûtmosis in favour of the Heliopolitan religions,
but instead of attaching himself to the forms most venerated by
theologians, he bestowed his affection on a more popular deity--Atonû,
the fiery disk. He may have been influenced in his choice by private
reasons. Like his predecessors, he had taken, while still very young,
wives from among his own family, but neither these reasonable ties, nor
his numerous diplomatic alliances with foreign princesses, were enough
for him. From the very beginning of his reign he had loved a maiden who
was not of the blood of the Pharaohs, Tîi, the daughter of Iûîa and his
wife Tûîa.*

* For the last thirty years Queen Tîi has been the subject of many
hypotheses and of much confusion. The scarabasi engraved under Amenôthes
III. say explicitly that she was the daughter of two personages, Iûîa