the men engaged in them. In every gang of workmen, even in the present
day, two or three men are set apart to provide drinking-water for the
rest; in some arid places, indeed, at a distance from the river, such
as the Valley of the Kings, as many water-carriers are required as there
are workmen. To the trades just mentioned must be added the low-caste
crowd depending oh the burials of the rich, the acrobats, female
mourners, dancers and musicians. The majority of the female corporations
were distinguished by the infamous character of their manners, and
prostitution among them had come to be associated with the service of
the god.*

* The heroine of the erotic papyrus of Turin bears the title
of "Singing-woman of Amon," and the illustrations indicate
her profession so clearly and so expressively, that no
details of her sayings and doings are wanting.

[Illustration: 049.jpg THE GODDESS MABÎTSAKBO]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a photograph by Lanzone.

There was no education for all this mass of people, and their religion
was of a meagre character. They worshipped the official deities, Amon,
Mût, Isis, and Hâthor, and such deceased Pharaohs as Amenôthes I.
and Nofrîtari, but they had also their own Pantheon, in which animals
predominated--such as the goose of Amon, and his ram Pa-rahaninofir,
the good player on the horn, the hippopotamus, the cat, the chicken,
the swallow, and especially reptiles. Death was personified by a great
viper, the queen of the West, known by the name Marîtsakro, the friend
of silence. Three heads, or the single head of a woman, attached to the
one body, were assigned to it. It was supposed to dwell in the mountain