Ch.  2]  The  Hamites,  20 1

about  the  labyrinth.  At  one  corner  of  this  struc-
ture was  one  of  those  remarkable  pyramids  for
which  Egypt  was  celebrated.  As  Herodotus  saw
it,  from  a  base  three  hundred  feet  square,  it  rose
to  an  elevation  of  about  one  hundred  and  eighty-
five  feet,  while  its  truncated  summit  was  crowned
with  immense  carved-stone  statues.  Thus  the  Fay-
oum  with  its  Lake  Mceris,  its  Labyrinth,  and  its
^  Pyramid,   rivalled  in  interest  any  other  portion  of

Egypt.*

17.  Art  was  revived  in  the  Xlth  dynasty,  although
the  seven  centuries  preceding  are  barren  of  any  re-
mains. The  necropolis  at  Abydos  and  that  at  Beni-
Hassan,  nearer  Memphis,  are  rich  in  tombs  cut  into
the  hillsides  high  above  the  level  of  the  Nile.  These
tombs  were  large  and  spacious,  with  facades  of  fluted
or  Proto-Doric  columns,  with  walls  painted  and
carved  with  scenes  from  the  lives  of  the  occupants,
with  steles  setting  forth  the  virtues  of  the  dead.
This  is  all  in  keeping  with  the  style  of  the  times
of  the  Pyramid  Builders.  But  in  sculpture  there  is
a  change.  The  statuary  of  this  period  presents  a
nobler  type  of  man, — longer  legs  and  more  slender
frame — though  there  is  till  represented  more  muscu-
larity than  is  in  keeping  with  the  White  type  of
beauty.  The  Egyptian  type,  in  fact,  was  gradually
rising  out  of  the  various  elements  mingling  in  the
valley.
18.  Literature  was  keeping  pace  with  the  other
lines  of  culture.  Indeed  the  Middle  Empire  has
been  called  the  Golden  Age  of  Egyptian  Literature.
*  Herodotus,  II.,  148.
