utiful, and which
centuries later was changed to Memphis.

Meidoom's population, near forty thousand, consisted of more than two
thousand priests with their families and retainers and twenty thousand
laborers and overseers. The majority are engaged in the construction of
temples and sarcophagi.

The people are firm believers in a future state and therefore very
religious. The priests act as intercessors between the people and their
many gods, look after the sacred animals of the temples, are
professional embalmers, architects and custodians of the tombs.

The priesthood hold high social rank, are exempt from taxes, but do not
practice celibacy or asceticism. Their ranks are recruited by heredity
or from the nobility; and it is not uncommon for a prince to surrender
his claim of succession to assume the office of high priest.

Had there been occasion for a test of power between the government and
the priesthood, the priestly orders would have been found the real
rulers.

Amun is the chief or spiritual god of the Egyptians. The name means The
Hidden One; and he controls the conscience and the soul.

Rahotep is chief priest of Amun and the keeper of the Book of Death. He
and all the priesthood of Amun wear a costume of white linen decorated
with the blue figure of a man having the head of a ram and carrying in
his hand a sharsh, the symbols of Amun. The chief priest in addition
wears the royal symbol with two long feathers as a head dress.

Osiris is the god of good, in contradistinction to Set, the god of evil.
He is the god of the Nile and the guardian and preserver of the human
body after death. His symbol is a mummy wearing a royal crown and
ostrich plumes. The god of the sun is the soul of Osiris. The white
linen gowns of the priests of Osiris have a figured border of mummies in
black, wearing crowns and ostrich plumes. Nefermat, chief priest, in
addition wears the royal insignia.

At this time, besides many shrines, there are three temples at Meidoom,
the temple of Amun, the temple of Osiris and the temple of The Dead. The
two orders of the priesthood are presided over by Rahotep and Nefermat,
the two sons of Sneferru, who, occupying their priestly positions at
his demise, the succession passed to Khufa, a brother, who married
Neferma, the widow of Sneferru.

As chief embalmer I had charge of the temple of the Dead, where both
orders of the priesthood officiated, since the one god, Amun, having
charge of t