408 TlepolemusTlepolemus(fl. second century B.C.E.)General of the
Ptolemaic Period who brought down a palace cabal
Tlepolemus was a military official in the reign of PTOLEMY
VEpiphanes (205–180 B.C.E.) who altered the course of
history by opposing palace conspirators. He was the gov-
ernor of Pelusium on Egypt’s eastern frontier when he
heard that Queen ARSINOE (3), the mother of young
Ptolemy V, had been murdered. A courtier named AGATH-
OCLES(2) was responsible. SOSIBIUS, an official who was
part of the original plot, had served as guardian of
Ptolemy V and had retired. Agathocles became the royal
guardian in his place, an event that enraged Tlepolemus
and started him marching toward ALEXANDRIAwith an
army.
In the streets of Alexandria, the people witnessed the
arrival of Tlepolemus and his forces and joined them at
the palace. Agathocles, seeing the mob and Tlepolemus,
resigned hastily and fled the scene. The boy ruler was
taken to a stadium, and there, Tlepolemus announced the
crimes. Ptolemy V agreed to the mob’s demand for Agath-
ocles’ blood and the elevation of Tlepolemus to the role
of guardian. Agathocles was slain by the angry Alexandri-
ans, and his sister and other family members were also
torn to pieces. Tlepolemus took charge of Ptolemy V’s
future. He was dismissed from the guardianship a short
time later.
To d This was a site on the eastern banks of the Nile
south of Thebes, serving as a cultic center for the god
MONTU. SENWOSRET I(r. 1971–1926 B.C.E.) erected a tem-
ple to that deity at Tod. Artifacts bearing the seals of
AMENEMHET II(r. 1929–1892 B.C.E.) were also discovered
on the site, including cylinders and cuneiform inscrip-
tions. The temple was obviously built on the foundation
of an earlier shrine, dating to the Old Kingdom Period
(2575–2134 B.C.E.). Tod remained an active center even
in the Roman Period, after 30 B.C.E.
PTOLEMY VIII EUERGETES II (r. 170–163, 145–116
B.C.E.) added a SACRED LAKEto the temple in his era as
well. The temple approach was designed with an avenue
of SPHINXfigures and a way station for the sacred bark of
Montu. TUTHMOSIS III(r. 1479–1425 B.C.E.) presented the
station to the complex. The nearby necropolis of el-
MOALLAserved Tod.
See also TOD TREASURES.
Tod Treasures They are a collection of silver vessels
discovered in the temple of MONTU at TOD, south of
Thebes. These date to the reign of AMENEMHET II(1929–
1892 B.C.E.) and are of Asiatic design. Secured inside four
bronze boxes, the Treasures of Tod include silver cups of
Aegean and Levantine design, Babylonian cylinder seals,
and lapis amulets. They were objects placed in the foun-
dation of the Montu temple.
tomb The evolving grave sites and structures erected
by the Egyptians for their mortuary rituals and for the
internment of their dead, the early tombs of the Egyp-
tians, in both the north and south, were dug out of the
soil on the fringes of the deserts. Several such burial sites
have been discovered, and one entire setting is now in
the British Museum. The bodies were laid in the ground
with pottery, personal items, and weapons, following the
customs of other primitive peoples throughout the
world. In time, however, the funerary offerings and the
regalia accompanying the corpses demanded larger
receptacles, as the MORTUARY RITUALS became more
sophisticated. The Egyptians began building MASTABAS,
tombs made out of dried bricks, with shafts and burial
chambers dug into the ground. The main level of the
mastaba contained a room for ceremonies and then an
additional room, a SERDAB,used to position a statue of
the deceased so that his spirit could witness the services
being offered in his name. The STEP PYRAMIDat SAQQARA
started the phase of royal pyramids, but these vast com-
plexes, some the size of small cities, were reserved only
for royalty and their immediate associates. Commoners
and the lesser nobles of the land continued to build their
tombs at the edge of the desert, although cliff tombs
were popular in many nomes. Others built mastabas in
the desert, and these were accompanied by CENOTAPHS,
false tombs constructed for religious purposes, to honor
a particular god or region. Such cenotaphs were discov-
ered in the necropolis areas of ABYDOSand at GEBEL EL-
SILSILEH.
Temples were used in conjunction with tombs even-
tually, and it became evident that such sites were vulnera-
ble to robbers. AMENHOTEP I (r. 1525–1504 B.C.E.)
decided to use the cliffs in the VALLEY OF THE KINGSon
the western shore of THEBESas his burial site. Others in
the dynasty imitated him, and the VALLEY OF THE QUEENS
was also opened for the royal women and princes. The
tombs of these individuals were maintained by mortuary
priests, contracted and supported by the will of the
deceased or by royal decree. The priests performed daily
rituals of offerings and prayers at these sites, and entire
families continued in service at the tombs as hereditary
priests.tomb balls Clay documents discovered in ancient
Egyptian tombs, all marked with the hieroglyph for “con-
tract” or “seal,” these balls are believed to have repre-
sented the contracts drawn up on behalf of the deceased
and his or her family with the mortuary PRIESTS. Such
priests were commissioned to continue daily MORTUARY
RITUALSat the tombs. Some of the tomb balls contained
bits of papyrus and linen. These balls were probably
deposited in the tombs of the deceased by the mortuary
priests as symbols of the contracts drawn up for future
services.