were also to be safeguarded in their rights. The “Eloquent
Peasant” was popular because he dared to admonish the
judges again and again to give heed to the demands of the
poor and not to be swayed by the mighty, the well con-
nected, or the popular. The admonitions to the viziers of
Egypt, as recorded in the Eighteenth Dynasty (1550–
1307 B.C.E.) tomb of REKHMIRÉ, echo the same sort of vig-
ilance required by all Egyptian officials.
Some of the higher ranking judges of ancient Egypt
were called “Attached to Nekhen,” a title of honor that
denoted the fact that their positions and roles were in the
finest traditions of HIERAKONPOLIS, the original home of
the first unifier of Egypt around 3000 B.C.E., NARMER. The
title alluded to these judges’ long and faithful tradition of
service and their role in preserving customs and legal tra-
ditions of the past. Others were called the “MAGNATES OF
THE SOUTHERN TEN,” and these officers of the government
were esteemed for their services and for their rank in
powerful Upper Egyptian NOMESor capitals. When Egypt
acquired an empire in the New Kingdom era (1550–1070
B.C.E.), various governors were also assigned to foreign
territories under Egyptian control, and these held judicial
posts as part of their capacity. The viceroy of NUBIA, for
example, made court decisions and enforced the law in
his jurisdiction.
The judicial system of ancient Egypt, collapsing dur-
ing the various periods of unrest or foreign dominance
that inflicted damage on the normal governmental struc-
tures, appears to have served the Egyptians well over the
centuries. Under strong dynasties, the courts and the var-
ious officials were expected to set standards of moral
behavior and to strictly interpret the law.
During the Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.E.) the tra-
ditional court systems of Egypt applied only to native
Egyptians. The Greeks in control of the Nile Valley were
under the systems imported from their homelands. This
double standard was accepted by the common people of
Egypt as part of the foreign occupation. They turned
toward their nomes and their traditions.
Leontopolis (To-Remu, Taremu, Tell el-Mugdam)
This is a site known today as Tell el-Mugdam, in the
Delta, that was the cultic center for the lion deity Mihas.
Called To-Remu or Taremu by the Egyptians, Leontopolis
was on the right bank of the Damietta branch of the Nile.
The deities SHUand TEFNUTwere also worshiped there in
lion form. A temple was on the site at least by the Eigh-
teenth Dynasty (1550–1307 B.C.E.). A lavish palace dat-
ing to the reign of RAMESSES III(1194–1163 B.C.E.) was
found there also. The tomb of Queen KAROMANA(6), the
mother of OSORKON IV (r. 713–712 B.C.E.), was also
erected there. Nearby Mit Ya’ish contained the stela of
OSORKON III(r. 777–749 B.C.E.) and Ptolemaic (304–30
B.C.E.), articles. The rulers of later dynasties usurped
many of the original monuments in Leontopolis.
Letopolis See KOM AUSHIM.lettuce A vegetable deemed sacred to the god MINand
endowed with magical properties, lettuce was used as a
weapon against ghosts of the dead, along with honey. The
vegetable could prick the dead and was used as a threat
by a mother in a New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.) lul-
laby. Lettuce was also fed to the sacred animals in Min’s
shrines and cultic centers and was used in rituals honor-
ing the god SET.libraries These were called “houses of the papyri” and
normally part of the local PER-ANKH, or “House of Life.”
Education was a priority in every generation in ancient
Egypt, and the schools were open to the qualified of all
classes, although only a small percentage of the popula-
tion was literate at any given time. The libraries were vast
storehouses of accumulated knowledge and records. In
the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.) the pharaohs of
the Middle Kingdom (2040–1640 B.C.E.) were much
admired, indicating that the Egyptians had a profound
realization of what had taken place in earlier times. Men
like Prince KHA’EMWESET(1) of the Nineteenth Dynasty
began studies of the past, surveying the necropolis sites
of the first dynasties and recording their findings with
meticulous care.
The priests of the Per-Ankh were required to recite or
read copious documents and records of the various enter-
prises of the king. The levels of the Nile, the movement
of the celestial bodies, and the biannual census were
some of the subjects that could be summoned up from
the libraries and from the lore of the priests. In all areas
the libraries were actually archives, containing ancient
texts and documents. The most famed library of Egypt,
the LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA, was built during the Ptole-
maic Period (304–30 B.C.E.) and was burned in part dur-
ing Julius CAESAR’s campaign in ALEXANDRIA.Library of Alexandria A monument and ongoing
educational institution founded in the reign of PTOLEMY I
SOTER(304–284 B.C.E.), with a “daughter” library in the
SERAPEUM(1) at SAQQARA. DEMETRIUS OF PHALERUM, a stu-
dent of Aristotle, was expelled from Athens and arrived
in ALEXANDRIA, visiting Ptolemy I. He recommended the
construction of a great library and the pharaoh agreed
instantly. A complex of buildings and gardens resulted,
and in time this became a center of learning for the
known world of that historical period. The original intent
was to rescue Greek literary works and to provide a true
center of learning. Within 200 years the Library of
Alexandria had some 700,000 papyri. Visitors to Egypt
were searched, and all books not yet in the library’s pos-
session were confiscated and placed in the collections.
The famous scholars of the time congregated at
the Library of Alexandria, drawn by the vast collections,212 Leontopolis