treasury. He was the official who protected Tut’ank-
hamun’s tomb when Horemhab began destroying the
’AMARNAPeriod sites and burial places. Maya was sent by
Horemhab to survey the temples of Egypt and to demol-
ish ’Amarna, the capital of AKHENATEN(r. 1353–1335
B.C.E.). Maya moved Akhenaten’s mummy and other royal
remains from that period to THEBESfor reburial and pro-
tection. He then shielded the tomb of Tut’ankhamun,
refusing to allow anyone to vandalize the site or the
mummified remains.
Maya’s tomb in SAQQARA, south of the causeway of
the pyramid of UNIS, contained statues of him and his
wife, MERIT, who was a chantress of the god Amun. This
tomb is exquisitely decorated and has beautifully painted
chambers. The coffins in these chambers were made of
wood, a rare material at the time.
Mayer B Papyrus A fragmentary text that is com-
posed of the court records of the reigns of RAMESSES IX
(1131–1112 B.C.E.) and RAMESSES XI(1100–1070 B.C.E.),
the papyrus also concerns the robbery of the tomb of
RAMESSES VI(r. 1151–1143 B.C.E.). A confession of a tomb
robber makes the text vivid and historically revealing.
Such robberies normally involved not only the perpetra-
tors but officials and priests who made information about
the royal tombs available and received a percentage of the
profits. Egyptians condemned such acts not only as crim-
inal but also as sacrilege.
See also TOMB ROBBERY TRIAL.
“May My Name Prosper” This was a mortuary
phrase used by the ancient Egyptians and discovered in a
document dating to the Sixth Dynasty (2323–2150
B.C.E.). The Egyptians believed that any nameless crea-
ture, including humans who were forgotten, was unable
to exist in the afterlife. The gods and mankind had to
know the name of the person in order for that man or
woman to remain active and vitally sustained in the after-
life. The Egyptians thus asked their families and friends
to make their names “prosper.”
Those who could afford to hire priests to perform the
mortuary rituals at the burial sites were ensured of con-
tinued remembrance. The royal cults provided hosts of
priests to continue the daily rituals in the tomb com-
plexes of the pharaohs and their families. Other Egyp-
tians relied on the filial piety of their descendants.
FESTIVALSwere celebrated to bring families to the graves
of their ancestors to continue the traditions of remem-
brance and praise.
“May the King Make an Offering” This was a
phrase used in ancient Egypt, Hetep-di-nesu, translated
as “An Offering Made by the King.” The words normally
opened the funerary texts written on stelae and on tomb
walls of deceased Egyptians. They relate to the custom of
the rulers providing a funerary offering to every impor-
tant official, sometimes before his death. In time, the
inscription was included in the mortuary formulas and
concerned everyone, commoners as well as nobles. The
funerary texts thus referred to an ancient tradition and
implied that the ruler would provide spiritual offerings
instead of the material ones brought to the gravesites in
early eras.
See also LIST OF OFFERINGS; LITURGY OF THE FUNERARY
OFFERINGS; MORTUARY RITUALS.Mazeus(fl. fourth century B.C.E.) Persian satrap who
saved Egypt from destruction
Serving DARIUS III CODOMAN(r. 335–332 B.C.E.), the Per-
sian emperor who faced ALEXANDER [III] THE GREAT,
Mazeus governed Egypt as a Persian province. He
watched the disastrous defeats suffered by Darius III’s
military forces at the hands of the Greeks, and he decided
to protect Egypt when Alexander and his army arrived on
the Nile as victors. He welcomed them and opened the
gates of the nation and cities to their company and thus
spared the Egyptians and their cities. Mazeus was hon-
ored by Alexander for his wisdom and given a high office
in the conqueror’s government in Babylon.Mazghuna This is a site south of DASHURassociated
with the last rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty. The pyramidal
forms of AMENEMHET IV(r. 1799–1787 B.C.E.) and Queen-
Pharaoh SOBEKNEFERU(r. 1787–1783 B.C.E.) were discov-
ered there. They were brother and sister, and they tried to
revive their dynastic claims and halt the disintegration of
Egypt and the start of the Second Intermediate Period, to
no avail. The HYKSOSand other foreign contingents were
already visible in the Delta, and the nome clans were
instituting their own claims to land and power. The pyra-
midal tombs of these rulers are in ruins.Medamud, Nag el- An Old Kingdom (2575–2134
B.C.E.) temple site, northeast of KARNAKat THEBES, the
area was dedicated to the god MONTUand was maintained
and refurbished by pharaohs of all eras. The Old King-
dom temple at Medamud had a sacred grove and was sur-
rounded by a wall that contained a unique tunnel system,
primeval mounds, and chambers. SENWOSRET III (r.
1878–1841 B.C.E.) also built a temple to the deity Montu
at Medamud, and other additions discovered on the site
were made by AMENHOTEP II(r. 1427–1401 B.C.E.) and
some later rulers.
The local triad of Montu, Rattawy, and Harpocrates
was worshiped at the temple. A processional way and
giant statues of cobras made the Medamud temple dis-
tinct. There was a SACRED LAKEas well, and a shrine for
the BULLsymbols of Montu. The Greeks and Romans
made additions in their own eras. PTOLEMY XII(r. 80–58,
55–51 B.C.E.) added three kiosks, and PTOLEMY VIII(r.Medamud, Nag el- 2 29