OWL (=mu=) _in_. Here a preposition governing _time_. PALACE (=seḥ=) _Festival of the Triakonteris_. This hieroglyph with three compartments probably represents the interior of a palace. It is the usual symbol for a festival. With two small thrones inside, as seen here, the hieroglyph probably represents the interior of a palace; and is the ideograph for the festival called triakonteris, because celebrated every thirty years. This cyclical festival was celebrated with great festivity. The space of time between two successive feasts was called a triakontennial period. The thrones which distinguish the triakonteris from an ordinary festival indicates also the royal character of this great feast. HALL (=seḥ=) is the usual hieroglyph for an ordinary festival, and represents the interior of a hall. It consists of two compartments. The pole in the centre supporting the roof is here a carved post. _Seḥ_ is here used as a determinative to the preceding hieroglyph. The symbol for festival here stands on a large semicircle, with an inscribed diamond-shaped aperture. This semicircle with the diamond-shaped aperture is called HEB, and often appears alone as the hieroglyph for _festival_. Thothmes III. reigned fifty-four years, and therefore witnessed the beginning of two triakontennial periods. Probably he set up the two obelisks at the first triakonteris that happened during his reign. [Illustration] The hieroglyphs following seem to be zigzag, line, semicircle, zigzag, hoe, mouth, mouth, cerastes, semicircle, two arms united, line, eye, zigzag, cerastes. These are defaced somewhat on the obelisk, and therefore doubtfully copied in the transcript. Dr. Birch translates them: "according to his wish he has done it." The student should notice that the hieroglyphs hoe and mouth together mean _wish_. Eye (=ar=) here means _done_; and zigzag _has_, the usual sign of perfect. The nomen is the family name or surname of the monarch. It may be made up of iconographs, ideographs, syllabic signs, and alphabetic phonetics; or the name may consist of a combination of all these. If it be composed of the first three, then the nomen corresponds to what in heraldry is called a rebus. The name of Thothmes is made up of the well-known sacred bird called _ibis_, and the triple twig called _mes_. [Illustration: "Son of the Sun, Thothmes."] GOOSE (=sa=) _son_. The goose was a common article of food in Egypt, and as hieroglyphs for the most part are representations of common objects, we find the goose repeatedly figured on the inscriptions. Sometimes it stands for _Seb_, the father of the gods, the _Saturn_ of classic mythology.