Simplify the following text for a Grade 8 native English-speaking person.
Original: Thebes ( , ThÄ `` bai , , á Ä `` bah ) is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean , on the east bank of the river Nile .
Simplified: Thebes ( , ThÄ `` bai ) was a city in Ancient Egypt about 800 km south of the Mediterranean , on the east bank of the river Nile .