The Great Hypostyle Hall at the Temple of Amun, Karnak, Part 3: The Interior Walls

Egypt features story
The Great Hypostyle Hall at the Temple of Amun, Karnak, Part 3
The Interior Walls
by Jim Fox

Transformed bas-reliefs on the interior walls of the Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Amun at Karnak In examining the interior walls of the Great Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Amun at Karnak, beginning on the inside of the north wing of the second pylon, it would be almost impossible to describe every scene, so we must here limit our narration to specific examples.

Champollion tells us that the space between the central doorway and the architraves of the second row of monostyle columns, on the eastern facade of the northern wing of the second pylon, is decorated:

"by an immense tableau whose figures are more than twenty feet high, sculpted in a very beautiful style of relief.

Amun-Re is seated on his throne; standing behind the god is the goddess Mut, who is ordinarily enfeoffed (subservient) with him. A second enfeoffed goddess [our of whose horns the solar disk emerges] holds a [sistrum] and flowers in her right hand raised before Amun-Re; with the left hand she holds the hand of pharaoh with a scratched-out figure of enfeoffment, who is holding [the hek scepter and the nekhakha scepter] on his shoulder and is bowing as he approaches Amun-Re...

Behind the king, the god [Khonsu] is standing, disk and crescent, the enfeoffment of the prince, necklace, body clad in a girdle, the one hand holding a panegyric scepter, the other designating a notch with the gnomon. He is performing the duties of Thoth here, for whom he is the prototype."

These depictions apparently overlay earlier depictions and in fact, the great disk carved in sunk relief above the face of Seti I is from one of these earlier scenes. Legrain believed it might have surmounted the head of the rams that adorned the prow and stern of the barque of Amun.

Seti I making the royal ascent towards Amun Re After this large depiction, the height of the northern interior wall of the Second Pylon within the Temple of Amun at Karnak is divided into four registers of ritual scenes including numerous vestiges of earlier reliefs overwritten by later pharaohs. Hence, the earlier depictions probably date from the period when the wings of the pylon fell outside of the central avenue of columns before the expansion of the Hypostyle Hall. The main scene in these original decorations occupied the entire length of the north wing and was at least as tall as the current second and third registers.

In the first scene of the fourth register, which depicts Ramesses I offering fire and water to Montu, Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris and Isis, the sky cuts the figures of the previous decorations down to the waist. This original scene represented Amun's great Barque towed by another large, barque. These boats push towards the central doorway and the south, in the direction of Luxor.

Many of the original scenes depicted on this wall were simply modified at the time of the enlargement of the Hypostyle Hall. For example, the colossal barque was replaced by a smaller one that was no longer towed by oarsmen but rather by the king and three gods. Legrain tells us of the new depiction:

"The Userhat (the royal barque) was towed by a fairy barque that moved forward by itself over the waters of the Nile. No mast, no sail, no oars nor oarsman. Only the rudder oars that no pilot steered could be seen on the prow."

However, the new barque scene does retain traces of the oars of the previous scene. Champollion also describes the two barques of Seti I:

"A bari or barque. On the prow three standards are fixed [the Upwat, the falcon, the royal cartouche]. On the bari following, Upper Egypt, supplicating hands extend from the side of the prow [sic]. Four figures are pulling an immense bari with a rope behind the first barque. The head of the first towing figure is broken. He was jackal headed [Upwat]. The second is the king Meneptah I in normal attire, the third is ram-headed, the fourth is falcon-headed."

Legrain, in Les Temples de Karnak, goes on to tell us that:

"A fragment of text that is located in front of the God Aupuaitu in the towing barque indicates that it and the barque of Amun are going to Apitu of the South, that is, the temple of Luxor. That is why they are represented with their prows pointing south."

Champollion goes on to add that:

"Next comes the great bari of Ammon-Ra; on the prow and on the stern [a ram's head bears the atef crown flanked by two uraei on the horns of Khnum]. In the middle stands a kind of temple or palace supported by two columns. Above the cornice is the anaglyph of the king's given name, which is repeated without variation for the entire length of this cornice. This palace contains a naos, a cornice crowned by a uraeus with a disk, a frieze [Isis knots and djed pillars] in which the bari of the god sits on a pedestal with the customary adornments. On the door or veil that closes the kibotos can be seen the anaglyph of the king's given name overshadowed by cherubs.

Behind the great kibotos [the palace] on the stern, the bari of khons and that of Muth (destroyed)...

The great kibotos or palace, which encloses all the rest, is preceded by

masts of rejoicing with floating streamers. The masts are attached to the frieze of the column

two obelisks

finally, four pseudo-lotus-flower columns crowned with the king's inscription in alternation with sparrow hawks.

This explains the twelve [sic] columns in front of the second pylon, in the center of the first courtyard of this palace.

In front of the pseudo-columns:

On a small pedestal with an altar and offerings is the small bari, covered b y a veil of the queen [Ahmose-Nefertari];

the king [Seti Meryenptah] wearing a helmet, throwing grains of incense into the Amschir;

a sphinx on a standard, enfeoffed with Sokaris, with tail turned up;

a goddess mother and Thmei standing on the prow. Four jackal-headed figures make [henu] before the great kibotos.

The barque, or as Champollion refers to it, the bari of Amun which he describes is very similar to the previous version that took up almost the entire north part of this wing of the pylon.

The King making offerings before Montu Turning the corner we come to the western edge of the northern wall. Here, in the second register, we find the king who wears the blue khepresh helmet. He is on his knees and is making offerings to Montu, who is in the heart of Thebes. The king offers three papyrus stems in his right hand and a bouquet of budding and flowering lotuses in his left. Montu, holding the was scepter with his right and and the ankh in his left, is standing.

Only the prow of the barque of Khonsu is visible on the lower register, for the remainder was hammered out. However, here we find the god, Khonsu, adorned with the falcon head crowned by a disk in the crescent. Below this is the barque of Mut. Within the naos to the right, which is crowned by a uraeus with (sun) disks, we find the barque of Amun.

To the right of Montu we once again find the king kneeling, this time before Amun. Above the king is the vulture god, Nekhebet. In this scene, the king offers breads, plucked and trussed geese and a bouquet of lotus buds and flowers on a platter to Amun. In return, Amun gives him "all life, stability, strength, and all enlargement of the heart, as Ra".

The King makes offerings such as bread before Amun (standing)

The lower register is in very poor condition, but we can make out the upper part of a naos in which the sacred barque of Amun rests.

Further down the wall nearer to the north doorway, in the lower register, we again find the sacred barque of Amun, followed by the two barques of Khonsu and Mut. The barque of Amun is being carried to the east, towards the open north doorway and this scenes provides a view of the naos in fine relief.

In the upper part of this scene, Amun-Re, sits upon a lotus. He has a ram's head surmounted by the atef crown. He is flanked by two winged gods crowned with disks and holding in their hand reaching up the feather of Ma'at and an ankh symbol in their lower hand.

Below this the falcon headed Re is depicted in a similar scene. A solar disk surmounts his head and he rests upon the men symbol, while holding a Ma'at feather in his hand. This figure represents the anaglyph of Seti I's royal birth name, Menmaatre, which can be found repeated on the frieze above the naos just below the top of the wall. Similar gods to those in the depiction of Amun-Re in the above scene flank Re, but this time they hold an ankh sign in their upper hands and the djed in the lower. However, from the djed symbols springs first another ankh and then the was, which signifies stability, life and power.

Beyond this scene to the right is a sail, fully swollen by the wind, with friezes at its bottom and near its peak. In between, we find the king wearing the white crown and making offerings to Ma'at, who represents justice. Further to the right is Ma'at herself, who is kneeling on a men symbol. Her head is surmounted by first a feather and then a solar disk. This is another anaglyphic form of Menmaatre.

SEti I offering a Papyrus Bouquet Further along, next to the north doorway, the king is once again depicted as he stands facing the west. He bows, while offering a lotus and papyrus bouquet. In this scene, he wears a wig that is finely portrayed with lines that end in curls radiating from the crown of his head. Two long, folded ribbons drop behind him from the nape of his neck. Covering his shoulders is the user necklace, consisting of seven rows of stones such as lapis lazuli, carnelian, turquoise and a row of beads, separated by gold wire. Above the king in the second cartouche we find the jackal-headed Seth animal used to write his Seti name. It follows the name of Horus and the cartouche of Menmaatre.

As we pass the doorway of the north wall in a general eastern direction, we find on the panel of the doorway, the king entering the temple. He faces the east, towards the temple sanctuaries. Here, his first action is to "Give the House to Its Masters". The "house" is of course, the temple itself, which is depicted by a sanctuary, above which the king holds an ankh in his left hand. Before him, and facing the king is Amun-Re, presiding in Ipet-sut (The Temple of Karnak), who gives him all life, stability, power and the assurance of numerous years of Atum, as Re.

The king gives the house to its masters

The figure of the king has been altered three times. The original scene depicted the bearded king standing upright with a nemes headdress revealing his ear. The next alteration had him bowing, with no beard and his ear hidden. Through the final alterations, the original ear may still be observed.

Seti I in the Persea Tree Further down towards the third pylon, in the second register of the fourth scene on this wall, we see the king on his knees, before the persea tree. He wears the blue helmet, while holding the hek scepter over his shoulder with his right hand. In his left hand, he holds stylized fruits on which Thoth has just engraved his mystical name. Here, Thoth, with his ibis head, has written with his gnomon the name of Menmaatre and is holding a shell in his left hand. Here again, the figure of the king has been reworked at least several times. Originally, he was larger and wore a loincloth.

Above the persea tree, the anaglyph of the king is made up of symbols for Ma'at and men, crowned by the solar disk Ra, which which are suspended two crowned uraei.

The next scene to the east is a sequel to the previous one. Here the king is kneeling, and his right leg is stretched behind him in the position known as the "silver statue", a posture that is very specific to Karnak. He bows before Re, who is seated in his naos. The king wears a headband and the atef crown, flanked by two uraei on disks, all surmounting the horns of Khnum. The king holds the hek and nekhakha scepters in his right hand. In the king's left hand, he supports the symbols of the sed festival and longevity that hand beneath the "palm of the years" that Re holds with the was in his right hand. With Re's left hand, he reaches out to the horn of the king's crown.

Seti I kneeling before Re in his Naos, followed by Sekhmet holding the Palm of the Years Behind Seti I's image we find a good example of the lion headed Sekhmet, who is here named "the great magician". She also holds, in her right hand, the "palm of the years, from which dangles some of the same symbols we find in the depiction of Re. Her left hand is raised.

Just beyond these scenes, on the second register, we find a fairly unusual depiction of Amun-Re Kamutef, the prince of the Great Ennead of gods. Here, he wears an unusual headdress which is shaped tightly about his head. It is held in place by a band that extends in the back down to the pedestal. To the right, the king kneels before his Horus name supported by the ka. The king holds a basket of offerings above his head.

Now we come to the exterior face of the third pylon at the rear of the Hypostyle Hall. When the additions were made to the hall, expanding out the walls with the addition of the smaller columns, a vertical wall was used to correct the slope of this pylon, though it respected the grooves cut for holding the masts.

This western facade of the third pylon was inscribed with five registers of scenes surmounted by a frieze of khakeru that represent the different phases of the Ritual of the Daily Divine Worship, during the reign of Seti I

On the lower register, for example, the king breaks the clay seals, draws back the bolt, and opens the two sections of the door to heaven.

The king leaving the sanctuary In the second register, we find the king wearing a headband, a long, pleated linen robe, and a large scarf. In his right hand, he holds a key-of-life shaped vessel, while in the left hand he grasps a bundle of tied straw, which he uses to eradicate the marks of his footprints while turning his back to the neter (god). While the text of this scene is lost to us, we may interpret its meaning from the a temple at Abydos and from the Berlin Papyrus, which in sixty-six chapters, describes the Ritual of the Daily Divine Worship.

In this type of depiction, the king is always represented as officiating in the temple reliefs, though the ritual was actually performed by the "priest on his day", for whom the name signifies pure and who is identified as the king. A statue of the neter was believed to renew the Osirian passion each night. In the morning, after having made his ablutions, the officiating priest who was now purified in mind and body would start the day's ceremony with a purification fire, which was a metaphor for the Eye of Horus. Horus was responsible for driving back the power of Seth and annihilating the enemies of the neter.

In the five vertical columns of the lower register, to the left of Amun-Re Kamutef, we find text with the title, "Chapter on Making the Fire Each Day".

After having made the fire, the priest, acting for the king, would proceed to open up the naos of the temple, which would have been sealed for the night. He would then complete the steps of the complete ritual. After the first part of the ceremony had ended, the service was repeated twice. When the priest leaves the sanctuary, he speaks the words, "I have left, with your great face behind me".

It should be noted that in this scene in the Hypostyle Hall, the ankh shaped vessel is split in half, signifying that only half of the ceremony has been completed.

In the third register, we find Seti, still kneeling, but now holding a torch before Amun, who "lights with fire the first day of the year". Then in the fifth register, the kneeling king, who holds the key of life, presents a list of offerings and finally, in the fifth register, Seti I kneels before Amun, who holds a rope rolled up like the hieroglyphic h. Here, the caption reads, "he activates his fire".

These various registers refer to chapters within the Ritual of the Daily Divine Worship. Here, the second register is from the chapter on the lighting of the temple, while the third and fifth registers, respectively, or from the chapters on the New Year's Day torch, and the chapter on the extinguishing of the torch.

Next, we will skip over and examine the front edge of the antechamber attached to the front of the third pylon. These scenes continue the theme of the Daily Divine Worship. At the top of this corner block we find Amun seated on his throne. Below this, the reliefs were decorated in the name of Ramesses II using sunk relief. The next lower register depicts the king on his knees before Ptah. Here, his fist is clenched with only the little finger extended. This gesture is explained by the fact that the officiating priest always puts on a silver or gold fingerstall to anoint the sacred statue.

The priest, representing the king, after having entered the sanctuary, purifies it with incense. Next, he breaks the seal to the doors of the naos, and uncovers the face of the god while uttering the sanctioned words and making the medjet unguent offering. One must remember that the god is supposed to have undergone the dismemberment of his body during the night, just as Osiris was dismembered by Seth. The Berlin Papyrus explains the unction on the forehead with the:

"medjet paint emerges from the Eye of Horus, puts his bones back in place, rejoins his limbs, reassembles his flesh, drives off the evil influences of Seth, and, subsequently, destroys all those who are in his retinue."

The final lower scene in this section depicts the offering of the white vessel to Amun.

From here, we will move over to the eastern side of the south wall, were we will see a scene at the top of the wall representing the manufacturing of the young king by Khnum on his potter's wheel. The royal infant is represented alone, whereas in the temple at Luxor he is depicted with his ka.

Ramesses II's coronation among gods Below this, his coronation as king of Upper and Lower Egypt is depicted. Usermaatre, Son of Re, Ramesses (II) Meryamun is here seated on a throne and wearing the double crown representing the duality of his kingdom. In his hands he holds two, uncrossed scepters. He is flanked by two seated, female gods who grasp his shoulders. The goddess that he faces, to the east, is Nekhebet, mistress of the South. She assures him of her protection by "joining with his limbs" and of "his rejuvenation in the image of the Aten disk in heaven". Behind her, Horus of Behedet reaches over Nekhebet to present Ramesses II with the white crown set on a basket.

The goddess to the west is Wadjet, mistress of the North. Behind her, Thoth is presenting the red crown to the king, while confirming his divine origin and the righteousness of his rule over the Two Lands. The three thrones of the king and the two goddesses rests upon a single pedestal, while Thoth and Horus stand on the ground.

Ramesses II in the Persea Tree Below the coronation scene we find the king, wearing a blue war helmet, kneeling in a persea tree. He has just been directed toward the sanctuary of his father Amun, by Atum, the master of Heliopolis, and by Montu, the master of Thebes. The king holds the hek and nekhakha scepters over his shoulder with one hand. With his other hand, he prop up the symbols of the sed festival that have been extended to him by Amun, who is seated in his naos.

Behind the king stands Thoth, who announces various renewals to him and inscribes the throne name on one of the fruits that he holds up in his left hand. Above this scene, in a cartouche on the left surmounted by the symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt, is the throne name of Ramesses II Usermaatre. Here, a winged disk gives his cartouche life.

Further to the west towards the second pylon, we find the Race of the Apis Bull which is often associated with the king's sed festival. This well known ceremony is for the first time found mentioned on the Palermo Stone in regard to several archaic kings, and afterwards, on a cylinder of Horus Den, the fourth king of the 1st Dynasty, we have the first known testimony of the Apris race.

The Race of the Apris Bull During the inauguration of a monument, the sacred bull Hap, at times accompanied the king during his race, as in the image on the second register at this point on the wall. Some inscriptions provide that "the king gives the land four times", implying that this ritual race was made around the area of the temple, once for each direction. Here, this is a double scene that is often found on the lintels of doorways that provide access to the sanctuaries of temples. On one side the king wears the red crown and on the other side, the white crown. Clearly visible, the king on the right holds two libation vessels. Behind him the two symbols of heaven, cut in half, are crowning the symbols of the the bull.

On the far left of this same register, Usermaatre, who wears the curling locks of a crown prince is clad in a panther skin. he holds the censer in one hand while he presents "food" to Menmaatre ( Seti I), who is standing on a pedestal in a naos, as an equal of a god. Hence, Ramesses II is paying homage to his father.

On the bottom register below these scenes, a column of text behind the barques of Khonsu and Mut, inform us that Menmaatre, maa kheru, accompanied his father Amun into the splendid temple Seti-beloved-of Ptah in the house of Amun. Hence, Seti I is depicted walking behind the sacred barques, in the same direction as the gods, and he is qualified as maa kheru (vindicated), which indicates that the king "was brought up to heaven and that he has rejoined He who has created him".

The king binding the Two Lands In the next series of scenes on this wall, in the upper register and clearly defined, we find the king kneeling on the sma symbol. He is flanked by Thoth, master of the city of the Eight (Heliopolis) on the left and Horus, great god, master of Mesen.t. Hence, the king is joining the Two Lands of the North and South "under his feet", and the gods are assuring him of the monarchy. The horizontal bar on which the king is kneeling always indicates a significant measurement.

In the lower register, the barque of Amun is resting in a large naos (of which only a small part of the uraei frieze of the dais can be seen). Before it sits the barques of Khonsu and Mut. All of these wall sculptures are rendered in sunk relief, with the exception of the naos of the barque.

The next series of important scenes begins on the other (western) side of the southern doorway to the Hypostyle Hall. In the upper most register of this area of the wall is a scene of bird hunting with nets. The image represents a pool in the midst of a papyrus thicket out of which seven ducks are flying. The net had been open, but on the signal given by Thoth with his scarf, they are now closed over the captured birds. This scene is interesting in that it is repeated in many private tombs, where peasants close the net under the watchful eye of their master. Here, the texts describes Thoth as the "master of the city of Eight" who presides in Hesret at the heart of the "temple of nets". This refers to the sanctuary located in Heliopolis and therefore named in memory of the place where Seth was captured in a net by Horus. Furthermore, Thoth administers the "snaring" operation and it is said that he extends his two arms like a bow in order to unfurl the strip of cloth. The text goes on to explain that Thoth has crossed the swamp filled with birds, and has set a trap so that the fowl may be offered to the gods. In fact, just beyond, the red-crowned king holds three birds in each hand that he is presenting to Amun, from who he receives all life and "enlargement of heart".

The king holding three fowl in each hand as an offering

In the middle register, the king is flanked by Atum and Montu. They hold his hands while he makes the royal ascent towards the temple of Amun-Ra. In front of this trio are the standards who hold up Upwat, the opener of the ways, and the strange symbol of Khonsu. Here also is Seshat, the mistress of writing, who wears the nine-pointed star and holds in her hands the palm of the years with the eight symbols of the sed festival, while Thoth inscribes the Horus name of the king and his renewals in his "annals".

The king flanked by Atum and Montu, with Seshat wearing a nine-pointed star

In the lower register, the king is wearing the blue helmet and a long coat. He stands before the barque of Amun, which terminates with a ram's head crowned with a disk, spraying incense. The barque is supported by a stretcher that is carried on the shoulders of three groups of five falcon-headed figures in the front and thirteen jackal-headed figures in the back. These are the spirits of Pe and Nekhen, though some Egyptologists have suggested that these are real priests wearing jackal and sparrow hawk masks, a notion that has been hotly debated. If indeed priests wore masks in some of the ceremonies, they must be clearly distinguished from the depictions in the sanctuaries where animal headed figures are "functional principles" and certainly not masked officials.

The king facing the barque of Amun

In the center of the scene, the first prophet of Amun, the king Usermaatre Setepenre, clad in a panther skin, accompanies the barque. Scholars who have studied this representation believe that the scene was first sculpted in relief, by either Seti I or Ramesses II, and then, with the exception of the naos and the king's face, was entirely re-carved in sunk relief, preserving the traces of the original scene.

Within the upper part of the naos is the ram-headed Amun. He rests upon a lotus and the mer sign, and is overshadowed by two winged Ma'ats placed on the men sign and holding the user symbols in their hands. In the middle part of this representation, Ra is also present. He his placed on the men, and is also holding the user symbol in his hand rather than the feather of Ma'at that his holds in the north naos.

The king offering the oryx in the upper register, and kneeling before Amun in the lower register As we approach the corner of the southern side of the second pylon, we find on the western extreme of the southern wall a depiction of the king as an older man. He is represented in a large naos in the lower register, which encloses the entire scene. To his left is a deity wearing the disk in the lunar crescent on his head and holding all the scepters in his and except for the wadj. Before the king, Amun is seated and holding the was scepter and the palm of the years in his left hand. Amun's right hand extends to the king the hek and nekhakha scepters, which is for the renewal of the king. Behind Amun, Mut is blessing the king and holding a double palm of the years in her right hand, from which are hanging eight sed renewal festival symbols.

Above this scene in the second register we find the king sacrificing the oryx, which is placed on a table of offerings adorned with the djed pillar of Osiris and the knot of Isis, alternating with each other. The Theban triad is also present in this scene. The oryx is one of the forms of Seth capable of devouring the Eye of Horus, and there are various mythological passages concerning this beast. There are countless allusions in the Ritual of the Daily Divine Worship concerning the sacrifice of the Sethian oryx (in this instance, white), which symbolizes the last phases of the re-conquest of the Eye of Horus. Hence, this scene is all about renewal and the sacrifice of the oryx is indispensable in the ceremony of the sed festival.

Now we turn the corner and examine several scenes that may be found near the central portal on the inside of the southern part of the second pylon. Near this doorway is a tableau that is the only one in relief in the entire southern half of the hypostyle hall. As king of the gods, Amun-Re, at the head of the Great Ennead, announces that he is giving a great increase to Hapi, the Nile. The triad is within a naos that floats entirely on a band of water that is rising under the feet of Amun, replacing the pedestal of his throne. This is an unusual depiction, where the was scepter is framed by two wavy lines symbolizing water, and the face of Amun bears two ram's horns encircling his ears. He wears a triple atef crown and two ostrich plumes placed on the horns of Khnum, in addition to his normal headdress. Legrain, in Les Temples de Karnak, tells us that:

"The band of water continues behind the naos containing the Theban triad, and the barque Userhat of Amun is sailing upon it going from south to north, towed by the five neters (gods) who are standing on the pilot barque. These two barques are the replicas in sunk relief of those of Seti I in relief on the north side of this same facade of the second pylon.

Above the sacred barque, Amun's speech being with the words, 'Says Amun-Re, master of the thrones of the Two Worlds, who is in the Nu [the primordial waters]'."

In the last scene before the doorway of the second pylon, we find in the lower register, the king wearing the red crown. He his making the 'great stride" while giving the field four times to his father, Montu, master of Thebes. He carries the seal in one hand and the nekhakha scepter in the other. In the background are the symbols for the scorpion and the ka (bull).

Above this scene in the upper register is a huge depiction of Thoth inscribing the different titles of Ramesses II, including his Horus name, his Golden Horus name and his nebti name (master of the Two Crowns). The king is followed by Hathor and Thoth, in the presence of a seated Amun, behind whom Khonsu is standing. This is actually a counterpart of a large tableau opposite on the northern inside part of the second pylon, which brings us back to the starting point on our journey around the interior walls of the Great Hypostyle Hall in the Temple of Amun at Karnak in modern Luxor.

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