Temple of Seti I (Abydos)

Façade of the Temple of Seti I built c. 1300 BC

The Temple of Seti I, is known as the Great Temple of Abydos, and means "Menmaatre Happy in Abydos, is a significant historical site in Abydos. Abydos is a significant location with its connection to kingship due it being the burial site of the proto-kings from the Pre-Dynastic period, First Dynasty kings, and the location of the Cult of Osiris.

Initially, construction started in the 13th century BC by the 19th Dynasty Pharaoh Seti I, also know as Sethos, but was not completed by the time of his death instead construction was and renovated by his son Ramesses II. Ramesses renovated the temple by changing its original design and placing inscriptions within the temple. At the Temple of Ramesses II at Abydos Ramesses states that "son arose in his father place, none of them restored the monument of him who begot him."

The Temple was designed in a standard layout from the Ramesside period consisting of an "L" shaped design constructed of limestone and sandstone. Consisting many features, including the first and second courts that house hypostyle halls, chapels to Seti I and various gods, and the Osireion. The South wing consists of the Gallery of the Kings, which leads to a slaughter court and four secondary rooms, which continue into the Corridor of Bulls with a stairway that exits into storage rooms, and the Hall of Barques.

The temple is also notable for the Abydos graffiti, ancient Phoenician and Aramaic graffiti found on the temple walls. The Temple additionally contains graffito from; the 21st dynasty till the Roman period then from Later periods ranging from Aramaic, Phoenician, Carian, Greek and Cypriot.

Research

in 1863 the Temple was cleared and reconstructed by Auguste Mariette. In 1901-1902 Flinders Petrie, alongside his wife Hilda Petrie, and Margaret A. Murray further excavated the Temple and discovered the Osireion. After World War I, the temple was studied by Henri Édouard Naville and then by Henri Frankfort. During the 1925-1927 season under the Egyptian Exploration Society and Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, Herbert Felton recorded the sculptures within the temple through photography. Amice M. Calverley then detailed the temple walls under Aylward M. Blackman. With financial assistance from John D. Rockefeller Jr., this expedition gained the services of Myrtle F. Broome, Hugh Calverley, C. M. Beazley, Charles Little, Linda Holey, and Adriaan de Buck. This work completed in 1933 consisting for a four volume work titled The Temple of King Sethos I At Abydos consisting of photos and drawing of the chapels of Osiris, Isis, Horus, Amen-Re, Re-Harakhti, Ptah, and Seti, The Osiris Complex, and the Second Hypostyle Hall. John Baines worked the site in 1979 and again 1981-1983.

History of Temple Use

The Temple of Seti is interesting as it did not serve as a mortuary temple to carry the Pharaoh cult instead; it was created to be a part of the festival of Osiris. Following the Temple's passing the Temple was reused several times as Ian Rutherford's study has revealed that the temple was in use after the discovery of Greek, Cypriot, Phoenician, and Aramaic inscriptions make references to the Cult of Osiris. During the Late Hellenistic and Early Roman period, graffiti was left that related the temple to the god Serapis, who served as the state god of Egypt during the Ptolemaic Period. With its final use came from the Late Roman Period, being used as an ocular incubation for the god Bes. Individuals who wished to obtain something from the god would possibly leave offerings, talk to the oracle, and sometimes sleep overnight in the temple in order to have a mystical experience. This is why tons of Coptic, Greek, and Latin graffiti are found within the temple and found throughout parts of the temple.

Features

First and Second Courts

The first court of the temple is entered through a pylon entrance that portrays Isis, Osiris, Ramesses and Menereptah. The first court contains inscription of Ramesses battle scenes and contains scenes of Seti. The Second Court contains scenes of Ramesses interacting with gods. The use of the scenes were used to commemorate Ramesses II achievements. Where he is accepted as he ruler.

The first hypostyle hall within the Temple of Seti I at Abydos

The Gallery of the Lists (Temple of Seti I in Abydos)

First and Second Hypostyle Halls

A hypostyle hall is a large room consisting of many columns used to support a roof, the temple consist of two halls that are separated by a wall. The first hall consist of 12 columns and the reliefs were then carved over by Ramesses II. With the second hall consisting of 36 columns.

Abydos King List

In The Gallery of Ancestors, also referred to as The Gallery of the List, one can find the Abydos King List. This list is depicted in low relief, carved under the reign of Ramesses II and it shows Seti and Ramesses making offerings to their royal ancestors. These royal ancestors are the past kings of Egypt. Notably, some rulers, like the 15th Dynasty Hyksos that ruled Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period 1650-1550 BCE and the reign of the 18th Dynasty heretic Akhenaten of the New Kingdom 1550-1069, were omitted from the list, possibly due to being associated with periods of internal weakness and divisions. The Gallery of Ancestors led into the storerooms and into the desert behind the temple.

Chapels

The temple contains six chapels, which were completed by the time of Seti I death, in a row dedicated to the gods Osiris, Isis, Horus, Amen-Rem Re-Harakti, and Ptah. Additionally there is one more chapel belonging to Seti which is meant to represent Seti as a god. The first three chapels being dedicated to that of Osiris, Isis, and Horus are meant to represent the principal gods of Egypt's religion but also as the triad of Abydos. The next three gods are the main god of the country representing their cities with Amen-Re representing Thebes, Re-Harakti representing Heliopolis, and Ptah representing Memphis.

Osireion

The Osireion located behind the Temple of Seti I, as can be se the Osireion is filling with water from the rising Nile.

The Osireion is the symbolic tomb of Osiris, created of red granite and sandstone that housed a sarcophagus and a chest for canopic jars, with the sarcophagus possibly surrounded with floodwater for ritual purposes possible being use to grown barley in order to symbolize the resurrection of Osiris, as the Osireion served as a center of the Cult of Osiris. Unfortunately, the Osireion is now underwater due to the Aswan dam raising water. The Osireion meaning "Menmaatre beneficial to Osiris" or sometimes called the Osiris Complex is located behind the temple chapels in the shape of a rectangle being 57 m × 13 m (187 ft × 43 ft), consisting of eight rooms linked via access to the Osiris chapel, leading to a staircase that descended into a symbolic tomb of the God Osiris. Inside this tomb, Osiris's cenotaph was located. The cenotaph was crafted in an 18th Dynasty tomb design mimicking those of the Valley of the Kings. While the entrance to the Osierion was through the Osiris Chapel there was an additoanl entrace that went beyond the temples enclosure walls. These entrances were adorned with religious texts such as the Book of the Dead and the Book of Caves which the tunnel filled with scenes of the afterlife which were completed by Seti's grandson Merenptah.

Temple and its occult

Dorothy Louise Eady, also known as Omm Sety (16 January 1904 – 21 April 1981), was keeper of the Temple of Seti I. Eady had fallen down a flight of stairs at the age of three. Following this fall she had awaken and believed that she was the reincarnation a priestess who committed suicide when she was discovered to be the former lover of Seti. In 1956 Eady moved to a small village in Abydos and practiced the Ancient Egyptian religion. Following her retirement began to give tours through the Temple of Seti.

Helicopter hieroglyphs

The retouched and eroded hieroglyphs in the Temple of Seti I which are purported to represent modern vehicles – a helicopter, a submarine, and a zeppelin or plane.

The "helicopter" image is the result of carved stone being re-used over time. The initial carving was made during the reign of Seti I and translates to "He who repulses the nine [enemies of Egypt]". This carving was later filled in with plaster and re-carved during the reign of Ramesses II with the title "He who protects Egypt and overthrows the foreign countries". Over time, the plaster has eroded away, leaving both inscriptions partially visible and creating a palimpsest-like effect of overlapping hieroglyphs. These hieroglyphs have been the subject of pyramidologist.

Temple Economy

Within Ancient Egypt, major temples were considered the reserve banks of their times that would hold excessive amounts of grains. With granaries possibly delivering goods of bread and beer to temples. Temples consisted of priesthoods and required funding from in order to ensure proper production and operations. One type of textual evidence from the Middle Kingdom that attest to the payment of temple staff is that P. Berlin 10005 = P. Cairo JE 71580. During the New Kingdom temples played a crucial role in the agricultural production and organization of the state, functioning as powerful economic institutions that oversaw agriculture.