inthefootstepsofisis-blog
inthefootstepsofisis-blog
In the Footsteps of Isis
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A pure visual meditation along the ancient Egyptian temples, with personal reflections from the Book of Coming Forth by Light
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inthefootstepsofisis-blog · 8 years ago
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Edfu temple the place where the battle between the gods Heru (Horus) and Set took place. The Egyptian Temple Edfu was built as a remembrance of the place where the battle between the gods Heru (Horus) and Set took place.
Interior view Edfu temple, was built by the Greek rulers who related this God to their God Apollo; this temple is oriented North-South and not East-West as the former ancient temples in the vicinity, however, its Structural Foundations date back to the “Old Egyptian Empire” period.
The original Edfu Temple, was built commemorating the place where took place the Mythological battle between Gods Horus and Set and its location, was supposed to specify the exact location where this battle took place.
Edfu Temple is situated about 100 kilometers from Aswan, and the whole assembly took close to three hundred years to complete, much of the previous structures found in the area, indicates its early start, but much work was done during "New Egyptian Empire" where pharaohs like Seti I, Ramses II and Ramses III also built specific edifications at the time that well-known Theban Necropolis was also being built, motherless, Egyptian continue adding to the Temple as far as the thirtieths dynasty, the time when a Shine with a top ending in a pyramided form resembling an Obelisk was added.
Edfu Temple Egypt Heru or Horus, was a falcon-headed god, sometimes appears with the North, and South, kings Crown or the Sun Circle; also he is often represented, just as a falcon and other times as a Lion; nevertheless, at Edfu Temple Horus preferred representations of this God, is as the Unifier of North and South with his anthropomorphous body and Falcon Bird- Head characteristics, wearing the White and Red Unifier Head-dress.
At Edfu,S there was also a significant importance to embody goddess Hathor as God Horus Wife together with their Son, as she was the life giver and goddess of birth, the mother of all, as well there were preferences for the benevolent God Bess, the Draft god that protected woman at childbirth, and who also was a god of Travelers, as well.
Yearly at Edfu, was the commemoration of a large festivity, that was done honoring the Divine Coupling of these gods, it consisted, in bringing the Central respect statue of the Goddess Hathor from her prime Sanctuary at Dendera; they brought her body-image in a barge so that this goddess will achieve an annual reunion with her husband Heru, as a way to commemorate the ceremonial event. detail in the walls Now a day,S in a special room, is kept a replica made of wood, like the legendary ritualistic ship that was used at that Time.
The God Horus, had may forms and names that referring to him, the Name or appearance that God Heru was worshipped at Edfu, was Horus Behedet, since the place where this Temple stands, was known in Ancient Times as Behedet, and probably is the same Sacred Pace name that appears in many of the inscriptions of the royal tombs of Thebes refer to this Temple.
This site was also well known for its foundries, and this Metal-Workers were associated with God Heru or Horus characteristics, which in accordance with their mythology, was God Heru or Horus who made a chain to overcome Set in battle.
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inthefootstepsofisis-blog · 8 years ago
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inthefootstepsofisis-blog · 8 years ago
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Karnak is an ancient Egyptian temple precinct located on the east bank of the Nile River in Thebes (modern-day Luxor). It covers more than 100 hectares, an area larger than some ancient cities.
The central sector of the site, which takes up the largest amount of space, is dedicated to Amun-Ra, a male god associated with Thebes. The area immediately around his main sanctuary was known in antiquity as “Ipet-Sun” which means “the most select of places.”
To the south of the central area is a smaller precinct dedicated to his wife, the goddess Mut. In the north, there is another precinct dedicated to Montu, the falcon-headed god of war. Also, to the east, there is an area — much of it destroyed intentionally in antiquity — dedicated to the Aten, the sun disk.
Construction at Karnak started by 4,000 years ago and continued up until the time the Romans took control of Egypt, about 2,000 years ago. Each Egyptian ruler who worked at Karnak left his or her own architectural mark. The UCLA Digital Karnak project has reconstructed and modeled these changes online. Their model shows a bewildering array of temples, chapels, gateway shaped “pylons,” among many other buildings, that were gradually built, torn down and modified over more than 2,000 years.
Karnak would have made a great impression on ancient visitors, to say the least. “The pylons and great enclosure walls were painted white with the reliefs and inscriptions picked out in brilliant jewel-like colours, adding to their magnificence,” writes Egyptologist Heather Blyth in her book "Karnak: Evolution of a Temple" (Routledge, 2006).
“Behind the high walls, glimpses of gold-topped obelisks which pierced the blue sky, shrines, smaller temples, columns and statues, worked with gold, electrum and precious stones such as lapis lazuli must have shimmered in the dusty golden heat.”
Origins
Blyth notes that the earliest certain evidence of construction at Karnak dates to the reign of Wah-Ankh Intef II, an Egyptian ruler who lived more than 4,000 years ago. An “eight-sided” sandstone column of his bears the name of Amun-Ra and says “he [the king] made it as his monument for that god ...”
A bas relief of the god Amun-Ra making the gift of life (ankh) to the pharaoh Thutmoses IV. Sculpted in red quartzite, with traces of original paint remaining. A bas relief of the god Amun-Ra making the gift of life (ankh) to the pharaoh Thutmoses IV. Sculpted in red quartzite, with traces of original paint remaining. Credit: mountainpix Shutterstock This, “must surely imply a temple, or at the very least, a shrine dedicated to Amun at Karnak,” Blyth writes. The UCLA Digital reconstruction team starts their digital model in the reign of king Senwosret I (reign 1971-1926 B.C.) and shows a limestone temple, with a court in the middle, dedicated to Amun-Ra. It contains 12 pillars at front the bases of which “were adorned with engaged statues of the king in the pose of Osiris [god of the underworld],” the team writes. This reconstruction is somewhat hypothetical as little of the temple remains today.
Karnak would remain a modest precinct up until the New Kingdom, a time period that ran from roughly 1550 to 1070 B.C., when work accelerated with many of the greatest buildings being constructed.
Karnak’s 'pylons'
Starting in the New Kingdom, and continuing in the centuries after, Egyptian rulers gradually created a series of 10 “pylons” at Karnak. Functioning as gateways of sorts, these pylons were connected to each other through a network of walls.
They were often decorated with scenes depicting the ruler who built them and many of them also had flag-staffs from which colorful banners would be flown.
At Karnak the pylons start near the main sanctuary and go in two directions.  One set of six pylons faces west towards the Nile River and ends in an entrance lined with an avenue of small sphinxes. Another set of four pylons faces south along a processional route used for ceremonies.
Wadjet Hall
According to the UCLA Digital Karnak project the Wadjet Hall (whose name comes from the style of columns used) was first built by Thutmose I (reign 1504-1492 B.C.) near the main sanctuary, between the fourth and fifth pylons. It measures about 246 feet by 46 feet (75 meters by 14 meters) and was used for the king’s coronation and jubilee (heb-sed) festival.
The heb-sed festival generally took place 30 years after a king came to the throne and then every three years afterwards. “During the festival, the king ran around a heb-sed court performing feats of strength to demonstrate his ability to continue to rule Egypt,” writes researcher Pat Remler in her book "Egyptian Mythology, A to Z" (Chelsea House, 2010).
Hatshepsut & Thutmose III
Hatshepsut was a female pharaoh of Egypt who reigned from roughly 1479 to 1458 B.C. At Karnak she renovated the main sanctuary at Karnak, creating in its place a “Palace of Ma’at.” She also created a chapel made of red quartzite to hold the god’s portable bark (boat).
When Hatshepsut’s successor, Thutmose III, came to the throne, he ordered the destruction of images of the female pharaoh and had her quartzite chapel destroyed and replaced with one of his own.
His legacy at Karnak was not all destructive as he ordered construction of the Ahkmenu, a pillared structure built on the east side of the central sanctuary. It contains a list of Egyptian kings going back to before the Great Pyramids were built.
He also created a “contra temple” adjacent to the Ahkmenu. “Known as the ‘chapel of the hearing ear,’ the shrine allowed the populace of Thebes to petition a statue of the king with Amun-Ra,” writes the Digital Karnak team. In addition the king built a “sacred lake” to the south of the main sanctuary.
Columns in the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. Columns in the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. Credit: Teresa Hubble Shutterstock The Great Hypostyle Hall
Perhaps the most fantastic building at Karnak was the “Great Hypostyle Hall” built just to the west to the main sanctuary, along the main entranceway. Built by Seti (also called Sety) I, a king who ruled from 1290 to 1279 B.C., it covers an area “large enough to accommodate the whole of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral” writes the University of Memphis Great Hypostyle Hall Project team on their website.
The building is about 337 feet (103 meters) by 170 feet (52 meters). The researchers note that there are 134 columns in total, the largest twelve of which are 70 feet (21 meters) high and support the central part of the structure. The other 122 columns are about 40 feet (12 meters) tall.
On the outside walls are scenes showing Seti and his successor, Ramesses II, smiting enemies from Libya, Syria and the Levant. Shortly after it was constructed, the hall likely became the setting for coronation and heb-sed ceremonies, replacing the Wadjet hall in this function.
Khonsu Temple
Khonsu was the child of Amun-Ra and the goddess Mut. A temple dedicated to him at Karnak was built, appropriately, placed between the main sanctuary of Amun-Ra and the southern precinct that honored Mut.
Built by Ramesses III, a king who reigned from 1186 to 1155 B.C., the temple is about 230 feet (70 meters) by 88 feet (27 meters). The columns in its hall measure about 23 feet (7 meters) tall. “The temple contained not only a suite of rooms for the housing of the statue of the god, but also a separate bark (boat) chamber,” writes the digital Karnak team.
Taharqa
Construction continued at Karnak periodically after the end of the New Kingdom. King Taharqa, who reigned around 2,700 years ago, was part of a dynasty of rulers from Nubia (modern-day Sudan) who came to control much of Egypt. He was interested in Karnak’s “sacred lake” and built the “edifice of the lake” beside it, a partly underground monument.
Today it’s badly damaged although mysterious, “this is a puzzling and enigmatic monument that has no parallels” writes Blyth. “It was “dedicated to Re-Horakhte [a combination of two sky gods], which would explain the open solar court above ground, while the subterranean rooms symbolised the sun’s nocturnal passage through the underworld.” Among its features was a “nilometer” a structure used to measure the water level of the Nile that. In this case, the meter would have had a symbolic use.
Nectanebo I and the end
The last major building program at Karnak was carried out by Nectanebo I, a king of the 30th, and final, dynasty of ancient Egypt. He reigned between 380 and 362 B.C. After his dynasty ended, Egypt would be ruled by people descended from Persia, Greece or Rome.
Nectanebo built a large enclosure wall around the site along with an additional temple. He also began construction of a new pylon at Karnak at the western entrance (although he wasn’t able to finish it).
The rulers of foreign descent who took control of Egypt continued work at Karnak to some degree. Ptolemy IV (reign 221-205 B.C.) would create a series of ritual catacombs dedicated to Osiris, god of the underworld.
“The building functioned as a ‘hypogeum,’ an underground burial place. Many of these are known from ancient Egypt, although typically these spaces contained burials for sacred animals. The Karnak example instead served for the burial of small statuettes of Osiris,” writes the digital Karnak team.
After Egypt fell under the control of Rome in 30 B.C., work at Karnak petered out, the great monument becoming the magnificent archaeological site it is today.
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inthefootstepsofisis-blog · 8 years ago
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Luxor Temple is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the Nile River in the city today known as Luxor (ancient Thebes) and was constructed from 1100 BC-1600 BC . In the Egyptian language it is known as ipet resyt, "the southern sanctuary". In Luxor there are several great temples on the east and west banks. Four of the major mortuary temples visited by early travelers and tourists include the Temple of Seti I at Gurnah, the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahri, the Temple of Ramesses II (a.k.a. Ramesseum), and the Temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu; and the two primary cults temples on the east bank are known as the Karnak and Luxor.[1] Unlike the other temples in Thebes, Luxor temple is not dedicated to a cult god or a deified version of the king in death. Instead Luxor temple is dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship; it may have been where many of the kings of Egypt were crowned in reality or conceptually (as in the case of Alexander the Great who claimed he was crowned at Luxor but may never have traveled south of Memphis, near modern Cairo.)
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inthefootstepsofisis-blog · 8 years ago
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inthefootstepsofisis-blog · 8 years ago
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Tips for Writing a Eulogy
Writing a eulogy can be a painful experience if you were close to the person who has died. It can be difficult to come up with the right words, to choose from your vast store of memories the ones that stand out, that will mean something to others as well. When my grandmother passed away recently, I wanted to give a eulogy. I am not a good public speaker. I was always the one with quaking knees, shaking hands, and elephants parading in my stomach when it was time to give an oral report in high school. But I did it, I survived, and it was one of the most meaningful things I have ever done. You can write a eulogy too. Here's how.
Brainstorm before you begin- Get out a pad of paper and spend 10-15 minutes jotting down every memory, phrase, personality quirk, anything that comes to mind when you reflect on your loved one. This can be a very painful part of writing the eulogy, but it is often easier to write from a set of notes than to just start writing cold.
Decide how you'd like the eulogy to start and end- Pick from your eulogy notes the items most meaningful to you, the best anecdotes, whatever stands out, and plan on using those to craft the beginning and ending of your eulogy. Think of the beginning of the eulogy as a time to draw the listener in and define your relationship to the deceased. To wrap up the eulogy, think of what you want your listeners to take away with them, what sentence or sentences could summarize the rest of the eulogy?
Write the eulogy- Just start writing the eulogy without worrying about how it sounds. You need to get the words down on paper before you start editing. Use your eulogy notes and try to group similar memories and thoughts into paragraphs. Don't feel like you need to tell the life story of the deceased. Your eulogy is a reflection of what your loved one meant to you, not necessarily what they meant to everyone present. Your eulogy should be about your memories, and your feelings. It should come from the heart and be rooted in your relationship with the deceased.
Edit the eulogy- Your eulogy does not have to be perfect. It does not have to make the funeral director weep and get you a spot on the front page of the newspaper. Such perfection would be difficult in normal times, let alone when you are consumed with grief. Let go of any expectations you may have of writing the perfect eulogy. There are no words that will adequately convey your loss, no words to set right what everyone is feeling. Accept this and do the best you can under the circumstances. Read and edit your eulogy as many times as necessary to clarify it and get rid of the "fluff". Distill it down to the most meaningful thoughts. Include some humorous anecdotes to help lighten the mood a bit. Making people laugh is a wonderful gift to them during this difficult time, and your eulogy can be a powerful tool in the healing process. Type your eulogy using a 14 point font to make it easier to read. If you have tendencies to mumble or speak too fast, consider jotting a note at the top of every page to remind yourself to "slow down!"
Practice the eulogy- Read your eulogy aloud (while standing up) to yourself, a friend or your dog. Try to read slowly and pronounce your words clearly. Do this until you can read the eulogy through in a slow, natural pace without breaking down. When you can read the whole thing without choking up too much, realize you may break down anyway. Accept it. Everyone else is grieving too, and they will not be surprised or irritated if you have to cry a little or you stumble over your words.
Prepare to speak- If you think you may be overcome with grief during the service and not be able to deliver your eulogy, find someone to serve as your backup. Ask them well ahead of the service and let them pre-read your eulogy so they are prepared. Get yourself a glass of water to sip before and during your eulogy to help relax you, and bring a couple of tissues just in case. If you think you may mumble or not be able to speak coherently, consider printing copies of the eulogy to be distributed at the door. Then just get up there and do it. Any discomfort you feel will most likely dissipate once you start speaking. People are attending the service to support the family, not to judge your speaking skills. By writing and delivering a eulogy, you are giving a great gift to those gathered. You are allowing them to visit with the deceased one last time, and to realize they are not alone in their grief.
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