238:âCommon people took almost no part in religious rituals; that was the sacred responsibility of the priestly class.â The Pharaoh acted as the intermediary between Egyptian society and the gods during the festival at Luxor Temple, and although âthe union of a god with his temple may appear as a sexual unionâ, the Pharaoh used this link to promote their divine fertility and re-establish their right to rule over Egypt. The Pharaohâs marriage ceremony to the gods, âa divine marriage, the result of which was the renewal of Amun in the person of his ever-renewing human vessel, the reigning kingâ ensured that Egypt would be met with another fertile year; through population growth, large harvests, and a large inundation of the Nile. The Pharaohâs religious role was reinforced through the Opet festival, as it re-affirmed their role as âThe first prophet of Amun-Re, king of the godsâ, the holiest title in Egypt. The promotion of fertility in the festival strengthened the validity of the Pharaohâs lineage, as it âcelebrated the renewal of the ka-force of Amun, and the transmission of the spirit of kingship in the eternal presentâ, allowing the Royal Family to maintain power over the social classes. The religious rites during the Opet Festival re-established and confirmed the Pharaohâs possession of the royal
187:(âmighty of prow is Amunâ). This vessel was built of Lebanon cedar covered with gold. Its prow and stern were decorated with a ramâs head, sacred to the god.â. Although the nature of the route between temples remained the same, the length of the festival changed with each ruler. In certain years, the barque of Amun-Re travelled solely Karnak to Luxor, ââŠa ritual journey from their shrines at Karnak to the temple of Luxorâ. However, the return journey from Luxor to Karnak also acted as a celebration, ââŠpart of the Opet Feast, it must have taken place on the return journey to Karnak.â
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with sistrum rattles. The godsâ barks were brought alongside the jetty at the Temple of Luxor and were carried on the shoulders of the priests to the sacred precinct. A series of ceremonies were conducted in the outer courts, after which the barks were taken into the inner sanctuary, accompanied solely by high-ranking priests and the pharaoh. Once the ceremonies were completed, the barks returned downstream to Karnak.â
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144:, a ritual marriage ceremony took place in the Birth room between the Pharaoh and Amun-Re, spiritually linking them to ensure the Pharaohâs fertility and reinstate the Pharaoh as the intermediary between the gods and Egypt. During the marriage ceremony, the Pharaoh was ceremonially reborn through a re-crowning ceremony, emphasising the fertile nature of the Pharaoh and legitimising his divine right to rule.
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New
Kingdom Egyptian society depended on the generosity of the gods to ensure they received what they needed. Because they lacked scientific understanding to explain specific events, the Egyptians looked upon each natural event as a sign or intervention from a specific god who wanted them to maintain
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believes that using the land route to Luxor was meant to evoke the dry period that preceded the Nileâs annual inundation and that the return to Karnak by river symbolised the onset of the flooding. He also argues that the contrasting land and water journeys symbolised the perilous journey which the
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on the route between Karnak and Luxor describes the construction (refurbishment) of the route for Amun, âso that he might carry out his good navigation in Luxorâ, revealing that the basic sense of ânavigationâ would be the same for the deity traveling within the portable barque, both on the deck of
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early in the New
Kingdom, measuring nearly two square miles. Thebes also provides archaeological sources for the Opet Festival and is âbelieved to have been an ancient observatory as well as a place of worship where the god Amun would interact directly with the people of earth.â Carvings on the Red
225:
emphasises the importance of the general population in executing the festival: âRamesses II listed amongst those responsible for arranging the festival: members of the civil administration, provincial governors, border-officials, heads of internal economic departments, officers of the commissariat,
179:
The most accurate information of the history of the Opet festival comes from the changing nature of the route between Karnak and Luxor temples. Marina
Escolano-Poveda provides a comprehensive analysis of the shifting path between the temples. âThe processional route between the temples varied with
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Egyptologist Marina
Escolano-Poveda outlined the importance of a relief in the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut in depicting the celebratory nature of the festival, âThe reliefs make a great effort to depict the grand spectacle: many priests support the barks and statues, while a crowd makes a joyous din
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The Opet festival re-established essential communication between the gods and
Egyptian society through the rebirth ceremony in the Temple of Luxorâs birth-room, which initiated the Pharaoh as an intermediary for the gods by being reborn as the son of Amun-Re, in âthe rebirth of the sun-god.â This
220:
It was not just the
Pharaoh who was active during the festival; sailors and soldiers were the most prominent non-religious groups in the festival. They have been observed in the colonnade hall relief-scenes, which demonstrated that a large number of civil and military official partook in the
226:
city-officials, and upper ranks of the priesthood.â Those who were not actively involved in the running of the festival were âable to observe from the riverbanks, and at least some may have had limited access to the forepart of the temple.â The festival also provided jobs for wab and
210:. To appease the gods, Egyptians routinely made offerings to the gods of sacrifices, prayers, and festivals. In this perceived symbiotic relationship, celebrations of the gods provided assurance to Egyptians, allowing them to live their lives without fear of divine intervention.
242:, the representation of the human soulâs lifeforce. âThis life force inhabited the bodies of all legitimate pharaohs of Egypt and passed from the old to the new on the latterâs death. An annual confirmation of such a process would help bolster the kingâs authority.â
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invaders who had occupied the northern part of the Nile Valley for 200 years. Egyptâs new rulers wasted no time in making its capital city Thebes a vast ceremonial stage to celebrate the consolidation of power, and the Opet festival took centre stageâ.
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The ancient festival survives in the present-day feast of Sheikh YĆ«suf al-HaggÄg, an
Islamic holy man whose boat is carried around Luxor in celebration of his life. This Mawlid celebration takes place around the vicinity of the
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Chapelâs south side at Karnak provide the oldest evidence for the festival of Opet. The Chapel was made of grey diorite and red quartzite and housed the ceremonial barque of Amun-Re when not in use.
217:
The Opet festival also reinforced the fertility of the harvest, which fluctuated depending on the inundation of the Nile, and was therefore celebrated in the âsecond month of the Akhet season.â
258:
The Karnak (Temple of Amun) and Luxor
Temples were the archaeological centrepiece of Thebes, being constructed on âthe eastern bank of the Nileâ with construction commencing c.1970 BC by
128:
The festival included a ritual procession of the barque (a ceremonial boat used to transport statues of gods and deities) of the cult statue of âAmun-Re, supreme god, his wife
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The Opet festival became a mainstream festival in the early New
Kingdom (circa. 1539-1075 B.C.) when the 18th dynasty came to power, after âdriving out the
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230:, who were on three-month rotations. They recited spells and hymns among the general population on the riverbank to ensure that reverence was upheld.
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time, sometimes traveling by foot along the Avenue of
Sphinxes, a road nearly two miles long, lined with statues of the mythical beasts.
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Amun, the king god in Ancient Egyptian mythology. The Opet festival incorporated him to promote the pharaoh's fertility
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At other times, the sacred statue traveled from Karnak to Luxor in a specially made bark, known in Egyptian as the
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rebirth promoted the fertility of the pharaoh, ensuring his divine right to rule and consolidating his lineage.
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Sources also provide information on the changing route of the cult statue of Amun-Re. The text on a sphinx of
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and the Pharaoh, who was believed to be the spiritual offspring of Amun-Re â the son or daughter of Amun-Re.
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Wendrich, Willeke (2011-11-01), "UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, Archaeological Data, and Web 2.0",
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in 1187 B.C., it had expanded to 24 days; by his death in 1156 B.C., it had stretched to 27.
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was re-opened in a grand ceremony similar to the Opet Festival. On December 7, 2021, the
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725:"Oracular Sessions and the Installations of Priests and Officials at the Opet Festival"
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90:, "beautiful festival of Opet") was an annual ancient Egyptian festival celebrated in
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Luxor Temple, the final destination of the barque of Amun-Re during the Opet festival
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and lasted 11 days (Sethe 1907: 824, line 10); by the beginning of the reign of
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813:"The Connection between Dragon Heads- Raising Day and the Opet Festival"
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Archaeological Research in the Valley of the Kings and Ancient Thebes
632:(1st ed.). Arizona: University of Arizona Egyptian Expedition
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Karnak Temple, where the ritual procession of Amun's barque began.
594:"Luxor's Avenue of the Sphinxes parade to become an annual event"
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and later periods, during the second month of the season of
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On November 25, 2021, after a long renovation project, the
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to âLuxor Temple, destination of the Opet Feast.â At the
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The festival was celebrated to promote the Fertility of
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sun was meant to take through âthe dry realms of the
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the riverine barge and the shoulders of the priests.
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preparations for, and running of, the Opet festival.
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announced that the ceremony would be held annually.
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sfn error: no target: CITEREFEscolano-Poveda,2019 (
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117:argues that âOpet began on II Akhet 15 under
45:. Consider transferring direct quotations to
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669:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
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234:Role of the Pharaoh during the festival
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204:the natural order of the universe, or
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655:. In Willeke, W; Dieleman, J (eds.).
191:Importance of the festival to society
36:too many or overly lengthy quotations
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268:History of the Karnak Temple complex
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698:Escolano-Poveda, M (25 June 2019).
310:Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities
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43:summarize the quotations
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285:John Coleman Darnell
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168:During the reign of
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704:National Geographic
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88:áž„b nfr n jpt
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59:October 2020
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41:Please help
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1027:Aten Temple
776:25 November
756:26 November
735:: 191â211.
714:25 November
636:26 November
574:Cabrol 2001
555:Cabrol 2001
402:Fukaya 2012
280:Nectanebo I
96:New Kingdom
1080:Categories
617:References
604:8 December
522:2020-05-29
272:Thutmose I
260:Senusret I
51:Wikisource
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862:Knowledge
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765:Mark, J.
751:0473-3851
665:cite book
536:Mark 2016
328:Citations
47:Wikiquote
34:contains
767:"Karnak"
689:23 April
648:(2010).
511:"Karnak"
316:See also
1043:Related
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921:History
914:General
867:11 June
414:Xu 2018
300:Revival
111:Amun-Re
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729:Orient
685:. 2014
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653:(PDF)
630:(PDF)
322:Shemu
266:(see
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134:Khons
100:Akhet
1101:Amun
869:2023
850:help
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758:2021
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716:2021
691:2020
671:link
638:2021
606:2021
580:help
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104:Nile
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