Abydos Temple
Abydos Temple Located about 2.5 hours by car north of Luxor, Abydos is one of the most important religious sites to ancient Egyptians. Much like modern Muslims hope to complete a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime, ancient Egyptians would have hoped to visit Abydos, which for them is strongly associated with entrance into the afterlife.
temples at Abydos (Seti I & Ramses II)
The temple of Seti I is situated in Abydos, one of the most important archaeological sites of Ancient Egypt. Abydos is located in Upper Egypt, about 10 km from the Nile River. It was a necropolis for Egypt’s earliest kings and later became a pilgrimage center for the worship of the god Osiris. It is also where the cults of the deified kings of ancient Egypt were celebrated.
The temple of Seti I has an unusual L-shaped ground plan and was built primarily of limestone, with the occasional use of sandstone in different areas throughout the structure. The temple was completed after Seti I’s death,
by his son, Ramesses II, whose cartouches are found in certain parts of the temple, along with his characteristic sunk relief style, that is different from the very fine raised relief of his father.
The entrance to the temple is located on the northeast and is through a large pylon, now destroyed, leading into the first open court, which is also badly damaged. A stairway ramp on the main axis of the temple leads to a raised terrace with a pillared hall that, in turn, leads to the second court through three entrances at the back of the hall.
The courtyards were decorated by Ramesses II with scenes from the battle of Qadesh and of the king offering to the gods. Another staircase ramp leads to a raised terrace containing the covered part of the temple. A pillared portico forms the facade and seven gates, all but the central one of which were closed by Ramesses II,
lead to the first hypostyle hall. The hall has twelve pairs of sandstone papyrus columns with bud capitals. Another seven gates give access to the second hypostyle hall, which has thirty-six columns similar to the ones in the first hypostyle hall. This hall is beautifully decorated with scenes of Seti I kneeling before the gods.
The second hypostyle hall leads to seven chapels dedicated to seven gods, namely: the deified form of Seti I, Ptah, Re-Horakhty, Amun-Re, Osiris, Isis, and Horus. The state of completion of these shrines indicates they they were among the first areas in the temple to be decorated, and were, therefore, completed prior to Seti I’s death. These chapels are decorated with scenes of the king offering to the gods and of him receiving the symbols of life and dominion, as well as royal insignia, in return.
These scenes would have been complemented by the rituals that would have been performed by priests within the chapels’ walls, that served to transform the king into the god of death and resurrection, Osiris.
royal insignia, in return. These scenes would have been complemented by the rituals that would have been performed by priests within the chapels’ walls, that served to transform the king into the god of death and resurrection, Osiris.
The Osiris chapel leads into a transverse area devoted to the cult of Osiris that includes two halls and two sets of chapels. The three small chapels to the right of the first hall are devoted to the gods Osiris; his consort, Isis, and their son, Horus. In ancient Egyptian religion, the living king represented Horus on earth, and when he died he became Osiris,
ruler of the netherworld. Beyond these three chapels is a secret chamber with two pillars that could only be accessed by the highest priests, for it was where the mysteries of Osiris were enacted.
The temple’s southern extension contains more chapels, including those of the gods Ptah-Sokar and Nefertem, the “Hall of the Barques (where the barques used to carry the statues of the gods during ceremonies were kept) and the unfinished “Hall of the Butchers” (the temple slaughterhouse). The so-called “Gallery of the Ancestors”, which contains the famous Abydos King List, is also located in this section. It is believed that this is where the temple rituals would have started. A procession of priests would then visit the seven chapels, reaching the small chapel of Osiris. The rituals served to transform the deceased king, Seti I, into the god Osiris, with whom deceased Egyptian kings were identified.
Although there were several temples constructed here, the largest and most significant is known as the Temple of Seti I. Seti I was the father of the great Ramesses II, who completed the construction of most of the temple after his father’s death. Coming to power only 30 years after the upheaval associated with Akhenaten’s heretical rule.
known as the Amarna Period, Seti I was concerned with reestablishing faith in the pantheon of Pre-Amarna gods that Akhenaten had sought to destroy. the temple he built contains small chapels dedicated to each of the major gods: Ptah, Re-Harakhte. Amun-Re, Osiris, Isis. Horus. and also one to Seti himself. Much of the temple complex is no longer present.
including the pylon and the first two courtyards so visitors can enter through a doorway into the hypostyle hall. Many of the wall reliefs inside were well preserved and the reliefs toward the back of the temple,
completed during Seti’s reign, were considered among the finest in any temple throughout Egypt. Since Abydos is more difficult to reach than many sites, it is very heavily visited. Abydos Temple Occasionally, tour buses come from the beach resorts or with loads of cruise ship passengers from the Red Sea, Abydos is easily included in a day trip from Luxor along with a visit to Dendara, another impressive
