the karnak temple
The temple compound of Amun at Karnak is one of the largest religious structures in the world. It represented not only the seat of the great god Amun-Re but also contained or adjoined many chapels and temples dedicated to different deities, like Amun-Re’s consort Mut, Khonsu, Opet, Isis and Osiris. The compound was constructed from around 1550 BCE throughout the Greco-Roman period.
Its hypostyle hall (an unroofed area made of multiple colossal pillars) and the giant, hieroglyphic-encrusted papyrus columns leading up to the entrance are outstanding, especially as they were built at a time when people in most of the other places of the world didn’t even know how to make little houses.
A model of the Karnak Temple at its maximum expansion with seven pylons, a roofless hypostyle hall, the water tank and some additional temples on the compound.
the western part of the compound
the peripheral components
the osiris hekadjet temple
In the far end of the huge compound there is a rather inconspicuous small chapel consisting of three small chambers, the temple of Osiris Hekadjet. Hekadjet means “Ruler of Eternity”. Osiris had replaced Anubis as the ruler of the underworld, who rules over those souls that have achieved eternal life.
Photo 1: The Osirian chapels are in the eastern part of the complex which has been built relatively late (e.g. the gate dates back to the 30th dynasty)
Photo 2: The left figure is Amenirdis I, the God’s Wife of Amun (high priestess) and Divine Worshiper. She wears a voluminous, multilayered dress and a short curly wig—the tight “Nubian” style that resembles a modern helmet. In her right hand, she holds a naos-sistrum resting against her shoulder. The middle figure is Amun-Ra, who performs a dual life-giving ritual: he touches an Ankh to her nose to provide divine breath while simultaneously placing three more Ankhs into her open left palm. Behind him stands his consort, the goddess Mut, Mistress of Isherou, who places a protective hand on his shoulder. Mut carries a ceremonial object that resembles a handbag; this is actually the hieroglyphic sign for a Sed festival hall. Underneath it is the lizard-shaped hieroglyph (asha), which signifies a great many. Together, they are promising the priestess many jubilees of rule.
Photo 3: A powerful scene of divinization involving Shepenwepet I, the daughter of Osorkon III and a God’s Wife of Amun. She is shown being breastfed by a Hathor-like goddess, a ritual meant to transfer divine essence or “divine DNA” to the ruler. This biological and spiritual upgrade grants her the status of a divine being, providing the necessary credentials to navigate the afterlife and pass through the seven gates.
Photos 4&5: To achieve eternal life the deceased has to pass through seven mythical doors which can be found in one of the chambers (photo 4). The doors can only be opened if you have the appropriate key. On the other side of the same wall in the adjoining chamber one can find the seven keys in the form of seven Ankhs (photo 5). These doors are not physical doors but represent seven demon like deities trying to prevent the soul from entering into eternity. The visitors of the temple could prepare themselves for the journey in the afterlife by contemplating on the keys and the doors.
The seven gates are mentioned in chapters 144 and 147 of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Each gate has three specific guardians: the keeper, the guardian, and the announcer. The deceased facing these gates would say: “O you gates, I know you; I know your names… Let me pass, for I am the Great One who has made his own light.”
We see an early example of the myth of the seven layers that one has to pass through in order to attain liberation or salvation. It reappears in many religions of later origin. In Hinduism there are seven bodies inside of a human being and the yogi has to pass through them internally in his quest for liberation. In the bible and in the Quran the soul faces seven gates of hell after death. It appears to me that in the area between Greece, Egypt, Iran and India – where most of the world religions originate from – a pool of religious metaphors was created in the ancient days and then these metaphors travelled through time and space. For example the myth of Osiris and Isis appeared in Greece during the time of the Roman Empire. It reappeared in the 18th century in Mozart’s opera “The Magical Flute” (influenced by freemasonry) and then in the theosophical movement of the 19th century. Since the sixties the myth has been revived by various new age and religious movements.
