The dawn of astronomy: A study of the temple-worship and mythology of the ancient EgyptiansLockyer, Norman, Sir
Religion
The dawn of astronomy: A study of the temple-worship and mythology of the ancient Egyptians
Lockyer, Norman, Sir
Astronomy, Egyptian; Sun -- Mythology; Sun worship; Temples -- Egypt
Further, at the same time another temple (M) was built to observe γ
Draconis. It is now easy to understand what the 21st--a Theban--dynasty
did. Seti's temple (L) had been superseded; the temple M was a second
rectangular temple outside the great temple of Karnak (K). They said
to themselves: "We will make Karnak more beautiful, and we will extend
it. We can now build walls in continuation of the old walls, and we can
build still another pylon, because Seti's temple is no longer being
used, the worship having been transferred to the temple of Rameses
III. (Khons). By building the northern wall we prevent the use of
temple M, sacred to our enemy Sutech."
I should add that the opening in the wall, in prolongation of the axis
of temple M, is _not_ directly opposite the temple M, but a little to
the east; it was probably made later, possibly by the twenty-second
dynasty, who were Set worshippers. Again, coming to the time of
Taharqa, returning at the end of the exile of the priests of Amen in
Nubia, the temple, M was again thrown out of use. Pillars were built in
front of it, right in the fair-way, affording an instance that when a
temple was thrown out of use, not by the precessional movement of the
star to which it had been directed, but by the partisans of another
creed, the fact of its being no longer in operation was insured by
something being built in front of it, to prevent observation of the
stellar divinity no longer in vogue.
It may be added that long after the temple of Seti II. fell out of
astronomical use, and was on that account blocked by the walls of the
twenty-first dynasty, the Ptolemies built a new temple of Osiris,
which, if built before, would have been in the fair-way of the temple
of Seti. Thus, there is a reason for all the changes made at all the
dates referred to by Mariette.
I think we find in this result of the inquiry a valuable corroboration
of Mariette's conclusions, and another reason why we should not cease
to admire his magnificent works.
So far I have only referred to the relatively modern parts of Karnak. I
now pass to the more ancient ones, in which we ought to note the same
laws holding good, if there be any value in the view we are discussing.
We find that some of the most important temples given by Lepsius and
Mariette (B, X, and W) are just as effectively blocked by the mass of
the temple of Amen-Rā as those we have already considered were by the
walls of the twenty-first dynasty and Taharqa's columns; and, looking
at the plan, it seems at first perfectly absurd to continue to hold for
one moment the idea that these temples were built for observations of
stars on the horizon.
The temple X (Mut) is blocked by the pylon marked 3, the temple B by
the eastern end of the great temple, the temple W by the temple O.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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