Room 3 - The Sanctuary
This room is in the same size as the previous one: 7.45m 3.55m and 3.6m high.
The Djhwty-stm epithet
, found throughout, must be understood as "Thoth, the setem priest" and not "Thoth, the one who listens".
There are two additional doorways in the room, both at the western (far) end, on the south and north walls. These were cut through after their decoration was complete, as will be seen from the evidence when these walls are examined below. The room was originally enclosed, with the exception of the entry from room 2. Oracular communications could not have been held here because it was not accessible to the public.
This room is distinctly better preserved than the previous one: reliefs and figures were, for the most part, finished. As always, the craftsmen and their privileged employers constructed and decorated this most sacred part of the temple first.
this area is located below the normal decorated registers level, in the location normally reserved for the undecorated dado (less than one metre in height). In this room the decoration of this area had been started but not fully finished. All have been sculpted, but their deterioration is such that only a few recognisable areas have survived.
The current contents, of what remains in the base register of each wall, is as follows:
East wall, south:
This contained the representatives of four nones
Of the first (on the left) the figure is complete, however, the sign of the nome, the offerings, the royal cartouches are erased. The actual name of the nome is still recognisable; it is that of the Gazelle, the XVIth nome of Upper Egypt.
Of the following scene nothing much has survived, but again the name remains. This is the nome of the Hare, which means the Hermopolite nome, the administrative centre of the cult of Thot. This this the XVth nome of Upper Egypt.
Nothing much remains of the final two nomes; but if the order of the geographical position of the nomes was maintained, they must have been the XIVth and the XIIIth nomes of Upper Egypt.
South wall:
Nearly all of the scenes are destroyed, although two nome figures are still partially visible. Considering that the last nome of the south wall was the XIIIth, and that the one of the southern end of the west wall is the Vth, then this wall must have contained seven nomes.
East wall, north:
Of the four scenes, the first is totally lost and the second only remains in part.
The two scenes closest to the north wall are better preserved.
The first (right) represents the XVth nome of Lower Egypt, the Ibis, again a nome of Thoth.
Finally, and closest to the north wall, is the XVI nome of Lower Egypt, the Dolphin.
It should be noted that the representation of the nomes on this part of the east wall are in the wrong order, increasing (right to left) from XIII to XVI, instead of decreasing.
North wall:
Considering that the lowest numbered nome of the south wall would have been the XIIIth, and that the one of the northern end of the west wall is the Vth, then this wall must have again contained seven nomes.
Most are more or less completely erased. Only the two scenes closest to the later inserted door, have less damage. These still shows the remains of the two nome characters, one of which still retains most of his distinctive symbol, but not the identifying section.
West wall:
This wall has however survived better than the others. One section is certainly worth being discussed in more detail. This is located to the left of the centre line of the wall To either side are 5 smaller scenes, each containing a single character representing a nome: of Upper Egypt on the left and Lower Egypt on the right. This leaves an area at the northern end, which is the same size as that of the previously mentioned more central scene; this will be discussed below.
The first scene on the south side of the wall, represents the 5th nome of Upper Egypt. From this scene, only the nome respresentative has survived, together with two royal cartouches and the name of Thoth. The nome insignia has survived on the character's head, two sparrow hawks, the rest of the scene is lost. Not much remains of the next four panels before the large scene, towards the middle of the base register.
To the left of centre is a complete scene,
The main figure is the temple god, Thoth-setem, with the head of an ibis, seated on a throne, sceptre and ankh in his hands, crowned with the Atef diadem. Behind Thoth, stands his companion, Nehemauait, who wears a sistrum crown on her head. On the left, facing Thoth, stands Euergetes wearing the white crown of Upper (southern) Egypt, the direction from which he approaches. He holds on his two hands a plate, on which are two flowers and two vases of libation; his cartouches are above him. Behind him is his wife Cleopatra (II), Hathoric hairstyle, carrying a plate, on which can be seen the top of some round breads; the bottom part of her body is lost. Since the time of Mallet, when the scene was first described, the block containing the upper parts of Euergetes and Cleopatra has been either "lost" or destroyed; this is also true for the sistrum crown of Nehemauait
Of the five nomes represented to the right of the central scene, very little is identifiable, except for the first, the one closest to the centre of the wall. This represents the 1st of the nomes of Lower Egypt, but even the emblem and text for this is missing.
As already mentioned, there is space at the extreme north end for an additional scene, of the same size as the large scene ending the southern half of the wall. This possibly showed important offerings from the king and the queen. However, nothing now exists due to the surface of the wall being damaged completely.
At the top of these base registers is an illegible horizontal inscription, above which today begins the large main registers. These two main registers, which extend all around the room, are not the same height as each other, the top one (approx. 1m) being only three-quarters the height of the lower one (approx. 1.3m).
The wall is divided in two main registers, each including two scenes. Those of the lower register are of unequal in length, those of the upper are equal. In all four scenes the king approaches from the left (i.e. the entrance doorway).
Lower register:
• First scene:
Ptolemy wears the crown of the North, the red crown surmounted by a triple variant atef-crown. He presents two vases (now destroyed) to the god in front of him. From the text behind his cartouches, he is identified as "Protective genius of Egypt, who supplies the two regions of the temple". The god, of whom only the head and crown (with its two large feathers) have survived, is Amon "living image of Horus, son of Isis", wearing a large crown with two tall feathers.
• Second scene:
The king, this time, wears the pschent (the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt). Instead of the fitting firmly on his head, it rests on top of his short wig. He offers with one hand a folded strip of cloth and with the other probably a vase. The god , whose head is missing, is wrapped in a tight-fitting shroud and in his hands he holds the Osirian attributes, the hook and the flail. The accompanying text confirms his identity: "Osiris Wennefer, justified(lit. "just of voice")". The goddess who stands at the rear cannot be identified because her texts have been lost.
Upper register:
Here, in both scenes, is displayed the cult worship by Ptolemy to his ancestors.
• First scene:
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II wears the pschent. He raises his arms in worship to his divine ancester.
This is Ptolemy II, great-great-grandfather of Euergetes II. Philadelphus is represented as a god seated on an archaic chair. He wears the atef-type crown, not a royal crown, because he now belongs in the realm of the gods. The text identifies him as: "The divine father of his fathers, Ptolemy, the divine god Philadelphus".
Behind Philadelphus stands his wife Arsinoe (I) ("the mother of his mothers"). Her head is adorned by a complex crown which includes the red crown of the North. She holds the long lotus-topped sceptre and an ankh in her hands.
• Second scene:
This time Euergetes II offers a vase in which burns incense, and into which he also throws more. On his head he has the adornment used elsewhere by Amon. The offering is identified as "To perform the incense ceremony to the father of his fathers and to the mother of his mothers".
Seated opposite him is the divine king, wearing the klaft, on which rests the diadem formed from the horns of ram supporting the solar disk between two ostrich feathers. He holds the was-sceptre and ankh. He is: "The divine father of his fathers, Ptolemy, the god Euergetes". He is Ptolemy VIII's great-grandfather, Ptolemy III Euergetes I; son of Philadelphus (seen in the previous scene), father of Philopator. The divine Ptolemy tells his great-grandson: "I grant to you that the uraeus, which spills terror, sits on your head".
Behind her husband stands "the divine mother of his mothers, Berenice, the goddess Euergetes", wearing the Hathoric headdress and holding in her hand the lotus-topped sceptre and ankh in her hands.
Above the base register, the wall is divided into the two
original main registers, containing, two scenes in the lower register
and three in the upper.
At the western end of the wall is a doorway, 2.3m high by 0.7m wide,. This was created after completion of the decoration, at some undetermined time. It has partially destroyed the western end of the base register, the lower main register and the long inscription located between the two.
Positioned centrally, at the top of the wall, is a small window. This divides the frieze and the long inscription, both of which are described fully, below.
Lower register:
• First scene:
The king, wearing a wig with a head band, at the front of which is a uraeus, has no crown. His right hand is raised, the left inclined towards the ground. He advances towards a shrine, under which stands the god Thoth, as if stepping forth. Thoth's is surmounted by the lunar disk. He holds the usual was-sceptre and the ankh, the sign of life.
Above the king, the contents of his cartouches have disappeared, but the vertical column in front of the shrine holds the words of the god: "I grant to you that the sky is stable, with the splendours of Horus".
• Second scene:
This is much longer than the preceding scene, but it is however mutilated by the cutting of the doorway.
Euergetes stands on the left, wearing the pschent (the double crown). In his open left hand he holds a censer. Into this he throws, with the right, perfumed resins. He holds it up towards a sacred barque, whose prow is decorated with the head of ram, on top of which is the lunar disk. The whole of the centre section of the barque is missing, because of the introduction of the doorway. This missing section would have contained a shrine. Towards the front, facing forwards, is an effigy of a ram standing on a support. At the rear, at the other side of the doorway, is a large oar/rudder. Under the rear of the barque can be seen, two more rams on supports.
Above the king, his cartouches are followed by a horizontal line: "In the residence which rejoices of his father".
Several columns of text extended above the barque, some are now missing. The first two contain the god's address to the king. The first says: "I grant to you that the South brings the great white crown"; the following column is now unreadable, but possibly promised him the red crown, brought in the same way by the North. The king actually wears these two crowns.
The remaining columns (5 in front of the doorway and 3 behind) provide the following, somewhat damaged text: "Thoth-setem, great god, Lord of Khmun (aka: Hermopolis), sovereign of Hosrit, the judge between the two adversaries, who puts the gods in peace, who began ... in Dja-Mut, the doctor living with truth". Then beyond the doorway: "... life of all people, who organises ...; father of the fathers of the Eight (the Ogdoad of Hermopolis)".
Upper register:
• First scene:
Euergetes wears a short wig surmounted by ram horns with the two ostrich feathers, a solar disk and two uraei. He makes an offering to the god and goddess who face him. From what remains of the text under the king's arms, he offers shepu plants, which are ingredients used in the preparation of kyphi, an incense compound.
The seated god is Montu, who also wears two large feathers and solar disc. Most of his image is destroyed. Montu was the god of war. He is identified as: "Lord of Thebes, Lord of [Hermonthis], Horus, strong bull against the barbarians, sovereign of ...; Amon-Ra at the good hour". He tells the king: "I give you domination over all of the double lands, the power of Sibu over all men".
Standing behind Montu is a goddess with a solar disk between the horns of a cow on her head. From what remains of her identifying text, she is: "Rait-taui, eye of Ra, lady of the sky, regent of all gods".
• Second scene:
Euergetes supports an atef-type crown on his head. He holds a sistrum in his left hand (the top of which is destroyed) and raises his right hand in homage to the seated goddess, Mut. The beginning of his words to the goddess state: "I acclaim your Duplicate, I shake the sistrum for the goddess".
Mut wears the pschent on her head and her hairstyle is that of the normal queens and goddesses. The legend which relates to the goddess calls her: "Mut the great, lady of Ashrit ..., lady of the sky and of all who reside in Dja-Mut". She tells the king: "I give that your strength penetrates into the double lands ...". Behind her, in the long vertical column which closes the scene, she is further identified as: "The majestic one, the regent of the gods and goddesses, the lady of the pink veil, who loves splendour, and who pays homage to all gods and who glorifies the goddesses, Mut the powerful who likes Nekhen (Hieraconpolis), the great regent in Thebes, the victorious".
• Third scene:
Nothing much remains of the king, except for his hands which pour water from flat-bottomed vessels (the text mentions four of them). The water is poured in front of the seated figure of the ibis-headed Thoth.
Under the king's arms the text reads: "Turning round four times, with the four vases of water". Behind him, the column of text reads: "The king of the South and the North, Ptolemy is on his throne, he purifies the gods in their chapel, just as Horus purifies the one who has the vases ...".
The god is identified as: "Thoth, the very great, Lord of Khmun, who judges between the two adversaries, who gives peace to the gods of the cycle, in the funerary region, in Dja-Mut". Only part of his words to the king has survived, but the beginning reads: "Accomplish your turning around with what comes out of Nu, make all purification whilst pouring ....
Room 3 - (continued)
Returning now to entry doorway, the descriptions of the walls continue in an anti-clockwise direction; the king therefore always approaches from the right.
This north section of the wall is divided into two registers. But unlike the southern half, it has only one scene in the lower register and two scenes at the top.
Lower register:
The scene originally contained five characters: the king, the queen and three divinities. However the severe damage to the right-hand side as resulted in much of the image of the king, and almost all of that of the queen (Cleopatra II), being lost.
Euergetes II, wears the pschent and, according to Champollion: "a fringed calasiris worn like a coat". Above the king (and originally the queen), after his cartouches, the upper of two horizontal lines of hieroglyphs gives: The gods Euergetes, masters of Egypt ..., whose throne is great in all the regions of Horus, their sublime images (are) in the places of Truth".
The lower of the two lines gives: "The king's sister, lady of the two lands, Cle.....", the end of her cartouche is destroyed by the damage.
In front of the king are three divinities.
First, the ibis-headed Thoth, wearing an atef-type crown; his right hand raised in a gesture of blessing; the left holds a roll of papyrus and a long palm branch, edged with regular notches, possibly representing years. The text above him says: "Thoth-setem, Lord of Khmun, lord of the divine words, [writer of] the truth for the cycle of the gods, who fixes the account of the years, who determines the destiny in the place of birth, who circulates the royal orders of the one who appears on his throne".
Next is Horus, holding the was-sceptre and the cross of life. He has the head of a hawk and wears the pschent, with the accompanying text: "Horus, son of Isis, son of Osiris, beneficent heir of Wennefer, the great god who resides in Dja-Mut, king of the gods in his place of rest, Lord of the throne of the double lands in Apet (which means the Opet temple at Karnak)".
Finally, Nephthys, wearing the kiosk and neb-sign on her head. Her left hand is raised behind the shoulder of Horus, the right one holds an ankh. She is: "Nephthys, the divine beneficent sister (of) Sefkhet, the great, the mistress of the writings, resident in Dja-Mut". The inclusion of the name Sefkhet
is confusing, her headdress is the seven pointed star; she is sometimes
regarded as the wife of Thoth and was also known as 'Mistress of the
House of Books'. So, although Nephthys is shown and named here, the
latter description in the text actually refers to Sefkhet.
Upper register:
As on the south part of the wall, both scenes display the cult worship by Ptolemy to his ancestors. The scenes start with the one on the right.
• First scene:
Euergetes, approaching from the right, wears the pschent simply placed on a short wig. He makes a libation from vessels (now lost) which he holds in his raised hands. From these, water flows out onto the ground in two streams. Between the two streams of water is a vertical inscription: "Paying homage with the two vessels to his father and to his mother".
In front of Euergetes is seated a divine king, wearing an atef-type crown. He holds, as with the gods, the was-sceptre and the ankh. This is: "The king's father, Ptolemy (V), the god Epiphane". He says: "I grant to you that water flows on your command".
Standing behind him, wearing the Hathoric headdress, is the king's mother, the goddess Epiphane, Cleopatra (I). She tells her son: "I give you everything which comes from the Nile ...".
• Second scene:
On the right, Euergetes, wearing the khepresh (with ram horns) surmounted by a solar disk, with an ostrich feather on either side. Euergetes II is qualified as: "The one who also measures the fields [of Egypt]". He offers the two round vessels to another divine Ptolemy. Below his outstretched arms, in a vertical column, it says: "Offering wine to his father and to his mother".
The ancestor is again seated opposite him on a throne, and wearing an atef-type crown resting on the two horns of a ram; and as usual, he holds the sceptre of the gods in his left hand and the sign of life in his right. He is named: "His father's divine father, Ptolemy", also: "The god who loves his father (i.e. Ptolemy IV, Philopator)". He tells his grandson: "I grant to you domination on the two regions".
Standing behind him, again wearing the Hathoric crown, is his wife, holding the lotus-topped sceptre and the ankh. Above the divine queen, it says: "The divine mother of his mothers, Arsinoe, the goddess who loves his father". She says to her grandson: "I grant that your acts of worship are according to the heart of the gods (i.e. 'pleases the gods')".
As with the south wall, the two main registers are
sub-divided into two scenes in the lower one and three in the upper.
The doorway (3m high and 1m wide), cut through the wall at the western edge, is both wider and taller than that of the south wall. The damage caused at the junction with the west wall having lost what remained of the decoration of that end of both the upper and lower main registers and two nome representations of the base register. Almost the total third scene of the upper register is missing.
The small centrally positioned window once again divides the frieze and the long inscription, both of which retain most of the colours and are described fully, below.
Lower register:
• First scene:
Standing on the right, Euergetes holds his right hand to the door of a shrine, which contains the god Thoth, to open it. He wears the nemes headdress with a uraeus, but without a crown. The text below his arms state: "I open it ... so that you may leave [your shrine] ..., gods and men are in health when you leave your sanctuary".
The ibis-headed god Thoth, wears the lunar disk and holds a was-sceptre and ankh. He is in the attitude of striding, as if to leave the shrine. The text names him as: "Thoth-Teos, the ibis, great god who resides in Dja-Mut, writer of truth for the gods". He tells the king: "I grant to you the double lands, all regions and all those who live in them pay homage to [you]".
• Second scene:
The left-hand side of the scene is lost by the cutting of the more modern doorway.
Euergetes wears the short wig, on top of which is a diadem formed from two ostrich feathers, the solar disk and two uraei. His left hand is raised, whilst in his right hand he holds a statuette of the goddess Ma'at, goddess of truth, seated on a basket (the 'neb'-sign). He presents this towards the prow of a barque.
The barque is decorated with the head of hawk, surmounted by the solar disk with a uraeus, and nestling within its two open wings. [There is a mistake in the line drawing, which has in error the wings replaced by a basket.] Behind this emblem can be seen, as on the south wall, a ram standing on a support; however, this time it has an atef-type crown on its head. The rest of the barque is now lost.
The horizontal line above the king says: "He who likes the truth, who establishes the laws".
The god, who must have appeared in the shrine of the barque, was, as testified in the text written above it: "Thoth-Teos, the ibis, great god, resident in Dja-Mut, master of the truth, bull of the divine cycle". He tells the king: "I attract to you the hearts among men and women, I make that your love penetrates into the [whole] land, and that all are in joy [because of] you".
Upper register:
• First scene:
The king offers a plate laden with breads of various shapes to two deities. He wears the complex atef-type crown on top of the crown of the North. Very little remains of his texts. But the long column of text behind him states: "I present to you the offerings which [delight your Duplicate, an infinite number of breads and excellent sacred cakes, resting [on] the altar, in addition to the offerings which I make, and which are pure".
The seated hawk-headed god with the was-sceptre and ankh, is: "Montu-Ra, Lord of Thebes, bull who resides in Hermonthis, Horokhuti, established as Ra, who traverses the two lands". He says to the king: "I grant you life, happiness, cheer, joy, and that which you bring with the provisions, according to your desire".
The goddess who stands behind the seated god, wears the solar disk between the horns of a cow. She is: "Tanenit Rait-Taui, sovereign of Hermonthis, who shows the Truth, sovereign of .... She is the goddess best associated with beer. In the vertical inscription under her arm, she says: "I give you all products of Sibu, all the plants which grow on the land".
Finally, in the left-hand framing column: ""I grant that you appear on the throne of Horus, your royalty being the royalty of Sibu, ... the royalty of the South and the North, among the living who are on land, the barbarians being united under your sandals".
• Second scene:
This scene is similar to the first scene of the upper register of the west wall. Here Euergetes wears the pschent on top of a short wig, whilst with both of his hands he holds up a large multi-row necklace. This time he presents it to a goddess. Because of the major differences they cannot be considered as counterparts.
Very little remains of the texts associated with the king. The exception being the latter part of the vertical column behind him, which says: "The lord of the diadems, Ptolemy, raises (i.e. presents) the necklace to the king of the gods".
The seated goddess wears the crown of the North, and holds the lotus-headed sceptre and the ankh. She is: "Amonit, the very great, mistress of the land, who resides in ..., the great cow, who gave birth to Ra, lady of the houses, of the harvest". She is actually one of the four goddesses of the Ogdaod. She says to the king: "I give you the amulets which are in ..., the magic charms of ...". The framing column on the left confirms her identity.
As has already been mentioned previously, she is often associated with Neith, the great goddess of Sais, in the Delta.
• Third scene:
The two characters which should have been represented here have been destroyed completely. Only the top of the scene has survived, consisting of the tops of the columns and the king's cartouches. The only readable text being: "Beneficent heir, descended of Sibu".
Nothing has remained which would identify the divinity to whom Euergetes pays homage.
Room 3 - (concluded)
This is the rear wall of the main sanctuary and of the whole building, the focus of all that has gone before. The scenes, as with those of the other walls of this room, are on two registers, above the the base register. There are four scene on the lower one and six on the upper, space equally either side of the centre of the wall. Ptolemy Euergetes approaches the deities, in all the scenes, from the direction furthest from the centre (i.e. from the south or the north).
Lower register:
• First scene:
Ptolemy offers the content of two nu-vases to four deities, two gods and two goddesses. Although much damage has occurred, removing the heads of three of the deities, enough of the texts above them has survived to enable their identities to be know and some of their words to the king.
The first god is, according to the text: "Nu-Amun
, father of Ra, the god who was at the beginning, the venerable god, sublime, whose name is mysterious ...". Behind him is: "[Nuet]-Amunet, mother of Temu, the august and magnificent goddess, ...",
The second god is: "Kuky
, great god, who is (or was) in total darkness, who opens ..., who dissipates darkness". Finally, the last goddess is called" "Kukyt,
venerable and magnificent goddess, in the form of the mysterious snake,
who is in ..., walking after him, the light which accompanies him".
These two couples belong to the Ogdoad of Hermopolis (Hermopolis being also called "City of the Eight").
Two other couples from the Ogdoad will be found in the scene which matches this one, at the other extremity of this same register. Reference (and a full description about the Ogdoad) has already been made to the "Eight" in the second scene of the lower register of the south wall; where Thoth is named as "father of the fathers of the Eight".
Under the arms of the king is what remains of his words to the deities: "I offer you wine, the eye of Horus ...".
The first god tells the king: "I grant you domination on all lands".
The goddess who follows him says: "I grant that you are revered over all the double lands, that you are like Ra, first of the gods".
Above the second god, his words say: "I give you the provisions ...".
Unfortunately, the words of the goddess at the end are lost.
• Second scene:
Euergetes, his crown almost entirely erased with the exception of part of an ostrich feather, has his hands raised to offer to the seated god an object which is now unidentifiable. His texts, which would have provided the information, is also almost totally lost.
The god is, according to his texts: "Amon-Ra, king of the gods, venerable form, chief of the gods, master of the goddesses, Lord of the sky, of the land, the Duat, the waters, the mountains, the cities ...; who created everything which exists".
Amon-Ra wears his usual headdress. He tells the king
: "I give to you the South and North, united (lit. 'in their totality') (also) all things [which are in them?]".
Note with interest the old hieroglyphic forms for the two parts of
Egypt, symbolised by their respective heraldic plants: the lotus (and
not the lily, as is still so often implied) for the South and the
papyrus for the North.
Standing behind Amon-Ra is Mut, the pschent resting on her head. Her inscription names her as: "Mut the great, [the mother(?)] of Ra, lady of the sky, sovereign goddess of the fortress".
On the right, behind Mut, is the long vertical framing column: "Existing at the beginning, he created a child with his two hands [which left from] Nu, shone [in the sky], and the land was pulled from the darkness. He is the father of the fathers of the Eight". It should be noted that here it is Amon-Ra, and not Thoth, who is credited as the originator of the Eight (the Ogdoad).
• Third scene:
Having passed the centre of the wall, the king now approaches from the right (the north), the gods/goddesses are shown on the left.
Euergetes, his two hands raised in adoration, wears a diadem formed from two ostrich feathers flanking the solar disk. His head and lower part of the headdress is missing, so it is impossible to know if the horns of ram were also present.
In front of him are two gods. The first, as in the previous scene, is Amon-Ra, again he is seated on a throne which rests on a plynth, and also wearing the mortar surmounted with the large feathers and holding the was-sceptre and ankh in his hands. He is identified as: "Amon-Ra, with the majestic throne ..., who created the land, the Duat, the waters and the mountains ..., who made it that the Eight reproduced". Nothing much remains of his words to the king. However, it should be noted that from what remains of the text above the king, Euergetes addresses him as : "The image ... of Shu, son of Ra".
Behind stands a mummified god, Khonsu, wearing the lunar disk on his head and a menat-necklace, the counterweight of which hangs down his back. In his hands, which come out of the shroud, he holds several sceptres, at the centre of which is a was-sceptre, and includes an ankh, the hook and the flail. His text names him as: "Khonsu of Thebes, who comes towards Dja-Mut".
• Fourth scene:
In symmetry with the opposite end of the register, the king approaches the remaining four members of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. His head and crown are destroyed, along with his cartouches and texts. In his outstretched hands, he this time holds a censor.
The heads and headdresses of both gods are lost, those of the goddesses remain. As before, the gods hold a was-sceptre and an ankh, whilst the goddesses hold the lotus-topped sceptre and an ankh.
Of the identifying texts, for the deities, only that of the last goddess remains. She is: "Nit hemsit (the one who is seated, or immobile), the uraeus which measures this land, who treads at the feet ... who gave birth to Ra at the beginning of the great water (i.e. 'at the creation of the world')". "Nit" or "Neith" is a later variant of "Nunet", and is referred to as a creation goddess but also associated with hunting and warfare. Although this is only a loose connection, it can be thus assumed that the four deities are (right to left): the god Huh and his female counterpart Huhet; then the god Nun and his female aspect Nit (Neith or Nunet).
The only remains of the texts spoken to the king are from the first god and goddess. Huh says: "[I give to you] the products which come from the streams of the flooding". Huet says: "I grant them to you ... (and) that your dominion is in the [whole] land".
Upper register:
This register, like the one below, has a symmetry of scenes; the three on the left (south) being reflected (although with differences) on the right. These scenes are smaller in height than those of the lower register.
• First scene:
The king, approaching from the south, wears the atef-type crown, placed on the horns of a ram. With both of his hands, he holds up a large necklace with several rows and presents it to a seated god, hawk-headed and wearing a lunar disk.
The column of text behind the king reads: "He is the king of the South and the North. Ptolemy, walking in the capacity of chief of the Six, Lord of the Red Land (the desert); he is like Horus, [chief] of the gods, who is as the very great son of the gods in ...". His words to the god are: "I give you the divine amulet as magic protection for your members, the barbarians being united under your sandals".
The god is: "Khonsu of Thebes, Nefer-hotep ('beautiful and pleasing'), Horus master of joy, Thoth in On of the South (Hermonthis) and the support of the moon, which shines in the sky above". This thus indicates the god as being a representation of all three gods
• Second scene:
This time Euergetes (head and headdress hammered out), present two mirrors to a seated goddess. His words to her (under his arms) state: "These two mirrors ... [created] for [your] two images, according to their forms". His words continue in the long column behind him: "I took the mirrors ... to see the beauty of your face. The gods [and the goddesses] are delighted to contemplate [your] face".
The goddess, whose head is surmounted by the solar disk between the horns of a cow, is: "Isis, the great, the divine mother, sovereign of Dja-Mut, the powerful. Regent of the two regions, regent of the whole circle (which describes) the solar disk".
She tells the king: "I grant to you that men and women gaze upon you"; again, her words continue behind her: "I take your two mirrors, I look at the double image which is great in the residence; [so that all people see the things which I give you; the sky sees your grandeur ...".
• Third scene:
This forms, with the next scene, the central part of the upper register.
Euergetes approaches from the left (south), wearing the white crown of the south, his arms are inclined toward the ground (hands erased).
Behind him stands his first wife, Cleopatra II
. She wears the Hathoric headdress, her two arms are raised (head and hands erased).
Above Euergetes, a horizontal line reads: "Purification for the Lords [of the temple]". The text under his arms is lost, but under those of the queen it states: "Making the good offering by the king. Your domination is liked, while you browse the path".
Behind Cleopatra II, the vertical framing column states: "The good god lives, heir of Thoth, who contemplates his father, sublime in his rising; purifying the temple with the water (of Nun), by the ceremonies of incense and all perfumes, made from corn. The son is in peace, retiring from ...".
The ibis-headed god, seated and wearing the triple atef-type crown, is: "Thoth-setem, the great god, resident in Dja-Mut, who ... the nine in Dja-Mut".
Behind Thoth is his usual companion, with the sistrum on her head; her right hand is raised and left hangs down, holding an ankh. This is: "Nohemauait, resident in Dja-Mut, lady of intoxication, of the numerous Duplicates". She says: "I grant to you that the Sati-us are bent [in front of you that the Moniti-u ...".
• Fourth scene:
This is an almost mirror image of the previous one. But there the king wore the white crown, because he was striding supposedly from the South, whilst here he has the red crown, because he comes from the North. In the previous scene he held his hands lowered toward the ground; here he raises them, towards the god, in a gesture of worship and prayer.
After his cartouches, it says: "Scholarly workman, whom no one ignores (meaning: 'whom everyone obeys')". His words to the gods in front of him, which would have been placed under his arms, are almost completely destroyed.
Behind him stands his second wife, Cleopatra III, wearing the Hathoric headdress, in the same attitude, her two arms are raised toward the gods.
On the right, words of the vertical framing column are: "The good god lives (i.e. the king), brilliant of speech, [who celebrates the festival ... who exalts the splendours of the ibis of the temple, ... of the master of Khmun, favourite priest of the one who judges between the two adversaries".
The seated ibis-headed god, wearing the same crown as in the previous scene, is identified as: "Thoth-setem, great god who resides in Dja-Mut, who puts in peace the heart of the father of fathers". His words to the king are difficult to decipher.
Behind Thoth stands a goddess, the feather of the truth on her head. She is: "Ma'at, daughter of ... who makes healthy the shade (i.e. the protection) of Ra".
The framing column on the left, is again very broken up
• Fifth scene:
Euergetes, wearing a short wig, surmounted by an atef-type crown, holds in his raised right hand a statue of the goddess of Truth, placed on a pedestal in the form of a basket. Very little of his texts has survived, but under his raised left hand, the vertical column begins: "An offering of Ma'at ..."; the rest is destroyed.
The seated goddess who wears a large sistrum on her head and who holds a lotus-topped sceptre and an ankh, is: "Nohemauait, mistress of the locality ... ", the rest is a little illegible. She tells the king: "I grant that you see the eye of Ra" (or: "that the eye of Ra sees you"), the rest is again very obscure.
The vertical framing column behind her states: "She is the majestic [goddess], powerful, regent of the goddesses, in her sublime residence"; again the end is uncertain.
• Sixth scene:
This time the king has a khepresh helmet flanked by ram horns and surmounted by a solar disk between two feathers. He presents to the god a pectoral, which he holds in his hands by the the two ends of the fastenings. Once again his texts are very damaged.
The seated ibis-headed Thoth, with a lunar disk on his head is: "Thoth Teos, the ibis, the great god, resident in Dja-Mut". He tells the king: "I grant that the mountains open their sides to you, with the silver and gold (which they contain)".
Behind Thoth, the framing column gives the kings words to Thoth: "I give you the amulet (the pectoral) of Ra, so that it makes for you your magic protection, the protective magic of Horus, to give strength to your body. Saying: Here it is that the gods and the goddesses are with ..."; the rest is destroyed.
Above the upper register of the major scenes, completing the upper surface of all of the walls, up to the height of the ceiling, is first a long hieroglyphic text then finally a decorative frieze. These circulate all around the room. On the east wall, both this inscription and the frieze are produced on the forward projecting section of the wall, which is a continuation of the frame of the entry doorway.
The Long Inscription:
This is actually a double dedicatory inscription, in large hieroglyphs. It is divided into two parts, the signs being directed in opposite directions. Each of them begins in the middle of the west wall, which forms the rear and focal point of the sanctuary. They join together on the east wall, above the entry.
The text band which is situated between the base register and the lower of the two main registers, possibly contained a similar text; but it is now impossible to determine if this was true, because it now almost totally lost.
• Northern side inscription:
"The living Horus-Ra, the young man happy with his life on his father's throne, gifted with eminent graces, which multiply his risings with the living Apis, master of the diadems, who rejoices (literally "pacifies") the heart of the two lands, Horus of gold, great of valour, master of festivals, like his father Ptah-Tanen (aka. Ptah-Tatenen or Ptah-Taten), father of the gods; sovereign as Ra, king of the South and the North, Ptolemy, with his sister and wife, lady of the double lands, Cleopatra (II) and the royal wife, lady of the double lands, Cleopatra (III); the god Euergetes, who is like Thoth-setem."
"They made the temple and presented it to their father, Thoth-setem, master of the sanctuary, who resides in Dja-Mut, the great god, who is in his sacred barque and whose horizon is as the horizon of (Ra?) [north window] omnipotent God(?), who resides, and who raises himself like Ra rises to the sky; the great watcher, he shines in the temple, his sanctuary, on the throne of Sibu; in the evening, he descends there, in Onkhtit (the necropolis); he spends the night there, until his hour arrives; he leaves as the morning, crossing the region of Manu, giving in offering ... [he celebrates] the festivals on his throne, wearing the double crown of the living, as Ra, forever".
• Southern side inscription:
The beginning of this southern version of the inscription is identical to the other one, up to "in his sacred barque". Then it continues differently:
"They make for him a sanctuary [...] [south window] [an horizon(?)] of the sky. The soul crosses the sky, arises with the sun, while it is ...; it crosses the sky at the zenith, it travels through Nut, [resting with the god Setmu. It brings life from the sky to fall on him (the god); it enters in his home in the form of the ibis of the temple, his mother being in front of him (lit. "at his face") and protecting him by her magic. [The king receives] from them millions of years as master of the diadems (nebti), 33,000 as Horus of gold, 330 as king of the South and the North, as Lord of the double land, on the throne of Horus, at the head of the living, as Ra, forever".
The Frieze:
Like the long text, the frieze also extends in two directions around the room, starting at the mid point of the west wall. It consists a complex repeating design, of a major element separated at each repeat by three khekeru. At the centre is a squatting figure of the ibis-headed Thoth with a sun-disk on his head and holding an ankh on his knees. He always faces away from the starting point at the middle of the west wall. In front of him is a royal cartouche. Both in front of this and behind Thoth is a falcon with wings spread towards these central images.
Separating the frieze from the long inscription is a colourful decorative band
, now very much faded and discoloured.
This, on either side of the central section, was painted in blue, and covered in white stars with red centres.
In the central area, on the alignment with the entry doorway and extending across the width of three of the large slabs which form the roofing, is a set of nine horizontal inscriptions, beneath which, as in the previous room, are vultures with extended wings and holding a feather standard in each claw. The top of each is towards the west wall. Each horizontal line of inscription begins, again alternatively, with the names of the serpent goddesses, Nekhebet of Upper Egypt (at the top, west) and Wadjet of Lower Egypt; each line ends in a cartouche of the king, and as before these alternate between the two which he used, the one containing the name Ptolemy coming second.
The whole central section is first of all framed down the two outer edges by further long inscriptions. These start at the rear of the room (west wall), and extending to the entry doorway. They reproduce (with minor changes) the royal protocol as found at the beginning of the double dedicatory inscription, up to "the god Euergetes, who is like Thoth-setem". Then this whole section is framed, on its four sides, by the same multicoloured band as used to separate the frieze from the long dedicatory texts.
The Djhwty-stm epithet
, found throughout, must be understood as "Thoth, the setem priest" and not "Thoth, the one who listens".
There are two additional doorways in the room, both at the western (far) end, on the south and north walls. These were cut through after their decoration was complete, as will be seen from the evidence when these walls are examined below. The room was originally enclosed, with the exception of the entry from room 2. Oracular communications could not have been held here because it was not accessible to the public.
This room is distinctly better preserved than the previous one: reliefs and figures were, for the most part, finished. As always, the craftsmen and their privileged employers constructed and decorated this most sacred part of the temple first.
| BASE REGISTER |
this area is located below the normal decorated registers level, in the location normally reserved for the undecorated dado (less than one metre in height). In this room the decoration of this area had been started but not fully finished. All have been sculpted, but their deterioration is such that only a few recognisable areas have survived.
The current contents, of what remains in the base register of each wall, is as follows:
East wall, south:
This contained the representatives of four nones
Of the first (on the left) the figure is complete, however, the sign of the nome, the offerings, the royal cartouches are erased. The actual name of the nome is still recognisable; it is that of the Gazelle, the XVIth nome of Upper Egypt.
Of the following scene nothing much has survived, but again the name remains. This is the nome of the Hare, which means the Hermopolite nome, the administrative centre of the cult of Thot. This this the XVth nome of Upper Egypt.
Nothing much remains of the final two nomes; but if the order of the geographical position of the nomes was maintained, they must have been the XIVth and the XIIIth nomes of Upper Egypt.
South wall:
Nearly all of the scenes are destroyed, although two nome figures are still partially visible. Considering that the last nome of the south wall was the XIIIth, and that the one of the southern end of the west wall is the Vth, then this wall must have contained seven nomes.
East wall, north:
Of the four scenes, the first is totally lost and the second only remains in part.
The two scenes closest to the north wall are better preserved.
The first (right) represents the XVth nome of Lower Egypt, the Ibis, again a nome of Thoth.
Finally, and closest to the north wall, is the XVI nome of Lower Egypt, the Dolphin.
It should be noted that the representation of the nomes on this part of the east wall are in the wrong order, increasing (right to left) from XIII to XVI, instead of decreasing.
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North wall:
Considering that the lowest numbered nome of the south wall would have been the XIIIth, and that the one of the northern end of the west wall is the Vth, then this wall must have again contained seven nomes.
Most are more or less completely erased. Only the two scenes closest to the later inserted door, have less damage. These still shows the remains of the two nome characters, one of which still retains most of his distinctive symbol, but not the identifying section.
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West wall:
This wall has however survived better than the others. One section is certainly worth being discussed in more detail. This is located to the left of the centre line of the wall To either side are 5 smaller scenes, each containing a single character representing a nome: of Upper Egypt on the left and Lower Egypt on the right. This leaves an area at the northern end, which is the same size as that of the previously mentioned more central scene; this will be discussed below.
The first scene on the south side of the wall, represents the 5th nome of Upper Egypt. From this scene, only the nome respresentative has survived, together with two royal cartouches and the name of Thoth. The nome insignia has survived on the character's head, two sparrow hawks, the rest of the scene is lost. Not much remains of the next four panels before the large scene, towards the middle of the base register.
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To the left of centre is a complete scene,
The main figure is the temple god, Thoth-setem, with the head of an ibis, seated on a throne, sceptre and ankh in his hands, crowned with the Atef diadem. Behind Thoth, stands his companion, Nehemauait, who wears a sistrum crown on her head. On the left, facing Thoth, stands Euergetes wearing the white crown of Upper (southern) Egypt, the direction from which he approaches. He holds on his two hands a plate, on which are two flowers and two vases of libation; his cartouches are above him. Behind him is his wife Cleopatra (II), Hathoric hairstyle, carrying a plate, on which can be seen the top of some round breads; the bottom part of her body is lost. Since the time of Mallet, when the scene was first described, the block containing the upper parts of Euergetes and Cleopatra has been either "lost" or destroyed; this is also true for the sistrum crown of Nehemauait
Of the five nomes represented to the right of the central scene, very little is identifiable, except for the first, the one closest to the centre of the wall. This represents the 1st of the nomes of Lower Egypt, but even the emblem and text for this is missing.
As already mentioned, there is space at the extreme north end for an additional scene, of the same size as the large scene ending the southern half of the wall. This possibly showed important offerings from the king and the queen. However, nothing now exists due to the surface of the wall being damaged completely.
At the top of these base registers is an illegible horizontal inscription, above which today begins the large main registers. These two main registers, which extend all around the room, are not the same height as each other, the top one (approx. 1m) being only three-quarters the height of the lower one (approx. 1.3m).
| EAST WALL, SOUTH OF THE DOORWAY FROM ROOM 2 |
The wall is divided in two main registers, each including two scenes. Those of the lower register are of unequal in length, those of the upper are equal. In all four scenes the king approaches from the left (i.e. the entrance doorway).
Lower register:
• First scene:
Ptolemy wears the crown of the North, the red crown surmounted by a triple variant atef-crown. He presents two vases (now destroyed) to the god in front of him. From the text behind his cartouches, he is identified as "Protective genius of Egypt, who supplies the two regions of the temple". The god, of whom only the head and crown (with its two large feathers) have survived, is Amon "living image of Horus, son of Isis", wearing a large crown with two tall feathers.
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• Second scene:
The king, this time, wears the pschent (the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt). Instead of the fitting firmly on his head, it rests on top of his short wig. He offers with one hand a folded strip of cloth and with the other probably a vase. The god , whose head is missing, is wrapped in a tight-fitting shroud and in his hands he holds the Osirian attributes, the hook and the flail. The accompanying text confirms his identity: "Osiris Wennefer, justified(lit. "just of voice")". The goddess who stands at the rear cannot be identified because her texts have been lost.
Upper register:
Here, in both scenes, is displayed the cult worship by Ptolemy to his ancestors.
• First scene:
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II wears the pschent. He raises his arms in worship to his divine ancester.
This is Ptolemy II, great-great-grandfather of Euergetes II. Philadelphus is represented as a god seated on an archaic chair. He wears the atef-type crown, not a royal crown, because he now belongs in the realm of the gods. The text identifies him as: "The divine father of his fathers, Ptolemy, the divine god Philadelphus".
Behind Philadelphus stands his wife Arsinoe (I) ("the mother of his mothers"). Her head is adorned by a complex crown which includes the red crown of the North. She holds the long lotus-topped sceptre and an ankh in her hands.
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• Second scene:
This time Euergetes II offers a vase in which burns incense, and into which he also throws more. On his head he has the adornment used elsewhere by Amon. The offering is identified as "To perform the incense ceremony to the father of his fathers and to the mother of his mothers".
Seated opposite him is the divine king, wearing the klaft, on which rests the diadem formed from the horns of ram supporting the solar disk between two ostrich feathers. He holds the was-sceptre and ankh. He is: "The divine father of his fathers, Ptolemy, the god Euergetes". He is Ptolemy VIII's great-grandfather, Ptolemy III Euergetes I; son of Philadelphus (seen in the previous scene), father of Philopator. The divine Ptolemy tells his great-grandson: "I grant to you that the uraeus, which spills terror, sits on your head".
Behind her husband stands "the divine mother of his mothers, Berenice, the goddess Euergetes", wearing the Hathoric headdress and holding in her hand the lotus-topped sceptre and ankh in her hands.
| SOUTH WALL |
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At the western end of the wall is a doorway, 2.3m high by 0.7m wide,. This was created after completion of the decoration, at some undetermined time. It has partially destroyed the western end of the base register, the lower main register and the long inscription located between the two.
Positioned centrally, at the top of the wall, is a small window. This divides the frieze and the long inscription, both of which are described fully, below.
Lower register:
• First scene:
The king, wearing a wig with a head band, at the front of which is a uraeus, has no crown. His right hand is raised, the left inclined towards the ground. He advances towards a shrine, under which stands the god Thoth, as if stepping forth. Thoth's is surmounted by the lunar disk. He holds the usual was-sceptre and the ankh, the sign of life.
Above the king, the contents of his cartouches have disappeared, but the vertical column in front of the shrine holds the words of the god: "I grant to you that the sky is stable, with the splendours of Horus".
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• Second scene:
This is much longer than the preceding scene, but it is however mutilated by the cutting of the doorway.
Euergetes stands on the left, wearing the pschent (the double crown). In his open left hand he holds a censer. Into this he throws, with the right, perfumed resins. He holds it up towards a sacred barque, whose prow is decorated with the head of ram, on top of which is the lunar disk. The whole of the centre section of the barque is missing, because of the introduction of the doorway. This missing section would have contained a shrine. Towards the front, facing forwards, is an effigy of a ram standing on a support. At the rear, at the other side of the doorway, is a large oar/rudder. Under the rear of the barque can be seen, two more rams on supports.
Above the king, his cartouches are followed by a horizontal line: "In the residence which rejoices of his father".
Several columns of text extended above the barque, some are now missing. The first two contain the god's address to the king. The first says: "I grant to you that the South brings the great white crown"; the following column is now unreadable, but possibly promised him the red crown, brought in the same way by the North. The king actually wears these two crowns.
The remaining columns (5 in front of the doorway and 3 behind) provide the following, somewhat damaged text: "Thoth-setem, great god, Lord of Khmun (aka: Hermopolis), sovereign of Hosrit, the judge between the two adversaries, who puts the gods in peace, who began ... in Dja-Mut, the doctor living with truth". Then beyond the doorway: "... life of all people, who organises ...; father of the fathers of the Eight (the Ogdoad of Hermopolis)".
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Upper register:
• First scene:
Euergetes wears a short wig surmounted by ram horns with the two ostrich feathers, a solar disk and two uraei. He makes an offering to the god and goddess who face him. From what remains of the text under the king's arms, he offers shepu plants, which are ingredients used in the preparation of kyphi, an incense compound.
The seated god is Montu, who also wears two large feathers and solar disc. Most of his image is destroyed. Montu was the god of war. He is identified as: "Lord of Thebes, Lord of [Hermonthis], Horus, strong bull against the barbarians, sovereign of ...; Amon-Ra at the good hour". He tells the king: "I give you domination over all of the double lands, the power of Sibu over all men".
Standing behind Montu is a goddess with a solar disk between the horns of a cow on her head. From what remains of her identifying text, she is: "Rait-taui, eye of Ra, lady of the sky, regent of all gods".
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• Second scene:
Euergetes supports an atef-type crown on his head. He holds a sistrum in his left hand (the top of which is destroyed) and raises his right hand in homage to the seated goddess, Mut. The beginning of his words to the goddess state: "I acclaim your Duplicate, I shake the sistrum for the goddess".
Mut wears the pschent on her head and her hairstyle is that of the normal queens and goddesses. The legend which relates to the goddess calls her: "Mut the great, lady of Ashrit ..., lady of the sky and of all who reside in Dja-Mut". She tells the king: "I give that your strength penetrates into the double lands ...". Behind her, in the long vertical column which closes the scene, she is further identified as: "The majestic one, the regent of the gods and goddesses, the lady of the pink veil, who loves splendour, and who pays homage to all gods and who glorifies the goddesses, Mut the powerful who likes Nekhen (Hieraconpolis), the great regent in Thebes, the victorious".
• Third scene:
Nothing much remains of the king, except for his hands which pour water from flat-bottomed vessels (the text mentions four of them). The water is poured in front of the seated figure of the ibis-headed Thoth.
Under the king's arms the text reads: "Turning round four times, with the four vases of water". Behind him, the column of text reads: "The king of the South and the North, Ptolemy is on his throne, he purifies the gods in their chapel, just as Horus purifies the one who has the vases ...".
The god is identified as: "Thoth, the very great, Lord of Khmun, who judges between the two adversaries, who gives peace to the gods of the cycle, in the funerary region, in Dja-Mut". Only part of his words to the king has survived, but the beginning reads: "Accomplish your turning around with what comes out of Nu, make all purification whilst pouring ....
Room 3 - (continued)
Returning now to entry doorway, the descriptions of the walls continue in an anti-clockwise direction; the king therefore always approaches from the right.
| EAST WALL, NORTH OF THE DOORWAY FROM ROOM 2 |
This north section of the wall is divided into two registers. But unlike the southern half, it has only one scene in the lower register and two scenes at the top.
Lower register:
The scene originally contained five characters: the king, the queen and three divinities. However the severe damage to the right-hand side as resulted in much of the image of the king, and almost all of that of the queen (Cleopatra II), being lost.
Euergetes II, wears the pschent and, according to Champollion: "a fringed calasiris worn like a coat". Above the king (and originally the queen), after his cartouches, the upper of two horizontal lines of hieroglyphs gives: The gods Euergetes, masters of Egypt ..., whose throne is great in all the regions of Horus, their sublime images (are) in the places of Truth".
The lower of the two lines gives: "The king's sister, lady of the two lands, Cle.....", the end of her cartouche is destroyed by the damage.
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In front of the king are three divinities.
First, the ibis-headed Thoth, wearing an atef-type crown; his right hand raised in a gesture of blessing; the left holds a roll of papyrus and a long palm branch, edged with regular notches, possibly representing years. The text above him says: "Thoth-setem, Lord of Khmun, lord of the divine words, [writer of] the truth for the cycle of the gods, who fixes the account of the years, who determines the destiny in the place of birth, who circulates the royal orders of the one who appears on his throne".
Next is Horus, holding the was-sceptre and the cross of life. He has the head of a hawk and wears the pschent, with the accompanying text: "Horus, son of Isis, son of Osiris, beneficent heir of Wennefer, the great god who resides in Dja-Mut, king of the gods in his place of rest, Lord of the throne of the double lands in Apet (which means the Opet temple at Karnak)".
Finally, Nephthys, wearing the kiosk and neb-sign on her head. Her left hand is raised behind the shoulder of Horus, the right one holds an ankh. She is: "Nephthys, the divine beneficent sister (of) Sefkhet, the great, the mistress of the writings, resident in Dja-Mut". The inclusion of the name Sefkhet
is confusing, her headdress is the seven pointed star; she is sometimes
regarded as the wife of Thoth and was also known as 'Mistress of the
House of Books'. So, although Nephthys is shown and named here, the
latter description in the text actually refers to Sefkhet.
Upper register:
As on the south part of the wall, both scenes display the cult worship by Ptolemy to his ancestors. The scenes start with the one on the right.
• First scene:
Euergetes, approaching from the right, wears the pschent simply placed on a short wig. He makes a libation from vessels (now lost) which he holds in his raised hands. From these, water flows out onto the ground in two streams. Between the two streams of water is a vertical inscription: "Paying homage with the two vessels to his father and to his mother".
In front of Euergetes is seated a divine king, wearing an atef-type crown. He holds, as with the gods, the was-sceptre and the ankh. This is: "The king's father, Ptolemy (V), the god Epiphane". He says: "I grant to you that water flows on your command".
Standing behind him, wearing the Hathoric headdress, is the king's mother, the goddess Epiphane, Cleopatra (I). She tells her son: "I give you everything which comes from the Nile ...".
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• Second scene:
On the right, Euergetes, wearing the khepresh (with ram horns) surmounted by a solar disk, with an ostrich feather on either side. Euergetes II is qualified as: "The one who also measures the fields [of Egypt]". He offers the two round vessels to another divine Ptolemy. Below his outstretched arms, in a vertical column, it says: "Offering wine to his father and to his mother".
The ancestor is again seated opposite him on a throne, and wearing an atef-type crown resting on the two horns of a ram; and as usual, he holds the sceptre of the gods in his left hand and the sign of life in his right. He is named: "His father's divine father, Ptolemy", also: "The god who loves his father (i.e. Ptolemy IV, Philopator)". He tells his grandson: "I grant to you domination on the two regions".
Standing behind him, again wearing the Hathoric crown, is his wife, holding the lotus-topped sceptre and the ankh. Above the divine queen, it says: "The divine mother of his mothers, Arsinoe, the goddess who loves his father". She says to her grandson: "I grant that your acts of worship are according to the heart of the gods (i.e. 'pleases the gods')".
| NORTH WALL |
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The doorway (3m high and 1m wide), cut through the wall at the western edge, is both wider and taller than that of the south wall. The damage caused at the junction with the west wall having lost what remained of the decoration of that end of both the upper and lower main registers and two nome representations of the base register. Almost the total third scene of the upper register is missing.
The small centrally positioned window once again divides the frieze and the long inscription, both of which retain most of the colours and are described fully, below.
Lower register:
• First scene:
Standing on the right, Euergetes holds his right hand to the door of a shrine, which contains the god Thoth, to open it. He wears the nemes headdress with a uraeus, but without a crown. The text below his arms state: "I open it ... so that you may leave [your shrine] ..., gods and men are in health when you leave your sanctuary".
The ibis-headed god Thoth, wears the lunar disk and holds a was-sceptre and ankh. He is in the attitude of striding, as if to leave the shrine. The text names him as: "Thoth-Teos, the ibis, great god who resides in Dja-Mut, writer of truth for the gods". He tells the king: "I grant to you the double lands, all regions and all those who live in them pay homage to [you]".
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• Second scene:
The left-hand side of the scene is lost by the cutting of the more modern doorway.
Euergetes wears the short wig, on top of which is a diadem formed from two ostrich feathers, the solar disk and two uraei. His left hand is raised, whilst in his right hand he holds a statuette of the goddess Ma'at, goddess of truth, seated on a basket (the 'neb'-sign). He presents this towards the prow of a barque.
The barque is decorated with the head of hawk, surmounted by the solar disk with a uraeus, and nestling within its two open wings. [There is a mistake in the line drawing, which has in error the wings replaced by a basket.] Behind this emblem can be seen, as on the south wall, a ram standing on a support; however, this time it has an atef-type crown on its head. The rest of the barque is now lost.
The horizontal line above the king says: "He who likes the truth, who establishes the laws".
The god, who must have appeared in the shrine of the barque, was, as testified in the text written above it: "Thoth-Teos, the ibis, great god, resident in Dja-Mut, master of the truth, bull of the divine cycle". He tells the king: "I attract to you the hearts among men and women, I make that your love penetrates into the [whole] land, and that all are in joy [because of] you".
Upper register:
• First scene:
The king offers a plate laden with breads of various shapes to two deities. He wears the complex atef-type crown on top of the crown of the North. Very little remains of his texts. But the long column of text behind him states: "I present to you the offerings which [delight your Duplicate, an infinite number of breads and excellent sacred cakes, resting [on] the altar, in addition to the offerings which I make, and which are pure".
The seated hawk-headed god with the was-sceptre and ankh, is: "Montu-Ra, Lord of Thebes, bull who resides in Hermonthis, Horokhuti, established as Ra, who traverses the two lands". He says to the king: "I grant you life, happiness, cheer, joy, and that which you bring with the provisions, according to your desire".
The goddess who stands behind the seated god, wears the solar disk between the horns of a cow. She is: "Tanenit Rait-Taui, sovereign of Hermonthis, who shows the Truth, sovereign of .... She is the goddess best associated with beer. In the vertical inscription under her arm, she says: "I give you all products of Sibu, all the plants which grow on the land".
Finally, in the left-hand framing column: ""I grant that you appear on the throne of Horus, your royalty being the royalty of Sibu, ... the royalty of the South and the North, among the living who are on land, the barbarians being united under your sandals".
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• Second scene:
This scene is similar to the first scene of the upper register of the west wall. Here Euergetes wears the pschent on top of a short wig, whilst with both of his hands he holds up a large multi-row necklace. This time he presents it to a goddess. Because of the major differences they cannot be considered as counterparts.
Very little remains of the texts associated with the king. The exception being the latter part of the vertical column behind him, which says: "The lord of the diadems, Ptolemy, raises (i.e. presents) the necklace to the king of the gods".
The seated goddess wears the crown of the North, and holds the lotus-headed sceptre and the ankh. She is: "Amonit, the very great, mistress of the land, who resides in ..., the great cow, who gave birth to Ra, lady of the houses, of the harvest". She is actually one of the four goddesses of the Ogdaod. She says to the king: "I give you the amulets which are in ..., the magic charms of ...". The framing column on the left confirms her identity.
As has already been mentioned previously, she is often associated with Neith, the great goddess of Sais, in the Delta.
• Third scene:
The two characters which should have been represented here have been destroyed completely. Only the top of the scene has survived, consisting of the tops of the columns and the king's cartouches. The only readable text being: "Beneficent heir, descended of Sibu".
Nothing has remained which would identify the divinity to whom Euergetes pays homage.
Room 3 - (concluded)
| WEST WALL |
This is the rear wall of the main sanctuary and of the whole building, the focus of all that has gone before. The scenes, as with those of the other walls of this room, are on two registers, above the the base register. There are four scene on the lower one and six on the upper, space equally either side of the centre of the wall. Ptolemy Euergetes approaches the deities, in all the scenes, from the direction furthest from the centre (i.e. from the south or the north).
Lower register:
• First scene:
Ptolemy offers the content of two nu-vases to four deities, two gods and two goddesses. Although much damage has occurred, removing the heads of three of the deities, enough of the texts above them has survived to enable their identities to be know and some of their words to the king.
The first god is, according to the text: "Nu-Amun
, father of Ra, the god who was at the beginning, the venerable god, sublime, whose name is mysterious ...". Behind him is: "[Nuet]-Amunet, mother of Temu, the august and magnificent goddess, ...",
The second god is: "Kuky
, great god, who is (or was) in total darkness, who opens ..., who dissipates darkness". Finally, the last goddess is called" "Kukyt,
venerable and magnificent goddess, in the form of the mysterious snake,
who is in ..., walking after him, the light which accompanies him".
These two couples belong to the Ogdoad of Hermopolis (Hermopolis being also called "City of the Eight").
Two other couples from the Ogdoad will be found in the scene which matches this one, at the other extremity of this same register. Reference (and a full description about the Ogdoad) has already been made to the "Eight" in the second scene of the lower register of the south wall; where Thoth is named as "father of the fathers of the Eight".
Under the arms of the king is what remains of his words to the deities: "I offer you wine, the eye of Horus ...".
The first god tells the king: "I grant you domination on all lands".
The goddess who follows him says: "I grant that you are revered over all the double lands, that you are like Ra, first of the gods".
Above the second god, his words say: "I give you the provisions ...".
Unfortunately, the words of the goddess at the end are lost.
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• Second scene:
Euergetes, his crown almost entirely erased with the exception of part of an ostrich feather, has his hands raised to offer to the seated god an object which is now unidentifiable. His texts, which would have provided the information, is also almost totally lost.
The god is, according to his texts: "Amon-Ra, king of the gods, venerable form, chief of the gods, master of the goddesses, Lord of the sky, of the land, the Duat, the waters, the mountains, the cities ...; who created everything which exists".
Amon-Ra wears his usual headdress. He tells the king
: "I give to you the South and North, united (lit. 'in their totality') (also) all things [which are in them?]".
Note with interest the old hieroglyphic forms for the two parts of
Egypt, symbolised by their respective heraldic plants: the lotus (and
not the lily, as is still so often implied) for the South and the
papyrus for the North.
Standing behind Amon-Ra is Mut, the pschent resting on her head. Her inscription names her as: "Mut the great, [the mother(?)] of Ra, lady of the sky, sovereign goddess of the fortress".
On the right, behind Mut, is the long vertical framing column: "Existing at the beginning, he created a child with his two hands [which left from] Nu, shone [in the sky], and the land was pulled from the darkness. He is the father of the fathers of the Eight". It should be noted that here it is Amon-Ra, and not Thoth, who is credited as the originator of the Eight (the Ogdoad).
• Third scene:
Having passed the centre of the wall, the king now approaches from the right (the north), the gods/goddesses are shown on the left.
Euergetes, his two hands raised in adoration, wears a diadem formed from two ostrich feathers flanking the solar disk. His head and lower part of the headdress is missing, so it is impossible to know if the horns of ram were also present.
In front of him are two gods. The first, as in the previous scene, is Amon-Ra, again he is seated on a throne which rests on a plynth, and also wearing the mortar surmounted with the large feathers and holding the was-sceptre and ankh in his hands. He is identified as: "Amon-Ra, with the majestic throne ..., who created the land, the Duat, the waters and the mountains ..., who made it that the Eight reproduced". Nothing much remains of his words to the king. However, it should be noted that from what remains of the text above the king, Euergetes addresses him as : "The image ... of Shu, son of Ra".
Behind stands a mummified god, Khonsu, wearing the lunar disk on his head and a menat-necklace, the counterweight of which hangs down his back. In his hands, which come out of the shroud, he holds several sceptres, at the centre of which is a was-sceptre, and includes an ankh, the hook and the flail. His text names him as: "Khonsu of Thebes, who comes towards Dja-Mut".
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• Fourth scene:
In symmetry with the opposite end of the register, the king approaches the remaining four members of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. His head and crown are destroyed, along with his cartouches and texts. In his outstretched hands, he this time holds a censor.
The heads and headdresses of both gods are lost, those of the goddesses remain. As before, the gods hold a was-sceptre and an ankh, whilst the goddesses hold the lotus-topped sceptre and an ankh.
Of the identifying texts, for the deities, only that of the last goddess remains. She is: "Nit hemsit (the one who is seated, or immobile), the uraeus which measures this land, who treads at the feet ... who gave birth to Ra at the beginning of the great water (i.e. 'at the creation of the world')". "Nit" or "Neith" is a later variant of "Nunet", and is referred to as a creation goddess but also associated with hunting and warfare. Although this is only a loose connection, it can be thus assumed that the four deities are (right to left): the god Huh and his female counterpart Huhet; then the god Nun and his female aspect Nit (Neith or Nunet).
The only remains of the texts spoken to the king are from the first god and goddess. Huh says: "[I give to you] the products which come from the streams of the flooding". Huet says: "I grant them to you ... (and) that your dominion is in the [whole] land".
Upper register:
This register, like the one below, has a symmetry of scenes; the three on the left (south) being reflected (although with differences) on the right. These scenes are smaller in height than those of the lower register.
• First scene:
The king, approaching from the south, wears the atef-type crown, placed on the horns of a ram. With both of his hands, he holds up a large necklace with several rows and presents it to a seated god, hawk-headed and wearing a lunar disk.
The column of text behind the king reads: "He is the king of the South and the North. Ptolemy, walking in the capacity of chief of the Six, Lord of the Red Land (the desert); he is like Horus, [chief] of the gods, who is as the very great son of the gods in ...". His words to the god are: "I give you the divine amulet as magic protection for your members, the barbarians being united under your sandals".
The god is: "Khonsu of Thebes, Nefer-hotep ('beautiful and pleasing'), Horus master of joy, Thoth in On of the South (Hermonthis) and the support of the moon, which shines in the sky above". This thus indicates the god as being a representation of all three gods
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• Second scene:
This time Euergetes (head and headdress hammered out), present two mirrors to a seated goddess. His words to her (under his arms) state: "These two mirrors ... [created] for [your] two images, according to their forms". His words continue in the long column behind him: "I took the mirrors ... to see the beauty of your face. The gods [and the goddesses] are delighted to contemplate [your] face".
The goddess, whose head is surmounted by the solar disk between the horns of a cow, is: "Isis, the great, the divine mother, sovereign of Dja-Mut, the powerful. Regent of the two regions, regent of the whole circle (which describes) the solar disk".
She tells the king: "I grant to you that men and women gaze upon you"; again, her words continue behind her: "I take your two mirrors, I look at the double image which is great in the residence; [so that all people see the things which I give you; the sky sees your grandeur ...".
• Third scene:
This forms, with the next scene, the central part of the upper register.
Euergetes approaches from the left (south), wearing the white crown of the south, his arms are inclined toward the ground (hands erased).
Behind him stands his first wife, Cleopatra II
. She wears the Hathoric headdress, her two arms are raised (head and hands erased).
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Cleopatra II is usually identified as
 "the king's sister, mistress of the two lands".
Whereas Cleopatra III (who appears in the next scene) is identified as  "the king's wife, mistress of the two lands" |
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Above Euergetes, a horizontal line reads: "Purification for the Lords [of the temple]". The text under his arms is lost, but under those of the queen it states: "Making the good offering by the king. Your domination is liked, while you browse the path".
Behind Cleopatra II, the vertical framing column states: "The good god lives, heir of Thoth, who contemplates his father, sublime in his rising; purifying the temple with the water (of Nun), by the ceremonies of incense and all perfumes, made from corn. The son is in peace, retiring from ...".
The ibis-headed god, seated and wearing the triple atef-type crown, is: "Thoth-setem, the great god, resident in Dja-Mut, who ... the nine in Dja-Mut".
Behind Thoth is his usual companion, with the sistrum on her head; her right hand is raised and left hangs down, holding an ankh. This is: "Nohemauait, resident in Dja-Mut, lady of intoxication, of the numerous Duplicates". She says: "I grant to you that the Sati-us are bent [in front of you that the Moniti-u ...".
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• Fourth scene:
This is an almost mirror image of the previous one. But there the king wore the white crown, because he was striding supposedly from the South, whilst here he has the red crown, because he comes from the North. In the previous scene he held his hands lowered toward the ground; here he raises them, towards the god, in a gesture of worship and prayer.
After his cartouches, it says: "Scholarly workman, whom no one ignores (meaning: 'whom everyone obeys')". His words to the gods in front of him, which would have been placed under his arms, are almost completely destroyed.
Behind him stands his second wife, Cleopatra III, wearing the Hathoric headdress, in the same attitude, her two arms are raised toward the gods.
On the right, words of the vertical framing column are: "The good god lives (i.e. the king), brilliant of speech, [who celebrates the festival ... who exalts the splendours of the ibis of the temple, ... of the master of Khmun, favourite priest of the one who judges between the two adversaries".
The seated ibis-headed god, wearing the same crown as in the previous scene, is identified as: "Thoth-setem, great god who resides in Dja-Mut, who puts in peace the heart of the father of fathers". His words to the king are difficult to decipher.
Behind Thoth stands a goddess, the feather of the truth on her head. She is: "Ma'at, daughter of ... who makes healthy the shade (i.e. the protection) of Ra".
The framing column on the left, is again very broken up
• Fifth scene:
Euergetes, wearing a short wig, surmounted by an atef-type crown, holds in his raised right hand a statue of the goddess of Truth, placed on a pedestal in the form of a basket. Very little of his texts has survived, but under his raised left hand, the vertical column begins: "An offering of Ma'at ..."; the rest is destroyed.
The seated goddess who wears a large sistrum on her head and who holds a lotus-topped sceptre and an ankh, is: "Nohemauait, mistress of the locality ... ", the rest is a little illegible. She tells the king: "I grant that you see the eye of Ra" (or: "that the eye of Ra sees you"), the rest is again very obscure.
The vertical framing column behind her states: "She is the majestic [goddess], powerful, regent of the goddesses, in her sublime residence"; again the end is uncertain.
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• Sixth scene:
This time the king has a khepresh helmet flanked by ram horns and surmounted by a solar disk between two feathers. He presents to the god a pectoral, which he holds in his hands by the the two ends of the fastenings. Once again his texts are very damaged.
The seated ibis-headed Thoth, with a lunar disk on his head is: "Thoth Teos, the ibis, the great god, resident in Dja-Mut". He tells the king: "I grant that the mountains open their sides to you, with the silver and gold (which they contain)".
Behind Thoth, the framing column gives the kings words to Thoth: "I give you the amulet (the pectoral) of Ra, so that it makes for you your magic protection, the protective magic of Horus, to give strength to your body. Saying: Here it is that the gods and the goddesses are with ..."; the rest is destroyed.
| THE LONG DEDICATORY INSCRIPTION AND THE UPPER FRIEZE |
Above the upper register of the major scenes, completing the upper surface of all of the walls, up to the height of the ceiling, is first a long hieroglyphic text then finally a decorative frieze. These circulate all around the room. On the east wall, both this inscription and the frieze are produced on the forward projecting section of the wall, which is a continuation of the frame of the entry doorway.
The Long Inscription:
This is actually a double dedicatory inscription, in large hieroglyphs. It is divided into two parts, the signs being directed in opposite directions. Each of them begins in the middle of the west wall, which forms the rear and focal point of the sanctuary. They join together on the east wall, above the entry.
The text band which is situated between the base register and the lower of the two main registers, possibly contained a similar text; but it is now impossible to determine if this was true, because it now almost totally lost.
• Northern side inscription:
"The living Horus-Ra, the young man happy with his life on his father's throne, gifted with eminent graces, which multiply his risings with the living Apis, master of the diadems, who rejoices (literally "pacifies") the heart of the two lands, Horus of gold, great of valour, master of festivals, like his father Ptah-Tanen (aka. Ptah-Tatenen or Ptah-Taten), father of the gods; sovereign as Ra, king of the South and the North, Ptolemy, with his sister and wife, lady of the double lands, Cleopatra (II) and the royal wife, lady of the double lands, Cleopatra (III); the god Euergetes, who is like Thoth-setem."
"They made the temple and presented it to their father, Thoth-setem, master of the sanctuary, who resides in Dja-Mut, the great god, who is in his sacred barque and whose horizon is as the horizon of (Ra?) [north window] omnipotent God(?), who resides, and who raises himself like Ra rises to the sky; the great watcher, he shines in the temple, his sanctuary, on the throne of Sibu; in the evening, he descends there, in Onkhtit (the necropolis); he spends the night there, until his hour arrives; he leaves as the morning, crossing the region of Manu, giving in offering ... [he celebrates] the festivals on his throne, wearing the double crown of the living, as Ra, forever".
• Southern side inscription:
The beginning of this southern version of the inscription is identical to the other one, up to "in his sacred barque". Then it continues differently:
"They make for him a sanctuary [...] [south window] [an horizon(?)] of the sky. The soul crosses the sky, arises with the sun, while it is ...; it crosses the sky at the zenith, it travels through Nut, [resting with the god Setmu. It brings life from the sky to fall on him (the god); it enters in his home in the form of the ibis of the temple, his mother being in front of him (lit. "at his face") and protecting him by her magic. [The king receives] from them millions of years as master of the diadems (nebti), 33,000 as Horus of gold, 330 as king of the South and the North, as Lord of the double land, on the throne of Horus, at the head of the living, as Ra, forever".
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Note that in the two long
texts, Cleopatra II is only named "his sister, his wife" not "royal
wife"; but Cleopatra III is still "the king's wife"
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The Frieze:
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Like the long text, the frieze also extends in two directions around the room, starting at the mid point of the west wall. It consists a complex repeating design, of a major element separated at each repeat by three khekeru. At the centre is a squatting figure of the ibis-headed Thoth with a sun-disk on his head and holding an ankh on his knees. He always faces away from the starting point at the middle of the west wall. In front of him is a royal cartouche. Both in front of this and behind Thoth is a falcon with wings spread towards these central images.
Separating the frieze from the long inscription is a colourful decorative band
, now very much faded and discoloured.
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| THE CEILING |
This, on either side of the central section, was painted in blue, and covered in white stars with red centres.
In the central area, on the alignment with the entry doorway and extending across the width of three of the large slabs which form the roofing, is a set of nine horizontal inscriptions, beneath which, as in the previous room, are vultures with extended wings and holding a feather standard in each claw. The top of each is towards the west wall. Each horizontal line of inscription begins, again alternatively, with the names of the serpent goddesses, Nekhebet of Upper Egypt (at the top, west) and Wadjet of Lower Egypt; each line ends in a cartouche of the king, and as before these alternate between the two which he used, the one containing the name Ptolemy coming second.
The whole central section is first of all framed down the two outer edges by further long inscriptions. These start at the rear of the room (west wall), and extending to the entry doorway. They reproduce (with minor changes) the royal protocol as found at the beginning of the double dedicatory inscription, up to "the god Euergetes, who is like Thoth-setem". Then this whole section is framed, on its four sides, by the same multicoloured band as used to separate the frieze from the long dedicatory texts.
The gods were all depicted with frog's heads, whilst the goddesses had the heads of serpents. However, Tours of Egypt
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