The columns are all inspired by the umbelliferous papyrus of the river, which brought to Egypt both its grace and its knowledge. Some of the columns are open, that is to say their capitals are open: while others, are closed, like the flowers in the bud.
The hypostyle chamber was built by Seti I between the second and third pylons, and he decorated a large part of the walls and columns with reliefs. The decoration was completed by Rameses II, who used not reliefs this time, but sunken reliefs. This hypostyle chamber is the mother of all the three nave basilicas which later were inspired by his plans.
The function of this chamber is essentially both religious and imperial. The physical presence of Amon was there in the form of a statue transported on a barque. And Pharaoh came here to regenerate his soul, since he reigned over Upper and Lower Egypt, in other words over the universe, in his quality as the Son of Amon.
In the depths of the sanctuary, Amon the God, the creator, is present in the form statue. There is the ceremonial for the opening of his mouth, for the mouth orders both Men and Events; there are polishings, fumigations, repeated annointings, touching of the face with a fork of silex and an adze, blessing the hoof of an Ox. All these solemn rites have literally incorporated the soul of Amon in its receptacle of sculptured wood.
The Ritual
Pharaoh came into the Divine Presence this morning. he purified himself in the waters of the Sacred Lake. He will proceed to awaken the God with his retinue of Priest, for the God is still sleeping, as every night, in his Tabernacle that is sealed every evening.
Pharaoh- "Awake Karnak, Queen of the dwellings of the Gods and Goddesses that inhabit her. Awake Gods and Goddessses to the beauty of this new day. Awake in peace, Amon, lord of Karnak."
Priests- "The bond is broken, the seal is unsealed. The twin gates of Heaven are opening. The twin gates of the Earth are swinging wide."
Pharaoh- "Hail to thee, Amon, Lord of Thebes, Lord of Lords, Mater of terror and king of calm."
Priests- "Amon, King of Heaven, creator of the stars.""Thou hast thrown open the horizons and brought all the Gods into being."
Pharaoh- "I worship Thee, Amon."
Priest- "Bull of thy Mother, Creator of the Multitudes, King of the Gods, Sovereign of the Tall Plumes, Thou Greakt HAWK."" Thou who givest the breath of life to all things, and instillest joy into the hearts of men"
Pharaoh- "O Amon, give me strength and joy. I bear thee bandeus as an offering, O Lord, that clad in all Thy Glory Thou mayest keep watch until the night, and give health and strength of Thy Son the Pharaoh, king of the south and North Chief of all Thy living creatures forever."
Priest- "Here is white Bandeau"
Pharaoh- "That the light which is Thy look may shine"
Priest- "Here is the green Bandeau"
Pharaoh- "That the Earth may be fertile and blood strong.
The Pharaoh’s incantations are done. The ceremony will continue all day long around the awakened Statue, with the assistance of a Host of Priests. God will be nourished with incense and libations. The remains of the offerings of meat and wine will naturally serve to feed the Priests. After the noon libations, God will be entertained with paints, oils, perfumes, and jewels. And in the Evening, after a futher purification, the Statue will return to its Tabernacle, sheltered behind a fresh clay seal applied to the Gates.
Now God is resting: we must leave the sanctuary. The sun has vanished behind the Theban mountains. Amon has vanished into the night with the Sun, embarking once more upon that dark voyage that is the foretaste of Death.
"Another tradition asserts, however, that Osiris never found his way back to his country: he was buried at Byblos, this tradition maintained, and it was in his honour that the festivals attributed by the vulgar to the young Adonis were really celebrated. A marvellous fact seemed to support this view. Every year a head of papyrus, thrown into the sea at some unknown point of the Delta, was carried for six days along the Syrian coast, buffeted by wind and waves, and on the seventh was thrown up at Byblos, where the priests received it and exhibited it solemnly to the people.* The details of these different stories are not in every case very ancient, but the first fact in them carries us back to the time when Byblos had accepted the sovereignty of the Theban dynasties, and was maintaining daily commercial and political relations with the inhabitants of the Nile valley.**" - HISTORY OF EGYPT, CHALDEA, SYRIA, BABYLONIA, AND ASSYRIA Vol. 6 part B By G. MASPERO
