The Joy of the Pharaohs

Bybyots
reply to post by KilgoreTrout

 

I see, so they probably knocked off when the work was actually all done, hence the suspended flail.

There's a part of me that feels like it is trying to correspond with something that is no longer there, when I think of this stuff.

I like the suspended flail idea in terms of the suspension of work. When the flood came in, there was nothing left to do but wait. The land had been tilled, the ditches and canals dug to carry the water to the fields. Nothing to do but celebrate until the waters receded and they could get back to work with the planting.

I have managed to identify the specific stele. I was at a funeral yesterday and received divine inspiration in the form of Psalm 23. I wondered whether the hieroglyph in question may have something to do with anointing ("5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."). I drew a blank (no pun intended) on that one, but it did lead me into thinking about Alexander the Great, which is where I hit the nail.



That is the cartouche for Alexander's Egyptian name Meryamun Setepenra (beloved by Amun, chosen by Ra) Alexandros. If you look at the original image posted by Sky, it is reversed and vertical, but an exact match. The stele is therefore in either Amenhotep III's Temple or in the Barque Chapel annex built by Alexander. It is part of a series that imposes Alexander into the Optet Festival proceedings and therefore affirms his divine kingship. As far as is known though, like the preceding conqueror Darius, he was never around long enough to actually do the deed into the Nile and never took part in an actual Optet celebration. Nor for that matter was he officially crowned Pharaoh.

Also of note, regarding the 'issuance' and 'pouring', in Michael Wood's 'In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great', he makes the comment that much of the hieroglyphics of Alexander's time were shoddy, the knowledge having been neglected and lost in the preceding sequence of conquest and conflict. So, the whole 'sperm-a-like' thing could just be a typo anyway

LUXUS

John Ernst Worrell Keely, 1894

A building, pyramidal in shape, two hundred feet high, one hundred feet at the base, and having at the apex a disc with a minute aperture in its center, and a triple combination of reflectors, which must concentrate upon one center which must be focalized upon the minute aperture in the disc, - the image being received at the base of the pyramid upon a white surface prepared to receive it, - would yield results beyond the dreams of the most sanguine astronomer of the present day. The distinctness of the image taken would be the most wonderful part of the phenomenon, and the size of the magnification would be limited only to the diameter of the base of the pyramid.

That would need to be a hollow pyramid though, wouldn't it?

He is talking about using a hollow pyramid in a similar way to a pin-hole camera. At the top of the pyramid is a horizontal disc with a hole in its center, around this disc are three collector dishes (parabolic mirrors) which focus on the aperture of the horizontal disc. The shaft of light widens out as it passes through the center of the pyramid. The floor of the pyramid is white like a projector screen onto which the image is projected.

reply to post by KilgoreTrout


The stele is on the right hand side of the Barque chapel annex I believe, it is on the outside of a wall of that complex with the external temple wall behind it as far as I remember. I have just followed a map through and cross referenced it with the photographs that I took in Luxor temple (two of them I posted links to in a previous post on this topic). The stele is definately on the right hand side of that complex on the outside of what would have been) an external wall.
Of course when I say the Right, I mean the Right as you enter the chapel complex so that means that the Stele is on a West facing wall. (my images were taken early morning and in full shade so this is certain)

avriel
reply to post by KilgoreTrout

 

The stele is on the right hand side of the Barque chapel annex I believe, it is on the outside of a wall of that complex with the external temple wall behind it as far as I remember. I have just followed a map through and cross referenced it with the photographs that I took in Luxor temple (two of them I posted links to in a previous post on this topic). The stele is definately on the right hand side of that complex on the outside of what would have been) an external wall.
Of course when I say the Right, I mean the Right as you enter the chapel complex so that means that the Stele is on a West facing wall. (my images were taken early morning and in full shade so this is certain

Very many thanks for the clarification. Appreciated.

I found this interesting (in relation to the Barque Chapel)...

Above the lintel of the doorway into this antechamber, a small chamber was built into the wall that was just large enough to accommodate a man. It was concealed by removable slabs, and accessed by holds cut in the wall. Some scholars believed this to be a priest-hole, where a priest would conceal himself during religious ceremonies. He would then be the voice of Amun, when priests asked questions of the god.

www.touregypt.net...

Lucky you to have been there in person, I was only bemoaning the fact the other day, that given the current political climate, it is not suitable for my son and I to visit in the foreseeable future. However, since the Egyptian people are having such a horrendous time according to recent reports, anyone even remotely suspected of dissension is being arrested and tortured. It is long, long way from returning to normalcy or even stability there.

reply to post by KilgoreTrout


I was there almost exactly a year ago and the revolution was in full swing. to be honest so long as you steer clear of Cairo and Alexandria in the North of the Country you would be fine. Luxor down to Aswan is very quiet and we saw no trouble at all. Sure the Egyptian people are desperate for money at the moment and they do pester you to buy things but the tour guides shelter you from the majority of the hassle. If you take a cruise rather than stay in a hotel you are safe. The river boats are small (around 30 - 50 rooms), flat bottomed and not really like the large cruise liners on the ocean. They have there own security and you are escorted from the boat to all of the temples. The Egyptian people rely on tourism for their lively hood and they are very very protective towards tourists for this reason. I would say now is the perfect time to go, it is cheap and if you leave it any later the trouble may spread to the south of the country which would then make Luxor and the upper Nile off limits. Have a look at reviews on line from people that have been there this year, you may be very very surprised at how safe it is at present.
The only time you may feel a little on edge is if you decided to make the trip to Abu simbel from Aswan (which of course you would want to) as to get there you have to travel in an armed convoy, but this is because of the long journey through open desert and nothing to do with the revolution.

reply to post by avriel


Thanks...I wouldn't hesitate if it was just me, and do understand that they need the tourists economically, but I wouldn't risk it with my little lad...besides, we've now booked to go to Crete

KilgoreTrout
we've now booked to go to Crete

There's a day-trip to the Minoan structures in there somewhere...

reply to post by KilgoreTrout


Totally understand that (we left our kids with the inlaws) aside from the political situation the heat alone may be too much for him. Enjoy Crete, home of the Minoans :-)

Skyfloating

KilgoreTrout
we've now booked to go to Crete

There's a day-trip to the Minoan structures in there somewhere...

Knossos and the Heraklion museum are definates, as well as, at the very least, the Lassithi Plateau and Dikteon Cave...more of the caves if time permits.

The Dikteon Cave is found in the Mount Dicte range in East Crete, on the Lassithi Plateau.

The Lassithi Plateau was inhabited as early as the Neolithic Period (6000 BC) and is one of the few sites in the Mediterranean where settlements arose at such high altitude (an average of 840 m. above sea level). An important factor was that the Lassithi Plateau has particularly fertile soil, and large amounts of water from the snow that falls on the peaks of My Dicte collect in the water table.

www.explorecrete.com...

I may leave a little time for a paddle in the sea too