Access to the Karnak Temple: How the Public Perceived the Pharaonic Battle Scenes of Sety I and Ramesses II
Open Access
Author:
Lee, Alisia
Area of Honors:
Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Elizabeth J Walters, Thesis Supervisor Erin Mc Kenna Hanses, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Sety I Ramesses II Karnak Temple Hypostyle Hall Public Battle Scenes Victorious Pharaoh Festivals Canals Opet Festival Valley Festival Sokar Festival Modern Reconstruction Public View
Abstract:
During the grand and final empire age, the New Kingdom (ca. 1550-1070 B.C.), religious
festivals celebrated the greatness of the gods and the Pharaohs. Important festivals during the
New Kingdom were the Opet, Valley, and Sokar festivals that the public would witness during
the procession to the Karnak Temple. However, the public could not enter the temple interior as
it was restricted to the kings and priests. Also, there is a mud-brick wall that was built during the
30th Dynasty by the king Nectanebo I (r. 380-362 B.C.) that prohibits the public's access to the
Hypostyle Hall of the Karnak Temple. However, based on the digital reconstruction of the
temple, the public would access the outside space of the Temple and observe the exterior walls
of the Hypostyle Hall. On the exterior walls of the Hypostyle Hall, there are the marvelous battle
reliefs of Seth I and Ramesses II; the north and south walls where it is available for the public to
view. The public would observe the great victorious campaigns of the Pharaohs and interpret
them from their own perspective. Judging from contemporary texts, the public regarded the
Pharaohs as great warriors, divine figures, and even as Egyptian war god Monthu and a foreign
god Ba’al.