The Ancient Egyptian Metaphysical Architecture Page 14

  11. Kom Ombo Temple

  Kom Ombo’s main attraction is its dual Temple of the crocodile-headed Sebek and the falcon-headed Heru-ur (Haroeris). It is a double purpose, symmetrical temple. The temple dates to a pre-dynastic era, and was restored every few centuries.

  The main features of the site include:

  1 – There are double entrances, courts, colonnades (in a ruined state), hypostyle halls, and sanctuaries. All interior and exterior walls, as well as all the remaining columns, are fully decorated with beautiful hieroglyphs and symbolic representations.

  2 – On the outer corridor wall of the temple is a box of surgical instruments, carved in relief. The box contains metal shears, surgical knives, saws, probes, spatulas, small hooks and forceps.

  3 – South of the main temple is the Chapel of Hathor, which is now used to keep a large collection of mummified crocodiles that came from a nearby cemetery.

  4 – The ruins of the Mammisi (Birth House) are located outside the main pylon, and served as the usual divine (spiritual) birthplace of Horus.

  12. Philae Temple of Isis in Aswan

  This ancient temple was built on a site that was used previously, and its Egyptian name, meaning Island of the Time of Re, suggests an extremely remote antiquity. As would have been expected, such an ancient temple required restoration every few centuries.

  In the Osiris and Isis allegory, Isis while searching for the dismembered pieces of Osiris, found her husband’s heart on Philae.

  The old Aswan Dam frequently caused flooding of the temple in Philae, but the High Dam guaranteed to flood it forever. Before the High Dam was completed, the temple was relocated on nearby Agilka Island. It was re-positioned to correspond as closely as possible to its original location.

  The main features of this temple complex include:

  1 – The First Pylon has beautiful wall carvings.

  2 – The Great Court, has 31 (originally 32) beautiful columns with various floral capitals on the west side, and six columns on the east side.

  3 – A small temple, dedicated to Imhotep, is located at the rear of the eastern colonnade.

  4 – The Central Court includes a Mammisi (birth-house), dedicated to Horus. At the northeast corner of the Court is a building that was used as a healing center.

  5 – The Second Pylon has intriguing depictions in its carvings. It also provides access to the Vestibule and the Inner Sanctuary.

  6 – The Temple of Hathor, east of the second pylon, is beautifully decorated.

  7 – The Osiris Chambers can be reached via a staircase at the western side of the second pylon. The Chambers are fully decorated with beautiful images of Osiris, Isis, and other deities that took part in the Osiris and Isis allegory.

  13. Abu Simbel Temples

  Abu Simbel is located 275 km (170 miles) south of Aswan. It has two temples which were built 3,200 years ago by Ramses II (1304–1237 BCE).

  The Greater Abu Simbel Temple (Ramses II)

  The first and largest of the temples is dedicated to the neter (god) Re-Harakhuti. The main features include:

  1 – The facade is 33 m (110 ft.) high, and 38 m (125 ft.) broad, and guarded by four huge seated statues, each of which is 20 m (66 ft.) high.

  2 – The Great Hall of Pillars is located beyond the entrance. It has eight Osiris pillars. The wall and column reliefs here depict the typical symbolic victorious king acting against his enemies. Other side rooms are fully decorated with ceremonial representations.

  3 – The Holiest of Holies is 55 m (180 ft.) back into the living rock, where there are four sitting statues. The sun shines directly on the Holiest of Holiest two days a year: February 22. After the relocation of the temple, the dates are now February 23 and October 23.

  The Smaller Abu Simbel Temple

  This temple is located a short distance from the main temple. It was carved in the rock. The facade is adorned by six statues in the form of Hathor, netert (goddess). The interiors look like the interior of the main temple.

  The Relocation of Abu Simbel Temples

  These two temples attracted worldwide attention when they were threatened by inundation by the rising waters of the High Dam. In response to an appeal by Egypt in 1959, UNESCO initiated an international donations campaign to save these monuments. The rescue of the Abu Simbel temples began in 1963. To save it from inundation, the temples, weighing about 40,000 tons, were cut into 2,000 pieces, moved 28 m (90 ft.) higher, and reassembled on a higher plateau.

  Appendix B: Practical Mathematics in Ancient Egypt

  The numerous monuments of Ancient Egypt, with their perfect construction, attest to their superior knowledge (among other things) of mathematics and geometry.

  The Ancient Egyptians never formulated or worked out problems for frivolous purposes just to show off their capabilities. To do so would be an exercise in vanity and useless number gymnastics.

  The Egyptians had a system of decimal numbering, with a sign for 1, another for 10, 100, 1000 and so on. The evidence at the beginning of the 1st Dynasty (2575 BCE) shows that the system of notation was known up to the sign for 1,000,000.

  All that is known of Egyptian “mathematics” comes from a Middle Kingdom papyrus and a few fragments of other texts of a similar nature. The study of mathematics began long before the “mathematical” papyri were written. These found papyri are not a mathematical treatise in the modern sense – that is to say, they do not contain a series of rules for dealing with problems of different kinds – but are merely a series of tables and examples worked out with the aid of the tables.

  The four most referred to papyri are:

  1. The Rhind “Mathematical” Papyrus (now in the British Museum) is a copy of an older document during King Nemara (1849–1801 BCE), 12th Dynasty. It contains a number of examples to which academic Egyptologists have given the serial numbers 1-84.

  The heading of this Ancient Egyptian Papyrus reads:

  ‘Rules for enquiring into nature and for knowing all that exists, every mystery, every secret.’

  The intent is very clear that Ancient Egyptians believed and set the rules for numbers and their interactions (so-called mathematics) as the basis for “all that exists”. [For more about number mysticism, read Egyptian Cosmology by Moustafa Gadalla.]

  2. The Moscow “Mathematical” Papyrus (in the Museum of Fine Arts of Moscow) also dates from the 12th Dynasty. It contains a number of examples to which academic Egyptologists have given the serial numbers 1-19. Four examples are geometrical ones.

  3. The Kahun fragments.

  4. The Berlin Papyrus 6619, which consists of four fragments reproduced under the numbers 1-4.

  Below is a synopsis of the contents of the Rhind “Mathematical” Papyrus:

  Arithmetic

  – Division of various numbers.

  – Multiplication of fractions.

  – Solutions of equations of the first degree.

  – Division of items in unequal proportions.

  Measurement

  – Volumes and cubic content of:

  cylindrical containers

  rectangular parallelopipectal

  Areas of:

  – squaring the circle

  – rectangle

  – circle

  – triangle

  – truncated triangle

  – trapezoid

  Batter or angle of a slope of a pyramid and of a cone.

  Miscellaneous problems:

  – Divisions into shares in arithmetical progression.

  – Geometrical progression.

  Other Mathematical Processes known from other Papyri include:

  Square and square root of quantities involving simple fractions [Berlin 6619].

  Solution of equations of the second degree [Berlin Papyrus 6619].

  • • •

  It must be noted that the Rhind Papyrus shows that the calculation of the slope of the pyramid [Rhind Nos. 56-60] employs the principles of a quadrangle triangle, which is called
the Pythagoras Theorem.

  This Egyptian Papyrus is dated thousands of years before Pythagoras walked this earth. The so-called Pythagorean Theorem should be called the Horus “Theorem”, because Horus symbolizes the hypotenuse in the Ancient Egyptian traditions of the 3:4:5 triangle.

  The theorem states that the square of the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides. The 3:4:5 triangle represents this rule by using integer numbers for all three sides.

  The total of both squares (3 and 4) = 9 + 16 = 25 squares, which is the square for the hypotenuse side. The 3:4:5 triangle is as ancient as Egypt is.

  • • •

  We should not judge the level reached by the Egyptians in mathematics, because our only knowledge in this field is based on two incomplete papyri and a few fragments, almost all of which date from the Middle Kingdom. Moreover, we should not cavalierly ignore the objective of the papyri as stated at its beginning, which is the mystical aspects of numbers, fractions, and calculations.

  Appendix C: Fraction Mysticism

  All Egyptian thought, science, and other disciplines devolve from the concept of the mystical Primordial Scission. This starting point of creation is mentioned in every subject and practically every document. It is not idle talk – they were always focused on the beginning point, for one does not know where one is going to, if one does not know where one comes from.

  In Ancient Egypt, the words of Re, revealed through Thoth, became the parts (fractions) of the world.

  To Egypt, a fraction—any fraction—could only be a fraction of unity. Esoterically, because all numbers are to be regarded as divisions of unity, the mathematical relationship a number bears to unity is a key to its nature. Ancient Egypt would state “one seventh and a seventh and a seventh”, but our familiar idea of 3/7 did not exist in the mind of the Egyptian.

  The Ancient Egyptians represented fractions, i.e. having a numerator of 1 by drawing the mouth of Re as the numerator and unit marks underneath for the denominator.

  To write 1/7th, the Egyptian simply wrote the numeral 7, in an upside-down form, underneath the mouth of Re’s symbol.

  A seventh is called Re-Sefkhet = mouth of seven. The glyph might be translated as ‘One emits seven’.

  Heading each Ancient Egyptian numerological (so-called mathematical) papyrus that has been found, there is a table of the division of 2 by odd numbers from 3 to 101, similar to our tables of logarithms and square roots in which all fractions with a numerator of 2 are broken down into constituent fractions with a numerator of 1, which reduces the time spent for calculation. So, in practice, the Egyptian system was no more laborious than ours, and may have been less so.

  Appendix D: Intentional "Irregularities" In Egyptian Works

  Although the Ancient Egyptians were usually meticulous, they have always intentionally left out something (which may appear as an error) in graphic design, sculpture, painting, texts, and buildings.

  In Egypt, the sections of the eye are the glyphs for the fractions 1/2 to 1/64. The parts total 63/64. The sum of successive division will always fall short of unity except at infinity, which is perfectly consonant with Egyptian thought: only the Absolute is One.

  Appendix E: Monument Appropriations—Reconsidered

  Egyptian Pharaohs are wrongly accused of “monument appropriation”. The Karnak Temple is an interesting site for the study of this phenomenon. From the Middle Kingdom on, almost every king left some mark of his presence at the Karnak Temples. In some cases, a later king had removed the name of the earlier king responsible for the original building, and chiseled in his own. Some conclude, then, that the later king willfully “appropriated” the work of the earlier.

  Yet, the matter is not that simple, and is more interesting than that. These appropriations are selective and not arbitrary. Only certain names in certain places have been removed. This can only be deliberate, even though the reasons and basis for such selectivity may not be fully understood.

  Since the Ancient Egyptian temples are thousands of years old, a restoration/rebuilding (of each) was required every few decades/centuries. One can find temples which were torn down over and over again. Other temples were never torn down, but were carefully cared for, repaired, and periodically added to.

  There is the typical standard explanation that they did it for economic or for egotistical reasons. Such simplistic answers ignore the fact that the powerful Pharaohs of the New Kingdom were in total command of unlimited riches. They did not need to save a few pennies, and they never lacked the authority to destroy others’ work, if that was their intention. Most importantly, these simplistic answers don’t account for the major question regarding the still-unknown, specified rules for the selectivity of appropriation.

  The famed Egyptologist Schwaller de Lubicz was able, in his research, to show that there was a rational system in the dismantling and rebuilding processes. Certain blocks from an old temple were placed beneath the columns of a new temple, as if it was the seed to nourish a new plant. The Egyptian temple had its natural, organic lifetime, and when the temple had completed its predestined cycle, it was torn down, revised, or added to. Many other academicians have accepted that the re-deployment of blocks was deliberate, and that the purpose of this re-deployment was to regenerate the new temple.

  Thus, when a king dismantled the work of a predecessor, that action was completely legitimized and had its own sacred meaning. Every king would understand that if he was acting out of egotism, his own works would suffer the same mistreatment after his death.

  The works of the “Great Criminal Akhenaton” were razed to the ground. His case does not apply to monument appropriation. Read all background information about Akhenaton in Historical Deception: The Untold story of Ancient Egypt by Moustafa Gadalla.

  We shall now review three interesting cases of so-called “monument appropriation.”

  1. The Case of Ramses II

  Ramses II, the greatest builder of all Egypt, was also the greatest “appropriator.” The “appropriations” of Ramses pose many questions. Sometimes Ramses cut the names of his predecessors out and inserted his own, but in other instances he did not. Sometimes he completed work begun by a previous king and gave that king appropriate credit. In many instances, when he did “appropriate” a temple, he also left many of the prior cartouches untouched and plainly visible. Yet, in other cases, he altered all the cartouches. Ramses II reigned for 67 years. He was the greatest builder in Egypt’s history, since the pyramid age. No subsequent kings appropriated or reappropriated any projects of Ramses II.

  2. Twthomosis I Obelisk

  One of two obelisks at the Karnak Temple was erected by Twthomosis (Tuthomosis) I. No one touched this obelisk for four hundred years, though the kings during those four centuries did a lot of “usurping” and dismantling. After all this time, two kings left the original inscription in place and merely added their own on either side of the obelisk. They were Ramses IV and Ramses VI.

  3. The Case of Twthomosis III and Hatshepsut

  Much has been written about apparent disputes between Twthomosis III and Hatshepsut. Here are some interesting points:

  A. Hatshepsut (1490–1468 BCE) built an obelisk at the Karnak Temple. This is the second tallest standing obelisk after the Egyptian made Lateran Obelisk, now standing in Rome. When Twthomosis (Tuthomosis) III came to power after Hatshepsut’s death, one of his acts was to erect a high wall around Hatshepsut’s obelisk that hid only its lower two-thirds and left its top third visible for miles.

  The common simplistic explanation for such an action is that it was cheaper to hide the bottom two-thirds of its height than removing it. But building a wall around an obelisk leaving the top 15 ft. (4.6 m) visible for 50 miles (80 km) does not make sense. Twthomosis (Tuthomosis), the mighty king, could certainly have pulled down an obelisk in the blink of an eye if he wanted to. There has to be a better explanation for this wall. It is possible that this action was a part of the same ca
mpaign to undo some of the queen’s works in a selective way, because of the matter of illegitimacy of her reign.

  B. In certain instances, the queen’s name has been left intact in full view of one and all. In other instances, it has been erased from hidden inaccessible shrines. It is the selectivity of the damage that has baffled and fascinated the scholars for centuries.

  C. At Deir el-Bahari, two images of Hatshepsut are left intact. Also in the Hathor sanctuary, one can see Hatshepsut and Twthomosis III kneeling. She is holding an offering of milk and he is holding one of wine. There is no defacement here.

  D. At Deir el-Bahari also, there is a figure of Hatshepsut’s great architect, Senmut, who some theorized had an affair with Hatshepsut. Both figures of Hatshepsut and Senmut are left intact!

  Appendix F: Sample Egyptian Sculpture Works

  From the tomb of a sculptor (12th Dynasty):

  “I was an artist skilled in my art, preeminent in my learning…I knew [how to represent] the movements of the image of a man and the carriage of a woman…the poising of the arm to bring the hippopotamus low and the movements of the runner…”

  The Ancient Egyptian sculptors achieved perfection in their work, and the shapes wrought were the complex, subtle forms of the human anatomy. The huge sculptures could only have been brought to life through the sensitive hand and watchful eye of a master sculptor and with a great deal of loving care. This is the work of passion, not the work of a slave.

  The mastery of Egyptian sculpture is evident in thousands of statues of all sizes, forms, and materials.