The Feast of Opet, or as it was called by the ancient Egyptians: “Hob-Nefer-en-Apet”, meaning “Beautiful Opet”, is one of the celebrations of the ancient city of Thebes. He continues: "The main hero of this celebration was the god Amun, and the celebration symbolizes the restoration of the memory of the sacred marriage between the god (Amun) and the goddess (Amunet), which represents the female image of the god Amun. The Opet Festival was celebrated, after the end of the harvest season, equivalent to the period from September to November, according to the current calendar.” , and continued to celebrate it until the end of ancient Egyptian times. And for this particular celebration, King Nectanebo I, founder of the last Egyptian ruling dynasty, erected the Sphinx statues in the way of the great processions, which were used to pass the ceremonial processions between the temples of Luxor and Karnak, which is currently known as the “Road of Rams”. Evidence is available that the observance of the Opet Festival continued until the Ptolemaic period.
Celebration details /
The celebrations begin from the “Holy of Holies” at Karnak Temple, where the statue of the god Amun is located. There, the king offers prayers before the god, so that the statue is placed in the sacred boat called "User Hat", which is distinguished by the presence of a "ram's head" at the front and rear of the boat. The statue is hidden from view during the procession, out of respect for its sanctity, according to ancient Egyptian belief.
The shaven-headed priests, carrying the canoe on their shoulders, leave the sanctuary of the Karnak temple, through two main roads, either through the Nile River, or through the great processions by land. It accompanies the boat of the god Amun, the boat of the goddess Mut, and the god Khonsu, who are members of the Holy Trinity of the city of Thebes. Sometimes, the king's boat accompanies them.
Priests dressed in leopard-skin robes advance the scene, walking alongside each canoe, to meet the needs of the gods. In front of each canoe a priest appears who burns incense, and another priest sprinkles milk. The trumpeters announce the start of the procession, which is preceded by a man in military clothing who sings a hymn glorifying Amon-Ra.
Along the itinerary, celebrations are held with soldiers in chariots, flag bearers, musicians, trumpeters, drummers and dancers. And all this with the participation of the masses of the people. The celebrations reach their climax by approaching the port of the “Luxor Temple”, where the sacrificial slaughter ceremony begins, which are presented as offerings to the gods, and distributed to the participants in the celebration.
After an intentional slowdown before entering the heart of the "Luxor Temple", the procession enters the "Holy of Holies" of the temple, to settle the statue of Amon there. The celebrations continue throughout the stay of the god Amun and the Holy Trinity in Luxor Temple. In the era of the 18th dynasty, the celebrations continued for 11 days, and the period increased to 27 days in the era of the twentieth dynasty. In some cases, the procession took the road extending from the Karnak Temple to the Luxor Temple, with a length of 2,700 meters, characterized by the spread of 1,200 statues of the Sphinx, with a human head and a lion's body. The land route was preferred at the time of the low level of the Nile.
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