Bianca
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« Reply #15 on: September 09, 2007, 06:53:02 am » |
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T H E R E L I G I O U S B A C K G R O U N D
THE FESTIVAL OF THE ELDER KING
In spite of everything, Amenophis III was not an "enlightened" and irreligious monarch; rather, he was deeply rooted in traditional piety.
His last decade was characterized by multiple celebrations of the great royal festival of renewal, the "sed"-festival, which was supposed to revive and ritually renew the waning powers of a king after 30 years of rule; it was then repeated at briefer intervals of three years each.
Since he ruled a full 38 years, Amenophis III was able to celebrate two repetitions before his death. All three celebrations took place in his palace at el-Malqata on the West bank of Thebes, and they are richly attested through deliveries that arrived there in inscribed and, often, dated jars. Japanese excavations have even uncovered a podium for a throne, whose 30 steps stand for the 30 years that had gone by; representations from all periods show that, at the midpoint of the festival, Pharaoh sat enthroned on such a podium, thus repeating his coronation.
While a specific deification of the king was connected with the festival, every pharaoh was already divine.
In the New Kingdom, this divinity was viewed above all as solar; the king not only was the SON OF RE, but was himself the SUN, lighting the world and playing the role of the Sun God on earth through his deeds.
Quite like Ramesses II at a later date, Amenohis III went a step further and had statues erected in which he was revered as a god - specifically, the SUN GOD - during his lifetime; thus, there exist cult scenes in which the king is portrayed praying or making offerings to his own image!
TEMPLE OF AMUN-RA BUILT BY AMENOPHIS III
Amenophis fell back on ancient models for the celebration of his festival, but he took special care to raise it to new splendor. The ritual rejuvenation of rulership it was supposed to effect is documented by statues from the end of his reign which depict him with pronoun- cedly youthful features.
He called himself the Dazzling Sun, while at his side his chief wife, Teye, played the role of Hathor, the companion of the sun god who stood for all aspects of regeneration.
The important role played by the royal family in the late years of Amenophis III calls to mind the prominence it would have in the Amarna Period, though the relaxed intimacy of the scenes from the latter period are missing from the art of Amenophis.
It is striking, though, that the later "Heretic King", who became the successor to the throne, upon the premature death of his older brother Tuthmosis, played no prominent role; he is mentioned only once, on a delivery for the 'sed'-festival of his father.
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