.. Imagine, imagine the time, when the city of Memphis named also: Men-Nefer: “Eternal Beauty“, and Ankh-Tawy: “The life of the two lands” , Inbu-Hedj: the “White Radiant Walls“, contained in its original perfection, the impressive temple of Ptah: Hu-Ka-Ptah, the temple of the Ka of Ptah also named over the centuries:“Djed-Sut”: the “Temple of Etenity”, one of the most monumental temple, perhaps the most impressive of all Egypt. And it was built exactly in these palm groves surrounding Memphis, that you see in this video and existing already in that time as it is attested in ancient texts, and where I go through every month for years now.
The great Aanen lector priest.
Today there are only ruins of this temple but I will write more about it in a next article showing you my photos because it is extremely interesting. It was the beating heart of the whole Egypt, and there remains still something of it. It remains a damn something as you will see …
Now imagine, hundreds of priests busy in this temple to the daily rituals. Remember that the temple in ancient Egypt was considered as a living body, a a fully fledged being. Therefore, it was already protected from the dark forces by secret formulas and buried amulets in the for corners of its foundations, and by a beautiful tree chosen for its particular properties, planted at the feet of the walls, and sacralized as ” the watchman” . All this to emphasize that the temple was of extreme importance because it was the place of the possible manifestation of the energy of the light coming from heaven to spread the prosperity and protection for Egypt .
Memphis and when they found the hand of the statue of Ramses II- Engraving: Public Domain-
Nothing impure should enter the temple, there had to be flowers and incense in profusion to purify the place, because the destiny of Egypt and its people and Pharaoh depended upon it. Hosting the light forces was paramount every day in the huge temple, not only for the country but for the entire universe. It must be understood that for Ancients Egyptians and in their writings, life on Earth is constantly threatened by hostile forces. This is why they had to carry out very demanding rituals every morning. Even Pharaoh made his rituals. And if they ever missed a single ritual, the perfect order of the universe was broken, and chaos was coming with all its destruction: the evil and the enemies would triumph. Everything had to be done so that the heavens energies are satisfied, approaching the heart of the temple, the sanctuary. And what is interesting us today, are the rituals done by the priests every morning after their ablutions in the sacred lake, at dawn in the Naos, in the heart of the temple where the statue of a god or of Pharaoh was locked,.
when they found the hand of the colossal statue of Ramses II in the Memphis palm grove-Ancient engraving -PublicDomain-
Every day, opening the doors of the altar, the Naos where the sacred statue was located: the priests recited among others, the ritual of the coming of the light : ” The doors of heaven are opened, the gates of the temple are no more closed. The house is open to the Lord! He comes when he wants, he emerges when he wishes! “
The Naos: “Aat” in hieroglyphic is translated by: Throne, Consecrated Ground, the Saint Island. This is is normally the first artifact of the temple built in a single block of granite, and everything is organized. around it. Rituals were performed every hour and the most importants: at dawn. The shrine is the center that radiates from the temple, to all cities and countries worldwide. There is not only the statue inside, , the naos that is sanctifed but also others in and outside the temple, like the one I’m talking to you now.
The statue of Ramses II found buried at Memphis palm grove facedown. -Gravure: Public Domain-
Imagine all the love inclosed in each ritual: every morning, they coated the sacred statues with the Medjet ointment, dressing it with linen strips, covering it with jewels and girding it with a precious blue, emerald and ruby fabric belt and enthroning it with a new crown. Then they presented their offerings after having purified them by clear water of the sacred lake and a rain of natron salt: flowers, fruits and vegetables, sweet desserts. Finally they flooded the temple with incense and they were singing.
Ramses II laying buried facedown- Engraving: Public Domain-
But today, it is of the statue of Ramses II that I want to talk to you. It was found in 1820, lying buried facedown in the mud because its base was broken, near the great temple dedicated to Ptah in Memphis. The Egyptologist and adventurer Giovanni Caviglia found it and fortunately failed to send it abroad as he planned.
Memphis villagers pose in front of the Colossus of Ramses II that they are extracting from the mud-Photo: Public domain-
Even if this statue was not in the shrine because its huge size, it was sanctified. And we know today that it adorned the east entrance of the vast temple of Memphis with her twin sister that will be soon exposed standing in the new Great Egyptian Museum (GEM) in Giza.
Gigal beside the statue of Ramses II in Memphis Photo©AntoineGigal-2016
Why it was sanctified? But first it was because the first representation that people could see and pray, it was the guardian and representative of the temple, of the sacred and the divine, so it was of utmost importance and should also be strengthened and purified constantly. Then when you see this statue in reality, and I have visited it hundreds of times, you can’t prevent you from feeling very strong emotions at a time.
colossal statue of Ramses II in Memphis- Photo©AntoineGigal2016-
Even looking at his flanks, you feel like they come alive, alike he breathes, and his ineffable smile reaches you deep in your soul by its immense sweetness. The statue is colossal and yet it generates only sweetness.
The magnificent statue of Ramses II in Memphis Photo©AntoineGigal-2016
It is not uncommon that people who come to see the statue with me, and I am visiting it for twenty years now, start crying silently just by watching. I would say that the majority of people are crying. It’s magical, extremely moving and you leave reloaded with an ineffable love.
The smile of Ramses II at Memphis: Photo@AntoineGigal2016-
This statue is not only loaded with the love inserted in thousands of rituals, but also with the worship, love and looks of the population during centuries and also by the love of those who, in the 19th century helped to bring out again this statue to the light of the day , which was not an easy task as you can see by the photos and engravings of this article.
Here is the secret of love lying hidden in the center of the palm groves of Memphis. The same site where I travel several times a month for years because it is going along many important archaeological sites of the plateau and you can see my road in the above video . If you come to Sakkara don’t miss to make the detour to see the secret of love in the palm groves of Memphis in Mit Rahina.
Text & photos by Gigal
All rights reserved.©AntoineGigal2016
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References: -Jean Claude Goyon: Rituels funéraires de l'ancienne Egypte dans "Rituel de la bouche", Editions du cerf,Paris,1972. -S. Sauneron: Les prêtres de l'ancienne Egypte, Paris,1957.
