Mareotis An important lake in the Delta region of the Lower Kingdom of ancient Egypt now called Lake Maryet, the site was popular in the Ptolemaic Period (304-30 B. C.E.) as a vacation area and as an agricultural resource. Villas and plantations were maintained there with fruit trees, olive groves, and fields. Fresh water from the Canopic branch of the Nile fed the lake in all seasons. Lake Mareotis connected the great city of ALEXANDRIA to the Nile.
Marriage This was the physical and emotional union undertaken by Egyptian men and women that appears to have conferred considerable social status, although a semi-legal aspect becomes clearly evident only in documents dating to the periods following the fall of the New Kingdom in 1070 b. c.e. There are no records of marriages taking place in temples or in government offices, but celebrations were held in conjunction with such unions. In general, ancient Egyptian marriages among commoners and lesser nobles appear to have been based on cohabitation.
Until the Twenty-sixth Dynasty (664-525 b. c.e.), prospective grooms normally sought permission for marriage from the intended bride’s father, and in the Late Period (712-332 b. c.e.) the groom offered silver and cattle as a “bride price” to put an end to a father’s claims on his daughter. These marriage contracts appear to have been drawn up to clarify a division of property in case of the dissolution of the union.
Royal marriages, recorded in almost every period, had religious and administrative aspects. Most of these unions were designed to promote the royal cult and were clearly based on the need to provide royal heirs who met the blood requirements for succession. The rulers of the first dynasties of Egypt married aristocratic Memphite women to augment their claims and to establish connections with the local noble families. These first rulers needed to bolster their claims to the throne, as they were from Upper Egypt and unknown to the Delta populations in the early eras.
Polygamy was an accepted part of royal life, designed to ensure heirs to the throne. Normally the son of a ruler (if there was one) married his sister or half sister and made her his “Great Wife,” the ranking queen. He then took other wives to ensure legitimate heirs. consanguinity was not a factor considered detrimental to such unions, either on a moral or genetic basis. In many instances the heir to the throne was not born of the sister-wife but of another member of the pharaoh’s retinue of lesser queens, a process by which the possible negative genetic effects of such unions were allayed. In later years, rulers married foreign princesses as well, in politically expedient unions, conciliatory gestures to allies and buffer states. The Ptolemaic Period (304-30 b. c.e.) rulers married only Greek women, importing them from outside of Egypt or establishing unions within the royal families of Greek states.
There were ideals concerning marriage and the family, and many Egyptian sages, including one of the sons of KHUFU (r. 2551-2528 b. c.e.), counseled the people to marry and to raise up a patriotic and noble generation. In the case of Khufu’s family, however, the presence of too many wives and offspring led to the probable murder of an heir and to division among the royal family. The various harems could be sources of intrigue and rivalry in some eras, as reported conspiracies and plots indicate.
Polygamy was not practiced by nonroyal Egyptians, including the noble classes, but marriages were arranged for political reasons among aristocrats, as evidenced by nome records. Family members, such as uncles, aunts, and cousins, did intermarry, and the extended nome families took care to keep their holdings secure by regulating unions among their offspring.
Not all of the marriages of ancient Egypt were successful, however, and in such cases divorce was an accepted remedy Such dissolution of marriage required a certain open-mindedness concerning property rights and the economic survival of the ex-wife. In the dynasties following the fall of the New Kingdom, contracts become evident. These were possibly no more than mutually accepted guidelines for the division of property in the event of a divorce, but they could also have been legal expressions of the marriage union.
Many documents from the late periods appear to be true marriage contracts. In the case of divorce, the dowry provided by the groom at the time of marriage reverted to the wife for her support, or a single payment was given to her. In some instances the husband had to give one-third of the property acquired during the marriage, and in others the husband was obliged to provide alimony payments. The charge of adultery, if carried successfully against a wife, eliminated all legal obligations on the part of a husband.
See also women’s role.
Masaharta (fl. 11th century b. c.e.) Temple official of the Twenty-first Dynasty (1070-945 b. c.e.)
He was the son of pinudjem (1) and followed his father as high priest of amun in Thebes, when Pinudjem took on the status of a second ruler on the Nile. He predeceased his father and was buried with his wife, Tajuheret, after years of controlling Upper Egypt from el-HiBA. Masaharta installed a set of sphinxes at karnak and usurped a statue of AMENHOTEP II (r. 1427-1401 b. c.e.).
Both Masaharta and Tajuheret were buried in thebes, and their mummified remains were discovered in the cache at deir el-bahri in 1881. Masaharta’s body was heavily packed and he also had a peculiar beard. He was buried in a cedar coffin. Tajuheret’s face was heavily packed with linen, a piece of which protrudes from her mouth. Her mummified skin appears to have been damaged by insects.
Masara A valuable quarry site, the modern el-Masara, opposite ZAWIET EL-ARYAN, Masara was quarried extensively by AMENHOTEP I (r. 1525-1504 b. c.e.), who used the stone for his massive building programs, conducted early in the Eighteenth Dynasty Limestone from Masara was transported to thebes for the temple of ptah and AMUN at OPET. The limestone from this quarry was particularly popular as a facing for monuments because of its lustrous beauty
See also Egyptian natural resources.
Masara Stela This is a memorial dating to the reign of ’ahmose (1550-1525 b. c.e.), the founder of the New Kingdom. A quarry was opened at Masara on the eastern bank of the Nile by ’Ahmose, and the limestone quarried there was used for temples and shrines in Luxor and Heliopolis. An official named Neferperet erected a stela that commemorated this quarrying activity. The monument states that captured oxen, taken from the hyksos, were used to drag the quarried stone from Masara to the banks of the Nile.
Mastabas Low mud-brick structures with sloping walls used as tombs in the Late Predynastic Period (before 3000 b. c.e.) and in later eras. The name is from the Arabic word for mud benches. In the Early Dynastic Period (2920-2575 b. c.e.), mastabas were used for royal and private burials. The use of mastabas became necessary at that time because the simple trenches and shallow pits once used as grave sites no longer functioned adequately as receptacles for human remains that had been treated by the recently introduced mortuary processes. The increased use of mortuary regalia also complicated the burial requirements. These religious practices, along with the custom of celebrating commemorative services at the tomb, demanded a certain spaciousness of burial sites.
In the Old Kingdom (2575-2134 b. c.e.), mastabas served private individuals, and the walls of these tombs were extended and reinforced to meet the demands of more elaborate funerary rites. The old Kingdom mastabas had burial chambers, storerooms, and chapels. surviving mastabas from that historical period have been found in abusir, abydos, giza, meidum, and saqqara. When separate burial chambers and chapels were incorporated into the designs, unbaked bricks were used for interior walls. These chambers were decorated at times and roofed with timber. The mastabas had embankments, faced with limestone.
FALSE DOORS were designed to serve as stelae on which the achievements, honors, and aspirations of the deceased could be proclaimed for future generations. The false doors, however, were sometimes actual entrances set into the walls and led to the SERDAB, the chamber in which the statue or statues of the deceased were normally placed. These chambers were also used in nonroyal tombs. The serdab was built with a slit in the wall so that the statues of the deceased placed within the chamber could view the funerary rituals being conducted in the chapel and could observe the gifts being offered in commemorative rites.
The actual burial chambers were placed at the end of long corridors or sometimes located deep in the ground behind shafts in the mastabas. Stone plugs, staircases, debris, and various traps were incorporated into the design in order to deter thieves and to protect the corpse and the funerary regalia. These burial chambers normally had vast storage areas and other compartments designed to hold tomb ritual materials.
The use of mastabas in ancient Egypt altered the mortuary processes in time. All of the bodies that were buried in shallow graves on the fringes of the desert, following the mortuary customs of the time, were preserved by the heat, the sand, and the lack of moisture in that harsh environment. Placing such corpses inside brick structures altered the natural preservation processes, and the priests were forced to devise the embalming processes to rectify the changes in preserving the dead. Mastabas were popular until the Twelfth Dynasty (1991-1783 B. C.E.) but continued in some areas until the Twenty-second Dynasty (945-712 B. C.E.).
Mastabat el-Fara’un This was Arabic for “Seat of the Pharaoh,” given to the complex of pepi i (r. 2289-2255 B. C.E.) at Memphis. Nearby, a monument of shepseskhaf (r. 2472-2467 b. c.e.) stands covered with Tureh limestone. Pepi I’s mortuary temple contained an inner shrine of dressed stone blocks on a granite base. He died before completing his valley temple, but the ruins of a causeway remain evident. The tomb is shaped in the form of an actual sarcophagus.
Matarriyah, el - This is a suburb of modern Cairo, once part of Heliopolis. An obelisk of senwosret i (r. 1971-1926 B. C.E.), one of a pair originally flanking Amenemhet I’s HEB-SED temple, remains on the site. Made of pink granite, the obelisk is decorated with senwos-ret i’s cartouches.
Matit she was a lion goddess whose cults were located in HIERAKONPOLIS and TANIS. The images of Matit were found on jars dating to the Early Dynastic Period (2920-2575 B. C.E.). In some historical periods Matit served as guardian of royal residences. Lion cults were popular in Egypt.
See also aker.
Mau (1) (Mafdet) A feline deity sometimes called Mafdet in some regions of the nation, and worshiped in
BUBASTIS and in the temple of neith (1) at SAIS, Mau aided the god re in his nightly journey through the tuat, or Underworld. cats were mummified in her honor in various cities. She was associated with bastet.
Mau (2) The spiritual being honored at bubastis as a feline symbol of the goddess Bast, Mau resided in the PERSEA TREE and is associated with the traditions of recording pharaonic names on the leaves of the tree.
Mau (3) This was the Egyptian cat, called ma’au when large in form. sacred cats were worshiped and maintained in splendor in bubastis and in SAIS.
Mau-Taui A guardian deity of the mortuary rituals and the judgment halls of osiris, serving as part of the deity osiris’s retinue, Mau-Taui aided osiris in determining the worthiness of deceased Egyptians.
Maxims of Ani This is an Egyptian document dating to c. 1000 B. C.E., but probably in its surviving form from the Nineteenth Dynasty (1307-1196 b. c.e.). Ani followed the usual didactic form in addressing his son about the responsibilities and obligations of life. The Egyptians revered didactic texts such as the Maxims of Ani as part of their literature in all eras of the nation’s history A complete version of the Maxims is in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo.
Maxims of Ptah-hotep One of the most popular and lasting didactic texts of Egypt, believed authored by Ptah-hotep Tshefi, a member of a powerful Fifth Dynasty family, the text was written in the reign of unis (r. 2356-2323 B. C.E.) or in the reign of IZEZI (2388-2356 b. c.e.). The Maxims have survived in 10 separate forms, on papyri and ostraca, and were discovered at deir el-medina, the community of workers of the valley of the kings, on the western shore of the Nile at thebes.
Ptah-hotep wrote about the spirit of MA’at, the guiding principle of civic and social life in Egypt. Later generations used the Maxims to instill the moral values of ma’at into their own historical periods. Especially concerned with the weak and the oppressed, Ptah-hotep exhorted his countrymen to conduct their affairs with quietude and righteousness. He urged them to be truthful and to treat one and all with kindness and respect. A major copy of the Maxims is in the prisse papyrus in the Louvre in Paris. Another copy is in the British Museum in London.
Maya (Maia) (fl. 14th century b. c.e.) Official of the Eighteenth Dynasty who saved the tomb of Tut’ankhamun Maya served tut’ankhamun (r. 1333-1323 b. c.e.) and HOREMHAB (r. 1319-1307 B. C.E.) as the overseer of the
Treasury. He was the official who protected Tut’ank-hamun’s tomb when Horemhab began destroying the ’amarna Period sites and burial places. Maya was sent by Horemhab to survey the temples of Egypt and to demolish ’Amarna, the capital of akhenaten (r. 1353-1335 B. C.E.). Maya moved Akhenaten’s mummy and other royal remains from that period to thebes for reburial and protection. He then shielded the tomb of Tut’ankhamun, refusing to allow anyone to vandalize the site or the mummified remains.
Maya’s tomb in saqqara, south of the causeway of the pyramid of unis, contained statues of him and his wife, MERIT, who was a chantress of the god Amun. This tomb is exquisitely decorated and has beautifully painted chambers. The coffins in these chambers were made of wood, a rare material at the time.
Mayer B Papyrus A fragmentary text that is composed of the court records of the reigns of ramesses ix (1I3I-III2 B. C.E.) and RAMESSES XI (1100-1070 b. c.e.), the papyrus also concerns the robbery of the tomb of RAMESSES VI (r. 1151-1143 B. C.E.). A confession of a tomb robber makes the text vivid and historically revealing. Such robberies normally involved not only the perpetrators but officials and priests who made information about the royal tombs available and received a percentage of the profits. Egyptians condemned such acts not only as criminal but also as sacrilege.
See also tomb robbery trial.
“May My Name Prosper” This was a mortuary phrase used by the ancient Egyptians and discovered in a document dating to the Sixth Dynasty (2323-2150 B. C.E.). The Egyptians believed that any nameless creature, including humans who were forgotten, was unable to exist in the afterlife. The gods and mankind had to know the name of the person in order for that man or woman to remain active and vitally sustained in the afterlife. The Egyptians thus asked their families and friends to make their names “prosper.”
Those who could afford to hire priests to perform the mortuary rituals at the burial sites were ensured of continued remembrance. The royal cults provided hosts of priests to continue the daily rituals in the tomb complexes of the pharaohs and their families. other Egyptians relied on the filial piety of their descendants. FESTIVALS were celebrated to bring families to the graves of their ancestors to continue the traditions of remembrance and praise.
“May the King Make an Offering” This was a phrase used in ancient Egypt, Hetep-di-nesu, translated as “An Offering Made by the King.” The words normally opened the funerary texts written on stelae and on tomb walls of deceased Egyptians. They relate to the custom of the rulers providing a funerary offering to every important official, sometimes before his death. In time, the inscription was included in the mortuary formulas and concerned everyone, commoners as well as nobles. The funerary texts thus referred to an ancient tradition and implied that the ruler would provide spiritual offerings instead of the material ones brought to the gravesites in early eras.
See also list of offerings; liturgy of the funerary offerings; mortuary rituals.
Mazeus (fl. fourth century b. c.e.) Persian satrap who saved Egypt from destruction
Serving darius iii codoman (r. 335-332 b. c.e.), the Persian emperor who faced ALEXANDER [III] the great, Mazeus governed Egypt as a Persian province. He watched the disastrous defeats suffered by Darius iii’s military forces at the hands of the Greeks, and he decided to protect Egypt when Alexander and his army arrived on the Nile as victors. He welcomed them and opened the gates of the nation and cities to their company and thus spared the Egyptians and their cities. Mazeus was honored by Alexander for his wisdom and given a high office in the conqueror’s government in Babylon.
Mazghuna This is a site south of dashur associated with the last rulers of the Twelfth Dynasty. The pyramidal forms of AMENEMHET IV (r. 1799-1787 b. c.e.) and Queen-Pharaoh SOBEKNEFERU (r. 1787-1783 B. C.E.) were discovered there. They were brother and sister, and they tried to revive their dynastic claims and halt the disintegration of Egypt and the start of the Second Intermediate Period, to no avail. The hyksos and other foreign contingents were already visible in the Delta, and the nome clans were instituting their own claims to land and power. The pyramidal tombs of these rulers are in ruins.
Medamud, Nag el - An Old Kingdom (2575-2134 B. C.E.) temple site, northeast of karnak at thebes, the area was dedicated to the god montu and was maintained and refurbished by pharaohs of all eras. The old Kingdom temple at Medamud had a sacred grove and was surrounded by a wall that contained a unique tunnel system, primeval mounds, and chambers. senwosret iii (r. 1878-1841 B. C.E.) also built a temple to the deity Montu at Medamud, and other additions discovered on the site were made by amenhotep ii (r. 1427-1401 b. c.e.) and some later rulers.
The local triad of Montu, Rattawy, and Harpocrates was worshiped at the temple. A processional way and giant statues of cobras made the Medamud temple distinct. There was a sacred lake as well, and a shrine for the BULL symbols of Montu. The Greeks and Romans made additions in their own eras. ptolemy xii (r. 80-58, 55-51 B. C.E.) added three kiosks, and ptolemy viii (r.
170-163, 145-116 B. C.E.) erected a hypostyle hall. A second Montu temple was erected in the Ptolemaic Period.
Medes (Mada, Madai) They were a people living in Media Magna, now Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, and Kerman-shah and once the ancient name of northwestern Iran. Also called Mada and Madai, the Medes were not known until the Assyrians entered their region in c. 800 B. C.E. Media Magna was eventually conquered for the most part by the Assyrians in c. 710 B. C.E. A Median monarchy arose at the same time, and by 625 B. C.E. the Median tribes of the region were united under Cyaxerxes and the capital was erected at Ecbatana (modern Hamadan). In 612 B. C.E., Cyaxerxes stormed Nineveh and put an end to the Assyrian Empire during the reign of psammetichus i (664-610 B. C.E.) in Egypt, ending the threat to the Nile Valley.
In 550, Cyrus II of Persia conquered Media Magna, and Ecbatana became the new Persian capital. ALEXANDER iii THE GREAT (r. 332-323 B. C.E.) conquered the Medes and Persians. Throughout this period the Medes dominated the Persian culture and revolted on several occasions, halting Persian assaults on Egypt. The Medes were Zoroastrians, remarkable astronomers, and learned occult masters, respected by other cultures for their lore. Members of one of the clans of the Medes, started by Magus, appear in the biblical Nativity narratives.
Medicine This science was called “the Necessary Art” in Egypt and supported by the per-ankh, “the House of Life,” and by schools of training and research. Most general practitioners of Egyptian medicine were priests educated in medical techniques ranging from trauma to gynecology, and many specialized in particular fields. The Egyptian medical men understood the purpose of the pulse, blood, tears, mucus, urine, and semen and their anatomical derivations from the earliest periods.
Because of the mythological and magical aspects attributed to the practice of medicine in Egypt by the Greek historians, scholars have not bestowed honor upon the practices fostered in the Nile Valley. The Greeks honored many of the early Egyptian priest-physicians, however, especially imhotep of the Third Dynasty (c. 2620 B. C.E.), whom they equated with their god Asclepius. When they recorded the Egyptian medical customs and procedures as history, the Greeks included the magic and incantations used by the priest, which made medicine appear trivial or a superstitious aspect of Egyptian life. Magical spells were indeed a part of Egyptian medicine, thus the Greeks’ disdain was not totally inaccurate. Nevertheless, scholars have long recognized that the Egyptians carefully observed various ailments, injuries, and physical deformities and offered many prescriptions for their relief.
Diagnostic procedures for injuries and diseases were common and extensive in Egyptian medical practice. The physicians consulted texts and made their own observations. Each physician listed the symptoms present in a patient and then decided whether he had the skill to treat that condition. If a priest determined that a cure was possible, he reconsidered the procedures, medicines, or therapeutic remedies available and acted accordingly The physicians understood that the pulse was “the speaker of the HEART,” and they interpreted the condition known as angina. They were also aware of the relationship between the nervous system and voluntary movements. The physicians could identify lesions of the head, fractures of the vertebrae, and other complex conditions. operations were performed on the brain, and skulls recovered from graves and tombs indicate that the Egyptian patients lived through such operations and survived for years afterward. The human brain was not saved during the embalming process, however, deemed unworthy of protection in the canopic jars. Brains of the deceased were normally destroyed or savaged in the actual embalming procedure.
Trauma care in Egypt included the treatment of various bone injuries, with cranial fractures frequent. surgical procedures were provided, including the insertion of rolled linens for fractured noses and the splinting of bones with bark, wood, linen, and vegetable fibers. Amputations were performed successfully, and trepanation, including the removal of pieces of bone from the brain, was also provided to patients. Gags and wooden tubes were inserted into the mouths of patients being treated for jaw injuries. The tubes were used to provide nourishment conveniently and to drain fluids. Brick supports and body casts were employed to keep patients still and upright, and other materials were molded to their bodies to supply clean, sturdy foundations for recovery. Flax and other materials were used in the clinics or medical establishments to pack wounds as well as in the treatment of sores or surgical incisions. Bandages were normally made of linen and were applied with hygienic standards adopted in the nation. Priests also used poultices, adhesive strips, and cleansing agents. other therapeutic procedures included cauterization of wounds using fire drills or heated scalpels.
Egyptian doctors specializing in the care of the eyes labored as devotees of the god douao, the patron of medicine. The deity Wer, or weret, who was believed to suffer blindness on moonless nights, was another patron of eye specialists. Green malachite, called wadju, and a galena mixture, called mesdemet, were used to aid blindness and trachoma. The ebers papyrus advises such procedures. This papyrus also details the care of periodontal diseases, including dental caries. The Egyptians of all historical periods had terrible teeth and periodontal problems. By the New Kingdom (1550-1070 B. C.E.), however, dental care was critical. physicians packed some teeth with honey and herbs, perhaps to stem infection or to ease pain. Some mummies were also provided with bridges and gold teeth. It is not known if these dental aids were used by the wearers while alive or were inserted into the mouths of the deceased during the embalming process.
The most common diseases afflicting Egyptians included the illness caused by Shistosoma haematobia, a parasitic worm still present in standing Nile waters, resulting in Biharzia. Another parasitic infection was caused by Dracunulus mediensis, found in Nile drinking water. Lice caused a form of dermatitis, epidemics, and fevers. Rats added to the spread of disease and were recognized as creatures that had to be controlled. A rat trap from the early historical periods was discovered at Kahun.
Smallpox epidemics appeared at times, including the period of the Twentieth Dynasty (1196-1070 b. c.e.) when the succession to the throne was imperiled by the deadly toll of the disease. Tuberculosis was present in both bovine and human forms. Pott’s Disease, spinal tuberculosis (leading to humpbacks, emaciation, and exhaustion), arteriosclerosis, scoliosis, and poliomyelitis were known in Egypt as well. Two fetuses discovered in the tomb of tut’ankhamun (r. 1333-1323 b. c.e.) also depict spina bifida and Sprengel’s Disease. siptah (r. 1204-1198 b. c.e.) had Talipses equinovarus, or “club foot.” That condition was also recorded in the tombs of the Middle Kingdom Period (2040-1640 b. c.e.).
Tumors were recognized as early as the Fifth Dynasty (2465-2323 b. c.e.) and in the same historical period Egyptians suffered from nasopharyngeal cancer. Hernias were treated and Graves’ Disease was recorded on a statue in the Old Kingdom (2575-2134 b. c.e.) also. Rheumatoid arthritis was also depicted in a Fifth Dynasty tomb. Leprosy (Mycobacterium leprae) did not appear until the Ptolemaic Period (304-30 b. c.e.). A Ptolemaic cemetery at DAKHLA Oasis contained lepers. Egyptians on average suffered many diseases, including high blood pressure, heart ailments, bronchitis, pneumonia, kidney stones, abscesses, and gynecological problems.
The arrival of the Greeks in Egypt, and the subsequent occupation of the country under ALEXANDER iii the GREAT (r. 332-323 b. c.e.) and the Ptolemies, brought about changes in the medical studies and procedures, as the Greek scientific approaches, especially the medical advances proposed by Galen and other Greek physicians, impacted upon the Egyptian practitioners, at least in ALEXANDRIA and other major centers. Preserved texts from the medical specialists of the Ptolemaic Period (304-30 b. c.e.) include pleas for modernization of methods and the abandonment of the magical aspects of medicine as practiced in prior generations. The Egyptians adapted to the new concepts and improvements to some extent, but they maintained their time-honored services in the old ways at the same time.
When the Romans entered the Nile Valley, they respected much of what they saw in the functioning medical clinics and brought their own scientific systems into play. Egypt was a prized provincial territory under Emperor AUGUSTUS, after Octavian defeated cleopatra vii and Marc ANTONY in 30 b. c.e. The Egyptians accepted the changes and continued honoring the past.
The pharmaceutical resources of the ancient Egyptian priest-physicians included antacids, copper salts, turpentine, alum, astringents, alkaline laxatives, diuretics, sedatives, antispasmodics, calcium carbonates, and magnesia. They also employed many exotic herbs. The dispensing of medicines was carefully stipulated in the medical papyri, with explicit instructions as to the exact dosage, the manner in which the medicine was to be taken internally (as with food or wine), and external applications. Some of the prescriptions contained strange and exotic ingredients, and the dosage sometimes included magical spells or incantations as accompanying remedies. The medical documents that have provided information on the medical practices include: the ebers, EDWIN SMITH, Chester beatty IV, and hearst papyri.
Suggested Readings: Estes, J. Worth. The Medical Skills of Egypt. New York: Watson Publishing International, 1993; Nunn, John F Ancient Egyptian Medicine. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1996.
Medinet el-Faiyum See crocodilopolis.
Medinet Habu (Djemet) A site on the western shore of the Nile at thebes, once called Djemet, serving as a necropolis and monument depository, hatshepsut (r. 1473-1458 b. c.e.) and tuthmosis iii (1479-1425 b. c.e.) erected a temple honoring the god amun at Medinet Habu. The dominating monument, however, is a fortified temple complex erected by ramesses iii (1194-1163 b. c.e.), one of the most completely preserved shrines in Egypt. This temple is surrounded by a wall, complete with guardhouses and gateways, one fortified, and containing Ramessid reliefs. Other scenes and icons incorporated into the temple are valuable historical texts of the era.
Called a MIGDOL, or Syrian-style fortress, Ramesses iii’s monument at Medinet Habu depicts Egypt’s defeat of the SEA PEOPLES of the time. A pylon and pavilion gate open onto a courtyard with pillars. The royal residence was attached to this enclosure, which leads to a second court and a pillared complex containing a treasury and sanctuaries for the barks of Ramesses iii and the gods Amun, KHONS (1), montu, and mut. Two statues of the goddess SEKHMET guard the entrance. There is also a window OF APPEARANCE in this area, as well as a chapel honoring the ENNEAD and chapels of the gods re, ptah, SOKAR, and the deified Ramesses III. Other pylons and
Medinet Habu, the migdol complex of Ramesses III at Thebes, used in later eras as a fortress. (Hulton Archive.)
Courts, and a sacred lake, lead to vestibules and an elaborate HYPOSTYLE HALL. The sanctuary connected to this hall has a false door depicting Ramesses III as the deity Amun-Re. A stairway leads to the roof, where solar ceremonies were conducted, and Osiride statues of Ramesses III grace some areas.
The original temple foundation dating to the Eighteenth Dynasty was actually started by tuthmosis i (r. 1504-1492 B. C.E.) and was called “Splendor of the West” or “Amun is Splendid in Thrones.” Hatshepsut directed much of the construction of the temple, but the dedication and opening of the site dates to the reign of Tuthmo-sis III. Four additional chapels in the complex were added during the Twenty-fifth (712-657 B. C.E.) and Twenty-sixth (664-525 B. C.E.) Dynasties. The mortuary cult of the god’s wife of amun, or Divine Adoratrices of Amun, was also displayed in the complex. A columned forecourt honoring the Divine Adoratrice amenirdis (1), a daughter of kashta (770-750 b. c.e.), and her burial site are part of the complex. The chapel of the Divine Adoratrices NITOCRIS (2) and shepenwepet (1) are also in Medinet Habu.
The royal residence attached to the fortress was made out of mud brick and was decorated with stones and glazed tiles. Private apartments, vestibules, double staircases, and columned halls adjoined barracks, magazines, and workshops. The rulers of later historical periods refurbished and maintained Medinet Habu. In some troubled periods, the people of Thebes moved into the complex and kept it fortified and secure.
Medinet Habu Calendar This was the most elaborate display of a calendar prior to the Ptolemaic Period (304-30 b. c.e.), a unique aspect of the medinet habu temple erected by ramesses iii (r. 1194-1163 b. c.e.) at THEBES. During the reign of Ramesses III the feasts honoring the deity amun were staged at Medinet Habu. The Medinet Habu Calendar was introduced during Ramesses Ill’s 12th regnal year. The calendar lists all of the so-called feasts of heaven, celebrations honoring the Theban deity, Amun. Some of the feasts listed appear as newly established holidays designed to inspire the Egyptians of the era.
World History
