Fig. 43 The sky goddess Nut
This Egyptian state religion was clearly very different to the major faiths of the present day. Not only was it polytheistic, it was also a theology without a creed, with no real moral undertones and no tradition of pastoral care. Indeed, it was generally more important as a source of continuing unity and stability throughout the country than as a means of spiritual enlightenment. Although it was generally accepted that men and women should choose to lead a good life rather than a bad one, this moral code evolved more for the convenience of society than the gratification of the gods. Virtue did not necessarily reap any heavenly reward, and only the king was required to act in a fitting and proper manner to ensure the preservation of maat throughout the land. The gods themselves showed remarkably little concern over the behaviour of the ordinary Egyptians, although when directly provoked they could retaliate with a vengeance; the New Kingdom testimony of Neferabu, a draughtsman working at Deir el-Medina who had offended Ptah by swearing a false oath, tells us how he was struck blind as a punishment for the lies which had been interpreted as a lack of proper respect for the god:
I am a man who swore falsely by Ptah, Lord of maat, and he made me see darkness by day. I will announce his might to both those who are ignorant of him and those who know him, to both the small and the great. Beware of Ptah, Lord of maat, for he does not forgive anyone’s lapse! Refrain from using the name of Ptah falsely, for he who utters it falsely, will fall.
Priests were appointed simply to serve the god on behalf of their king, and consequently had absolutely no interest in the spiritual or other welfare of the people. The temples of Egypt should not be regarded as the ancient equivalent of cathedrals or mosques; they were built simply to be the homes of the gods, housing the cult statues within which the deities were thought to dwell. As such they had no congregation and, indeed, were usually out of bounds to the ordinary people. Access to the back part of the temple, which can be equated with the family rooms at the rear of the private houses, was restricted to the priesthood and the king who serviced the cult by providing food, drink and clothing and burning incense; the front part, which was decorated with scenes of royal propaganda, was thrown open to the general public only on special festival days, therefore there was no Egyptian equivalent of the Friday mosque, Saturday synagogue or Sunday church service.
The ordinary people were allowed to view the religious festivals which occurred throughout the year, although they were denied any ritual participation in these great events. The Opet festival, held at Thebes during the second month of the inundation, has already been mentioned. This ceremony, marked by a state holiday of at least eleven days, was clearly an occasion for national rejoicing; at Medinet Habu the celebrations were made extra special by the free distribution of over 11,300 loaves and 385 large jugs of beer. Later in the year the residents of Thebes enjoyed yet another public holiday as the statue of Amen made a second official journey from his Theban home, crossing the Nile to visit the mortuary temples of the past rulers of Egypt.
The Abydos equivalent of the Opet festival was the procession of the statue of Osiris from his temple at Abydos to his tomb at the Umm el-Qaab, the traditional site of the burials of the archaic kings of Egypt. The ritual of this procession seems to have re-enacted the myth of the death and burial of the god in a dramatic form which must have been quite similar to the English medieval passion-plays, and the reconstruction of the murder was followed by the triumphal return of the resurrected god to his home. It is best known from the description left to us by the Middle Kingdom official Ikhernofret, who had been sent to Abydos in order to oversee the refurbishment of the god’s processional paraphernalia. Ikhernofret left a commemorative limestone stela at Abydos detailing both his own important activities and the highlights of the religious drama:
I conducted the Great Procession, following in the god’s steps. I made the god’s boat sail, with Thoth at the helm… Decked in his beautiful regalia, he proceeded to the domain of Peqer… I followed the god to his house.
At Edfu the annual festival included a drama commemorating the victory of Horus over Seth, his justification before the tribunal of the gods, and the dismemberment of his former adversary. By re-performing these events, their beneficial effect was reinforced and the king used the play as a means of deflecting some of Horus’s triumph on to himself, ensuring a continuing prosperous reign. Not all the annual state festivals were so solemn, however; the Late Period celebration of the cat-headed goddess Bast held at the Delta town of Bubastis was clearly a more cheerful occasion. Herodotus has described how bands of excited pilgrims travelled by boat to the city, passing the journey by drinking, singing, more drinking, clapping, drinking again and playing musical instruments. Whenever they approached a town they steered their tipsy cargo towards the river bank and: