The Opet Festival in Ancient Egypt in the Epoch of Hatshepsut: Ritual and Symbolism
Mironova Alexandra V.
The author analyzes the pictorial programme and texts of the Red Chapel and funerary temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari trying to reconstruct the order of the Opet Festival in the epoch of Hatshepsut and interpret the religious symbolism of the rites. She comes to the conclusion that the journey from Karnak to Luxor and back refers to the night journey of the solar deity related in the Book of Amduat. The procession of Opet may also be connected with the pharaoh’s afterlife journey, as is implied by certain motifs associated with Osiris in the festival scenes and the setting of the Opet episodes in the temple of Deir el-Bahari.
Keywords: Ancient Egypt, Hatshepsut, Opet Festival