220 Route 20. ABYDOS. Temple
Mut, and Khons; in the Ptah aisle, the king before Ptah, Sekhmet
(Hathor), and Nefertem. The sculptures (reliefs 'en creux') are
of mediocre workmanship; they date from Ramses II., who here
forgot his filial piety so far as to chisel away his father's reliefs to
make room for his own. The only interesting Mural Repkesexta-
tions are those in the lower row on the end-wall to the right. To
the right Thout and Horus pour over Ramses II. the holy water in the
form of the hieroglyphics for 'purity' and 'life'; to the left, Wep-wat,
with a jackal's head, and Horus, with a hawk's head, 'the avenger
of his father', hold the hieroglyphic for 'life' before the king's face;
close by, to the right, is Hathor of Dendera; farther to the left,
Ramses hands to Osiris and his companions, Isis and Horus, a case
for papyrus writings in the shape of a column held by a kneeling
king, with a hawk's head on the top as a lid.
Seven doors, placed in the axes of the built-up entrance-doors
and the sanctuaries, lead from this first hall into the Second Hypo¬
style Hall, which is higher and deeper. The architrave, on which
rest the roofing slabs, is supported by 36 columns, arranged on either
side of the processional aisles in pairs on the same system as in the
preceding hall. The 24 columns in the first two rows of columns
have papyrus-bud capitals (p. xxxv). Beyond the second row the floor
of the temple is considerably raised, forming a platform upon which'
stands the third row of columns. The cylindrical shafts of these are
entirely destitute of capitals, but bear huge blocks of stone forming
an abacus for the support of the architrave. The inscriptions and
representations on the walls and columns date from the reign of
Sethos and are of admirable workmanship, but their subjects are of
little general interest. The wonderful *Reliefs on the right end-wall
of the hall (PI. b) should not be overlooked. Here, to the right, we
see Sethos I. standing before Osiris and Horus, with a censer and a
nosegay. In the next scene the king with the censer appears before
a shrine in the midst of which Osiris is enthroned; in front ofthe
god stand Maat and Ronpet (goddess of the year) and behind are Isis,
Amentet (goddess of the West), and Nephthys, with nine small gods
of the dead in the background. On Pier c is a representation of the
highly adorned sacred post Tet, the fetish of Osiris of Busiris, to the
right and left of which stands the king, wearing the crown of Lower
Egypt (comp. the representation on the pier at the S. end-wall,
PI. d). To the left of Pier e the king presents an image of Maat to
Osiris, Isis, and Horus. The king's profile is evidently a faithful
likeness and is everywhere portrayed with great artistic skill.
Adjoining this hall, in a direct line with the seven entrance
doors, are Seven Sanctuaries, of which that in the middle was de¬
dicated to Ammon, the chief deity under the New Empire. To
the right are the sanctuaries of Osiris, Isis, and Horus; to the left
those of Harmachis, Ptah, and the king. Each contained the sacred
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