“semitisches pantheon”. eine “männliche tyche” - MOSAIKjournal.com

284| ALEXANDRA MIRONOVA
sitting on the royal bark, which are shown in the scenes of the return
journey to Karnak. This evidence explains the presence of the
Opet Festival scenes in the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, who
probably wished to participate posthumously in this festival, along
with the Feast of the Valley, represented on the south-west and
north walls of the upper terrace. 16
Besides, it has to be said that the Opet Festival scenes from
Deir el-Bahari representing the travel from Karnak to Luxor are
oriented to the royal mortuary chapels (the symbol of the realm of
Osiris) 17, while the scenes picturing the procession’s return trip are
oriented to the solar chapels dedicated to Amun-Re and Re-
Horakhty (fig. 3). 18 This orientation of the festive scenes mirrored
the real route of the procession which moved from the north to the
south, from Karnak to Luxor, and backwards (see the scheme below).
The eastern shore The western shore
(the direction of the procession) (the orientation of the festive
scenes at Deir el-Bahari )
Karnak → Luxor solar chapels → mortuary chapels
Karnak ← Luxor solar chapels ← mortuary chapels
This circumstance certainly had a symbolic meaning: Hatshepsut’s
mortuary chapel from Deir el-Bahari, which marked the stages of
the journey of Re, preserves pictures of the queen worshiping the
gods of night and day 19. 20 Similar pictures are presented in the lower
register of the seventh hour of Amduat 21, which can be associated
with Hatshepsut’s chapel. Thus, the royal chapel was associated
both with the Luxor temple and the seventh night hour of the Duat.
These parallels allow us to suggest that the ceremonies performed
in the sanctuary of Luxor (such as the “Opening of the
Mouth” on the statues of Amun-Re 22 and pharaoh) symbolized the
16 PORTER – MOSS (1972) 358 (81–83).
17 PORTER – MOSS (1972) 359–361.
18 PORTER – MOSS (1972) 362–363.
19 PORTER – MOSS (1972) 360–361 (101).
20 Cf. QUIRKE (2001) 72–73.
21 HORNUNG (1963–1967) pl. 7; PIANKOFF (1954) 282–283,
fig. 80.
22 BELL (1997) 176.