Mortuary Temple of Seti I at Luxor:
The Seti Temple at Abydos (300 miles – 480 km south of Cairo) was built by Seti I and his son, Ramses II. Seti was the pharaoh of Egypt in the 19th dynasty, ruling between 1290-1279 BCE Seti not only opened mines and rebuilt damaged temples, but also continued the construction of the hypostyle hall at Karnak.
Ramses II was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty and had the second-longest reign in Egypt, ruling between 1279-1213 BCE. It is widely believed that Seti built the temple itself, while Ramses completed the decorations, surrounding courtyards, and other works.
The L-shaped Seti Temple had a terrace, several courtyards and chambers, two pylons and seven chapels. The temple is made of white limestone and each chapel is covered with flat corbeling slabs decorated with royal cartouches and stars. These chapels were dedicated to Seti I, Osiris, Isis, Ptah-Sokar, Nefertem, Ra-Horakhty, Amon and Horus [ read more about ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses ]. Each chapel was decorated with prayers for each specific deity. For example, the shrine of Horus had a hawk with the eternal symbol, the Shen, painted on the walls.
Inside, fragments of the colossal sphinxes that guarded the entrance to the temple can still be seen. On their pedestals were carved inscriptions with the name of Seti, in addition to many other names of cities, countries, and people that experts consider probable enemies of the pharaoh and his government.
The hypostyle hall has beautiful papyriform columns. Its southern side was dedicated to the cult of the king and the northern end was consecrated to the divine rites of the solar cult. The bas-reliefs, which are present throughout the temple, are worth a visit. They are finely finished and of great elegance.
In a corridor in the temple, there is an inscription on the wall known as the List of Kings of Abydos. This list names the most important pharaohs, according to Seti. There are a total of seventy-six pharaohs on the list. It omits the names of many previous pharaohs that Seti considered illegitimate, such as Hatshepsut, Akhenaten, Semenejkara, Tutankhamen, and Allah. The list is a very important reference for historians.
The list begins with Menes (probably the same person as Narmer) and ends with Seti. Menes was the founder of the First Dynasty and ruled until his death sometime around 3000 BCE Seti ruled during the New Empire until his death in 1279 BCE. This List of Kings is one of Ten found in Egypt.
One of the temple’s latest residents was Dorothy Eady. An Englishwoman otherwise called ‘Omm Seti’, Eady accepted she was a resurrected sanctuary priestess and admirer of Seti I. For a long time she inhabited Abydos and furnished archeologists with data about the using of the temple. She died in 1981 and is buried in the desert.
