Temple Symbolism Author(s): John Baines Source: RAIN, No. 15 (Aug., 1976), pp.

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calls to mind particularwords gestures in the Egyptianlanguage,which may in turnproducewordplaysthat elucidate the deepermeaningof the scenes. In most of them the king is accompaniedby the queen,who presentsto him various objectswhich togethercreate an intimate atmosphere, amongthem emblemsof the goddessHathor,bouquets and perfumes.But in two scenes the young queer squatsat the feet of her husbandand then turnstowardshim. Tutankhamun shoortswith a bow over his wife's head towardsa group of flying aquaticbirds, severalof which he has alreadystruck with his arrows,or he pours liquid into her outstretchedhand from a cylindrical flask.Now, to shoot with a bow and to pourmay be expressedwith a single verb,which can also have the meaning 'to ejaculatesemen'. The rest of the shrineconjuresup an amorousambiance, so that these last two scenes must expressthe perfect consummationof love in the union of the couple, which may be divinedfrom the wordplays. Hereagain,the erotic allusionis required by funerarypreoccupations,and the deceased'ssexual activity must be a promise of rebirth,of the constant regeneration of life, which the learnedmay grasp behind the multiple encoding I have described.This implies, however,that shooting with a bow and the act of pouringa liquid could be erotic symbols in normallife. One final scene that is relativelycommon in New Kingdomtombs, and will be the subjectof a thesis by E. Pusch of Bonn, shows the deceasedplayingthe thirty squaregame (a sort of draughts) without an opponent. This anomaly the distinguishes scene from earlier examples,which are realisticand always show two players. It thereforereveals that there is a second meaning,which is, indeed, explainedby chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead, wherewe learnthat playingthe thirty squaregame is one means of penetratinginto the realmof the after-life.So the solitarygame is here a symbol of passageinto the after-life. It will be clearthat the examplesI have revieweddo not exhaust the subject of symbolismor metaphoricallanguage in privatelife. In literaturefigurative expressionshave long been collected, and these may sometimesbe more complex in their meaningthan has been realised. The decorativemotifs on countless other objects could form the subject of similarenquiries,which would demonstrate their value as symbols. It is certainly not chance that little monkeys so often decorateso-calledNew Yearflasks, or that necklacesand breastpieces of faience are alwaysmade up of the same plants, groupedaccordingto ruleswhich we do not understand,but whose function goes far beyond the simply aesthetic, or that cosmetic objects should alwaysbe decoratedwith the same animals. As we have seen, the symbolismthat can be identified in imagesis most often erotic. This, too, is doubtlessnot due to chance. One might explain it by consideringthat these objects were reserved for a small numberof privilegedpeople
10

who, as in other societies where the culturaldifferencebetween the ruling class and the massesis enormous,had enough leisure to be able to cultivate the art of love and to make of it at once a society pastime and a philosophy, which it was best to keep to themselves,while exhortinga more austerestandardof morality for the rest of humanity. Egypt would then be anotherexample of how a particular type of social structureresults in the developmentof a symbolic language as is known to have happenedin ancient Chinaand in Europein the MiddleAges. PhilippeDerchain

Bibliography (includes works cited in the text) Derchain, P., 1975, 'La perruque et le cristal'. Studien zur altagyptischen Kultur. Hamburg. 2:55-74. Derchain, P., forthcoming, 'Le lotus, la mandragore et le persda. A propos de la podsie drotique egyptienne'. Chronique d'Egypte. Bruxelles. Grapow,, H., 1924, Die bildlichen A usdriucke des Agyptischen. Leipzig: Hinrichs. Hermann, A., 1959, A ltdgyptische Liebesdichtung. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. Hermann, A., 1962, 'Ente.' Reallexikon far Antike und Christentum, 5:433-55. Stuttgart: Hiersemann. Westendorf, W., 1967, 'Bemerkungen zur "Kammer der Wiedergeburt" im Tutankhamungrab'. Zeitschrift far igyptische Sprache, Berlin. 94:139-50.

Temple

Symbolism
values. On the level of the 'acrostic'they may proclaimthe king'stitulary and extol his role in the cult over an entire wall many yardshigh (Winter1968, part 1); they may also be seen to embody distinctions and boundariesin classification. In view of the highly formalisednature of the system, it would be tempting to suggestthat it reflected in some way the of rigidhierarchies Egyptiansociety, and I shall returnto this question at the end. The following descriptionapplies chiefly to temples of the Graeco-Roman period. These are the best preserved,and the ones which exhibit the highest degree of systematisation.Theirform shows almost no foreigninfluence, and they do not departradicallyfrom earlierschemes, so that what is said is mostly valid for earlierbuildingsalso. Most other important temples date to the New Kingdom. The articulationof the architectural symbolismof a temple exploits both the horizontaland the verticaldimension; the primaryfunction of both is to set the temple apartfrom the outside world. Readingalong a groundplan from the outside in, the most massiveelement in the structureis the enclosurewall, of which the most significantpart is the entrancewall or pylon (which may alternativelybe set within the enclosure wall;fig. 2 [includesthe pylon but lacks the enclosurewall.] ) This is decoratedprimarilywith scenes showing the destructionof enemies(fig. 3), symbolic of the maintenanceof order within the temple - and by analogythe world - againstthe forces of disorder. Subsidiarydecorativemotifs on pylons make them into one of many representations of the sun's path (Derchain1966). In section, the outermostpartsof a temple, which alone were accessibleto more than the priests(and then probably at importantfestivalsonly) are at the lowest level, while inner areashave a raisedfloor. The ceiling or wall height is also lowered progressively, that the so sanctuarymay be seen to be contained within the frameworkof the outer walls; this implies that it is completely protected.The raisedfloor level is also a mythologicalallusion,referringto the -ommonestversionof a creationmyth, in which the creatorgod emergeson, or in the form of, a primevalmound in the

It has long been recognisedthat Egyptiantemples (fig. 1) have a function (de Roche'cosmographic' monteix 1887). They mimic and record the structureof the world. As this recording is not direct, but is filtered by conventions of representation, classification and symbolism,and may frequentlybe expressedin terms of myth, the study of temples should yield resultsfor our of understanding Egyptianideology in general.The particularrelevanceof cosmographyto a temple's function as the god's dwellingand cult centre is clear: the god's dwellingis a 'world',and to describethe 'world'is to praiseit, so that the temple unites the two functions in a single symbol. Only relativelyrecently have the implicationsof this idea been examinedin any detail. Cosmography has been studied in the context of the solar cult, and it has been shown to have a crucialplace in hymns to the sun-god that form part of the temple liturgy (Assmann 1969). A particularly important text is in a position in the temple where it has a direct link with the visible path of the sun and its reflection in the architectureof the building(Assmann 1970; Brunner1970). Only rarelycan the connection between structureand meaningbe so well observedin a text, as the normalformulaefor temple decoration do not include space for texts of any greatlength. Reliefs, whose textual content is mostly limited to brief speeches and scene titles, generallyfill almost the entire wall areaof a temple. Despite the absenceof long texts, both the short formulaeand representational and iconographicfeaturesof the reliefs can give us a numberof insights into the layout of the decorationand into featuresof content that are not expressed directly. The schemesthat designers use for this purposeare elaborate,and show a desireto determinethe form of the whole accordingto numerousoverlappingcriteria.In any particularcontext the reliefs will be an accommodation of the relevantsubjectmatter to the generalschemes,whose function might be likened to a rhymepattern or an acrostic - which is devisedto carry meaning- in poetry. Apartfrom their purely formalcharacteristics, schemes the may be exploited for the expressionof

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Fig. 1. Viewof the templeof Edfu from the top of the entrancepylon; the first court and hypostyle hall are in the foreground.3rd-ist centuryB.C. FromE. Chassinat, temple Le d'Edfou9 (Mem.Miss.arch.fr. 26; Cairo: I.F.A.O. 1929) pl. 10. CourtesyI.F.A.O.

Fig. 2. Planand section of th Edfu. The theoreticalorient north-south,as shown, but e fixed by the courseof the N 3rd-ist centuryB.C. From J Egyptia Livingarchitecture: Oldbourne1964) 148. Cour Livre,Fribourg.

waterychaos.The feature mightwell in carrya varietyof localmeanings addition this general to one. Thispossibilityis suggested the use of varying by typesof capitals the columnsin on different temples,as the columns carry muchof the cosmographic meaning. Within singlewallsthe vertical dimension to appears the most important Linear ordering principle. arrangements canalsobe discerned the ritualactions recorded dressdepicted,for example, and may be comparable oppositewallsof on
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ruleshavebeenidentified; is not to this say that they do not exist. Apartfrom the vertical features the acrostictype, of thereis a moreembracing orderwith the followingdivisions (reading fromthe bottomup): (1) basearea,(2) main and area,(3) frieze,architraves ceiling. (1) Thebaseareacontainssymbolic of representations marsh land,sets of of figures bringing offerings food or the symbolicgiftstowards interiorof
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two. Theremayalsobe formalised of groupings the emblems major of deities.Theareamaybe absentin the innerpartsof a temple,but is normally foundin most roomsof Graeco-Roman

discriminations betweenthe scenesin the area.Eachscenealmostalwaysconsists of a figureof the kingofferingor pera forming similar actionfor a deity cult or deities,or of deitiesactingon behalf of the king.The figures the kingface of

Theschemata farmo are thoseusedin Egyptian a this reflectsboth conten rateformalisation. (3) The friezeabovet consiststypicallyof repe

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are areat the samelevelor higher, or in comparable scaleanddecoration scenes.Above maycontainastronomical them,the ceilingmayhavea patternof scenes,in particular starsor astronomical Nut. of representations the sky-goddess a seriesof winged Thereis also often sundisksdownthe axisof the temple, passage the marking sun'stheoretical it. through Theupperareasareoften absent,andthe only locationwherethey or foundis the columned areregularly comesat hypostylehallthatnormally of the beginning the innertemplestructure(fig.5), andis tallerthanthe sancin tuary.Further thereis no space,literal Both or symbolic,for thesefeatures.

temple,evidently implying that the area aboveit is the templeproper. Thehypostylehallexhibitsthe greatest condensation symbolism. of Apartfrom cosmographic features its wallsand on ceiling,the capitals the columnslocate of it withinthe horizontally ordered cosmographic scheme.Thecommonest designs for capitals papyrus are umbelsand lotus flowers,so that by implication the columnsthemselves the stemsof are aquatic plants(the shapeof the column maymimica plantin several ways).Apart fromallusions the originof stone to architecture flimsier in materials, this meansthat the hallis a symbolicprimeval swamp,out of whichthe moundof the

surrounds In this deli it. the baseareais particul associations ambigu and possibleto show that the representational feature baseareas (andprobabl forman ordered hierarc spread fromthe writin is the commonplace to end, depictionof deitiesat th Directdepictionalso occ commonplace whic end, of ordering the elements ant thanthe natureof ea of understanding the sys Thehierarchy so f has in termsof templedecor rulesevidentlyextendou shallmentionpossibleco I terman intermediate st the scriptanddirectdep 'emblematic' mode of re thismarks wherean elem a highstatus,occursout baseareais particularly s studyof its operation. It mostlytoo low in the hie turein a mainarea,but i normal modebecause i it position.If, however, ma to be alludedto in the ar and emblematically, they ent in statusfromofferin they maynot mix with th emblematic form.A furt that monogram reads'ad the subjects', whichis als Thisranks belowofferin with them, incompatible discriminations accordin (deity or subjects) mayb withinthe emblematic m reason why emblematic f liminalcontextsseemscl not full depictions they g necessary information, bu the potentiallydangerou for the userof the areaor shown- of directrepres semi-magical aspect,whic reliefsmay be takenmor we caneasilycomprehen the purelysymbolic.The liminalcontext,a door,n emblematic decoration, s a hierarchy emblemat of the samebasicschemeis wherever dooris placed a most partof a templeor n

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Fig. 6. Right side of the throne of a statue of Menkaureof the fourth dynasty. c. 2500 B.C., Boston, MFA 09.202. Courtesy of Museum of Fine A rts.

on the sides of royalthrones.In its earliest form this motif combineswith anotherthat is later found at a small scale in main reliefareas,forminga subjectcounterpointto the principal matter.Infig. 6, the king'sHorus frame)has opposite name(in a rectangular it a minusculeanimalfigureof a tutel4ry goddessof half the country,placedon a and basket(hieroglyphfor 'mistress') a stem of a heraldicplant. The sign running diagonallyacrossthe basketis the hieroglyph for 'power',and is to be understood as beingheld out by her to the name.The groupis glossed'Mayshe give

some types of figure.Thusgods and the king are absentfrom most privatetombs of earlierperiods,and in the Old Kingdom the Horusname,the first and most prestigiouselement in the royal titulary, is not found in tombs. Privatestelae, typically those of the MiddleKingdom from the centre of the Osiriscult at Abydos, show an intermediateform, in which king and god are shown as Horus name and cult image,and interact as emblematically, in fig. 6 and on the front page. In most contexts distinctions of this sort can be observedto be eroded over time, and this erosionis part of the

have borrowedthe nam Egyptianphenomenon the renaissance theory characterof an areato determinewhat may be decorationcommentso Stated thus, the princi enough, but both in Eg renaissance implica its For the latterwe have d of the thoughtexpend of decorum(cf. Gomb and it is reasonable a to was similarthought in In conclusion,it ma

Land

Use, and

Socal Temple

Organisaton Economy
ancient sourceswere not written to be recordsfor later ages. In particular, the businessand administrative texts, which are our chief sourcesof information concerningthe economics of agriculture, were communicationsbetween persons who were participating a system famiin liar to them; and many detailswhich we regardas essentialto our understanding were taken for grantedand omitted by the ancient scribes.Moreover,unlike social scientists,who investigateliving societies, the historiandoes not observe the object of his interest nor participate in its activities.Evenif one makes allowance for a good measureof acumenand ingenuityin extractingneeded information from superficiallyunpromising sources, frustrationis still the historians' common lot. Manyof their most Neither of these suggestionscan be tested with ease. If such an enterpriseis difficult in societies where informants may be questioned,it is virtuallyimpossible in a case where the evidence for privatebeliefs is scanty in the extreme, and there are few preservedtexts that are criticalof the receivedorderof things. Some such texts do exist, but they are too far apartin time and context from the temple symbolismI have discussedand themselvestoo much absorbedinto the mainstreamof Egyptianculture to provideany decisiveindication. The possible generalimplicationsmay be noted, but for the moment we should returnto refiningour understanding of the phenomenain the termsin which they are presented.And, needless to say, I have reviewedonly a small fraction of the issues involvedin the study of temple symbolism. John Baines
References Assmann, J. 1969, Liturgische Lieder an den Sonnengott. Untersuchungen zur altdgyptischen Hymnik 1. Berlin: Hessling, = Munchner agyptologische Studien 19. Assmann, J. 1970, Der Konig als Sonnenpriester. Ein kosmographischer Begleittext zur kultischen Sonnenhymnik in thebanischen Tempeln und Grabern. Gluckstadt: Augustin. = Abh. des Deutschen Arch. Inst. Kairo, Agyptol. Reihe 7. Baines, J. R. 1974, 'The inundation stela of Sebekhotpe VIII'. A cta Orientalia. Havniae. 36:39-54. Brunner, H. 1970, 'Die Sonnenbahn in agyptischen Tempeln', in A rchaologie und A Ites Testament, Festschrift fur Kurt Galling. Tubingen: Mohr (Siebeck). 27-34. Derchain, P. 1966, 'Rdflexions sur la ddcoration des pylones'. Bulletin de la Societe francaise d'Egyptologie. Paris. 46:17-24. Gombrich, E. H. 1972, Symbolic images: studies in the art of the renaissance. London: Phaidon. Rochemonteix, M. de 1887, 'Le temple dgyptien'. Revue internationale de 1'enseignement 15 July 1887. Winter, E. 1968, Untersuchungen zu den agyptischen Tempelreliefs der griechischromischen Zeit. Vienna: Bohlau. Osterreichische Akademie der Wiss., phil.-hist. KI., Denkschriften 98.

in The patternof agriculture the Nile Valley north of Aswanseems to have remainedrelativelystable until modern introduction times, when the large-scale of commercialcrops such as cotton, and huge watercontrol schemes,epitomised in the constructionof the AswanHigh Dam, fundamentallyalteredtechnical and economic conditions (Besancon 1957). Fortunatelyfor the historian, traditionalmethods surviveduntil quite recently and were observedand recorded in detail. Consequently,by the judicious use of modern data it is possible to organise and to supplementthe information that accident about ancient agriculture has has preservedand scholarship recovered(Schenkel 1973). There are, however,seriousgapsin our knowledge(Janssen 1975). Our not true to the same extent of the of chequerboard arrangement scenes and the strict hierarchiesof temple decoration(significantly,some of these featuresare absent from the base area and the frieze). If these are an ideal, and reflect the desiredorderof the world, we might interpretthe implicationson two speculativelevels. On a psychological plane it could be arguedthat the insistence on the maintenanceof orderimplied anxiety over its security, and this could be linked with the Egyptianview that orderis constantly threatenedand needs continual reaffirmation. The collapse of society was not unknown in ancient Egypt, and left a deep impressionon literarytexts in particular. Alternatively, it would be possible to find a sociological analogyin the rigidand highly stratified social forms we have every reasonto think were the norm throughmuch of Egyptianhistory. Such a thesis might be consideredto be a piece of reductionism, but the detail of the analogyis persuasive, and the divineworld is conceived as if it were a society on the model of the human.The main reservationto be noted is that the humanworld is mostly excluded completely from that of the cult, so that there is an analogybut not a direct link; but this might be held to reinforcethe implicationsof hierarchy. It can be pointed out that the only breakdownor conscious reversalof the system is duringthe Amarnaperiod (c. 1350 B.C.), when the reformsof Amenhotpe IV included the promotion of people who vauntedtheir humble into high office. As might backgrounds be expected, the system is adheredto just as much in periodsof royal weakness as of strength,and weak kings may indeed manipulateit in supportof their own prestige(Baines 1974). Whether evidenceof this sort is relevantor not, it should be emphasisedthat the hierarchies are orderingprinciples,and are not worshippedon their own accounts, but serve to articulatewhat is worshipped.

importantquestionsmay neverbe answered. So when, in what follows, patternsof and organisation behaviourare described, it is importantto keep in mind that they are constructs,built up of small, often isolated, bits of information,which may be alteredby new discoveriesor conand tradictedby better understanding that they are structuredwith the aid of modern theorieswhich themselvesmay requirerevisionor, ultimately, rejection. The agricultural cycle, with the possible exception of the Mediterranean coast, was determinedby the annualflow of Nile water that culminatedin August when the riveroverflowedits banks and inundatedits floodplain,which extended up to the cliffs of the adjacentdesert. Whenthe water receded(NovemberDecember),it left behind a layer of fertilisingsilt and, if the flood had been sufficient, land retainingmoistureadequate to sustainvegetationuntil the next inundation(Kees 1961: 47-61). Farmingwas by no means the inevitable form of land use as is shown by the pastoraladaptationto an uncontrolled Nile regimethat presentlyobtains among the Nilotic peoples of EquatoriaProvince in the Sudan(Evans-Pritchard 1940); but once Egyptianshad committed themselves to exploiting the agricultural potential of the Nile Valley, they seem from the outset of the historicalperiod to have opted for the exploitation of wide areasratherthan attemptingto develop methods that maximisedthe independence of the small farmer.The methods adopted requiredthe mobilisationof workersin considerablenumbersand necessitated a high degreeof coordinatedeffort. In broad outlines the system, which, I am inclined to assume,existed at an early date (Butzer 1964: 4634), consists of a seriesof 'basins'enclosed by large earthworkswhich trap the flood-waters and hold them on the land until it is sufficiently moistened to yield a crop. The wateris then drainedaway and the crop sown. This method of irrigationalso requiresa well constructednetwork of canalsto conduct the waterinto the basinsand to drainit off before the soil becomes too sodden to be arable.Moreover, as water seeps down throughthe soil and drainsinto the canals,it washes out the salts which are in the sub-soil and which are constantly workingtheir way towardthe surface.If this process of salinisationis not counteracted,it can renderthe land infertile;and several years of flooding and drainingmay be requiredbefore the land is restoredto productivity. Such a system, with its largedykes and orderlycanals,gives a deceptiveimpression of massivedurability;for it is in fact easily vulnerablethroughneglect or accident. If any component fails, a year's crops can be forfeit. Moreover,quite apartfrom the human factor, if the flood is too great, dykes may burst;and the flood waterwill not be held on the land. If the inundationfails, the crops fail as well. Too much flood is as bad as too little, and it behoved the ancient plannersto build the widest possible rangeof tolerancesinto their system. It is

15