The Festivals of Opet, the Valley, and the New Year: Their Socio-Religious Functions

The Festivals of Opet, the Valley, and the New Year: Their socio-religious functions compares the religious and social functions of these three Festivals, the first two of which were often regarded by the Egyptians as a pair; the New Year Festival stands out on account of its corpus of surviving material and importance. Until now, detailed study of the New Year Festival has only been carried out with reference to the Greco-Roman period; this study turns its attention to the New Kingdom. The book analyses the broad perspectives that encompass Egyptian religion and cult practices which provided the context not only for worship and prayer, but also for the formation of social identity and responsibility. The festivals are examined in the whole together with their settings in the religious and urban landscapes. The best example is New Kingdom Thebes where large temples and burial sites survive intact today with processional routes connecting some of them. Also presented are the abundant written sources providing deep insight into those feasts celebrated for Amun-Re, the king of the gods. The volume also includes a list of dated records which provides a concordance for the Egyptian calendars.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1. Introduction

1.2. Overview of Egyptian calendrical systems and festivals

1.3. Theban religiosity

Chapter 2: Opet Festival

2.1. Research history

2.2. Chronological study

2.3. Designation of the Opet Festival

2.4. Sequence of the Opet Festival

2.5. Events associated with the Opet Festival

Chapter 3: Valley Festival

3.1. Research history

3.2. Chronological study

3.3. Designation of the Valley Festival

3.4. Sequence of the Valley Festival at the temple

3.5. Valley Festival as a popular celebration

3.6. Sequence of the Valley Festival at the private tomb

3.7. Excursus: appointment of the divine wife Isis, a daughter of Ramses VI

Chapter 4: New Year Festival

4.1. Research history

4.2. Chronological study

4.3. Ceremonies of the New Year Festival

4.4. Other official ceremonies

4.5. Representations in the private tomb at the Theban West

4.6. Economic functions of the New Year Festival

Chapter 5: Conclusions

Appendices:

Appendix 1 List of dated religious events

Appendix 2 Tables and text

List of references