Opet Festival in ancient Egypt | New Kingdom of Egypt | Egyptian Festivals
What is the Opet Festival?
The Opet Festival was one of the most important religious festivals in ancient Egypt, especially during the New Kingdom in Thebes. It was an annual festival during which the sacred barks of the triad of Thebes, Amun, Mut, and Khonsu journeyed from Karnak to Luxor and back since the 18th Dynasty.
According to some, the Opet Festival continued into the Roman and the Coptic Period.
What is the most important festival in Egypt?
Ancient Egyptian history is very rich with feasts and celebrations since the beginning of history. For example, the Saqqara complex has a huge place where they were celebrating the Heb Sed Festival. Meanwhile, during the New Kingdom of Egypt when Luxor was the capital, we found a lot of their feast during that time.
During the Greco-Roman era, temples such as Esna, Edfu, Kom Ombo, and Philae still keep a lot of these feasts decorating their walls. Surprisingly, the Palermo stone dates back to 2500 BC and mentioned many of these feasts.
Feats in ancient Egypt varied from religious to political feasts allowing all people to share both rich and poor. In fact, one of the most important feasts in the past was the Opet Festival together with the beautiful feast of the Valley. Meanwhile, they have much more feasts like gods’ feasts such as Min Festival, Sokar Festival, Bastet, Hathor, and Isis.
The Purpose of the Opet Festival?
The purpose of this festival was to give energy to the Netjer—divine power—and to reestablish the pharaoh’s divine right to rule. Queen Hatshepsut who ruled Egypt as a Pharaoh during 1473–1458 BC) is believed to have been the first to develop and celebrate the Opet Festival.
During her reign, the festival lasted for only 11 days. Amenhotep III, Tutankhamun, and Ramesses II also celebrated Opet. The events centered around fertility and renewal, renewal of the land, renewal of the pharaoh, and most important renewal of the god.
The purpose of the festival was to give energy back to the deities. It was thought that they would grow tired over the year. Proper execution of the ceremony would mean rebirth and a renewal of energy to the deities and monarch.
The deities depicted were Amun, Mut, and Khonsu. Amun is known as the “King of the Gods” and “God of the Wind”. He is considered the equivalent of Zeus in Greek mythology.
Mut was Amun’s consort and the “Queen of the Goddesses”. Khonsu was their offspring and the “God of the Moon.” It was thought that some of the power of Amun was transferred to the King. Then the King would symbolically re-consummate the Sacred Marriage of Amun and Mut with the Queen.
When the Opet Festival took place in ancient Egypt?
The Opet festival was celebrated annually on the fifteenth or nineteenth day of the second month of the first season, the second month of the Akhet, inundation season.
How long does the Opet Festival last?
The oldest mention of the Opet Festival till now dates back to the reign of Hatshepsut from the 18th Dynasty. The festival varied from time to time starting with 11 days under Thutmose III and Hatshepsut. During the reign of Ramesses III, the festival lasted over 24 days.
Our sources about the Opet Festival
The oldest mentions of the Opet Festival came to us from the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut at the Open-Air Museum in Karnak temple.
The Mortuary temple of the same Queen Hatshepsut on the walls of her temple at Deir El Bahari
The Akhmenu at Karnak dates back to the reign of Tuthmosis III
The best-preserved scenes of that feast date back to Amenhotep III decorating the walls of the western wing of the third pylon at Karnak
The scenes on the walls of the colonnade at Luxor temple from Amenhotep III era.
Tutankhamen colonnade hall at Luxor temple
Horemheb court between the ninth and tenth pylons, Karnak Luxor
The Great Hypostyle Hall of the Karnak temple dates back to Seti I
Ramesses II Opet Festival scenes on the Karnak Hypostyle Hall
The Barque shrines in the open court of Karnak from the Seti II era
Opet scenes of Ramses III at his temple Medinet Habu and his temple at Karnak
Alexander the Great scenes on the outer walls of his Holy of the Holies at Karnak
The route of the Opet Festival between Karnak and Luxor
We know for sure that the Opet Festival started at Karnak temple and ended at Karnak also. The route of the feast was different from time to time. For example, during the Hatshepsut era, the festival was along a land route to Luxor, then returned to Karnak by the Nile.
Sometimes, the festival started from Karnak to Luxor via the Nile River and back walking through the Avenue of Sphinxes. Finally, the Opet Festival scenes of Tutankhamun are the first to depict a river journey in both directions.
The Opet Festival procession was accompanied by priests, singers, dancers, and acrobats. Then the boats rested on the way between Karnak and Luxor at six bark shrines.
The description of the Opet Festival
The earliest and one of the most informative series of scenes appears on the south side of the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III at Karnak.
Queen Hatshepsut was burning incense in front of the sacred boat of the god Amon leaving Karnak temple. The boat was carried on the shoulder of a group of clean-shaven priests. The boat was ended on both sides by the ram heads looking ahead, a traditional symbol, of the god Amon with twisted horns and the wsḫ collar (Usekh collars) around the neck.
The celebration takes place in the second month of the “Akht” season, which is a season for the flooding of the Nile River. We can guess the procession of the Opet Festival compared to that of the Sokar Festival and Min Festival at Habu temple. The King or the high priest will first shower in the sacred lake as every day then he will go to the holy of the holies to do his daily rituals.
The Opet Rituals
The priest would burn incense, change the uniform of the god, dress him in a colorful uniform, and adorn him with the most precious jewelry. After that, the priest will put the figure of the god inside the Naos or the wooden gilded shrine and then on the boat. The boat will rest on a pedestal then the Pharoah will make offerings to the god.
Afterward, as we see on the outer south wall of Alexander the Great holy of the holies at Karnak, the boat will be carried on the shoulders of bold priests. First, they will pass through the Hypostyle Hall so, the high classes can see the god and pray for him.
Later on, they will carry the boat again and go to the open court for the locals to see their god before they head to the Nile River to sail to Luxor temple.
Some suggest the Opet Festival started at the Akhmenu in the time of Thutmose III then go to the Khonsu temple to join the festival and Mut temple also to join the rest of her family.
Amenhotep III depicted the Opet Festival on the 3rd Pylon of Karnak temple and once the parade is complete with Amun, Mut, and Khonsu they will go to Luxor temple through the Avenue of the Sphinxes. Once, they are in Luxor temple, they will be taken to the Holy of the Holies. Besides, the activities of the feast by locals, family members, scribes, ministers, and so on.
On the way back from Luxor to Karnak via the Nile River or walking through the Avenue of the Sphinxes, people from all over Egypt gather to watch the feast.
Conclusion
The Opet Festival is one of the very famous ancient feasts, especially during the New Kingdom. Amun of Karnak Temple visited Amun Kamutef in Luxor temple for fertility, renewal of the god, renewal of the land, and renewal of the pharaoh.
Amun Kamutef was the only god of the Ogdoad of the Hermopolis ancient Egyptian creation Myth left in Luxor to help the Kings to rule the earth. While the rest of the 8 gods were buried in a sacred place in the Habu temple.
So, the Opet festival was about renewal, especially since it was celebrated during the flood season. The gods and the king would renew their energy and power for one year to the front.
For more information about the famous feasts in ancient Egypt, kindly check the next feasts in our blog
The Beautiful Festival of the Valley
Opening of the year (Wepet Renpet)
Sokar Festival
Min Festival
Ptah Festival
Heb Sed Festival ( Jubilee Festival )
Reunion feast of Hathor and Horus
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