Rejuvenating the Temples of Egypt

By Robert M. Schoch
Boston University

I always return from Egypt with mixed feelings, a combination of joy and sadness, elation and exhaustion, and this time was no different. I spent Spring Recess (the second full week of March 2007) touring Egypt with a mixed group composed of university students and interested persons. We visited as many of the major sites as possible in the allotted time: Luxor Temple, Karnak Temple, The Valley of the Kings, The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, Dendera, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Philae/Agilika, and of course the Giza Plateau with the Great Pyramid and Great Sphinx. In addition, we had the chance to explore Aswan (visiting a mosque and a small Nubian village on the Nile), Luxor, and Cairo (including the Egyptian Museum, perhaps now most famous for housing the artifacts from Tutankhamen’s tomb). While in Cairo/Giza we stayed at the historic Mena House Hotel (dating back to the middle nineteenth century and within walking distance of the Great Pyramid - - the view is spectacular). In Luxor we stayed at the modern Egyptian “art deco” Sonesta St. George Hotel, and between Luxor and Aswan we made our home on the H.S. Radamis II Mövenpick, one of the many cruise ships that ply the Nile.

Egypt is a beautiful and magical place at its best, but it is also a land where ancient mysteries have been exploited and holy places violated for the purpose of tourism and entertainment. The temples are crying. The souls once interred and at peace have been disturbed. The walls protecting the sanctuaries where the sick of body and spirit could go to heal have been breached. Sacred spaces are being lost to the profane and the mundane. Wading through the throngs crowding the temples and tombs, making my way through the bustling masses of humanity, elbowing in close to inspect a particular relief, while one more traveler thoughtlessly slammed her daypack or smashed his camera bag into an ancient inscription, there was many a time I wondered if all the magic was gone. But the power of the ancient structures is irrepressible, and even in their violated condition they have much to offer. During a quiet moment in an inner room, standing in a courtyard away from the bustle, or contemplating an obscure symbol in a dark corner, one can still feel the ancient ritual and mystery.

Despite the sprawl of modern shops catering to the tourists with their cheap trinkets and over-priced batteries and other camera supplies, I can still manage to catch glimpse of what was and, I hope, will be. The Temple of Horus (son of Osiris and Isis) at Edfu still memorializes the drama of Horus as he avenges his father’s death at the hands of Set. The temple at Kom Ombo is jointly dedicated to the crocodile-headed Sobek (mummified crocodiles found in the vicinity are currently on display) and the falcon-headed Haroeris (known also as Horus the Elder). Here is honored the eternal cycle of the universe. Sobek, allied with Set (who, after killing Osiris, fought Horus), was a God of Death and what simplistically might be seen as “evil,” yet not evil in any absolute sense, but the other side of good, for by one way of thinking without evil there cannot be good or redemption, and without death there cannot be resurrection and life. Haroeris in some ancient texts was equated with Day while Sobek was associated with Night. To the trained eye and informed mind, in Egypt every temple has a different story to tell.

Our group was indeed fortunate in that by special arrangement we had the entire Great Pyramid to ourselves for about an hour and a half. I have spent many hours in the Great Pyramid in various guises and contexts: as researcher, as tourist, as postulant. This time it was a pleasure to introduce this greatest wonder of the world to about two dozen people who had never been to Egypt before. We made good use of our time, visiting the Subterranean Chamber, the Grand Gallery, the King’s Chamber, and the Queen’s Chamber. By the time we had to leave, I hoped that all attending had experienced, even if for just a few moments and at an incipient level, the ancient magic. As we departed, the throngs of tourists once again entered.

Still, I was not totally satisfied. I want to do more to rejuvenate the ancient magic, to bring back the sacred and holy aspects of the ancient monuments, to cleanse and purge them of their abusers. To this end, I am developing a plan with several of my colleagues. In brief, we would like to organize healing trips to Egypt during which sacred rites and rituals associated with the mystery schools, ancient and modern, can once again be carried out in the temples, perhaps culminating with initiation ceremonies in the Great Pyramid. There are still active organizations and schools that have guarded and revived the ancient rites, and learning from them and working with them could be a way to restore the true magic of the monuments. Perhaps we cannot reconstruct the ancient rites exactly to the letter, but we can capture their spirit and significance in modern terms. What I have in mind is a group composed exclusively of devotees who will view the trip as a sacred pilgrimage, taking the matter extremely seriously while also being open to the transformative powers of the ancient ritual and context. As we return to Egypt with the right mindset and intentions, we will not only heal and rehabilitate ourselves, but begin to cleanse and rejuvenate the monuments as well. Perhaps this has been a long time coming, but the mysteries of Egypt are eternal and transcend the boundaries of time.


Photos:

The Temple of Sobek and Haroeris, Kom Ombo. (Photograph copyright R. M. Schoch, 2007)

Ancient mummified crocodile preserved at Kom Ombo. (Photograph copyright R. M. Schoch, 2007)

The Temple of Luxor, March 2007. (Photograph copyright R. M. Schoch, 2007)

Robert Schoch at the Temple of Horus, Edfu, March 2007. (Photograph copyright R. M. Schoch, 2007)