Jammer Wrote:
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> There was also a feeling that for Ma'at to be
> maintained, and the Pharaoh to be maintained in
> the afterlife, he had to be remembered.
Correct.
>
> Hence the Cult Temples at the pyramids carrying on
> praying to the Gods (including the Pharaoh), and
> the pyramid itself would serve as a reminder.
Correct.
>
> Apparently if his name was totally forgotten he
> was weakened? I think that was behind defacing and
> removing some Pharaoh’s monuments and
> cartouches...
You are understating the case.
Creating the written word was an act of extreme importance and magic. Writing the words down made them "eternal", and as such, they were granted a significance similar to the creation of a statue in a serdab. In fact, in one myth, the spells from the book of Thoth are copied onto a papyrus, the ink is then washed off with beer, and the beer is consumed by the magician. As such, he 'internalizes' the spells and thus he never forgets them. By extension, we can see the very writing of a name itself was a powerful symbol representative of the person in question.
By effacing the name of someone, you were, in effect, obliterating that aspect of their power. If you could remove all references (as was attempted with Akhenaten and Tutankhaten) then you could probably destroy the Ba of the deceased person. Without the Ba, the Akh could not form, the person would no longer "be effective", and they would be consigned to oblivion.
Post mortem enforced damnation. Very, very powerful magic indeed.
Anthony
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him think.