PART 7 : 5th and 6th Dynasties

Fifth Dynasty

Economies in the fifth dynasty saw smaller pyramids. Each one had a satellite pyramid. The finished ones had an enclosure. Lehner referred to them as ‘prototypes’ as they were all similar.

Six sun temples for the first 6 Kings were built, probably 5 at Abu Ghurab. This location was the southernmost point with visual contact to Iunu (On, Heliopolis). Only two or three remains can be found of the temples, those of Userkaf and Niussere and possibly Neferirkare.


fig 1 : sun temples and Abusir pyramids, looking south

Previous kings of the 4th dynasty are known to have built their own sun temples with obelisks at Iunu to demonstrate their association to Re in their lifetimes.
The kings of the 5th dynasty built their sun temples across on the west side of the Nile in the ‘land of the dead’. This suggests a continuation of the association with Re to be demonstrated after death.

The use of the temples in the lifetime Sed Festivals was demonstrated in the reliefs on the walls of Niuserre’s sun temple. The rituals and events in the scenes were more numerous and varied than those in the afterlife Heb Sed, which was more about eternal resurrection.

This suggests that the temples were for use during the King’s lifetime and performed the same purpose as the previous kings’ ceremonies at Iunu. Hence the valley temple and causeway at the sun temples for the procession to arrive by boat from the east side of the river.

But the difference is that the King now wanted to identify with Re in the afterlife also. This was started by Khafre with his sun temple at the eastern horizon in the necropolis of Giza.
To do this the sun temple would need to have a counterpart in the sky. It would be at the eastern horizon. The counterpart was, of course, the sun itself at dawn.

Like for Khafre, the king would be rowed in his solar boat from the celestial pole to the eastern horizon every day. All this spiritual activity took place in the sky.

The pyramid of Pepi ll was a typical one; small but complete with all the Heb Sed requirements – a mini ‘resurrection machine’.

In this standard design, the burial chambers were different from previous dynasties. The antechamber was located at the centre of the pyramid and the sarcophagus was in an extended western end of the burial chamber.


fig. 2 the architecture of Pepi ll was a ‘standard’

As regards the counterpart in the northern sky, the small star 10 draconis, adopted earlier by Djedefre, was in the centre, corresponding to the antechamber. It was the nearest star to the celestial pole, and midway between Mizar and Kocab.


fig 3 : northern counterparts of 5th and 6th dynasty pyramids

The PTs are quite clear that it was from the king’s ‘mansion’ among the circumpolar stars that the King went each day to the eastern horizon ‘to the place where Re is’.
Utt 217 : “O Re-Atum, this King comes to you, an imperishable spirit, lord of the affairs (? ) of the place of four pillars; your son comes to you, this King comes to you. May you traverse the sky, being united in the darkness; may you rise in the horizon, in the place where it is well with you.” (Faulkner)

Regarding the concept of counterparts, what was done in the sky was done in the pyramid too. Like for example – the kings run across the two skies around the sky markers was a counterpart of the run around the enclosure of the pyramid with its southern tomb, with stelae as markers.

In the 5th and 6th dynasty there arose another dual counterpart of the pyramid. The pyramid had one counterpart in the circumpolar stars and another counterpart at the eastern horizon.

How was this be done within the pyramid ?

It was actually quite simple. Along the northern axis into the sky we have, as in previous dynasties, the counterpart in the circumpolar stars as the square in the sky between Mizar (Ursa Major) and Kocab (Ursa Minor). As shown in the above sky diagram fig 3.

But now the north-south axis also divided the dawn from the night. Within the burial chamber the king would be able to ‘cross’ to the dawn, mimicking the same in the sky at the sun temple.


fig 4 : the representation of the horizon

So every day within his tomb, the King would be at the eastern horizon at dawn as Horakhti, like the sphinx, to ensure that the sun rose every day.


The advent of Osiris

The first mention of Osiris was by Niuserre the fifth king of the 5th dynasty with his pyramid at Abusir (=The Place of Osiris).

The last king of the 5th dynasty, Unas, did not build a sun temple and returned to Saqqara for his pyramid alongside that of Djoser, presumably re-enforcing his Hed Sed need.

By this time, the identification of the dead king with Osiris had presumably become more important than the identification with Re. This is manifested by the first of the pyramid texts on the walls of the burial chamber and anti-chamber of Unas.

Lehner wrote “By etching in stone the sacred utterances and spells deep within the pyramid, Unas would enjoy their effect continually without having to depend for ever on the services of an unreliable priesthood.” (2)

However this does not quite explain how the advent of Osiris created this change.

Before Osiris, the content of the sacred utterances and spells only dealt with these matters – the preparation for the revivication of the dead king, the resurrection of the king and his ascent to the sky, the meeting and greeting with all the gods, and the status of his power. All these were of course the first 3 stages of the Heb Sed as listed in PART 1 above. They were concerned, on a periodic basis, with getting the risen king to his place in the stars from where he would rule. The PT's thus give us a privileged look at some of the spoken words of the Heb Sed.

Now the sacred utterances and spells were additionally dealing with the Kings daily journey to the horizon as Osiris and what he would do there. This assumed a great importance. Perhaps the priest could not be relied to perform the rituals daily !

It is possible that earlier instructions for the afterlife Heb Sed were on papyrus and included in the burial chamber. Now as an added benefit, the Pyramid Texts written on the walls would last for millions of Heb Seds !

Sixth Dynasty

Many of the temples have been destroyed, but in the transverse corridor of the temple of Pep ll which linked up the north and south sections of the enclosure, there were scenes of the King performing the ritual run of the Heb Sed. The Run would have passed through this transverse corridor to reach the satellite pyramid and the temple of the gods. The area in black was the offerings area. There was a false door from the pyramid.


fig 5 : the representation as the duat

After the adoption of the Osiris cult by the 6th dynasty rulers, the extended west part of the burial chamber now had a new role. It represented the duat in the pyramid’s second counterpart of the eastern horizon. The risen king had become Osiris and was about the merge with Re at dawn.

“Allen wrote "Within the sarcophagus the king's spirit unites with his body and receives new life from it , as the sun regenerated through its union with Osiris in the Duat”. (3)

Conclusion

Through the 5th and 6th dynasties the architecture of the pyramids was still dictated by the Heb Sed requirements, These were :

• A sacred enclosure around the pyramid,
• a satellite pyramid with tomb within the enclosure,
• an offering area for gifts to the gods and to the king,
• a temple for meeting gods and for the double crowning,
• a matching of the counterpart in the sky.

The pyramid texts signalled a change in the cult from star and sun centred beliefs to that of Osiris.

The pyramids now had dual counterparts (first encountered with Khafre’s pyramid). They were a) the circumpolar stars and b) the eastern horizon. Or, very simplistically, the pyramid now represented a star AND the sun !

References :
1. Faulkner : The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Tests
2. Mark Lehner : The Complete Pyramids p140
3. James Allen : Reading a Pyramid p25



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/2023 05:21AM by GChase.