Holy Lake (Ancient Egypt)

Holy lake in hieroglyphs
schi-netjer šj-nṯr sacred pond
Holy lake of Karnak

Holy lake of Dendera

In ancient Egyptian temples, a sacred lake is a rectangular, walled artificial body of water with access stairs. In a broader sense, the term also includes other temple ponds with rounded corners (in Maru temples ), T-shaped canal ponds, horseshoe-shaped or ring-shaped ponds with artificial islands. The actual sacred lakes with a rectangular floor plan did not develop until the New Kingdom .

Most of the sacred lakes were carefully dug, reaching to the groundwater below, and surrounded by tree gardens. Since the water level fluctuated depending on the season, step access was necessary, which led to the lake directly next to the main temple. The lakes had both a functional and a symbolic meaning. Functionally, they served as a water supply for sacrifices and purification rituals , to beautify the temples and for the exit of cult boats . Every priest had to bathe in the lake at sunrise before being allowed to enter the temple cleansed. As a mythological body of water, the sacred lake played an important role in the Egyptian creation myths. One of the most important rituals celebrated was the birth and victory of the temple god over his enemies. In the temple of Sais , the resurrection of Osiris was celebrated in the lake there .

Most of the sacred lakes have been buried over time. The holy lake of Karnak is the only one that has been completely cleaned and flooded today. As a special feature, it has a narrow tunnel through which geese (as a manifestation of Amun ) were driven to appear on the surface of the water at a suitable time.

Dimensions of various sacred lakes

place	temple	Dimensions
Karnak	Temple of Amun-Re	120 × 77 m
Tanis	Temple of Amun / Chons	060 × 50 m
Sais	Temple of Neith	035 × 34 m
Dendera	Temple of Dendera	033 × 28 m
Armant	Birthplace	030 × 26 m
el-Kab	Temple of Nechbet	030 × 20 m
Medinet Habu	Small temple	020 × 18 m
Karnak	Temple of the Month	018 × 16 m
Medamud	Temple of the Month	017 × 15 m
At-death	Temple of el-Tod	016 × 11.5 m
Elephantine	Temple of Khnum	011 × 8 m

literature

• Dieter Arnold : Lexicon of Egyptian architecture . Albatros, Düsseldorf 2000, ISBN 3-491-96001-0 , pp. 230-231, → See, Heiliger.
• Beatrix Gessler-Löhr: The sacred lakes of Egyptian temples (= Hildesheim Egyptological contributions. Vol. 21). Gerstenberg, Hildesheim 1983, ISBN 3-8067-8080-3 .
• Richard H. Wilkinson : The world of temples in ancient Egypt . Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2005, ISBN 3-534-18652-4 , pp. 72-73 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ RH Wilkinson: The world of temples in ancient Egypt. 2005, p. 73.