Creation and Elimination at Esna

Divine forces create humans while human forces eliminate them -- so might be the lesson enshrined in the Temple of Khnum at Esna, 55 km South of Luxor. Carved into the temple's sandstone walls is the ancient Egyptian belief that ram-headed Khnum created the world and crafted humans out of Nile mud on his potters' wheel. He shaped the individual features and languages of Egyptians and foreigners.

Carvings tell that Khnum plants the seed of life in every mother's womb, depicted as a zigzagged oval perhaps to illustrate its life force. Simultaneously, Khnum also forms the 'ka', or spirit, of the child. Nine months later, he and Heket, the goddess of childbirth, help the mother at the child's birth as she sits on the birthing chair. The Great Hymn to Khnum (M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol. 3, p. 112) praises his effect:
He makes women give birth when the womb is ready,
So as to open --- as he wishes;
He soothes suffering by his will,
Relieves throats, lets everyone breathe,
To give life to the young in the womb.

The temple at Esna is dedicated to Khnum, his consort Menheyet, and his son Heka ('Magic'). The goddess Neith is also honoured here because she is the feminine force of creation and works in partnership with Khnum's maleness. While Khnum created the world and separated heaven and earth, Neith uttered seven sentences to give form to and organize creation.

As Khnum's temple at Esna celebrates the creation of life its walls also bear witness to the snuffing out of human life at the hands of less than godly men.

The Roman emperor Septimius Severus ruled the Roman empire from 193 to 211 A.D. He appears on Esna's walls with his sons Caracalla and Geta, who ruled jointly with him in the final years of his reign, 209-211. One might surmise that the reliefs were carved during this time.

Soon after the death of their father, Caracalla murdered Geta. Across the empire, from Rome to Esna and beyond, the murderer ordered that all mention of his brother to be erased from monuments in an act of damnatio memoriae. Thus, late in 211 or early 212, carvers returned to Esna to chip away the existence of Geta. Yet his shadow and the shadow of his name in hieroglyphs remains evident on the wall and so he is not forgotten.

Building temples could take centuries to complete as successive pharaohs renovated and enlarged important holy sites. When the Romans took control of Egypt, the emperors continued the tradition of the pharaohs and similarly made their alms to the Egyptian gods with temple building and decoration. Much of what can be seen today at Esna is the work of Roman emperors from Claudius (41-54 AD) to Decius (249-251 AD). One of the unique images decorating the temple is that of the Roman emperor Trajan, as pharaoh, dancing before the enthroned goddess. The lion-headed goddess looks a lot like Sekmet but she is Menheyet, Khnum's consort.

An image not found in any pharaonic period temple is that of the emperor presenting a victory wreath to the god. The Roman emperor would have considered this the highest tribute he could offer.

The temple is famous for its astronomical ceiling. The constellations, as the Egyptians knew them, sail across the sky in boats just as boats were the main form of transportation for earthly beings.

The ceiling is intact, supported by 24 columns. Each column capital is unique and colourful. The carving is intricate and awesome to behold. Every inch of the column shafts are also carved with hieroglyphic texts that provide the program of religious festivals conducted in the temple -- perhaps so that the festivals continue in perpetuity through the magic of the sacred texts.

This column represents a date tree. The base of the capital recreates the palm's knobby trunk. Sprouting upwards from the column/trunk is the broad capital carved with palm fronds and heavy fruit clusters. As if to emphasize the fecundity of creation, grape vines also prosper amidst the fronds.

Even the standard images that one expects to see on an Egyptian temple have a slightly different character at Esna. The scene of the pharaoh smiting Egypt's enemies is seen over and over again on temple walls as each king showed off to his people that he was an effective defender of the realm. The common motif depicts the pharaoh holding in one hand the chiefs of enemy states by their hair, while raising his club high above his head in the other hand. Esna's depiction of Ptolemy III Euergetes is unique with the presence of a pet lion that appears to eat the hands of the captured.

Less than one-third of the temple is visible today. In the mid 19th century the French Egyptologist, Auguste Mariette, removed buildings and excavated a 9-metre deep pit to reveal the temple's hypostyle hall. Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities hopes to conduct excavations to clear the debris and reveal the interior rooms of the god's house. No doubt, their excavations will produce exciting finds and understanding of the earlier pharaonic worship of the god of creation.


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The shadows give an impression of the 9m (30')-deep pit in which the temple currently resides. There is a plan to extend the pit all the way to the Nile river to reveal the ancient causeway and provide access to the temple for tourists arriving on the cruise boats. An historically significant mosque, however, is situated along the proposed route so this plan requires some serious thought.

Esna is an easy half-day trip from Luxor. We drove South on the west side of the Nile and returned to Luxor on the eastern highway. The western road is slower due to a number of villages, but it is an interesting route for that very reason.

The temple is located less than kilometer south of the Esna barrage. It cannot be seen from the Corniche. Look for the small wooden kiosk that sells entry tickets on the east side of the road. Park the car nearby and walk a short distance through the souk to the temple. 
Egyptian Monuments blog:
Esna Temple
Tour Egypt article: The Temple of Khnum at Esna by Mark Andrews
The Great Hymn to Khnum: Ancient Egyptian Literature translated by Miriam Lichtheim
Ancient Egypt Online article: Esna Temple

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