A temple was a god’s house, as The Plan of a Temple showed, and the god was looked after like an honored guest. Every morning, at dawn, priests performed the main daily ritual in the sanctuary.
Key idea
Each morning priests opened the shrine, woke, washed, dressed and fed the god’s statue, then sealed it again. Egyptians believed the god came to dwell in the statue.
The morning ritual, step by step
- The priests purified themselves, washing in the sacred lake.
- The officiating priest broke the clay seal on the shrine and opened its doors, "revealing the face" of the god.
- He burned incense and sang a hymn to wake the god.
- He cleaned the statue, anointed it with oil, dressed it in fresh linen and put on its ornaments.
- He laid out food and drink before it.
- He backed out of the room, sweeping away his footprints, and sealed the doors again.
Why it works
Why care for a statue as if it were alive? Egyptians believed the god’s presence came to rest in its image, as a person lives in a body. A neglected god might leave, and with the god would go the order of the world. So the ritual kept the god present and content, every day. Shorter rites followed at midday and in the evening.
The food was not wasted. After the god had received it, it "reverted" to the priests and temple staff, who ate it. Scenes of the daily ritual survive in the chapels of the temple of Seti I at Abydos, and papyri preserve the words the priests said.
Worked example: Putting the steps in order
Order these: dress the statue, purify, seal the shrine, open the shrine.
- Purity comes first, before entering.
- The shrine must be opened before the statue can be cared for.
- Dressing comes before the shrine is sealed again.
Answer: Purify, open the shrine, dress the statue, seal the shrine.
Worked example: Where did the bread go?
A temple received hundreds of loaves a day for the god. What happened to them?
- They were offered to the god first.
- Then they reverted to the temple’s people.
- Offerings paid and fed the priests and staff.
Answer: The priests and staff ate them after the god had received them.
Common mistake
Thinking Egyptians believed the statue was the god. They believed the god came to dwell in it. Quick check: the same god could dwell in statues in many temples at once.