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Atum-Kheprer, you
have come to be... high on the
hill, you
have arisen... on the Ben Ben stone...
in the mansion... of the
Benu-bird... in Heliopolis, you spat out
Shu, you expectorated
Tefnut, and you put your two arms
around them... as the arms
of a ka-symbol, so that your ka...
might be in them. … O
great Ennead... which is in Heliopolis—Atum,
Shu, Tefnut, Geb,
Nut, Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys..... children of
Atum, extend his
heart to his child, the king, in your
name of Nine Bows.
Other structures... also
included... part of a 6th dynasty
obelisk... of Teti. Several Old
Kingdom tombs of high priests...
dated to the 6th Dynasty... have been
found southeast of
Senwosret’s obelisk, near the southeast corner
of the
enclosure.
A stela of Tuthmosis III...
from the 18th Dynasty....
commemorates a wall that encloses the
solar temple.
Excavations.... have
revealed some Ramesside
construction....
several temples... and a cemetery... for the
Mnevis bulls....
discovered northeast of the
obelisk... and
dated to the
Ramesside period. The bulls... were
worshipped.... as
manifestations... of the sun-god.
The most recognizable feature...
is a rectangular podium,
with sides... sloping inwards.... and open
to the sun, built of
limestone... on a platform of granite.
It was probably intended
to represent.... the primordial mound of
sand... at the Heliopolis temple.
Atop the
podium stood a squat obelisk, the
sacred
symbol of the sun-god, which was also
built... of
limestone blocks.
The obelisk... was
probably topped... by a representation
of
the ben ben stone, a cone-shaped sacred
capstone....
representing the primordial mound... which
had arisen above
the primeval waters.... at the moment
of creation.
Not only did they
represent "shems" or "rockets", they
served as
"hollow information portals", where "secrets
of the ages" were stored.
They also draw down.... from the Sun's
magnetic rays... a special type... of
electromagnetic solar energy.... that would
run along the energy grid of the earth....
and create energy....
There have
been examples.... of such capstones....
found, one belonging to
the pyramid of Amenemhet I. It
was coated in "electrum", in
order... to catch and gleam.... with
the rays.... of
the sun...
itself ... out in the open-air court.
To the east...
of the obelisk ... lay a huge
alabaster altar,
built of one large circular block...
surrounded by four blocks,
one on each side, each of these... in
the shape of the hieroglyph, hetep, meaning
"offering".
Near the entrance... to
the base...
of the obelisk... was a small chapel,
with two basins on both
sides... of its door... and two
granite stelae. The walls of the
chamber.... were decorated with reliefs...
showing foundation-ceremonials and feasts... in
the temple.
Heliopolis, or "On" in
Coptic,
was the capital ...
of the 13th
Lower Egyptian nome. By the time
of the Old Kingdom, the
city.... was a center of astronomy...
as reflected in the title... of
its high priest, wr-m3w, "Chief of
Observers" or "Greatest of
Seers. This title was held... by
Imhotep.... during the 3rd
Dynasty reign.... of King Djoser Netjerikhet,
and dates earlier....
to the reign of Khasekhemwy... in the
2nd Dynasty.
Heliopolis... was a city of
antiquity, its foundation... buried...
in the dust of prehistory. It
was the seat of the sun-god Re,
whose temple, next to that of Amen-Re
of Thebes, who had
usurped his name... and many of his
characteristics, was the
richest... in all Egypt. Worship of
the sun... was almost
universal, but the chief center of his
cult... was at On,
the Delta city.
Here he was known
as Re. In that ancient city, Atum
was
the creator, the All... from which all
issued. He was associated
with the scarab beetle, which the
Egyptians... thought to be,
as the god himself... had been,
self-generating. Though Atum...
was early succeeded... by the sun god
Re, he was never
eclipsed by him. He remained the
All, with Re... as the
demiurge. It was both Re and
Atum-Re... whose light
illuminated the world.
The temple... was
second in size... only to the Amon
temple... in Thebes. At its most,
the temple employed
13,000 priests and slaves. Heliopolis...
was also the main
center... in Egypt... for
writing of
religious literature.
Today... there is little left of
the city. The splendid temples...
of Heliopolis... and the great city...
which surrounded
them... have
all vanished, and with
them... the sacred lake.
In about 1213 BCE... the Libyans...
pushed forward, gradually extending their
settlements... almost to the gates...
of
Memphis... and crossed the southern apex...
of the Delta...
to the walls of Heliopolis, where the
vizier lived. Merneptah,
at last aroused... to the situation,
was fortifying Heliopolis
and Memphis, when news... of the
danger... reached him...
late... in 1207 BCE.
The chief object of worship... at
Heliopolis... was the sun,
whose temple, is now only represented...
by the single
beautiful obelisk, of red granite, 68’
2" high above the
pedestal, which has stood... for more
than 4000 years,
having been erected by
Pharoah Senusret
I, the second
king... of the 12th Dynasty.
Heliopolis........ was
anciently famous... for its learning... and
Eudoxus and Plato... studied under its
priests. The first
mention...
of this place in the
Bible... is in the history of
Joseph, to whom
we read... Pharaoh
gave "to wife
Asenath... the daughter of Potipherah priest
of On."
"On"... (like
"OM"), is to
be remembered... not only... as
the home...
of Joseph, but as the traditional
place... to which... his
far-off namesake... took Mary and the
babe Jesus... in
the flight to Egypt. The two
famous obelisks, long called
"Cleopatra's Needles," once stood... before
this city, and
were seen... by the children of
Israel... before the Exodus.
They were
quarried... at Syene... on the
Nile, erected at
Heliopolis... by Thuthmosis III, c. 1500
BCE, and inscriptions
added by Rameses II. They were
later... taken to Alexandria...
by Emperor Augustus... in 23 CE, from
which they were
removed... to their present places,
Washington D.C., New
York and London.
Washington Monument
The Obelisk... was a monumental
pillar... used in ancient
Egypt, but... which has been copied....
elsewhere in the
world. The obelisk... is made from
one stone with a
tapered form, being at its widest at
the bottom, and with
a top (called erectum)... that is
shaped... like a pyramid.
The material used for obelisks... was
normally red granite...
from Aswan, while the top... often was
sheathed by gold, silver
or brass. All four sides... of
the obelisk... were embellished
by hieroglyphs, often with dedications... to
the sun god Re...
or with commemorations... of the lives...
of the rulers.
In most cases, obelisks... were
always erected in pairs.
Obelisks... were normally between 15 and
30 meters high,
but this depended on the epoch they
were made in. Their
weight... could easily
exceed 100 tons.
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