Abydos is the home of Osiris, the ruler of the netherworld. It is said that at night you can hear the spirits congregating to pay homage to Osiris. All spirits must travel to Abydos as part of their journey in the afterlife. All Egyptians aspired to be buried here, but if that was not possible, they built cenotaphs or monuments. Seti died before this temple was completed and his son, Ramesses II, completed it. Some of the decoration concern the life and exploits of Ramesses II instead of Seti I. The Temple of Seti I is one of the few remaining royal monuments still intact at Abydos. According to the reliefs Seti was part of the local triad of gods. Seti I and his famous son, Ramesses II are shown here, indicating the famous King's List.The  The Osirion is located behind the Temple of Seti I and is the remains of his Cenotaph. It was designed to fill with water at the Nile Inundation. The water you see in this picture is ground water. The local women believe that they can enhance their fertility by immersing themselves in the water.

The temple.

Osirion

Queen Ty  Egyptian Wallpaper for your PC From Pixel Paradox  $4 more Egyptian wallpapers There are other possible Osiris water structures associated with Seti I and Ramesses II. The Tomb of Seti I (KV 17) in the Valley of the Kings contains a deep shaft (Chamber K) that appears to be heading down to the water table. In KV 5, the tomb thought to be constructed for Ramesses II sons, there is a room on the lower levels that has been glazed with a combinations of colors to perhaps simulate water spreading across the floor.

The Temple of Seti I contains some of the most sublime decorations of any Egyptian monument. Unfortunately, the day that we visited the lighting system was not working, so the interior pictures on this site are drawn from videos taken using either natural light or my trusty flashlight. I could not take photographs inside as it would have required a flash, which is not allowed due to the perceived damage the flash might cause to the colors of the reliefs.

Click on the thumbnails below to see details of the Temple. Details

		Entrance to the Temple of Seti I at Abydos.			Osiris, Isis and Seti I
		Assembled heads of various statues of Seti I that once were in the temple.			Seti I and Ramesses II present the King list.
		Horus, Seti I and Khnum middle			Ramesses II and his eldest son chasing a bull along wall leading to the back door.
		Nile God Hapi offers a pair of ducks.			Goose of Amun Re.
		Seti I with goddess Maat.			The sedge and the bee, symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt.
		Colored relief of Horus. bottom			Osirion.

Here is a link to the latest in the popular series based on what is known of the life of Ramesses II. This is Volume 5: Ramses : Under the Western Acacia by Christian Jacq, Mary Feeney (Translator). The previous volumes are still in print and also may be ordered from Amazon. I also include a link to Volume 1: Ramses: Son of Light which deals with the relationship of Seti I and Ramesses II.

I have also included a link to The Lost Tomb by Kent R. Weeks which is the story of the discovery of the tomb of Ramesses' sons. This book discusses the historical succession from Rameses I to Ramesses II, including material on Seti I.

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