This was clearly, an auspicious day to spend with Lucia Gahlin at Dillington House, for a lecture on the ‘Ritual and Festival:  Life in an Ancient Egyptian Temple’ – and as always where Lucia is concerned, it was just great!

With  ‘all the common people worshiping’ Lucia – we began by 
learning about  ‘Priestly activity inside an Ancient Egyptian Temple: temple hierarchy, rituals and dream interpretations’

Photo: Steve F-E-Cameron

Next, we covered ‘Priestly activity beyond the walls of an Ancient Egyptian temple: magic, oracles, funerals and festivals’ – about auspicious days and bad days, good foods and bad foods for ritual and magic.  And that to perform the rituals, it was necessary for the priests to be: ‘pure, clean, dressed in fresh clothes, shod in white sandals, painted with eye paint and anointed with the finest oil of myrrh’

And that:  ‘the image should be drawn on a clean surface in red paint, mixed with soil, on which pigs and goats have not trodden’.

We were told of the vast quantities of bread, cake and beer which were provided for the various festivals by the temples, from the extraordinary wealth of the many royal estates.

And after a glutinous Heb-festival lunch ourselves, where we too consumed much ‘bread, cakes and beer’; we returned to our temple of learning for:  ‘What role did women play in Ancient Egyptian temple?  And how powerful could a High Priest really get?’ – about the importance of the role of the Adoratrice – ‘God’s Wife of Amun’ – and so, so much more.

And after all the fascinating learning, we again returned to the ‘Per-Aa’ – the Great House – and our own ‘Temple of Gluttony’ to ritually consume many more delicious magic breads and cakes!

Another great day – thanks again Lucia!