Sed Festival – Ancient Egyptian Ritual Tested Pharaohs

Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - Sooner or later every great leader must prove his competency to remain in power. In ancient Egypt, there was a test for pharaohs. Being in good physical condition was a requirement for pharaohs. The Seb festival, also referred to as Heb-Sed or the royal jubilee was celebrated after a pharaoh had ruled for 30 years.

The purpose of the festival was to renew the pharaoh’s potency to rule over the land. During the festival, the pharaoh had to run a fixed course to prove that his fitness was well intact. The Sed festival was one of the oldest and longest-running rituals in Egyptian history.

Left: Mace Head Of King Narmer. Credit: Public Domain - Right: The Sed Festival. Credit: I Like Egypt

It is unknown when the Sed festival took place for the first time, but the first sign of the ancient ritual seems to be documented on the Narmer macehead, an Egyptian artifact dated to the Early Dynastic Period reign of king Narmer. Though it should be stated that some Egyptologists question whether the decoration on this mace head really represents the Heb-Sed ritual.

There is, however, clear evidence that the First Dynasty pharaoh Den and the Third Dynasty pharaoh Djoser participated in the Sed festival.

In the Pyramid of Djoser, built by Imhotep there are two boundary stones in his Heb Sed court, which is within his pyramid complex. He also is shown performing the Heb Sed in a false doorway inside his pyramid.

All pharaohs regardless of gender had to be tested. At Karnak, one of the greatest temple complexes in the world, there are blocks from the reconstructed Red Chapel that show queen Hatshepsut as king, running with the Apis bull between the markers. Depictions found inside the Temple of Aten at Karnak show that pharaoh Akhenaten and his wife, Queen Nefertiti, as well as their daughter, celebrated the Sed festival.

Detail from an ebony label of the First Dynasty pharaoh Den, depicting him running around the ritual boundary markers as part of the Sed festival. Credit: Wikipedia

During this ceremony, the pharaoh made various offerings to the Egyptian gods and was re-crowned. The exact date of the festival is uncertain, but it’s very possible the celebration took place sometime during the Koaik, the fourth month of the Egyptian calendar.

Egyptologists have suggested that the Heb-Sed festival may have been introduced to replace a ritual of murdering a pharaoh who was unable to continue to rule effectively because of age or condition.

Although the Seb festival was held after a pharaoh had been on the throne for 30 years, there is evidence that some rulers, including those with relatively short reigns, celebrated their royal jubilee earlier. Egyptologists think that a ruler with bad health could alter the normal span between the Sed festivals.

Written by  Ellen Lloyd – AncientPages.com

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