WEST WALL

This is the rear wall of the main sanctuary and of the whole building, the focus of all that has gone before. The scenes, as with those of the other walls of this room, are on two registers, above the base register. There are four scene on the lower one and six on the upper, space equally either side of the centre of the wall. Ptolemy Euergetes approaches the deities, in all the scenes, from the direction furthest from the centre (i.e. from the south or the north).

Lower register:

First scene:
Ptolemy offers the content of two nu-vases to four deities, two gods and two goddesses. Although much damage has occurred, removing the heads of three of the deities, enough of the texts above them has survived to enable their identities to be know and some of their words to the king.
The first god is, according to the text: "Nu-Amun , father of Ra, the god who was at the beginning, the venerable god, sublime, whose name is mysterious…". Behind him is: "[Nuet]-Amunet, mother of Temu, the august and magnificent goddess, …",
The second god is: "Kuky , great god, who is (or was) in total darkness, who opens…, who dissipates darkness". Finally, the last goddess is called" "Kukyt, venerable and magnificent goddess, in the form of the mysterious snake, who is in…, walking after him, the light which accompanies him".
These two couples belong to the Ogdoad of Hermopolis (Hermopolis being also called "City of the Eight").
Two other couples from the Ogdoad will be found in the scene which matches this one, at the other extremity of this same register. Reference (and a full description about the Ogdoad) has already been made to the "Eight" in the second scene of the lower register of the south wall; where Thoth is named as "father of the fathers of the Eight".

Under the arms of the king is what remains of his words to the deities: "I offer you wine, the eye of Horus…".

The first god tells the king: "I grant you domination on all lands".
The goddess who follows him says: "I grant that you are revered over all the double lands, that you are like Ra, first of the gods".
Above the second god, his words say: "I give you the provisions…".
Unfortunately, the words of the goddess at the end are lost.

Second scene:
Euergetes, his crown almost entirely erased with the exception of part of an ostrich feather, has his hands raised to offer to the seated god an object which is now unidentifiable. His texts, which would have provided the information, is also almost totally lost.

The god is, according to his texts: "Amon-Ra, king of the gods, venerable form, chief of the gods, master of the goddesses, Lord of the sky, of the land, the Duat, the waters, the mountains, the cities…; who created everything which exists".
Amon-Ra wears his usual headdress. He tells the king : : "I give to you the South and North, united (lit. 'in their totality') (also) all things [which are in them?]". Note with interest the old hieroglyphic forms for the two parts of Egypt, symbolised by their respective heraldic plants: the lotus (and not the lily, as is still so often implied) for the South and the papyrus for the North.

Standing behind Amon-Ra is Mut, the pschent resting on her head. Her inscription names her as: "Mut the great, [the mother (?)] of Ra, lady of the sky, sovereign goddess of the fortress".

On the right, behind Mut, is the long vertical framing column: "Existing at the beginning, he created a child with his two hands [which left from] Nu, shone [in the sky], and the land was pulled from the darkness. He is the father of the fathers of the Eight". It should be noted that here it is Amon-Ra, and not Thoth, who is credited as the originator of the Eight (the Ogdoad).

Third scene:
Having passed the centre of the wall, the king now approaches from the right (the north), the gods/goddesses are shown on the left.

Euergetes, his two hands raised in adoration, wears a diadem formed from two ostrich feathers flanking the solar disk. His head and lower part of the headdress is missing, so it is impossible to know if the horns of ram were also present.

In front of him are two gods. The first, as in the previous scene, is Amon-Ra, again he is seated on a throne which rests on a plynth, and also wearing the mortar surmounted with the large feathers and holding the was-sceptre and ankh in his hands. He is identified as: "Amon-Ra, with the majestic throne…, who created the land, the Duat, the waters and the mountains…, who made it that the Eight reproduced". Nothing much remains of his words to the king. However, it should be noted that from what remains of the text above the king, Euergetes addresses him as : "The image… of Shu, son of Ra".

Behind stands a mummified god, Khonsu, wearing the lunar disk on his head and a menat-necklace, the counterweight of which hangs down his back. In his hands, which come out of the shroud, he holds several sceptres, at the centre of which is a was-sceptre, and includes an ankh, the hook and the flail. His text names him as: "Khonsu of Thebes, who comes towards Dja-Mut".

Fourth scene:
In symmetry with the opposite end of the register, the king approaches the remaining four members of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. His head and crown are destroyed, along with his cartouches and texts. In his outstretched hands, he this time holds a censor.

The heads and headdresses of both gods are lost, those of the goddesses remain. As before, the gods hold a was-sceptre and an ankh, whilst the goddesses hold the lotus-topped sceptre and an ankh.
Of the identifying texts, for the deities, only that of the last goddess remains. She is: "Nit hemsit (the one who is seated, or immobile) , the uraeus which measures this land, who treads at the feet… who gave birth to Ra at the beginning of the great water (i.e. 'at the creation of the world') ". "Nit" or "Neith" is a later variant of "Nunet", and is referred to as a creation goddess but also associated with hunting and warfare. Although this is only a loose connection, it can be thus assumed that the four deities are (right to left) : the god Huh and his female counterpart Huhet; then the god Nun and his female aspect Nit (Neith or Nunet).
The only remains of the texts spoken to the king are from the first god and goddess. Huh says: "[I give to you] the products which come from the streams of the flooding". Huet says: "I grant them to you… (and) that your dominion is in the [whole] land".

Upper register:

This register, like the one below, has a symmetry of scenes; the three on the left (south) being reflected (although with differences) on the right. These scenes are smaller in height than those of the lower register.

First scene:
The king, approaching from the south, wears the atef-type crown, placed on the horns of a ram. With both of his hands, he holds up a large necklace with several rows and presents it to a seated god, hawk-headed and wearing a lunar disk.
The column of text behind the king reads: "He is the king of the South and the North. Ptolemy, walking in the capacity of chief of the Six, Lord of the Red Land (the desert) ; he is like Horus, [chief] of the gods, who is as the very great son of the gods in…". His words to the god are: "I give you the divine amulet as magic protection for your members, the barbarians being united under your sandals".

The god is: "Khonsu of Thebes, Nefer-hotep ('beautiful and pleasing') , Horus master of joy, Thoth in On of the South (Hermonthis) and the support of the moon, which shines in the sky above". This thus indicates the god as being a representation of all three gods

Second scene:
This time Euergetes (head and headdress hammered out), present two mirrors to a seated goddess. His words to her (under his arms) state: "These two mirrors… [created] for [your] two images, according to their forms". His words continue in the long column behind him: "I took the mirrors… to see the beauty of your face. The gods [and the goddesses] are delighted to contemplate [your] face".

The goddess, whose head is surmounted by the solar disk between the horns of a cow, is: "Isis, the great, the divine mother, sovereign of Dja-Mut, the powerful. Regent of the two regions, regent of the whole circle (which describes) the solar disk".
She tells the king: "I grant to you that men and women gaze upon you"; again, her words continue behind her: "I take your two mirrors, I look at the double image which is great in the residence; [so that all people see the things which I give you; the sky sees your grandeur…".

Third scene:
This forms, with the next scene, the central part of the upper register.

Euergetes approaches from the left (south), wearing the white crown of the south, his arms are inclined toward the ground (hands erased).
Behind him stands his first wife, Cleopatra II . She wears the Hathoric headdress, her two arms are raised (head and hands erased).

Above Euergetes, a horizontal line reads: "Purification for the Lords [of the temple]". The text under his arms is lost, but under those of the queen it states: "Making the good offering by the king. Your domination is liked, while you browse the path".
Behind Cleopatra II, the vertical framing column states: "The good god lives, heir of Thoth, who contemplates his father, sublime in his rising; purifying the temple with the water (of Nun), by the ceremonies of incense and all perfumes, made from corn. The son is in peace, retiring from…".

The ibis-headed god, seated and wearing the triple atef-type crown, is: "Thoth-setem, the great god, resident in Dja-Mut, who… the nine in Dja-Mut".
Behind Thoth is his usual companion, with the sistrum on her head; her right hand is raised and left hangs down, holding an ankh. This is: "Nohemauait, resident in Dja-Mut, lady of intoxication, of the numerous Duplicates". She says: "I grant to you that the Sati-us are bent [in front of you that the Moniti-u…".

Fourth scene:
This is an almost mirror image of the previous one. But there the king wore the white crown, because he was striding supposedly from the South, whilst here he has the red crown, because he comes from the North. In the previous scene he held his hands lowered toward the ground; here he raises them, towards the god, in a gesture of worship and prayer.
After his cartouches, it says: "Scholarly workman, whom no one ignores (meaning: 'whom everyone obeys') ". His words to the gods in front of him, which would have been placed under his arms, are almost completely destroyed.

Behind him stands his second wife, Cleopatra III, wearing the Hathoric headdress, in the same attitude, her two arms are raised toward the gods.
On the right, words of the vertical framing column are: "The good god lives (i.e. the king) , brilliant of speech, [who celebrates the festival… who exalts the splendours of the ibis of the temple, … of the master of Khmun, favourite priest of the one who judges between the two adversaries".

The seated ibis-headed god, wearing the same crown as in the previous scene, is identified as: "Thoth-setem, great god who resides in Dja-Mut, who puts in peace the heart of the father of fathers". His words to the king are difficult to decipher.

Behind Thoth stands a goddess, the feather of the truth on her head. She is: "Ma'at, daughter of… who makes healthy the shade (i.e. the protection) of Ra".
The framing column on the left, is again very broken up

Fifth scene:
Euergetes, wearing a short wig, surmounted by an atef-type crown, holds in his raised right hand a statue of the goddess of Truth, placed on a pedestal in the form of a basket. Very little of his texts has survived, but under his raised left hand, the vertical column begins: "An offering of Ma'at…"; the rest is destroyed.

The seated goddess who wears a large sistrum on her head and who holds a lotus-topped sceptre and an ankh, is: "Nohemauait, mistress of the locality… ", the rest is a little illegible. She tells the king: "I grant that you see the eye of Ra" (or: "that the eye of Ra sees you"), the rest is again very obscure.
The vertical framing column behind her states: "She is the majestic [goddess], powerful, regent of the goddesses, in her sublime residence"; again the end is uncertain.

Sixth scene:
This time the king has a khepresh helmet flanked by ram horns and surmounted by a solar disk between two feathers. He presents to the god a pectoral, which he holds in his hands by the the two ends of the fastenings. Once again his texts are very damaged.

The seated ibis-headed Thoth, with a lunar disk on his head is: "Thoth Teos, the ibis, the great god, resident in Dja-Mut". He tells the king: "I grant that the mountains open their sides to you, with the silver and gold (which they contain) ".

Behind Thoth, the framing column gives the kings words to Thoth: "I give you the amulet (the pectoral) of Ra, so that it makes for you your magic protection, the protective magic of Horus, to give strength to your body. Saying: Here it is that the gods and the goddesses are with…"; the rest is destroyed.

THE LONG DEDICATORY INSCRIPTION AND THE UPPER FRIEZE

Above the upper register of the major scenes, completing the upper surface of all of the walls, up to the height of the ceiling, is first a long hieroglyphic text then finally a decorative frieze. These circulate all around the room. On the east wall, both this inscription and the frieze are produced on the forward projecting section of the wall, which is a continuation of the frame of the entry doorway (see ).

The Long Inscription:

This is actually a double dedicatory inscription, in large hieroglyphs. It is divided into two parts, the signs being directed in opposite directions. Each of them begins in the middle of the west wall, which forms the rear and focal point of the sanctuary. They join together on the east wall, above the entry.
The text band which is situated between the base register and the lower of the two main registers, possibly contained a similar text; but it is now impossible to determine if this was true, because it now almost totally lost.

Northern side inscription:
"The living Horus-Ra, the young man happy with his life on his father's throne, gifted with eminent graces, which multiply his risings with the living Apis, master of the diadems, who rejoices (literally "pacifies") the heart of the two lands, Horus of gold, great of valour, master of festivals, like his father Ptah-Tanen (aka. Ptah-Tatenen or Ptah-Taten), father of the gods; sovereign as Ra, king of the South and the North, Ptolemy, with his sister and wife, lady of the double lands, Cleopatra (II) and the royal wife, lady of the double lands, Cleopatra (III) ; the god Euergetes, who is like Thoth-setem."
"They made the temple and presented it to their father, Thoth-setem, master of the sanctuary, who resides in Dja-Mut, the great god, who is in his sacred barque and whose horizon is as the horizon of (Ra?)
[north window] omnipotent God (?), who resides, and who raises himself like Ra rises to the sky; the great watcher, he shines in the temple, his sanctuary, on the throne of Sibu; in the evening, he descends there, in Onkhtit (the necropolis) ; he spends the night there, until his hour arrives; he leaves as the morning, crossing the region of Manu, giving in offering… [he celebrates] the festivals on his throne, wearing the double crown of the living, as Ra, forever".

Southern side inscription:
The beginning of this southern version of the inscription is identical to the other one, up to "in his sacred barque". Then it continues differently:
"They make for him a sanctuary […] [south window] [an horizon (?)] of the sky. The soul crosses the sky, arises with the sun, while it is…; it crosses the sky at the zenith, it travels through Nut, [resting with the god Setmu. It brings life from the sky to fall on him (the god) ; it enters in his home in the form of the ibis of the temple, his mother being in front of him (lit. "at his face") and protecting him by her magic. [The king receives] from them millions of years as master of the diadems (nebti), 33,000 as Horus of gold, 330 as king of the South and the North, as Lord of the double land, on the throne of Horus, at the head of the living, as Ra, forever".

The Frieze:

Like the long text, the frieze also extends in two directions around the room, starting at the mid point of the west wall. It consists a complex repeating design, of a major element separated at each repeat by three khekeru. At the centre is a squatting figure of the ibis-headed Thoth with a sun-disk on his head and holding an ankh on his knees. He always faces away from the starting point at the middle of the west wall. In front of him is a royal cartouche. Both in front of this and behind Thoth is a falcon with wings spread towards these central images.
Separating the frieze from the long inscription is a colourful decorative band , now very much faded and discoloured.

THE CEILING

This, on either side of the central section, was painted in blue, and covered in white stars with red centres.

In the central area, on the alignment with the entry doorway and extending across the width of three of the large slabs which form the roofing, is a set of nine horizontal inscriptions, beneath which, as in the previous room, are vultures with extended wings and holding a feather standard in each claw. The top of each is towards the west wall. Each horizontal line of inscription begins, again alternatively, with the names of the serpent goddesses, Nekhebet of Upper Egypt (at the top, west) and Wadjet of Lower Egypt; each line ends in a cartouche of the king, and as before these alternate between the two which he used, the one containing the name Ptolemy coming second.
The whole central section is first of all framed down the two outer edges by further long inscriptions. These start at the rear of the room (west wall), and extending to the entry doorway. They reproduce (with minor changes) the royal protocol as found at the beginning of the double dedicatory inscription, up to "the god Euergetes, who is like Thoth-setem". Then this whole section is framed, on its four sides, by the same multicoloured band as used to separate the frieze from the long dedicatory texts.