The history of the formation of the ancient Egyptian festival of Opet is strongly connected with the name of Queen Hatshepsut (1490-1468 BC), who left images of festive scenes on the southern wall of the Red Chapel (hereinafter in parentheses - KK) in Karnak [PM 2 II, p. 66-68; Lacau and Chewier, 1977-1979] and the upper terrace of her palace. the memorial church in Deir el-Bahri [PM 2 II, p. 357 (79-81); Naville, 1906, pl. CXXIII-CXXVI]. Meanwhile, the origins and reasons for the appearance of one of the main holidays of the New Kingdom are still unclear. The annual Opet, celebrated in the 2nd month of the Flood season (), according to L. Bell, was aimed at reviving and renewing the powers of Amun-Ra, nature, and the Pharaoh (Bell, 1997, p.157-177). As the relief images of the Red Chapel and Deir el-Bahri show, the Opet program consisted of two main parts: traveling the procession with the barge of Amun-Ra from Karnak to Luxor and back, and performing rituals in the temple of Karnak after the return of the festive procession. Of particular interest in these compositions are the hebridean motifs, which are not found in other known images of Opet 1. Thus, in the scenes of the return of the procession from Luxor to Karnak, there appear images of two" Hebridean "statues of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III 2, mounted on a large boat and symbolically pulling the rope of the boat of Amun-Ra "Userhat" [Naville, 1906, pl. CXXIII-CXXVI; KK, blocks 164, 171 ]3. Both figures sit on a throne with the symbol of the unification of Egypt placed at its base, their legs are bandaged with cloth, and the upper part of the torso has clothing resembling a cheb-gray dress, from under which the hands holding a scepter and a whip lookout. Cheb-sed (anniversary) - the ritual of renewing the powers and might of the Pharaoh, which was celebrated, as a rule, in the thirtieth year of his reign and then every next three years of his reign [see: Mathieu, 1956, pp. 7-28; Uphill, 1965, pp. 365-383]. 1 L ... Read more