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Sunday, October 2, 2011

Temples and Characters

OSIRIS’ MISSING PART

Sensual romance but not erotic.

According to the legend, the evil Egyptian god, Seth, killed his brother Osiris, chopped him into fourteen pieces and flung them all over Egypt. Isis, goddess of family, reassembled thirteen of his body parts. Since she couldn’t find his supernatural male member, where his godly power was stored, she reattached a human one.

Isis has always loved Osiris, the charming god of labor, and helps him fight Seth. Together they search for his missing organ so he can recover his godly attributes, but can Isis forgive the sins of his past and their unexpected consequences?

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Temple of Isis in Philae
Philea is an island in the Nile River and the previous site of an Ancient Egyptian temple complex in southern Egypt. The complex was dismantled and relocated to a nearby island by UNESCO. The project started because of the construction of the Aswan Dam, after the temple was partly flooded by the earlier Aswan Low Dam for half a century.

Beyond the entrance into the principal court are small temples, one of which, dedicated to Isis and a wide range of deities related to midwifery. The site is covered with sculptures representing the birth of Isis ' son, the god Horus.
Part of my story is set in the Temple of Philae.






The story of Osiris is represented on the walls of this temple. Two of the inner chambers are particularly rich in symbolic imagery.









Roman Temple of Isis in Pompei
This Temple of Isis is a Roman temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess, Isis. The small and almost completely intact temple was among one of the first discoveries during the excavation of Pompeii in 1764. In the aftermath of the temple's discovery many well known artists and illustraters swarmed to the site. The preserved Pompeian temple is actually the second structure; the original building built under Augustan was damaged in an earlier earthquake of 62 CE.

The famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is known to have visited the Temple of Isis in Pompeii in 1769, at the age of 13, just a few years after the temple was unearthed. His visit and the memories of the site are considered to have inspired him 20 years later in his composition of The Magic Flute

Temple of Osiris in Abydos
The town and district of Abydos is located west of the Nile, on the border between the valley and the desert some 145 km from Luxor. It was here that the ancient kings of Egypt were buried and from predynastic times the area grew to become an important religious centre. This temple is associated with Osiris, one of the great gods of Ancient Egypt, known as the "Lord of Abydos." His mysteries were celebrated there annually during the Festival of Abydos. The ritual re-enactment of Osiris' death and resurrection brought pilgrims from all over Egypt.  Two chapters of my story depict the Festival of Osiris in Abydos.


Temple of Seth in Kom Ombo
Seth, god of storms, is the villain in Osiris' Missing Part. I visited his impressive temple located on a hill right on the Nile River, in the industrial city of Kom Ombo where the air pollution is one the highest in the world.



20 comments:

Dawn Marie Hamilron said...

Enjoyed the pictures, Mona. Thanks for sharing.

Molly Daniels said...

Sooooo looking forward to catching up on your back list!!! Love the pictures:)

Mona Risk said...

Hi Dawn and Molly, glad you enjoyed the special visit to the Egyptian temples.

Jennifer Jakes said...

Beautiful photos! I LOVE everything Egypt. I watch Egyptian Tuesdays on the History/Green channel every week.
Thanks for the post!

Josie said...

Mona,
I love reading your blogs. Lately I'm an armchair traveler, but you bring these exotic places to life.

Jennifer Mathis said...

what awesome pictures :) It look like an awesome trip to take !

meandi09@yahoo.com

Mary Marvella said...

So much better than picture sin history books! Thanks for sharing,Mona!

Maggie Toussaint said...

Mona,
I'm impressed at the scale of these buildings! How on earth did they do that? They were certainly built with longevity in mind.

And I'm also happy that the pic of Isis with extended arms shows her having a bit of mini-pot belly. Who knew I had the shape of a goddess!

Maggie

Mona Risk said...

Hi Jennifer, if you love Egyptian things, treat yourself to armchair travbeling and visit the Nile Valley, many teples and the Red Sea through my paranormal fantasy, Osiris' Missing Part. You will laugh a lot too.

Mona Risk said...

Josie, I am so glad you enjoy your armchair traveling. I promise you many more.

Mona Risk said...

Hi Jennifer, it is really an awesome trip and I try to share it with my friends and readers.

Mona Risk said...

Hi Mary, so glad you enjoy the pictures and stories.

Mona Risk said...

Maggie, you sure have the body of a goddess. Love it!

Maeve Greyson said...

What a wonderful post! I can clearly see how the Egyptian ruins continue to inspire artists, musicians, writers and film makers. Thanks so much for sharing, Mona.

Stephanie Burkhart said...

Mona, the pictures are gorgeous and helped me to visualize the places I read about in Osisris Missing Part. I can totally understand how you took inspiration from them. They're very awe inspiring.

Smiles
Steph

Mona Risk said...

Hi Maeve, the amazement you feel at seeing these pictures is not even a tenth of my amazement when I saw the real temples. AWESOME and INCREDIBLE. To think that all these temples, pyramids, sphynx, statues and obelisks were built with hands and knives. No big machines.

Mona Risk said...

Hi Steph, I am glad you can picture my characters in their real setting.

Bianca Swan said...

My goodness Mona, what an interesting post. I enjoy virtually traveling with you. The photos made me wish I could be there.

Autumn Jordon said...

Mona, I always enjoy your posts. Wonderful pictures. Thank you for sharing your adventures.

Mona Risk said...

Hi Bianca and Autumn, so glad you enjoyed this post.