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The picture on the
right shows the two seated figures of Ramesses II
at the entrance, along with the remaining obelisk
of a pair. The other obelisk is now in Paris.
Note the guard sitting at the bottom of obelisk.
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The
Temple
of Luxor that you visit today was built mainly by
Amenhotep III and Ramesses II, although Akhenaten
and Tutankhamun contributed to the complex. After
the death of Tutankhamun, Horemheb destroyed
almost all the inscriptions that carried his
name. It is believed that Horemheb did this to
please the priests of Amun who associated
Tutankhamun with Akhenaten, the heretic king.
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The temple is
dedicated to the mysterious primeval form of Amun. Once a
year the Barques of Amun, Mut and Khonsu left Karnak and
were carried in sacred procession to this site for the
Opet Feast.
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A - The entrance pylon,
statues, and Obelisks were dedicated by Ramesses
II. Scenes of the Battle of Kadesh are carved on
the front.
B - Columned court with shrine for the barques of
the gods. "B" marks the spot where the
Abu'l Haggag Mosque is built into the wall.
C - A Processional colonnade begun by Amenhotep
III and completed by Tutankhamun with reliefs of
the Opet festival. |
D
- The Temple proper.
E - Barque Shrine
F - Offering Hall with side "Birth"
room showing the divine conception and birth of
Amenhotep III
G - The "Opet" or private sanctuary
containing the holy of holies in a smaller
central shrine room. The larger room has
cosmological features with twelve column (one for
each hour of the day) and at each opposite end
the day and the night barques of the sun. |
The Statue of Amun
of Luxor also traveled in procession every ten days
across the Nile to the temple of Amun at Medinet Habu. We
will tour Medinet Habu in February, 2000.
The
temple site was occupied by previous temples and was (and
is) considered a holy site. The Romans used it for their
worship and a mosque dedicated to a local saint was built
into its walls in the 18th century.
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Both the Temple of
Luxor and Karnak were built by a succession of
Pharaohs. This temple illustrates the principle
with only a few participants. There was a temple
during Hatshepsut's time, as evidenced by a small
building to house the barques of the gods,
incorporated in the Ramesses II entrance hall.
The temple
and the Opet were built by Amenhotep III on the
site of the older temple dedicated to the local
triad, Amun, Khonsu and Mut. He began the
processional colonnade.
Tutankhamun
finished the processional colonnade as part of
his renewal of the temple of Amun after their
neglect and defacement during Akenaten's reign.
Then,
Horemheb built an avenue of Sphinxes to join the
Temple of Karnak and the Luxor Temple for the
procession during the Opet Festival. It was,
however, not in direct alignment with the Luxor
Temple.
Therefore
when Ramesses II added the entrance hall, pylons
and obelisks, they were skewed at an angle to
line up with the avenue of Sphinxes (as shown in
this wire frame drawing).
Thanks to Artifice, Inc. for
the free download of DesignWorkshop Lite and the
3D model of the Temple. See the Weblinks for a
link to the Great Buildings site.
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These two pictures are
extracted from the video contained on the CD
"Joan's and Ken's Egyptian Holiday". The first shows the
temple lit at twilight, as seen from the Corniche
along the Nile.
This
second picture shows a side view of the first
pylon, illustrating its construction technique.
Also shown is the Abu'l Haggag Mosque, lit for
Ramadan.
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Details
of the internal Temple ruin are shown below.
Details
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The Abu'l
Haggag Mosque, built in the 18th century, using
the buried walls of the Temple of Luxor as its
foundation. |
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Ramesses
II sits at the entrance of the Processional
Colonnade. One of a pair. |
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Queen
Nefertari beside the leg of Ramesses II, pictured
above. |
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The
Processional Colonnade begun by Amenhotep III and
finished by Tutankhamun after its abandonment
during the reign of Akhenaten. Left statue of
Ramesses II, mate of pair shown above.bottom |
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Tutankhamun
making the offerings for the Opet Feast. |
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