TEMPLE OF LUXOR The Temple of Luxor, also known as Southern Harem, born on pre-existing remnants of a shrine or temple of the Middle Kingdom. It takes on religious significance during the Eighteenth Dynasty when Amenhotep III built the temple itself and more specifically the Colonnade, the Second Courtyard and the Hypostyle Hall. Ramses II, during the XIX Dynasty, completed it with the First Pylon and the First Courtyard. Restorations were made by Alexander the Great and by the roman Emperor Tiberius. The Causeway, about 2 miles long, which connected the Temple of Luxor at the Temple of Amun at Karnak seems to have been drawn by Hatshepsut during the Eighteenth Dynasty. The temple was dedicated to Amon and once a year, during the period of the floods , was held the Festival of Opet during which the statues of Amun, Mut and Khonsu, carried on the sacred boats, leave the Temple of Amun at Karnak for go to the Southern Harem to celebrate the rites of fertility. During the Roman Period the temple was occupied by a military camp and had thus completed its religious function. Access to the temple is reached by a causeway lined by human-headed sphinxes built by Nectanebo I to replace those built by Amenhotep III who were with rams head, symbol of Amon. In the northwest corner of the courtyard facing the first pylon there is a small roman shrine built in mud brick by the roman Emperor Hadrian. Inside a statue of Isis unfortunately headless. The First Pylon, built by Ramses II and with a height of 78 feet, overlooking the outdoor courtyard. Originally six statues of Ramses II were facing the pylon; now remain two colossi seated on either side of the entry and a statue standing in front of the northwest tower of the pylon. The pedestals/thrones on which rest the two colossi show two Hapy that to symbolize the unification of the country tie together two lotus flowers and papyrus symbols of the High and Lower Egypt. Two granite obelisks adorned the sides of the entrance; the north-east obelisks, 82 feet high, is still in place while the north-west obelisks was given, in the 1800, by Pasha Mehmet Ali to France and now is located on the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The four fissures that run through the towers of the pylon housed in large cedar poles that supported the flags of the temple. After passing the first pylon leads to the large peristyle courtyard colonnade built by Ramses II of whom we see many statues among the 72 closed papyrus capitals columns. Many of these statues belonged to Amenhotep III and was usurped by Ramses II. In the northwest corner of the courtyard there is the Shrine of Amun, Mut and Khonsu built in sandstone by Ramses II. It was built on the ruins of the former built by Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III. This shrine was the site of the sacred boats belonging to the Theban Triad. In the north-east corner of the courtyard we see the Mosque of Abul Hagag built, in the thirteenth century, on the ruins of the temple and still active today. On the south side of the courtyard two colossi of Ramses II seated alongside the entrance to the colonnade of Amenhotep III. At the feet of Ramses, in small, we find the queen Nefertari. The pedestals/thrones on which Ramses II is sitting show Hapy that unifies the country. The Colonnade of Amenhotep III is about 330 feet long and consists of 14 columns with open papyrus capitals 62 feet high. Its construction began during the Eighteenth Dynasty by Amenhotep III. The decorations, incomplete at his death, were continued by Tutankhamon and Ay, usurped by Horemheb and brought to term by Seti I during the XIX Dynasty. The decorations show the procession of the Sacred Boat of Amun during the Festival of Opet, on one side of the colonnade from the Luxor Temple to the Temple of Amon at Karnak and on the other side from Karnak to Luxor. To the south of the colonnade we see two statues of Amun and Mut. The colonnade introduces the Courtyard of Amenhotep III, peristyle colonnade, where was the main ceremony of the Festival of Opet. To the south of the courtyard we see the Hypostyle Hall, formed by 32 columns, which gives access to the shrine. The decorations range over a long period, from Amenhotep III to Alexander the Great. From the Hypostyle Hall we enter in the Vestibule that allows us to enter the Room of Bids, the Shrine, and finally the Holy of Holies. On the south side of the courtyard a room was used by Roman legionnaires, in the third century A.D., as cultural chapel. We can still see the apse, which once stood an altar, and the two columns facing. For further informations visit my website: my-egypt.it/upper-egypt/luxor/east-bank-temples-2/
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 12:15:20 +0000