Institute of Egyptian Art & Archaeology

Luxor

The Nile valley (Upper Egypt) is a narrow thread of cultivated land which varies from less than one to several miles in width. The desert and its mountains are seldom out of view. This particular view looks across a portion of the river onto the land with its green sugar cane fields. The long fronds of the date palm trees are visible in the mid- to far-distance. A lone farmer wearing a white galabiya, strides along the river with his heavily-laden donkey.

This avenue of Sphinxes leads to Luxor Temple, about 1.2 miles/2 kilometers south of Karnak Temple. These sphinxes combine the body of a lion with the head of Nectanebo I (380-363 B.C.E.). They were rebuilt in the fourth century B.C.E. to replace the ruined New Kingdom sphinxes.

Like Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple is an accretion of structures erected by succeeding kings. The principal entrance today is the Pylon of Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.), which is flanked by two seated statues of the king (one is behind the obelisk) and one standing statue (of an original four). The remaining obelisk of pink granite is situated in front of the easternmost seated statue. The western obelisk has stood in the Place de la Concorde in Paris since 1836. The vertical niches held flag staffs.

The pylon entranceway is suggestive of the Egyptian hieroglyph which means "horizon." In the hieroglyph, the circle of the sun is flanked by two stylized mountain shapes. Most Egyptian temples had an east-west axis so that the sun would symbolically rise and set between these pylon/mountains. Luxor Temple, however, along with Dendera has a north-south axis.

Two colossal seated statues flank the entrance pylon of Luxor Temple. The easternmost (pictured here) is 46 feet/14meters in height. Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.) wears the royal nemes headdress topped by the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The uraeus (rearing cobra--head now lost) surmounts his brow.

Beyond the entrance pylon of Luxor Temple is the Court of Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.). The colonnade of closed papyrus-bud columns, which originally lined the court on all four sides, today is interrupted in the northeast corner by the presence of the Mosque of Abu el-Haggag. Standing statues of Ramesses II punctuate most of the spaces between the columns. The crowns of several of these figures sit on the ground beside them because they were carved separately and have fallen off.

Many of the main roads which lead to the temples of Thebes (modern Luxor) used to be continuously lined with sphinxes. Those which flank the entrance of the First Pylon of Karnak Temple combine the body of a lion with the head of a ram. The ram was a symbol of the god Amun for whom the temple was built. Each sphinx protects, between its forelegs, a standing statue of the king--originally Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.).

Standing in the shadow of the First Pylon of the Temple of Amun at Karnak (in Luxor, Egypt), one is struck by the length of its east-west axis and the colossal size of its columns. Like all other temples in Egypt, this one symbolizes the mound of the original creation. The ground rises ever so gradually from the entrance toward the sanctuary. The columns are stone replicas of the vegetation which was growing in the the marshy land around the mound of creation.

In the center of this first court are the ruins of the kiosk of Taharqa (690-664 B.C.E.), one column (middle ground, right) of which is complete. Beyond the kiosk before the Second Pylon are two standing statues of Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.). After the Second Pylon, the columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall can be seen.

The Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak Temple was begun during the reign of King Sety I (c.1290-1279 B.C.E.) and was completed by his son, Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.). The north-south axis of the hall provides views which reveal not only the immensity but also the practicality of the architecture. The central row of 12 columns on the east-west axis are 69 feet/21 meters in height, about 33 feet/10 meters in circumference, and have open papyrus capitals. The 122 columns in the side aisles are 43 feet/13 meters in height, 27.5 feet/8.4 meters in circumference, and have closed papyrus-bud capitals (as seen here). Remember that the whole of this hall was roofed with stone slabs, and the interior was quite dark. The difference in height between the central and the side aisle columns was used to provide natural light through clerestory windows which have vertical stone slats (top center).

The Institute of Egyptian Art & Archaeology conducts an epigraphic survey in the Great Hypostyle Hall. [Epigraphy is the recording of inscriptions.] This survey, which was initiated by the late Dr. William J. Murnane, is partially funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (a federal agency of the United States). Dr. Peter Brand of The University of Memphis is the current director of the project. Each spring an Institute team, comprised of Dr. Brand, other faculty, and graduate students, returns to continue the survey.

Beyond the Third Pylon and in the Central Court of Karnak Temple is the Obelisk of Thutmose I (c.1493-1479 B.C.E.). This is the last of four obelisks which originally stood in front of the Fourth Pylon, which, in the time of Thutmose I, was the entrance into Karnak Temple. The obelisk is 71 feet/21.7 meters in height, sits on a base 6 feet/1.8 meters square, and weighs about 143 tons. Each side of the obelisk has three vertical lines of inscription, the central one being a dedication by Thutmose I.

Just to the east of the Sixth Pylon of Karnak Temple is the vestibule to the sanctuary (right), where the priests kept the portable shrine used by the god's statue in processions. In the vestibule, built by Thutmose III (c.1479-1425 B.C.E.), are these two granite columns, elegant reminders of the importance of the concept of a unified Upper (Nile valley) and Lower (Nile delta) Egypt. These columns are decorated in raised relief with the papyrus on the left (north/the delta) and the lotus on the right (south/the valley).