Egyptian Monuments: Luxor, Temple of Thebes at Luxor

Luxor Temple

Most of the Luxor Temple dates to the New Kingdom period of Egyptian history. Ramses II built the pylon (the large wall in the background), two obelisks (only one remains today), and six statues of himself. The sphinxes along the “Avenue of Sphinxes” were built by Nectanebo I, and replaced the ram-headed sphinxes built by Amenhotep III. The avenue stretched from the Luxor Temple to the Karnak Temple for a distance of 2 miles.

Luxor Temple is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the River Nile in the city today known as Luxor (ancient Thebes) and was founded in 1400 BC.

Known in the Egyptian language as ipet resyt, or "the southern harem", the temple was dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut, and Chons and was built during the New Kingdom, the focus of the annual Opet Festival, in which a cult statue of Amun was paraded down the Nile from nearby Karnak Temple (ipet-isut) to stay there for a while, with his consort Mut, in a celebration of fertility – whence its name.

History of the Temple

Construction work on the temple began during the reign of Amenhotep III in the 14th century BC. Horemheb and Tutankhamun added columns, statues, and friezes, and Akhenaten had earlier obliterated his father's cartouches and installed a shrine to the Aten.

However, the only major expansion effort took place under Ramses II some 100 years after the first stones were put in place. Luxor is thus unique among the main Egyptian temple complexes in having only two pharaohs leave their mark on its architectural structure.

Each year, to ensure the flooding of the Nile that was necessary to national prosperity, the statues of Amun, Mut (goddess of war), and Khons (the moon god) were sailed down the river to Karnak for a great festival.

The temple fell into disrepair during the Late Period. Alexander the Great claimed to have undertaken major reconstruction work "to restore it to the glory of Amenhotep's times" in the 320s BC. During Rome's domination of Egypt it was converted into a centre for the Roman emperor cult.

By the time of the Arab conquest, the temple was largely buried underneath accumulated river silt, to the extent that the Mosque of Abu Haggag was built on top of it in the 13th century (much reworked since, but one of the minarets dates back to the original construction).

Access to the temple is from the north, where a causeway lined by sphinxes once led all the way to Ipet Sut in modern Al-Karnak. This road was a later addition, dating from the time of Nectanebo I in the 30th Dynasty.

The temple properly begins with the 24 meter (79 ft) high First Pylon, built by Ramesses II. The pylon was decorated with scenes of Ramesses's military triumphs (particularly the Battle of Kadesh); later pharaohs, particularly those of the Nubian 25th dynasty, also recorded their victories there. This main entrance to the temple complex was originally flanked by six colossal statues of Ramesses – four standing, and two seated – but only two (both seated) have survived. Modern visitors can also see a 25 metre (82 ft) tall pink granite obelisk: it is one of a matching pair. The other was taken to Paris in 1835 where it now stands in the centre of the Place de la Concorde.

The pylon gateway leads into a peristyle courtyard, also built by Ramesses II. This area, and the pylon, were built at an oblique angle to the rest of the temple, presumably to accommodate the three pre-existing barque shrines located in the northwest corner. It is atop the columns of this courtyard that the Abu Haggag mosque was built: on the eastern side, a doorway leads surrealistically out into thin air some 8 metres (26 ft) above the ground.

After the peristyle courtyard comes the processional colonnade built by Amenhotep III – a 100 metre (328 ft) corridor lined by 14 papyrus-capital columns. Friezes on the wall describe the stages in the Opet Festival, from sacrifices at Karnak at the top left, through Ammon's arrival at Luxor at the end of that wall, and concluding with his return on the opposite side. The decorations were put in place by Tutankhamun: the boy pharaoh is depicted, but his names have been replaced with those of Horemheb.

Beyond the colonnade is a peristyle courtyard, which also dates back to Amenhotep's original construction. The best preserved columns are on the eastern side, where some traces of original colour can be seen. The southern side of this courtyard is made up of a 32-column hypostyle court that leads into the inner sanctums of the temple.

These begin with a dark antechamber. Of particular interest here are the Roman stuccoes that can still be seen atop the Egyptian carvings below; in Roman times this area served as a chapel, where local Christians were offered a final opportunity to renounce their faith and embrace the state religion. Moving further in stands a Barque Shrine for use by Amun, built by Alexander, with the final area being the private quarters of the gods and the Birth Shrine of Amenhotep III (his divine origin is depicted in careful, touching detail on the walls).

A cache of 26 New Kingdom statues was found under the floor in the inner sanctum area in 1989 – hidden away by pious priests, presumably, at some moment of internal upheaval or invasion. These splendid pieces are now on display at the nearby Luxor Museum.

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Luxor Temple

History of the Temple

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