WESTERN HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE, Pn. Sharifah Hashimah

TEMPLE OF LOXUR, ANCIENT EGYPT

Suhaida Bt. Abdul Kadir871009-08-6028

Nur Aishah Bt. Khairudin880326-14-5858

INTRODUCTION OF EGYPTINTRODUCTION OF EGYPT The earliest arts that appears in the Nile Valley was as early as the 7th

millennium B.C The earliest production are the rock drawings-consisted of geometrical designs. At the time around 4000 B.C, the early settles in the Nile Valley were

beginning to emerge. They worshipped a variety of local Gods. In 3200 B.C, Egypt was finally united under the King. The year 3200 B.C was then considered to be the beginning of Egypt

Civilization. The Egyptians had knowledge of science and could do things which today we

do not know how to imitate. Some of their arts are lost to us, such as how to preserve the bodies of the dead,

nor can we make colors that will remain unfaded for thousands of years of theirs have done.

They also understood geometry, chemistry, medicine, anatomy, and music. They practiced many of the principles of mechanics is shown by their ability to

move the great stones of their Pyramids, and their monuments and temples. They also manufactured glass, some of it of a kind that we cannot now

produce.

EGYPT

THE ARCHITECTURE OF EGPYT HAS BEEN DIVIDED INTO 3 GREAT PERIODS

First comes the Ancient Empire, from about 5000 B.C. to about 3000 B.C. This was the period of the Pyramids such as Pyramids of Cheops, Chefren and Mycerinus.

The next period is called the Middle Empire, and extends from about 3000 B.C. to about 1700 B.C. This is the period of the Rock-cut Tombs.

The third, and last, of the great periods is the one called the New Empire, which extends form about 1700 B.C. to about 350 B.C., and this is the period during which the Great Temples were built, such as Temples at Karnak, Luxor and Edfou. The period of the temples was the greatest and produced lasting monuments of the greatest beauty.

TYPE OF BUILDING

The Egyptian built huts, houses and palaces but their oldest surviving structures have religious connections

Egyptian religions stressed that “Life”, like the Nile River was everlasting and thus so did their religious buildings.

“Life after death” according to them was much like on earth, only more comfortable and therefore, they preserved the body for after life.

BUILDING OF MATERIALS

The early building materials available at the Nile Valley were clay, Reed and Palm tree logs.

The Egyptian know how to make bricks from the river clay which they dried in the sun and placed together with mortar (mixture of sand and water).

From the reed, they lashed the stems of the plants into bundles, made it stand upright on clay bases to act as a pillar. Across the top, a palm log could be laid as a lintel. Thus, the Egyptian managed to use the simplest structure principles ‘Post and Lintel Constructions’.

INTRODUCTION OF THE LUXOR TEMPLE

• 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 B.C.E.

• Known in the Egyptian language as ipet resyt, or "the southern sanctuary", 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.

TEMPLE AT LUXOR, BY AMENOPHIS III, AT LUXOR, THEBES, EGYPT,-1408 TO -1300

• Style : Ancient Egypt• Building Type : Temple• Construction System : Bering masonry, stone with massive

lintels.• Location : On East Bank of the River Nile

Note• The this temple is built on a rise that has never been excavated and which

may conceal the original foundations. The temple measures 189.89 by 55.17 meters and consists of a colonnade.

• One of the temples of Amon, the forecourt, with papyrus-bud capitals and a seated colossus of Ramses, connected by twin colonnades, 53m (174ft)

long, to a lesser court by Amenophis in the distance.• The twin colonnades of bell-capital columns, 12.8m (42ft) high, were the

only part ever built of a grand hypostyle hall, a court with porticoes, four small halls with lateral rooms, the sanctuary and two shrines.

BACKGROUNG OF THE LUXOR TEMPLE

On the east bank of the Nile at Luxor lies the magnificent Luxor Temple which was dedicated to the great god Amun-Re, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu (the moon god) - together representing the Theban triad.

The temple was built on the site of a probable smaller Middle Kingdom structure for the god Amun, while the earliest parts of the temple seen today date from the 14th century BC and the time of Amenhotep III (the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom).

Luxor temple is in the middle of Luxor and was connected to Karnak Temple by avenue of sphinxes in ancient times. Unlike Karnak temple, Luxor Temple is mainly the work of one pharaoh – Amenhotep III – between 1414 B.C and 1397 B.C. and was added to by Tutankhamun, Horemheb, Ramses II and Alexander the Great.

When Amenhotep died, his son Akhenaten took over and rejected all religion other then worship of aten. He moved the capital away from Thebes (Luxor) so development stopped.

When Akhenaten died, the old religions returned, along with the priests so the temple began expand again.

As time went by, the temple became covered with debris and dirt and only the tops of the columns were visible. Houses and villas has been built on top, along with the mosque of Abu ‘I-Haggag (Luxor’s patron saint who lies in the mosque).

When excavations began in the nineteenth century, houses were removed nit by bit but the mosque was kept intact following uproar from the Lixor inhabitants as the annual Abu ‘I-Haggag festival is one of the largest in Egypt.

Within the centre of Luxor is the temple once known as ‘Ipet-resyt’ or ‘the southern Opet’ which served as a focal point for the Opet festival. Opet’s primary function was religious but the festival was also significant in maintaining the king’s divine role.

The original function of the temple of Luxor, apparently dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut and their son Khonsu, appears uncertain.

However, recent hypotheses suggest that the temple of Luxor, a collection of irregularly developed structures begun during the reign of Amenhotep III and then expanded, particularly by Ramesses II, and still further enlarged in later years, should be considered a sanctuary dedicated to the celebration of the royal ka

PLAN OF LUXOR TEMPLE

The Entrance to The Temple of Luxor, with The Courtyard of Nectanbo and The Pylon of Ramses II.

• The pylon,the obelisk and the first courtyard was constucted by Ramses II.

• The obelisk is 25m heigh and the seated colossi of Ramses on a base of about 1m is 15m heigh, both are made by pink granite.

• One of the standing colossi is Queen Nefertari and made by pink granite.

• For come its main axis faces Karnak with the remains of an avenue of sphinxes pointing to the processional way.

• This remaining 200m avenue of human-headed sphinxes was erected by Necatnebo to replace the original ram-headed sphinxes of Amenhotep III when Nectanebo built an enclosure wall around the precinct.

• Two massive seated statues of Rameses II guard the huge gateway (pylon).

Great pylon of Ramses II or The Massive First Pylon, Temple of Luxor

• An avenue of human headed sphinxes of over one and a half miles (3 km) once connected the temples of Karnak and Luxor

• This was used once a year in a festival during which the image of Amun travelled from Karnak to visit his southern dominion. It was at Luxor temple that he was transformed into Min the god of fertility

• While Luxor Temple also has many columns (which unfortunately were destabilised following a modern times evening music concert and had to be fixed !) they are not as plentiful or as awe inspiring as the ones at Karnak. However the temple still has lots to see including a Peristyle Court, Hypostyle Hall and a Colonnade whose walls depict the annual Opet festival and the

Temple of Luxor or Temple of Amon-Re (Temple of Amenhotep III) The First Pylon Seen From The Dromos.

• The first pylon and the colossi of Ramses ll and 65m height.• In ancient times the pylon was preceded by two obelisks, two seated

colossi and two pair of standing colossi.• Today only the left obelisk is still standing.• The other was taken to Paris in 1883 and placed in Place de la Concorde on

the 25th October 1836.• The temple is the typical style of New Kingdom temples

Dromos (Approach) with Sphinxes, West Side and The Obelisk at The Main Entrance, Temple of Luxor

• The temple of Luxor was joined to the temple of Karnak by a long stone-paved dromos flanked by sphinxes with rams head that the 30th Dynasty replced with sphinxes with human head.

• The distance of two temples is 9km.

• The Luxor Temple is easily identified from the front because it has only one obelisk, but as stated above Rameses II originally erected two obelisks at its entrance.

• The other obelisk was given to King Louis V in 1874 in exchange for a clock that no longer works, and now stands in the Concorde Square in Paris. The obelisk that remained was also included in the deal, but it turned out to be too much trouble to move it.

• The Luxor Temple was the site of the Festival of Opet which is beautifully depicted on the western wall of the court.  In this feast, the god Amon (or Amon-Re) comes from the Karnak Temple to visit his wife in the Temple of Luxor.

• In the Old Kingdom period this festival lasted 14 days, and by the New Kingdom the feast lasted 22-23 days. These relief's are depicted like cartoons today - block by block. Pictured here are acrobats that performed at the festival.

• The obelisk is the 20.7 m / 68 ft high 120 tons and is a monolithic stone monument whose four sides, which generally carry inscriptions, gently taper into a pyramidion at the top.

• The obelisk symbolized the sun god Ra and during the brief religious reformation of Akhenaten was said to be a petrified ray of the aten, the sundisk. It was also thought that the god existed within the structure of the obelisk.

Feast of Opet Panel

Southwest Corner and West Colonnade of The Courtyard of Ramses II, Temple of Luxor

• The courtyard is 46m wide and 52m depth which three sides has double row of columns with closed papyrus capitals and statues of Osiris in the intercolumns

• View from south and the background is the first pylon.

• Passing through the pylon entrance, the visitor enters the court of Ramesses II with numerous statues of the pharaoh and surrounding papyrus-type columns with lotus-bud capitals.

• The great Court of Rameses II is 188 feet (57 m) long and 168 feet (51 m) wide. Seventy four papyrus columns, with bud capitals surround it and in the Northwest corner of the court there is a shrine to Thutmose III, while in the southern part of the court there are a number of standing colossi of Ramses II.

The Colonnade of Amenhotep III and The Mosque (Abu ‘I-Haggag), Temple of Luxor.

• The Colonnade of Amenhotep III has seven pairs of 52 foot (16m) high open-flower papyrus columns, which still support their huge architrave blocks

• Next is the court of Amenhotep III surrounded by a double row of columns (seen at night in the image at left).

• It was in this court that numerous statues were found buried in the late 1980s. Amenhotep III’s era was a golden age, and the arts flourished.

• The mosque was built, large parts of the temple were covered with earth.

• It is not uncommon for a religious kinship between ancient Egyptian cult places and the local version of popular Islam to be recreated.

• When the pharaonic temple was unearthed in the late 19th century, locals fiercely resisted any attempt to tear down the mosque.

• The Temple of Luxor was built largely by Amenhotep III and Ramesses II around 1400BC

• The Sanctuary area in Luxor Temple. Looking out from the sanctuary, you can see the Hypostyle Hall and courtyard. This dates from Amenhotep III.

• In the Birth Room, Amenhotep's mother Mutemwia can be seen being impregnated by Amun and giving birth to the new pharaoh to be.

• His body and spirit are formed on a potter's wheel by a ram-headed creator-god Khnum.

• The main part of the temple - the colonnade and the sun court were built by Amenhotep III, and a later addition by Rameses II, who built the entrance pylon, and the two obelisks (one of which was taken to France, and is now at the centre of the Place de la Concorde) linked the Hatshepsut buildings with the main temple.

FIVE CHARECTERISTICS OF THE MONUMENTS OF THE EGYPT:

1) First, their great mass and size. A single stone was sometimes over twenty-five feet long, and it had to be brought miles from the quarry.

2) Second, their peculiar style of column.3) Third, their works covered with the greatest profusion of color. They

had their own ideas about decoration, and often covered every inch of a building with pictures, symbols, and designs. Many were carved, some only painted, and all of them had some meaning connected either with religion or with the rulers. The rawness of the colors, most of them the crude primary colors, is also characteristics of the Egyptian style.

4) Fourth, the fact that the structure of their buildings was almost always that which we have described as the architecture of the beam and lintel.

5) Fifth, peculiarity of Egyptian architecture in the slope or slant so often given to the walls, where ours would be exactly upright or vertical.

REFERENCES

• www.google.com.my/images?hl=en&source=imghp&q=luxor+temple&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=g2&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxor_Temple

• www.crystalinks.com/egyptripluxor.html

• www.bibleplaces.com/luxortemple.htm

• egyptsites.wordpress.com/2009/02/03/luxor-temple/

• www.eyelid.co.uk/luxor1.htm