Luxor - Temple of Luxor

The old main entrance was formed by Ramesses II's huge Pylon, in front of which were six colossal statues of the King, two sitting and four standing; of these there survive the most westerly of the standing figures and the two seated figures, which are 46ft/14m high. In front of these two figures were obelisks of pink granite, erected on the occasion of a royal jubilee. The eastern Obelisk still stands on its original site; the smaller western one has stood since 1836 in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. The inscriptions refer to Ramesses, with many high sounding titles, as the founder of the splendid building erected in the Southern Apet in honor of Amun.

On the walls of the pylon are incised reliefs, much damaged and now difficult to distinguish, depicting scenes from Ramesses II's campaign against the Hittites in the fifth year of his reign. On the right hand (west) tower, to the left, the King is seen on his throne holding a Council of War with his Princes; in the middle is the camp, protected by a ring of shields, with the Hittites attacking; and on the right the King in his chariot dashes into the fray. The reliefs on the left hand tower take us into the thick of the battle: the King in his chariot charges the enemy, launching his arrows against them; the field is strewn with dead and wounded; the Hittites flee in wild confusion to the Fortress of Qadesh, from which fresh troops advance against the Egyptians; farther left is the fortress, surrounded by water, with the defenders on the battlements; and on the extreme left, far from the battle, isthe Prince ofthe Hittites in hischariot, turning fearfully towards the King. The long inscription, in vertical lines, which begins on the west tower below the reliefs and is continued on the east tower is a poetical account of the battle.

On each of the pylon towers are two vertical grooves for flagstaffs, with square apertures for braces holding the flagstaffs in position and small windows to admit light and air to the rooms in the tower. The reliefs on the doorway depict Ramesses II in the presence of the gods of the temple. Those on the inner wall of the doorway, in fairly high relief, date from the reign of the Ethiopian King Shabaka.

On the south side of the Great Court of Ramesses II, between the front columns, are colossal statues of Ramesses II, with an average height of 23ft/7m, all of red granite except one which is of black granite. The finest of these figures, whose crown, carved from a separate block, has fallen off, was 17.5ft/5.30m high; on the base and the apron are carved the King's names. On each side of the south doorway is a colossal seated figure of the King with the Queen seated on his right.

From the vestibule in the Court of Amenophis III a door in the east wall leads out of the temple. Going out through this and turning right to re-enter the temple, we pass through three doors and come to the Birth Room. This room, with three cluster columns, is named after the reliefs on the west wall referring to the birth of Amenophis III; those on the south wall depict his accession to the throne.

West wall, lower row, from left to right: 1. the god Khnum shaping two infants (Amenophis III and his guardian spirit) on the potter's wheel, with Isis seated opposite; 2. Khnum and Amun; 3. Amun and Mutemuia, mother of Amenophis III, seated on the hieroglyph for "sky" and supported by the goddesses Selkit and Neith; 4. Amun and Thoth; 5. the King and Amun (badly damaged); 6. Isis (destroyed) embracing Queen Mutemuia, with Amun on the right. Middle row: 1. Thoth foretells to Mutemuia the birth of a son; 2. Mutemuia, pregnant, conducted by Khnum and Isis; 3. confinement of Mutemuia, attended by Bes, Thoeris and other spirits; 4. Isis (destroyed) presents the newborn Prince to Amun; 5. Amun holds the infant, beside him Hathor and Mut. Top row: 1. left, the Queen, with the goddess Selkit behind her; right, two goddesses suckling the Prince and his guardian spirit; below, the Prince and his guardian spirit suckled by two cows; 2. nine deities holding the Prince; 3. the god Hekaw (in blue) holding the Prince and his guardian spirit, behind him the Nile god; 4. Horus giving the infant to Amun; 5. Khnum and Anubis; 6. the Prince and his guardian spirit sitting and standing before Amun; 7. Amenophis as King.

Adjoining the Great Court of Ramesses II on the south is the Colonnade, which is well preserved and makes a major contribution to the imposing effect of the ruins. Seven papyrus columns with open capitals, almost 52ft/16m high, still support heavy architraves borne on high abaci. They were erected by Amenophis III, but also bear the names of Tutankhamun, Horemheb, Sethos I, Ramesses lI and Sethos II. The fine reliefs on the walls the upper part of which is destroyed at some points date from the time of Tutankhamun, whose name was later replaced by that of his successor Horemheb. They depict in vivid detail the great Opet (New Year) festival, when the sacred barques of the gods were taken out of the Temple of Karnak, sailed up the Nile to Luxor, where they were borne into the temple, and then returned to Karnak in the evening. The scenes, full of fascinating details, begin at the northwest corner and end at the northeast corner.

Beyond the colonnade lies the Court of Amenophis III, 148ft/45m long by 167ft/51m wide, which was surrounded on three sides by a double colonnade of papyrus cluster columns. The columns and architraves on the east and west sides are excellently preserved. On the fourth (south) side is the Vestibule or pronaos of the temple proper, the roof of which was borne by 32 (4 x 8) papyrus cluster columns. On the east wall are reliefs showing Amenophis III in the presence of the gods of Thebes; below, personifications of the nomes of Egypt bearing gifts. On the south wall, to the right and left of the apse, is the coronation of Amenophis by the gods. To the left is an altar dedicated to the Emperor Constantine, with a Latin inscription. On the rear wall, to the right and left, are two small chapels, the one on the left dedicated to the goddess Mut, the one on the right to the moon god Khons, with a staircase (destroyed) adjoining it. The central door in the rear wall leads into a smaller hall, originally with eight columns, which in Christian times was converted into a church. The old entrance to the inner rooms of the temple then became a kind of apsidal recess, flanked by two red granite Corinthian columns. At some points the later coating of whitewash has peeled off, revealing the fine reliefs of Amenophis Ill. Adjoining the church are a number of smaller rooms.

Beyond the pylon is the Great Court of Ramesses II, 187ft/57m long by 167ft/51m wide. Owing to the presence of the mosque at the northeast corner it has not been completely exposed. It was originally surrounded on all four sides by colonnades, with a total of 74 papyrus columns, with bud capitals and smooth shafts. At the northwest corner is the chapel, decorated with reliefs, which was built by Tuthmosis III and usurped by Ramesses II. Along the front of the chapel was a small colonnade of four elegant papyrus cluster columns of red granite. It has three chambers, which housed the sacred barques of Amun (center), Mut (to the left) and Khons (to the right).

The walls of the court are covered with reliefs and inscriptions representations of offerings, hymns to the gods, scenes showing conquered nations, etc. mostly dating from the reign of Ramesses II. The relief on the southwest wall shows the facade of the temple and the pylon with its flagstaffs, colossal statues and obelisks; from the right approaches a procession headed by the Princes and followed by garlanded sacrificial animals (continuation on west wall). In the west wall is a doorway leading out of the court, in front of which are two statues of Ramesses II (upper parts missing).

On the way back to the pylon it is worth looking at the reliefs on the outer walls on the west side of the temple, which depict Ramesses II's campaigns in Asia.

On the outside of the SE wall of the Court of Ramesses II, in large vertical lines, is the famous "Poem of Pentaur" celebrating the King's war with the Hittites.

Beyond the birth room is a side room with three columns and poorly preserved reliefs, from which an arched doorway inserted at a later date leads into the Sanctuary of Alexander the Great, a room largely rebuilt in the reign of Alexander. The four columns supporting the roof were replaced by a chapel for the sacred barque of Amun, the walls of which were decorated internally and externally with reliefs depicting Alexander in the presence of Amun and his fellow deities, while the walls of the original chamber still show Amenophis III in the presence of the various Theban gods. A door in the north wall of the chamber leads into a small square room with four papyrus cluster columns. The reliefs in this room, in three rows, show Amenophis III in the presence of the Theban deities, in particular Amun.

The rooms at the far end of the temple contain no features of particular interest. A gap in the wall of the Sanctuary of Alexander the Great leads into a hall with 12 columns, adjoining which are three chapels. The roof of the central chapel was supported by four papyrus cluster columns. To the left is a relief showing the King being conducted into the sanctuary by Atum and Horus; the other reliefs show him in the presence of Amun. The south chapel, also accessible from outside the temple, was dedicated to the ithyphallic Amun-Kamutef.