In the small village of Karnak, located on the east bank of the Nile near the city of Luxor, there is one of the most interesting monuments of ancient Egyptian architecture. It includes a complex of sanctuaries dedicated to the supreme sun god Amon-Ra, his wife, the sky goddess Mut, and their son, the moon god Khonsu. According to its location, this religious center of Ancient Egypt is called the Temple of Karnak.
Construction started 4,000 years ago
The beginning of the construction of the complex dates back to the period in the history of Ancient Egypt, called the Middle Kingdom. This is 2040-1783. BC. In that era, the capital of Upper Egypt was the city of Thebes. In their honor, the three most revered deities, who, according to legend, constituted a single family, were called the Theban Triad. To worship them, the now world-famous Karnak temple was built.
The exact date of its foundation could not be established, but it is known that the most ancient of the surviving buildings - the White Chapel, was erected around 1956 BC. e. during the reign of the pharaohSenusret I. The construction took on the greatest scope in the era of the New Kingdom, which lasted from 1550 to 1069. BC. and which replaced the Transition period, when the decline in development affected the entire territory of Ancient Egypt. The temple of Karnak was greatly enlarged during that period. This is the merit of the pharaoh of the XVII dynasty Thutmose I, who ruled in 1504-1492. BC e. By his command, many religious buildings were also erected in other parts of the country.
Spare no expense to appease the gods, and at the same time decorate the capital, each of his followers considered it his sacred duty to supplement the Karnak temple with new structures in which the priests of Amun could perform religious rites in honor of their idol with befitting splendor. Sanctuaries were also erected there for two other members of the Theban triad - the goddess Mut and the moon god Khonsu.
The rise of the god Mantu
As can be seen from the history of Ancient Egypt, representatives of its divine pantheon were in a state of the same competitive struggle as the real earthly rulers. Their allies were factions of priests, each of which tried to ex alt their celestial, and, thereby, take a higher position in the court hierarchy.
As a result, at one of the stages of history, the servants of the god Montu, who previously occupied a secondary position, but ousted the god Khonsu from the Theban triad, took over. Immediately next to the Karnak temple, which was the main religious center of Thebes, a temple appeared in honor of this new deity. Soover time, it was included in the overall architectural composition.
Temple complex on the land of ancient Thebes
Today the famous Temple of Karnak (Egypt) includes about a dozen sanctuaries built over almost sixteen centuries and forming a single architectural complex. Its builders were 30 pharaohs who ruled on the banks of the Nile in different periods. It is characteristic that each of them, in addition to praising the patron gods of his people, was extremely concerned about perpetuating his own deeds and securing his place in the history of the state. Numerous sculptures of pharaohs, accompanied by lengthy descriptions of their merits, testify to this.
This feature of the pharaohs has greatly helped modern scientists to recreate the events that took place several millennia ago. But the trouble is that the rulers, as a rule, tried not only to preserve their own name for centuries, but also to erase from the memory of the descendants of their predecessors, attributing to themselves all their merits. For this purpose, previously built sanctuaries were destroyed and the most valuable written monuments were destroyed. So the temple, built by Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, better known today under the name of Akhenaten, turned out to be irretrievably lost. In subsequent centuries, it was dismantled for building material.
The path to Luxor leading from the largest Egyptian temple
From Karnak temple to Luxor - an ancient city with a population of more than half a million today - leads a three-kilometer alley. It ends at the foot of another temple built in honor of the sun god Amon. For many centuries, endless religious processions have walked along it, led by priests, praising the heavenly patron of their earthly kings.
The size of the Karnak temple (Egypt) is eloquently evidenced by the fact that not only the Roman Cathedral of St. Peter, but the entire Vatican could easily fit on the territory it occupies. The main entrance to the temple complex is decorated with massive pylons, which are structures in the form of pyramids truncated from above. The largest of them (central) has a height of 44 m and a width of 113 m.
Columns going to the sky
Immediately behind it opens a spacious courtyard surrounded by a colonnade. It has survived only partially, and many of its elements appear in the form of scattered fragments, but even so, it strikes the eye with its majesty and beauty. The columns of the Karnak temple should be mentioned separately, since they are its landmark and one of the most characteristic features of ancient Egyptian architecture.
They are most fully represented in the famous Great Pillar Hall, where 134 giant, richly decorated pillars once supported the massive roof of the building. They, like the entire hall, were erected during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II the Great. The tops of the columns rested against the ceiling, which imitated the sky with its decoration and decorative painting. Therefore, the viewer had the impression that these stone pillars were supportinga sky. The roof has not survived to this day, only its individual fragments with the remains of the picturesque layer remind of it.
Central shrine of the complex
To talk briefly about the Karnak temple seems to be a very difficult task, since all of it is an accumulation of a huge number of buildings that have come down to us in the form of ruins, as well as statues of pharaohs and many bas-reliefs. Each of these elements of the temple complex is a priceless historical monument and deserves a separate story.
The most significant of the buildings of the Karnak Temple of Ancient Egypt is the sanctuary dedicated to the god Amun-Ra. It is surrounded by 10 giant pylons, 45 meters high and 113 meters long. No less impressive is its area of almost 30 hectares. The construction of this sanctuary, begun under Pharaoh Seti I, was completed by his son Ramses II.
Other shrines of the heavenly patron of the pharaohs
Besides this temple, a number of other structures are concentrated on the territory of the complex dedicated to the god Amon-Ra. Among them are the temple of Amenhatep II, the sacred barge of Ramses II, as well as sanctuaries built in honor of such ancient Egyptian deities as Ipet, Ptah and Hansu. No less noteworthy are the three chapels located here, bearing the names White, Red and Alabaster. Frescoes have been preserved on their walls, depicting many of the most important events of ancient Egyptian history, as well as everyday scenes of that era.
"Women'spart" of the temple complex
About three hundred meters south of the temple of the god Amun-Ra, there are buildings of the complex erected in honor of the goddess Mut, the wife of the heavenly patron of the pharaohs. A unique alley leads to them from the main temple, guarded by stone figures of 66 ram-headed sphinxes. The part reserved for the goddess is also very extensive and is located on a plot of 250X350 m. One of its attractions is the sacred lake that bears her name, and the palace building, where in 1279 BC. e. the future pharaoh Ramses II the Great was born.
Besides the temple dedicated to the goddess Mut, this part of the complex housed the sanctuary of her husband, Amon-Ra, called Kamutef. However, in 1840, like most of the surrounding buildings, it was savagely destroyed in order to use stone blocks for the construction of a nearby factory.
In the Hellenic period of the history of Ancient Egypt, which covered the last three centuries of the past era, an alley was laid from the temple of the goddess Mut towards Luxor, also decorated with figures of sphinxes. Over time, a significant part of it was destroyed, and today restoration work is underway. At the moment, almost 2 km of this unique path has been returned from oblivion, which should eventually connect the Karnak and Luxor temples.
