VISIT

CHAPTER VI

THE TEMPLES OF KARNAK

VISITORS to Luxor will do well to pay at least two or three visits to the great temples of Karnak, and it will be as well not to attempt to see all the ruins at one time. The temple of Khonsu (p. 88), the great temple of Amen-Ra (p. 92), and the northern and eastern buildings may be visited in one morning. The southern ruins (p. 108) should be reserved for an afternoon visit. A view of the temples at sunset and by moonlight should be obtained if possible. A drive or donkey-ride of less than half-anhour takes one from Luxor to Karnak. The word Karnak means in Arabic "a window," and seems to have been applied to the temples and to the surrounding village from the fact that the great windows of the Hypostyle Hall were a conspicuous feature of the ruins.

HISTORY OF KARNAK

The history of Karnak is largely the history of Thebes. Thebes does not appear to have been a city of any particular importance before Dynasty XI. (B.C. 2160-2000), and the temple of Karnak, though it existed previous to that date, was probably of unpretentious size. The tribal god of Thebes was Amen, "The Hidden"; and here at Karnak it is possible that a shrine was dedicated to him in archaic times, though as yet no antiquities of that date have been found to confirm this supposition. In Dynasty XI. the princes of Thebes became, by conquest, the Pharaohs of all Egypt; and Amen thus became the royal or state god of the country. Ra, the sun-god of Heliopolis, had been the patron deity of the royal house previous to this; and the tradition was so firmly established that Amen in his new rôle was identified with the sun under the name Amen-Ra. Besides Amen there were two other tribal deities of Thebes: Mut, the "Mother," and Khonsu, a beautiful young man who seems to have been connected

Brick Girdle Wall

AVENUE OF SPHINXES

OF MUT

Lake

Modern

TEMPLE OF
KHONSU

TEMPLE OF

OSIRIS

Modern Road to

Ancient Town

originally with Horus. These three quite separate tribal gods of the peoples of the Theban district were now formed into a definite trinity. Amen-Ra became the father, "the king of the gods"; Mut, the mother, was his wife; and Khonsu, soon identified with the moon since Amen-Ra was the sun, became their offspring. When the great kings of Dynasty XII. came to the throne about B.C. 2000, and Thebes became the mighty capital of a nation once more united and consolidated after generations of internal strife, a large temple was erected to this trinity, and traces of it have been found at Karnak. It is probable that Karnak at this time was the actual site of the city, and that Luxor was a suburb. This temple of Dynasty XII. seems to have stood not far from where now stands the sanctuary of Philip Aridaeus (p. 99), for just to the south of that building a pedestal was found bearing the name of Amenemhat Ist, the founder of the dynasty; while Amenhotep, the high priest under Rameses IXth (p. 109), states that a sanctuary was built in the time of Senusert Ist. Fragments of Nubian (“pan-grave") pottery of this date have been found to the east of the temple, and suggest that a Nubian garrison was stationed here, or that Nubian slaves were in residence. Statues and other remains of the succeeding dynasties have been found ; and the temple seems to have existed throughout the troubled times of the Hyksos rule which followed. When, with Dynasty XVIII., the power of Thebes was restored, the great temple once more began to flourish. An inscription in the quarry of Ma‘sara near Cairo records the fact that Aahmes Ist in his twenty-first year (B.C. 1559) was cutting stone for one of the temples of Thebes; and another inscription records his splendid gifts to Karnak. Amenhotep Ist erected some beautiful buildings of white limestone, of which many blocks have been recently unearthed. Thothmes Ist, the next king, also built here; and Anena, the noble whose tomb (No. 81) is to be seen at Shêkh abd'el Gûrneh (p. 133), records the erection of two great pylons still existing (p. 99), a doorway named “Amenmighty-in-wealth," of which the door was of Asiatic copper inlaid with gold, and two obelisks, one of which still stands (p. 98). Thothmes IInd continued the work at Karnak, and a statue of this king has recently been found (p. 99). Thothmes IIIrd and Hatshepsut (B.C. 1501-1447) both built here, and the former Pharaoh undertook such extensive works that the temples now began to assume something of their present form. The temple in general was now called "the Throne of the World" or "the Glorious Building." At this time the reader must remember that

the Great Hypostyle Hall, the Forecourt, and the huge pylons which now stand at the entrance of the main temple, did not exist; and if he will lay his hand over these buildings upon the general plan of the temple he will be able the more readily to understand the appearance of the site in Dynasty XVIII. It is possible that the river ran through what is now the Forecourt, and that the buildings were pushed westward as it receded. Το Thothmes IIIrd is due the Festival Hall at the east of the main temple, the temple of Ptah and Hathor, and other buildings. Amenhotep IInd and Thothmes IVth, the succeeding Pharaohs, both added to the now glorious temple, and Amenhotep IIIrd (B.C. 14111375) also built extensively, erecting, amongst other buildings, two pylons which now form the east wall of the Great Hypostyle Hall. The temple of Mut (p. 111) was built for the most part by this king, and a small temple of Mentu to the north of the main buildings was also erected by him. Then followed the great religious revolution of Akhnaton (B.C. 1375-1358) and the temporary downfall of Amen-Ra. Previous to the revolution Akhnaton set up a small temple to Ra-Horakhti Aton, the new god, at Karnak; and after his death this was utterly destroyed by the once more triumphant priests of Amen-Ra, and the fragments were used by Horemheb (B.C. 1350-1315) in the building of his pylons. When Amen-Ra had thus returned to power, the priests decided that his glory should be made known to the world by the erection of the largest temple in his honour in existence. The Great Hypostyle Hall was therefore planned, which was to be a vast portico or pronaos in front of the temple of Dynasty XVIII. Built almost entirely in the reign of Horemheb, it was so far finished by the reign of Rameses Ist (who held the throne only from B.C. 1315 to 1314) that that king was able to inscribe his name upon one of the pillars and upon the doorway through the front pylons. Horemheb also connected the temple of Mut with the main temple by means of two pylons and an avenue of sphinxes (p. 111). Sety Ist (B.C. 1313-1292) and his successor Rameses IInd (B.C. 1292-1225) undertook the decoration of the Great Hypostyle Hall, but neither of these two kings built extensively at Karnak, though many reliefs and inscriptions date from their reigns. At this time the front pylons and Forecourt did not exist, and the temple began with the Hypostyle Hall. In the open space in front of it Sety IInd (B.C. 1209–1205) erected a small temple (p. 92) and also a quay (p. 92) at the edge of the Nile. The river, however, has now receded 500 or 600 yards, and the quay stands in the midst of the

dry land. Rameses IIIrd (B.C. 1198-1167) erected a temple in this open space where the Forecourt was later laid out (p. 94), and another temple was placed by him close to that of Mut (p. 113). He also began the temple of Khonsu (p. 88) upon the site of an earlier edifice. Under the later Ramesside kings little building was undertaken, but in the reign of Herhor (B.C. 1090-1085) the temple of Khonsu was completed. From this time onwards for many years no great works were undertaken at Karnak. It already composed such an enormous mass of buildings that no attempt was made to increase its size at all considerably. The Bubastite kings (B.C. 945–745) added a doorway here and there, and a few reliefs and inscriptions were carved upon the walls. The Ethiopian Pharaohs (B.C. 712–663) added some columns in front of the Great Hypostyle Hall, and erected one or two small shrines. The Assyrian invasions at this time stripped Karnak of much of its wealth; but, thanks to the energies of the governor of Thebes, Mentuemhat, the wrecked buildings were restored. In the succeeding dynasty the Forecourt appears to have been planned, but the building of the great pylons which now form the front entrance of the main temple does not seem to have been undertaken until Ptolemaic times (B.C. 300 onwards). The Ptolemies restored and added to the various temples, and their handiwork is to be seen in all directions, though nothing very large was undertaken by them. The Roman emperors do not seem to have carried on any works of importance at Karnak, and the place must have largely fallen into ruins. The early Christians converted many of the temples into churches, and their rude paintings are to be seen on many of the walls (as, for example, p. 104). The village soon spread over the ruins, which gradually became buried beneath the debris. Excavations during the last half century have cleared most of the buildings, and these works are now being carried on with energy by the Department of Antiquities, under the superintendence of Monsieur Legrain.

THE TEMPLE OF KHONSU

The first temple which one reaches when approaching Karnak from Luxor is that of Khonsu, begun by Rameses IIIrd (B.C. 1198), on the site of an earlier temple. Khonsu, god of the moon, was the son of Amen and Mut, and was the third member of the Theban trinity. He is generally represented as a young man wearing the side-lock of hair which generally denotes a youth of