Gardners Art through the Ages A Global History

of their own. At Abu Simbel, for example, north of his own temple,

Ramses ordered the construction of a grand temple for his principal

wife, Nefertari. Huge rock-cut statues—four standing images of the

king and two of the queen—dominated the temple’s facade. For his

sons, Ramses constructed a huge underground tomb complex in the

Valley of the Kings at Thebes, which an American archaeological

team rediscovered in 1987. The tomb, however, was looted within a

half century of its construction, but the excavators have yet to find

the royal burial chambers themselves, so the tomb may one day yield

important artworks.

TEMPLE OF AMEN-RE, KARNAKDistinct from the tem-

ples honoring pharaohs and queens are the edifices built to honor

one or more of the gods. Successive kings often added to them until

they reached gigantic size. The temple of Amen-Re (FIG. 3-24) at

Karnak, for example, was largely the work of the 18th Dynasty

pharaohs, including Thutmose I and III and Hatshepsut, but Ramses

II (19th Dynasty) and others also contributed sections. Chapels were

added to the complex as late as the 26th Dynasty. The artificial sa-

cred lake within the precinct of the Karnak temple is a reference to

the primeval waters before creation (see “The Gods and Goddesses

of Egypt,” page 54). The temple rises from the earth as the original

sacred mound rose from the waters at the beginning of time.

The New Kingdom temples all had similar axial plans.A typical

pylon temple(the name derives from the simple and massive gate-

ways, or pylons,with sloping walls) is bilaterally symmetrical along a

single axis that runs from an approaching avenue through a colon-

naded court and hall into a dimly lit sanctuary. Only the pharaohs

and the priests could enter the sanctuary. A chosen few were admitted

to the great columnar hall. The majority of the people were allowed

only as far as the open court, and a high wall shut off the site from the

outside world. The central feature of the New Kingdom pylon temple

70 Chapter 3 EGYPT UNDER THE PHARAOHS

3-24Restored view of the temple of Amen-Re, Karnak, Egypt, begun 15th century bce(Jean Claude Golvin).

The vast Karnak temple complex contains an artificial lake associated with the primeval waters of the Egyptian creation myth and a

pylon temple with a bilaterally symmetrical axial plan.

3-25Hypostyle hall, temple of Amen-Re, Karnak, Egypt, 19th Dynasty,

ca. 1290–1224 bce.

The hypostyle hall of the Amen-Re temple is crowded with columns.

The tallest are 66 feet high and have capitals that are 22 feet in

diameter. The columns support a roof of stone slabs carried on lintels.

3-24ATemple of
Amen-Re, Luxor,
begun early
14th century
BCE.