courts, and a SACRED LAKE, lead to vestibules and an elab-
orate HYPOSTYLE HALL. The sanctuary connected to this
hall has a FALSE DOORdepicting Ramesses III as the deity
Amun-Ré. A stairway leads to the roof, where solar cere-
monies were conducted, and Osiride statues of Ramesses
III grace some areas.
The original temple foundation dating to the Eigh-
teenth Dynasty was actually started by TUTHMOSIS I(r.
1504–1492 B.C.E.) and was called “Splendor of the West”
or “Amun is Splendid in Thrones.” Hatshepsut directed
much of the construction of the temple, but the dedica-
tion and opening of the site dates to the reign of Tuthmo-
sis III. Four additional chapels in the complex were
added during the Twenty-fifth (712–657 B.C.E.) and
Twenty-sixth (664–525 B.C.E.) Dynasties. The mortuary
cult of the GOD’S WIFE OF AMUN, or Divine Adoratrices of
Amun, was also displayed in the complex. A columned
forecourt honoring the Divine Adoratrice AMENIRDIS(1),
a daughter of KASHTA(770–750 B.C.E.), and her burial site
are part of the complex. The chapel of the Divine Adora-
trices NITOCRIS (2) and SHEPENWEPET (1) are also in
Medinet Habu.
The royal residence attached to the fortress was made
out of mud brick and was decorated with stones and
glazed tiles. Private apartments, vestibules, double stair-
cases, and columned halls adjoined barracks, magazines,
and workshops. The rulers of later historical periods
refurbished and maintained Medinet Habu. In some trou-
bled periods, the people of Thebes moved into the com-
plex and kept it fortified and secure.Medinet Habu Calendar This was the most elabo-
rate display of a calendar prior to the Ptolemaic Period
(304–30 B.C.E.), a unique aspect of the MEDINET HABU
temple erected by RAMESSES III(r. 1194–1163 B.C.E.) at
THEBES. During the reign of Ramesses III the feasts hon-
oring the deity AMUNwere staged at Medinet Habu. The
Medinet Habu Calendar was introduced during
Ramesses III’s 12th regnal year. The calendar lists all of
the so-called feasts of heaven, celebrations honoring the
Theban deity, Amun. Some of the feasts listed appear as
newly established holidays designed to inspire the Egyp-
tians of the era.232 Medinet Habu CalendarMedinet Habu, the migdolcomplex of Ramesses III at Thebes, used in later eras as a fortress. (Hulton Archive.)