COLUMNS IN EGYPTIAN ARCHITECTURE
Greek designs. In Egyptian territories outside of the capi-
tal, the old jewelry, amulets, pendants, and wares
remained traditional.
Architecture
The arrival of ALEXANDER III THE GREAT(r. 332–323
B.C.E.) and the subsequent Ptolemaic Period (304–30
B.C.E.) changed Egyptian architecture forever. The Pto-
lemies, however, conducted a dual approach to their
architectural aspirations. The artistic endeavors of the
city of Alexandria, the new capital, were purely Greek or
Hellenic. The artistic projects conducted throughout
Egypt were based solely upon the traditional canon and
the cultic imperatives of the past.
Alexandria was intended to serve as a crowning
achievement of architecture, with the LIBRARY OF ALEXAN-
DRIAand the Pharos (the LIGHTHOUSE) demonstrating the
skills of the finest Greek architects. Even the tombs, such
as the famed site erected for Petosiris, combined Egyptian
and Greek designs. Outside of Alexandria, however, the
Ptolemaic rulers used the traditional centuries old styles.
At PHILAE, Dendereh, ESNA,KOM OMBO, and throughout
the Nile Valley, the canon reverberated once again in new
temples and in designs for statues, stelae, and other mon-
umental commemoratives. The temple at Esna, dedicated
to Khnum-Horus, was erected by PTOLEMY III EUERGETES
(r. 246–221 B.C.E.) and completed by PTOLEMY XII NEOS
DIONYSIUS(r. 80–58, 55–51 B.C.E.). The Dendereh temple,
dedicated to Hathor, used the traditional column forms
but added a carved screen. Reliefs in these houses of cul-
tic worship were traditional, but Greek anatomical cor-
rections, softer forms, and draped garments displayed the
Hellenic advances. The Egyptian formhad survived over
the centuries on the Nile, as it triumphed in the restored
monuments displayed in modern times.Suggested Readings:Aldred, Cyril. Egyptian Art in the
Days of the Pharaohs, 3100–320 B.C.New York: Thames &
Hudson, 1985; Arnold, Dorothea, Christiane Ziegler, and
James P. Allen, eds. Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyra-
mids.New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1999;54 art and architectureThe massive temple columns, supports used at a shrine of Horus
Horus, displaying different capital designs and architectural
innovations.(Courtesy Steve Beikirch.)
One of the most appealing and awe-inspiring aspects of
Egyptian temple architecture are the spectacular columns,
resembling groves of stone trees. These columns, espe-
cially at Karnak and Luxor, dwarf human beings and bear
inscriptions, carved reliefs, and a weighty majesty
unequaled anywhere else in the world.
Columns held special significance for the Egyptians,
representing as they did the expanses of nature. Columns
alluded to the times when vast forests dotted the land,
forests that disappeared as the climate changed and civiliza-
tion took its toll upon the Egyptian environment. They also
represented the Nile reed marshes. The columns were intro-
duced in order to simulate nature, and to identify man again
with the earth. The first tentative columns are still visible in
the STEP PYRAMID of SAQQARA, but they are engaged
columns, attached to walls for support and unable to stand
on their own. Imhotep designed rows of such pillars at the
entrance to various buildings and incorporated them into
corridors for DJOSER’s shrine (2600 B.C.E.).
In the Fourth Dynasty (2575–2465 B.C.E.) masons
experimented with columns as a separate architect-ural entity. In one royal tomb built in GIZAin the reign
of KHUFU(2551–2465 B.C.E.) limestone columns were
used effectively. In the tomb of SAHURÉ (2458–2446
B.C.E.) of the Fifth Dynasty, the columns were made
of granite, evincing a more assured style and level of
skill.
Wooden columns graced a site in the reign of KAKAI
(2446–2426 B.C.E.) in that same dynasty, and another king
ofthe royal line, NIUSERRÉ(2416–2392 B.C.E.), had lime-
stone columns installed in his ABUSIRnecropolis complex.
At BENI HASANin the Eleventh Dynasty (2134–2140 B.C.E.)
local nomarchs, or provincial chiefs, built their own tombs
with wooden columns. The same type of columns was
installed in tombs in the Twelfth Dynasty (1991–1773
B.C.E.), but they were made of wood set into stone bases.
With the coming of the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.)
the columns become part of the architectural splendor that
marked the capital at Thebes and at the later capital of
PER-RAMESSESin the eastern Delta. Extensive colonnades
stood on terraces, or in the recesses of temples, opening
onto courts and shrines.