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On the east bank of the Nile at Luxor lies the magnificent Luxor Temple which
was dedicated to the great god Amun-Re, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu (the
moon god) - together representing the Theban triad. The temple was built on the
site of a probable smaller Middle Kingdom structure for the god Amun, while the
earliest parts of the temple seen today date from the 14th century BC and the
time of Amenhotep III (the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom).
His son, Akhenaton (Amenhotep IV), overthrew the existing order of Amun and
replaced it with the cult of the sun god Aten. Consequently, Luxor Temple
suffered under his reign.
Restoration work was undertaken later during the time of Tutankhamen and
Horemheb.
Ramses II (Ramses the Great) of the 19th Dynasty oversaw the addition of a new
entrance pylon (decorated with scenes of his military battles) and a court at
the northeast end of the complex. Two obelisks were erected in front of the
temple’s pylon in the 13th century BC. In the 1830s, the western obelisk was
given to France and erected at Place de la Concorde in Paris where it still
stands today. Ramses II also had erected in front of his pylon six granite
statues of himself - two seated and four standing. A 3-kilometre-long avenue of
sphinxes connected Luxor Temple with the southern end of the sprawling Karnak
temple complex to the north.
During the 19th century, much of the temple was still buried and houses stood
well above the current ground level encountered by modern-day visitors. An idea
of the 19th century ground level can be gained from the Mosque of Abu el Hagag,
which, despite early French efforts to remove it, remains inside the great
pylon.
Passing through the pylon entrance, the visitor enters the court of Ramses II
with numerous statues of the pharaoh and surrounding papyrus-type columns with
lotus-bud capitals.
Beyond the court lies the impressive Colonnade (seen in the image at right with
the mosque and pylon in the background) erected by Amenhotep III. The inside of
the walls on either side of the Colonnade were carved during the time of
Tutankhamen and depict the important annual Opet festival during which the god
Amun visited his southern harem. The reliefs show the sacred barges being
brought from Karnak to Luxor. Unfortunately, the reliefs have suffered greatly
over time, while a high water table has led to salt encrustation. The desire of
some tourists to touch reliefs has and continues to damage the scenes for future
visitors.
Next is the court of Amenhotep III surrounded by a double row of columns (seen
at night in the image at left). It was in this court that numerous statues were
found buried in the late 1980s.
Beyond the court is the Hypostyle Hall containing 32 columns in four rows. At
the rear is an area that was converted into a Roman shrine with Amenhotep III's
reliefs plastered over and painted with Christian themes.
At the southern end of the temple complex is the sanctuary, which is surrounded
by various chambers including a so-called Birth Room in which the birth of
Amenhotep III is depicted in reliefs.
Around the beginning of the third century AD, Luxor Temple became the focus of a
surrounding Roman military camp for perhaps 1,500 men.
