The Art & Architecture of
KARNAK Alex Pera
The Art & Architecture of
KARNAK
Illustrations & text by Alex Pera
Ancient Egyptian monuments and structures have always fascinated me. The style of both the art and architecture is something that particularly stands out and pushed me into creating this travelogue. Although there are many sites from Ancient Egypt that all have a unique history and story behind them, I decided to choose one temple that would best exemplify the art and architecture from this time period. With the Temple of Karnak being one of the biggest structures that still stands today, my focus was drawn to this destination and it slowly became inevitable that I must inform others about this wonderful site.
The Karnak temple is located in Egypt near the city of Luxor. This city is east of the Nile River and surrounds the Valley of the Queens and the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings which are a couple other surviving temples in this region. During the 16th-11th Century B.C.E. this was the pharaoh’s capital and was the time he was at the height of his power when these monumental sites were constructed.
This map gives us a better look at where the temple relation to the city of Luxor. Around 1400 B.C.E was this place was being constructed which would have during the New Kingdom.
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Temple of Karnak This complex is considered the second largest ancient religious site in the world. When observing the temple from above, it is easy to notice that this is a vast open-air structure. A major difference between Karnak and other structures in Ancient Egypt is that it was constructed and changed significantly throughout time. Various pharaohs rebuilt and expanded this religious site for over 2000 years. By these constant changes and developments, the site contains some of the earliest representations of deities that used to be worshiped to those worshiped later on in this culture.
Scarab Beetle Near the entrance of the temple is the scarab beetle sculpture. This particular insect is often associated with the sun god Khepri. The Scarab was considered one of the most well known amulets of all Ancient Egypt around 2345 B.C.. The insect represents eternal life, new creation, and gave protection against evil.
Ram-headed Sphinx Leading up to the entrance of the Karnak Temple is a avenue of ram-headed sphinxes. Many refer to this outside section leading to the entrance as the “The Way of the Rams” which was named by the ancient Egyptians, attributing Rameses II. A more accurate term that describes these is ‘Crio-sphinxes’ with the head of a ram, curled horns of Amun, a nemes hea dress and a lion body.
First Pylon The entrance which is commonly referred to as the “First Pylon� was the last aspect that was built at the Karnak temple which is the main entrance. This portion of the temple was never completed and remained undecorated with mud brick ramps that can still be seen inside the great court. This was built by Nectanebo I who also helped contribute building other various aspects of this temple.
Hypostyle Hall Multiple rows of massive columns can be seen in this part of the temple that covers over an area of 50,000 square feet. The hall is filled with 134 stone columns. On the upper portion of these columns known as “capitals� contain some of the original paintings that can still be seen today as they survived throughout the years. The Hypostyle Hall was built by Seti I with many of the outer walls depicting his battles.
Hypostyle Hall Seti I’s craftsmen helped create exquisite relief sculptures on the walls and columns in the hypostyle hall. Many of the scenes depicted our key moments before the king’s death. Pharaoh Ramessess II who was Seti’s successor commanded the artisans to carve the walls and columns in the southern wing over the course of his reign.
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allowed light and air into the hypostyle hall by creating as a clerestory window. This is created by making cuts into ets natural sunlight flow into the interior space. Many claim act the earliest form and creation of a clerestory window gyptian innovation. Without electricity in the past, this type idly became a key element in buildings in order to interior spaces.
Obelisks These monolithic pillars that are usually seen in pairs can often be found by entrances in various ancient Egyptian temples. These structures are carved from a single piece of stone, usually red granite found in quarries. They were designed to be wider at the base and taper towards the top, often covered with an alloy of gold. Hieroglyphs are embellished on all four sides that include content dealing with religious dedications, commemorations of rulers and the sun god.
Obelisks Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics are incorporated onto the obelisks. The people from this culture believed that the god (Thoth) invented this style of writing. The hieroglyphic script was known as “mdju netjer” which translates to “words of the gods.”
Amun-Ra Statue Amun-Ra is typically depicted in many of the sculptures found at this site. This male god is one of the most recorded Egyptian gods who represents the chief deity of the Egyptian Empire. Amun-Ra is considered the “King of Gods� where other gods became manifestations of him.
Diety Statue There are numerous statues in Karnak that depict Amun Ra, this being another representation of the god. Amun Ra retained great significance and importance in the Egyptian pantheon throughout the New Kingdom. This deity is considered transcendental, meaning that his powers are beyond all physical laws and independent of the material universe.
Thutmose IV Peristyle Hall A unique peristyle hall was built by Thutmose IV against the back eastern walls in the karnak complex. This was primarily used as a chapel for people who did not have access to the main temple of karnak. Many would describe this as a “place for the ear� by the god Amun hearing the prayers of the townspeople.
Thutmose IV Peristyle Hall The peristyle of Thutmose IV only has four pillars remaining as of today. The height is roughly five meters and one meter across. In ancient times during the dismantling of Thutmose II, a large section of the pillars were removed. Relief scenes can still be found on many of the recovered blocks with vivid yellow, red, blue and green paint. If one were to take a closer look on the pillars they would most likely notice a king embracing the god Amun.
Thutmose’s Canaanite City List Thutmose left a listing of cities at the Karnak Temple to show all the places that he has conquered. There are a hundred and nineteen places written in hieroglyphics on this wall that are from, Transjordan, Lebanon, Canaan and Syria. Hundreds of princes are depicted with hands tied behind their backs to represent the “capturing of a thousand cities.”
Thutmose’s Canaanite City List A close up of what the sunken relief sculpture on the wall would look like. This is one of the depictions of a princes with their hands tied behind their back.
Ptolemy III Euergetes Gateway The gateway is also referred to as “Bab el’Adb”. This area of the temple is dedicated to the Egyptian god Montu. This is a large monumental door and was built with mud-brick. A large court can be reached through this gate which is decorated by a colonnade from the 25th dynasty.
Sacred Lake An artificial reservoir that was made into a rectangular shape, created by Tuthmosis III. The parameter is lined with a stone wall with stairways descending into the water. The size of this lake is roughly 120 meters in length and 77 feet wide. The lakes primary use was for priests to perform ritual washings and navigations. This was also a place home for sacred geese of Amun and acted as a symbol of the primeval waters which was the Ancient Egyptian’s idea of creation.
Ruins Unfortunately Karnak does not appear as it once did in the past. Many parts of this temple have decayed and eroded over time. However, this is considered one of the most well preserved temples from Ancient Egypt and contains original art and architecture that are still standing today.
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