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A number of scholars now feel that the traditional division of ancient Egyptian temples temples into the categories of 'mortuary' and 'divine' is false one, arguing that the functions and symbolic characteristics of all ancient Egyptian temples were both too varied and too intertwined to support this distinction. Certainly, it would be a mistake to ignore the common elements which underlie the wide variety of temple structures which existed in Egypt; and hut or 'mansion' was the common term used by the ancient Egyptians for all types of temples. Also, because it was believed that the ancient Egyptian king became a god in the afterlife, any distinctions between divine and mortuary spheres necessarily blur in both theory and practice. 'Divine' temples often had mortuary significance and 'mortuary' temples often had divine associations. Nevertheless the distinction is perhaps too established to shake off easily and in some ways it may still be a useful one.
The ancient Egyptians themselves followed it to the extent that divine cult temples were usually referred temples was simply one of tenure. Although in theory they were established as temples of millions of years, many of the mortuary temples of the New Kingdom monarchs did not, in fact fare well in that regard: a number were deserted and used as quaries forstone even before the New Kingdom was over. The cults of the Egyptian gods tended to enjoy more continuity, but they too were not immune to turmoil and, sometimes, disaster.
During the Amarna Period the heretic king Akhenaten (1353 - 1333 BC) not only severely curbed the power of the burgeoning cult of Amun but also promulgated a system of worship in which the Aten solar disk was intended to supersede all other deities. Not even the Egyptian gods were safe from the agents of this king, and while the temple closures and suppressions of other deities may have been short lived, the scars of desecration are still visible in most of the major temples which have survived from the New Kingdom. In the years after Akhenaten's death thousands of names and images of Amun and other deities had to be recut into the temple walls from which they had been expunged, and thousands more remain in only hacked and chiselled outline.
If the Amarna Period can only be seen as a decisive downturn for the fortunes of most of ancient Egypt's cults of the following Ramessid era was characterized by recovery and unprecedented growth. Ramesses II (1290 - 1224 BC) is credited with building more to as 'mansions of the gods' and mortuary temples as 'mansions of millions of years' - an allusion perhaps to the desired continued cult of the deceased king. In practical reality, one of the greatest differences between the divine and mortuary temples than any other monarch in ancient Egypt history. Although none of his successors completed anything like the number of his monuments, temples continued to be built throughout the later New Kingdom. Perhaps more importantly for the cults themselves, the power and relative autonomy of the major temples - especially that of Amun at Karnak - recovered and grew steadily.
Showing posts with label Amun. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amun. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Page 23: Old and Middle Kingdom Development of Ancient Egyptian Temples
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One of the earliest examples of Middle Kingdom temple architecture and one of the few not substantially destroyed in later rebuilding is the combined mortuary temple and tomb of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep (2061 - 2010 BC) at Deir el-Bahri in Thebes. This innovative, terraced building with its colonnades and central monumental superstructure (the exact form of which is not known) was set at the back of the natural 'bay' in the Theban mountains and was the inspiration for several later mortuary temples of the same type - including the famous and much better preserver temple of Hatshepsut in the same location.
Senwosret (Sesostris) I (1971 - 1926 BC), the second king of the 12th Dynasty, was the first monarch of the Middle Kingdom to institute an extensive building programme, constructing a number of temples from the Delta to at least as far as Elephantine in the south. At Thebes, he constructed a monolithic shrine and massive limestone shrine walls, as well as the beautifully decorated 'White Chapel' which provides a fine example of the expanded use of hieroglyphic inscription and representational art in Middle Kingdom temples.
The solitary obelisk bearing Senwosret's name is now all that remains of what may have been an extensive temple complex at Heliopolis, but the foundation of a number of smaller temples of this king and his successors remain to show a temple style which incorporated a pillared court before a sanctuary with separate - frequently tripartite - shrines at the temple's rear. Sometimes, as in the small temple of Amenemhet I and Senwosret III at Ezbet Rushdi, near Qanatir in the eastern Delta, the pillared hall is fronted by an open courtyard so that we see an incipient grouping of the three elements of court, pillared hall and sanctuary which form the basis of later New Kingdom temple design.
While there were many archaizing tendencies in the architecture of this period, developments in certain aspects of temple design and structure can be seen throughout the Middle Kingdom. For instance, building in stone became increasingly common. While some ancient Egyptian temples contained only a few elements (such as doorways and pillars) of stone, the temple of Amenemhet III and Amenemhet IV at Medinet Madi in the Fayum, although only a little more than 8 by 11 m (26 x 36 ft) in size, consisted of a sanctuary with multiple chambers and a small pillared court, all of which were constructed of stone.
Architectural symmetry also increased in the Middle Kingdom, and the temple of Montu built by Senwosret I at Tod provides one of the clearest examples of the developed Middle Kingdom temple, with its precisely symmetrical design and the incorporation of various cult chambers adjacent to the main sanctuary. And as well as being beautifully decorated, Senwosret's 'White Chapel' on the processional route from the Great Temple of Amun at Karnak provides an example of an equally symmetrical and exquisitely fashioned barque chapel or way-station of this same period.
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One of the earliest examples of Middle Kingdom temple architecture and one of the few not substantially destroyed in later rebuilding is the combined mortuary temple and tomb of Nebhepetre Mentuhotep (2061 - 2010 BC) at Deir el-Bahri in Thebes. This innovative, terraced building with its colonnades and central monumental superstructure (the exact form of which is not known) was set at the back of the natural 'bay' in the Theban mountains and was the inspiration for several later mortuary temples of the same type - including the famous and much better preserver temple of Hatshepsut in the same location.
Senwosret (Sesostris) I (1971 - 1926 BC), the second king of the 12th Dynasty, was the first monarch of the Middle Kingdom to institute an extensive building programme, constructing a number of temples from the Delta to at least as far as Elephantine in the south. At Thebes, he constructed a monolithic shrine and massive limestone shrine walls, as well as the beautifully decorated 'White Chapel' which provides a fine example of the expanded use of hieroglyphic inscription and representational art in Middle Kingdom temples.
The solitary obelisk bearing Senwosret's name is now all that remains of what may have been an extensive temple complex at Heliopolis, but the foundation of a number of smaller temples of this king and his successors remain to show a temple style which incorporated a pillared court before a sanctuary with separate - frequently tripartite - shrines at the temple's rear. Sometimes, as in the small temple of Amenemhet I and Senwosret III at Ezbet Rushdi, near Qanatir in the eastern Delta, the pillared hall is fronted by an open courtyard so that we see an incipient grouping of the three elements of court, pillared hall and sanctuary which form the basis of later New Kingdom temple design.
While there were many archaizing tendencies in the architecture of this period, developments in certain aspects of temple design and structure can be seen throughout the Middle Kingdom. For instance, building in stone became increasingly common. While some ancient Egyptian temples contained only a few elements (such as doorways and pillars) of stone, the temple of Amenemhet III and Amenemhet IV at Medinet Madi in the Fayum, although only a little more than 8 by 11 m (26 x 36 ft) in size, consisted of a sanctuary with multiple chambers and a small pillared court, all of which were constructed of stone.
Architectural symmetry also increased in the Middle Kingdom, and the temple of Montu built by Senwosret I at Tod provides one of the clearest examples of the developed Middle Kingdom temple, with its precisely symmetrical design and the incorporation of various cult chambers adjacent to the main sanctuary. And as well as being beautifully decorated, Senwosret's 'White Chapel' on the processional route from the Great Temple of Amun at Karnak provides an example of an equally symmetrical and exquisitely fashioned barque chapel or way-station of this same period.
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| The richly decorated 'White Chapel' of Senwosret I at Karnak shows the expanded use of inscriptions and representational art which developed in Middle Kingdom temples. The details below shows Senwosret before Amun. |
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| Senwosret before Amun. |
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