The Temple of Khons: Karnak - Essay Example

THE TEMPLE OF KHONS: KARNAK The Temple of Khons is located at within Amun-Re at Karnak, in Luxor, Egypt. It was built under Rameses III. The Temple of Khons was constructed on the site of an earlier temple. The gateway of the Temple of Khons is located at the end of the sphinxes by the Luxor Temple. Since its construction, the Temple of Khons has been added on to through out the centuries. Today only the gateway to the Temple of the Khons remains. Rameses III ruled during 1186 to 1155 (Langley, 47). Under his rule, the Temple of Khons was built. At one time there were over twenty temples at Karnak (Norwich, 50). The Temple of the Khons was built to honor the moon god, Khonsu. The Temple of Khons was built in the South west corner of Amun (“Karnak Temple – Temple of Khons”). It was recorded that Rameses III stated: I built a house for thy son, Khonsu in Thebes, of good sandstone, red grit stone, and black stone. I overlaid its doorposts and doors with gold and inlay figures of electrum like the horizon of Heaven. (“Karnak Temple – Temple of Khons”) The Temple of Khons was built for worship, with a statue of Khonus in the sanctuary. Over the years, the gold and Temple as a whole has been rebuilt and plunder. The Temple has even been marked with graffiti: the top of the temple of Khonsu at Karnak is crowded with the outlines of visitors feet, with their names and particulars appended, in hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek the inscriptions on the colossi of Amenhotep III. ("the Memnons") at Thebes, and on the Sphinx at Gizeh are well known; the long scribbles in demotic on the temple walls at Thebes have lately been examined. (Birdswell) It is amazing that the gateway still exists after the centuries of interference of man. When first built, the Temple consisted of a sanctuary, a hypostyle hall, smaller halls, smaller courts, and massive gateways (Stokstad, 74). Today a peristyle court bordered by twenty-eight mono style columns remains. Inside, a small hall with four columns stand in the middle with two mono style columns on either side. Sandstone, red grit stone, and black stone were the primary building materials. Murals, statues, and doors were inlaid with gold. The structure system was made up of primarily pylons and columns of stone. Although this is not the best structure system, the Egyptians must have done something right to have their work, albeit the remnants, still standing for centuries. The Temple of Khons upon completion had entrance pylons, courts, colonnades, halls, and priests chambers. All of these were enclosed by a girdle wall. The Temple was also encompassed by a great wall the same height as the halls, then gradually decreased as they reached the sanctuarys end. Lighting in the Temple was provided by an outer court, which opened up to the sky. To provide light inside the hypostyle hall, a clear story formed from columns in the central aisle. Natural light was used as much as possible, but the sanctuary did not have natural lighting, lit with fire light. The openness of the Temple allowed light to flow into almost all of the areas surrounding the courtyard. The procession of the architectural design on this Temple lasted centuries. Jim Fox explains: Thus it was Ramesses III who makes claim to the construction of this temple, even though only seven small chapels that surround the four columned hall located behind the sanctuary of the barques (Hall of the Barque) bear his cartouches. Elsewhere, we find the names of Ramesses IV and Ramesses XI. According to their dedications, it would also seem that the High-Priests Herihor and Pinedjem constructed the first court and the pylon Although credited to Ramesses III, many kings contributed over the years to the Temple of Khons. The Temple of Khons originally had beautiful engravings. For example, the Temple, “having gates whose folding doors were plated with gold and itself overlaid with electrum like the horizon of heaven” (Yarker, 65). Statues of Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys were also present in this Temple. However, the front of the Temples pylon are bare remnants of colonnades, like those at the Temple of Amun. These colonnades are surrounded by sphinxes. The pylons are thirty-four and half meters in length, seven meters wide, and eighteen meters high (Fox). Inscribed on the pylon is the following: the first high priest of Amun, master of the rites, Pinedjem, son of the first high priest of Amun, Piankh, has made this very great and august pylon for his father Khonsu-in- Thebes-Neferhotep on the front of his temple. (Fox) There is no doubt that the murals and artwork built for this Temple was magnificent when first built. The Temple of Khons was built as a place of worship. Ramesses III built this Temple to honor the moon god, Khonus. However, this Temple was not used like churches are used today. Only the king and priests could enter beyond the hypostyle hall. Many refer to this Temple as a “Cult Temple” (Cruickshank, 58). This might have to do with the ritualistic nature that only the king and priests knew about. Priests would offer sacrifices in the enter sanctuary, allowing no citizen to see or enter. The king was considered almost like a god, so was allowed in the Temple to pray and offer his sacrifices. Priests and priestesses served in Egyptian Temples. These men and women did not necessarily have to be of noble birth. Some priests and priestesses were commoners. The Karnak complex is home to around thirteen Temples cut into three areas by walls. The Temple of Khons is one of them. All of the Temples are not aligned in any special way, save that all the Temples sanctuaries face away from the West. This is due to the fact the Nile lays in the West, representing the beginning of all things. The Temple of Khons at Karnak was dedicated to the God Khons. The God Khons was in ancient Egyptian religion the moon God. The moon God represented youth. Khons was also thought to be the son of Amon and Mut. This made Khons belong to the triad of Thebes. He also belonged to the triad of Kom Ombo, being the son of Sobek and Hathor. Khons has been seen as many things to different periods of Egyptians. In the old kingdom, Khons was a violent God, bent on spilling human and divine blood. Later he became associated with childbirth. Finally, Khons became the God of healing after a king was reportedly healed by him. It must also be kept in mind that Khons was only one of many deities that the Egyptians worshipped. There were thirteen known Temples dedicated to different Gods in Karnak. Ramesses III must have had a special relationship with Khons. His devotion was shown through the Temple of Khons at Karnak. The Egyptians were beyond their time in building their structures. The Temple of Khons is an example of this excellent architect. Using only sandstone and rock, the Temple has survived for centuries through human and natural wear. Most see this Temple as a great architectural design, forgetting it once was the religious sanctuary of a king. References Birdsell, Brian. “Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh.” 2003. Accessed 22 Nov. 2007 from http://www.ronaldbirdsall.com/gizeh/petrie/c22.html Cruickshank, Dan. Sir Banister Fletchers A History of Architecture. New York: Architectural Press, 1996. Fox, Jim. “The Khonsu Temple at Karnak.” 2005. Accessed 22 Nov. 2007 from http://touregypt.net/featurestories/khonsutemple.htm “Karnak Temple – Temple of Khons.” 2007. Eyelid Productions Ltd. Accessed 22 Nov. 2007 from http://shop.discoveringegypt.com/PHOTOS_KARNAK6.html Langley, Andrew. Ancient Egypt. New York: Silver Dolphin, 2002. Norwich, John Julius. Great Architecture of the World. New York: Da Capa, 2001. Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History. New York: Prentice Hall, 2004. Yarker, John. The Arcane Schools: A Review of Their Origin and Antiquity; with a General History of Freemasonry, and Its Relation to the Theosophic, Scientific, and Philosophic Mysteries. New York: Adamant Publishing Corporation, 2003. Read More