The Temple of Luxor
The Temple of Luxor is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the River Nile in the city today known as Luxor (ancient Thebes) and was founded in 1400 B.C.E.
Known in the Egyptian language as ipet resyt, or “the southern sanctuary”, the Temple of Luxor was dedicated to the Theban Triad of Amen, Mut, and Khons and was built during the New Kingdom, the focus of the annual Opet Festival, in which a cult statue of Amen was paraded down the Nile from nearby Karnak Temple (ipet-isut) to stay there for a while, with his consort Mut, in a celebration of fertility – whence its name.
The earliest parts of the Temple of Luxor still standing are the barque chapels, just behind the first pylon. They were built by Hatshepsut, and appropriated by Tuthmosis III. The main part of the temple – the colonnade and the sun court were built by Amenhotep III, and a later addition by Ramses II, who built the entrance pylon, and the two obelisks (one of which was taken to France, and is now at the center of the Place de la Concorde) linked the Hatshepsut buildings with the main temple.
To the rear of the temple are chapels built by Tuthmosis III, and Alexander. During the Roman era, the temple and its surroundings were a legionary fortress and the home of the Roman government in the area.
Source: Wikipedia on a Creative Commons License
Related Videos:
RSS feed for comments on this post
Share your comments