Temple of the god Amon in Karnak: description, history and interesting facts

In the days of Ancient Egypt, on the site of the present village of Karnak, located on the eastern bank of the Nile not far from the large administrative center of Luxor, was the largest city of that epoch of Thebes. For several centuries it was the capital of the whole state. It was here four thousand years ago began the construction of the largest temple complex, known today as the temple of the god Amon in Karnak.

The greatest of the gods of Ancient Egypt

Before you begin the story of this unique structure, you should at least briefly get acquainted with the one for whom thousands of slaves have erected it for several centuries. Among the pantheon of numerous Egyptian gods, Amon occupied a dominant position. He personified the sun - that is, the power to which all life on the banks of the Nile was subordinated.

With the warmth of its rays it turned the grain into a full-fledged ear, but it could dry up the earth, leaving a dead desert in place of the blossoming field. Every morning it, youthful and burning, ascended to heaven and, having passed its daylight, grew old and fell helplessly beyond the horizon, so that tomorrow it could start all over again. It was also intended for people - in the eternal cycle of life to grow old, die and reborn again in their children.

Temple in Karnak

This is the greatest of the gods dedicated to the Karnak Temple and Luxor. The temple, about which our story is conducted, originally consisted of three parts. The first of them was dedicated to him, that is, to the great and mighty god Amon Ra, the second - to his wife Mut, who patronized all the tsars, who were destined to make the earth happy by its appearance on it, and, finally, the third - to their son the god of the Moon Khonsu. Thus, the plan of the temple complex in Karnak originally demonstrated a number of structures located on a common axis and intended to worship this sacred triad.

Four thousand years ago, Thebes, being the capital of Egypt, was the most densely populated of its city, in which almost half a million people lived. Numerous and victorious wars ensured his receipt of tribute from the conquered peoples and innumerable crowds of slaves. Not surprisingly, the pharaohs could afford the cost of construction, colossal even by today's standards. Both money and labor were in abundance.

Stone annals on the banks of the Nile

The temple of the god Amon was erected in Karnak between the 16th and 11th centuries BC. E., and all the pharaohs who ruled in these centuries, tried to perpetuate his names in it, retaining a memory of themselves. Thutmose I, for example, erected numerous obelisks and statues, depicting him in the image of the god Osiris. His grandson Thutmose III, who built the so-called Annals Hall, on whose walls stories of his brilliant military victories were carved, did not suffer too much modesty. He also glorified his conquests in Asia, erecting in the northern part of the complex the temple of the goddess of war Sekhmet.

Scenes from the life of the pharaohs are covered and numerous columns adorning the Temple of Amon Ra in Karnak. History, covering many centuries of the life of ancient Egypt, is preserved in these stone annals. In addition to the rulers of the country, priests take an important place in their plots, whose influence and significance in public life increased with the expansion of the complex.

On the benefits of education

Quite curious in this regard is the local legend, telling how a certain priest dared to fight for power with Pharaoh himself. He was so successful in his business that the lord had serious fears of losing his throne. Not wishing to take risks, he ordered the soldiers to seize the priest and as a traitor to death.

But by coincidence, the tsar's guard arrived at the temple exactly on that day and hour, when a solar eclipse was due, which the priest certainly knew, because he was, like all his colleagues, an excellent astronomer. Having risen at the right time on the wall of the temple, he raised his hands to heaven, and in front of everyone ordered the sun to hide, so that all his enemies would disappear in the approaching darkness. It is not difficult to imagine the reaction of those gathered when, following his words, the earth covered the darkness. The result was that the enlightened priest took the place of the pharaoh, who was killed that day by a mob at his command.

Pharaohs - builders of the temple

The temple of the god Amon in Karnak was significantly expanded XIII century BC. E. Its builders in this period were the pharaoh of Seti I and his son Ramesses II, who deserved the title of the Great by their deeds. They erected on the territory of the temple complex the Hypostyle Hall, capable of striking by its size not only the inhabitants of those ancient times, but our contemporaries. In an area of five thousand square meters, sixteen rows of rows were installed one hundred and thirty-four columns, covered with gold plates.

The works of Queen Hatshepsut

In the XV century BC. E. The temple of the god Amon in Karnak was significantly supplemented by a woman-pharaoh named Hatshepsut. Continuing the work of his father Thutmose II, she erected in it a series of pylons - a gate in the shape of a truncated pyramid, increased almost a half times the temple of the goddess Mut, and built a separate sanctuary of the heavenly barque of Amun Ra, later called the Red Chapel. On the walls of this building, erected from black and red granite, the ancient masters were carved scenes of her coronation.

However, this sanctuary was not destined to live up to our days. A century later, it was destroyed by another ruler of Egypt - Amenhotep III. Granite blocks, of which it consisted, were used as a building material for the erection of other structures. And only much later, in the so-called Hellenistic period under Alexander the Great, the sanctuary was recreated, but in a greatly modified form.

During the reign of Hatshepsut, the temple of Amon Ra in Karnak was decorated with four monolithic stone obelisks - the largest of those that existed at that time in Egypt. One of them has survived to this day. Cut from red granite, it reaches a height of thirty meters.

In those same years, the tsarina was preparing to hit the world with an even bigger structure. With her, the manufacture of another monolith, the highest in the history of Ancient Egypt, began. According to the plan of the creators, he had to rise over the ground by forty-one meters and weigh at least a thousand two hundred tons. But this work has not been completed for a number of reasons.

Further construction of the complex

At the turn of the XIV and XIII centuries BC. E., already under Pharaoh Horemhebe, three more pylons were built and a famous alley of sphinxes appeared. The rulers of the next dynasty also worked hard. The temple of the god Amon in Karnak they connected with the shore of the Nile road, on both sides of which were installed baranogolic sphinxes. On the territory of the complex, they erected another colonnade, two new pylons, and to crown it all, they established themselves monumental statues.

New Year's Prayer to Amonu

Over time, the worship of Amon took on the character of a nation-wide religion. Every August, when the Nile floods, its statue was solemnly taken out of the temple and along the alley of the sphinxes, accompanied by a crowded procession, was brought to Luxor, where the deity was renewed together with the land that was reborn after long months of drought.

Here Pharaoh himself in prayer, addressed to the gods, and first of all to the great Amon Ra, sought their blessings in the new year. After completing the prayer, he went out to the people who filled the entire territory adjacent to the temple, and, facing the Nile, they all sang a song of praise to the river, so generously poured its waters on the sun dried up Karnak.

Sightseeing in Egypt - the Temple of Amon Ra

But centuries have passed, and the world has changed its face. Gone are the gods of ancient Egypt, but remained under the scorching African sun monuments of that era carefully preserved by the descendants of their builders. In 1979, the Karnak Temple (Amon Ra) appeared on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The description, history and today of this unique structure have been under the close attention of the world community, and annually attract hundreds of thousands of tourists. Not surprisingly, the revenue they bring to the state is an important part of the budget.

And although over the centuries, among other antiquities of Egypt, the Temple of the god Amon was destroyed in Karnak, the testimonies of those who visited him testify that even in ruins he makes an indelible impression of his greatness. On the websites of travel companies that are carrying out tours to Egypt, where those who have visited this amazing country share their impressions, there are always evidences of admiration for the huge building caused by such a grandiose work and the enormous work that was spent on its erection.

Is it any wonder that this temple complex is one of the most popular tourist routes of our time. Hardly anywhere in the world can be found, even though in a large, but still limited space, such an abundance of historical monuments, separated from each other by the time of their creation for dozens of centuries. In addition, in recent years, grandiose shows have been held on its territory every day, including light and sound effects and telling about the history of the temple. All this makes his visit extraordinarily interesting and memorable.