Luxor Temple by Night

Luxor Temple is a large Ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the Nile River in the city today known as Luxor (ancient Thebes) and was constructed approximately 1400 BCE. In the Egyptian language it is known as ipet resyt, "the southern sanctuary".

Unlike the other temples in Thebes, Luxor temple is not dedicated to a cult god or a deified version of the pharaoh in death. Instead, Luxor temple is dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship; it may have been where many of the pharaohs of Egypt were crowned in reality or conceptually (as in the case of Alexander the Great, who claimed he was crowned at Luxor but may never have traveled south of Memphis, near modern Cairo).

To the rear of the temple are chapels built by Amenhotep III of the 18th Dynasty, and Alexander. Other parts of the temple were built by Tutankhamun and Ramesses II. During the Roman era, the temple and its surroundings were a legionary fortress and the home of the Roman government in the area. During the Roman period a chapel inside the Luxor Temple originally dedicated to goddess Mut was transformed in to a Tetrarchy cult chapel and later into a church.

Luxor Temple Ticket Office
The entrance to the Luxor Temple is via Mabad Al Oksor Street.

The ticket office is located east of the First Pylon.

Avenue of the Sphinxes

Avenue of the Sphinxes seen from the southwest
Avenue of Sphinxes or The King's Festivities Road, also known as Rams Road is a 2.7 km (1.7 mi) long avenue (dromos) which connects Karnak Temple (in the background of the photo) with Luxor Temple having been uncovered in the ancient city of Thebes (modern Luxor), with sphinxes and ram-headed statues lined up on both flanks.

Construction of the Avenue of Sphinxes began during the New Kingdom era and was completed during the Late period during the reign of 30th Dynasty ruler Nectanebo I (380–362 B.C.).
The original 1,057 statues are along the way, and they are divided into three shapes:

The first shape is a lion's body with a ram's head erected on an area of approximately 1,000 feet between the Karnak temple and the Precinct of Mut during the reign of the ruler of the New Kingdom Tutankhamun.
The second shape is a full ram statue, built in a remote area during the eighteenth dynasty of Amenhotep III, before being transferred later to the Karnak complex.
The third shape which includes the largest part of the statues is a statue of the Sphinx (body of a lion and head of a human), the statues extend over a mile to Luxor Temple.

This was used once a year in a festival during which the image of Amun travelled from Karnak to visit his southern dominion. It was at Luxor temple that he was transformed into Min the god of fertility.
See more at Avenue of Sphinxes - Wikipedia and Opet Festival - Wikipedia.

Temple of Amun

The Temple of Amun in Luxor
The Temple of Amun (Plan No. α) Plan Legend:

Temple of Amun (Amenhotep III)
Sun Court (Amenhotep III)
Barque Stop (Thutmose III and Hatshepsut) and Shrine of the Theban triade (Ramesses II)
Colonnade (Thutankhamun and Haremhab)
Great Court (Ramesses II)
Temple of Serapis

Sanctuary of Amun (Amenhotep III)
Barque Shrine (Amenhotep III, Alexander the Great)
Birth Room (Amenhotep III)
Roman Sanctuary
Hypostyle Hall
Third Pylon
Processional Colonnade (Amenhotep III)
Second Pylon
First Pylon
East Obelisk
West Obelisk

Photograph by 14nu5, distributed under a CC-BY 3.0 license.

Temple of Serapis (Plan No. f)

Temple of Serapis (Plan No. f)
The Temple of Serapis was built by Hadrian in the court of Nectanebo I. Built using burnt brick and was dedicated to the god Serapis, is the only one remaining of all Roman structures.

The small temple in the northwest corner built by Hadrian and dedicated to Sarapis early in the second century CE and was reconstructed by Gaius Julius Antoninus, a former soldier and neokoro (temple attendant) of Serapis.
Dedicated to Hadrian on his birthday in 126 CE, the chapel was recently restored.
The platform on which the temple is built measures 12 by 8 meters (39 by 26 ft).
Several niches for statues were cut in the outer temple walls.
See more at Serapis - Wikipedia.

First Pylon (Plan No. I)

First Pylon seen from the northeast (Plan No. I)
The First Pylon has two towers measuring 24 meters (78 ft) high and 65 meters (213 ft) wide. They are carved in sunken relief depicting Ramesses at the battle of Kadesh.

On the facade of the west (right) tower, the king is depicted with his advisers and generals.
On the east (left) tower, the battle is shown with Ramesses driving his chariot over the dead and dying enemies.
See more at Battle of Kadesh - Wikipedia and Kadesh inscriptions - Wikipedia.

Statues of Ramesses II and Obelisk
Two massive seated statues of Ramesses II guard the huge gateway and are flanked by four standing statues of the king. Two 25 m (80 ft) obelisks once accompanied them but today only one remains the other stands in the Place De La Concorde in Paris.

At the Luxor Temple, the two obelisks flanking the entrance were not the same height, but they created the illusion that they were.
The smaller one closer to the west (Plan No. K) is now at the Place de la Concorde in Paris.
With the layout of the temple they appear to be of equal height, but using illusionism, it enhances the relative distances hence making them look the same size to the wall behind it.
Symbolically, it is a visual and spatial effect to emphasize the heights and distance from the wall, enhancing the already existing pathway.
See more at Luxor Obelisks - Wikipedia.

Baboons at the base of the East Obelisk
Babi, in ancient Egyptian religion, was the deification of the hamadryas baboon, one of the animals present in ancient Egypt. His name is usually translated as "bull of the baboons", roughly meaning "chief of the baboons".

Since baboons were considered to be the dead, Babi was viewed as a deity of the Underworld, the Duat. Baboons are extremely aggressive and omnivorous, and Babi was viewed as being very bloodthirsty, and living on entrails. Consequently, he was viewed as devouring the souls of the sinful after they had been weighed against Maat (the concept of truth/order), and was thus said to stand by a lake of fire, representing destruction.
Baboons also have noticeably high libidos, in addition to their high level of genital marking, and so Babi was considered the god of virility of the dead. He was usually portrayed with an erection, and due to the association with the judging of souls, was sometimes depicted as using it as the mast of the ferry which conveyed the righteous to Aaru, a series of islands.
See more at Babi (mythology) - Wikipedia.

Seated statue of Ramesses II
Ramesses II (c. 1303 BC – 1213 BC), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty.

Along with Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty, he is often regarded as the greatest, most celebrated, and most powerful pharaoh of the New Kingdom, which itself was the most powerful period of ancient Egypt.
He is also widely considered one of ancient Egypt's most successful warrior pharaohs, conducting no fewer than 15 military campaigns, all resulting in victories, excluding the Battle of Kadesh, generally considered a stalemate.
See more at Ramesses II - Wikipedia.

Standing statue of Ramesses II
This is one of four standing statues of Ramesses II that stood in front of the First Pylon.

Great Court of Ramses II (Plan No. e)

West corner of the Great Court of Ramesses II (Plan No. e)
The Great Court of Ramesses II is 57 m (188 ft) long and 51 m (168 ft) wide.

Seventy four papyrus columns, with bud capitals surround it.
In the north corner of the court there is the Barque Stop of Thutmose III and Hatshepsut, and the Shrine of the Theban Triade of Ramesses II (Plan No. c).
The court to the east is now partly occupied by the Mosque of al-Hajjaj.

South corner of the Grand Court of Ramesses II
In the southern part of the court there are a number of standing colossi of Ramesses II.

Standing colossus of Ramesses II

Reliefs on the wall of the Great Court of Ramesses II

Second Pylon (Plan No. H)

Second Pylon (Plan No. H)
The southwest side of the Great Court of Ramesses II is formed by the Second Pylon (Plan No. H).

At the entrance to the Second Pylon is a seated statue of Ramesses II on either side.

Ramesses II on both sides of the entrance
The Second Pylon was initiated by Horemheb, the last pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, and continued by Ramesses I and Ramesses II.

Ramesses II raised three colossal red granite statues of himself on both sides of the entrance; one is destroyed.

Relief on the throne of the east statue of Ramesses II
The relief shows Hapi tying the papyrus and reed plants in the sema tawy symbol for the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt.

The union of Upper and Lower Egypt is depicted by knotted papyrus and reed plants.
The binding motif represents both harmony through linkage and domination through containment.
See more at Upper and Lower Egypt: Sema Tawy and symbolism - Wikipedia.

Colonnade (Plan No. d)

Processional Colonnade seen from the northeast (Plan No. G)
The Processional Colonnade built by Amenhotep III to be the grand entrance to the Temple of Amen of the Opet, is one of the most impressive elements of tis temple.

It represents the third stage in that king's elaborate building plans at Luxor Temple, and though it chronologically precedes the Great Court, it follows that element geographically.
This one hundred meter long colonnade is a part of the oldest segment of this temple.

Processional Colonnade seen from the southwest
These fourteen great columns in two rows erected during Amenhotep III's reign, though only completed after his death, may have originally been intended as the main axis of what was to become a great hypostyle hall, similar to the one at Karnak. However, if that is true, it was never finished. The colonnade was finished during the reign of Tutankhamun, Ay and Horemheb.

The columns, which stand 19 meters (62 ft) high, have open papyrus capitals that support a roof 21 meters (69 ft) above the ground.
They are surmounted by abacus, which in turn support architrave blocks. The space is narrow, being only ten meters wide.

Third Pylon (Plan No. F)

Third Pylon (Plan No. F)
The Third Pylon was built a few decades before the Hypostyle Hall in the reign of Amenhotep III (ca. 1390-1352 BCE).

Although Amenhotep III may have built the Third Pylon earlier in his reign, he did not inscribe it until the last decade of his reign during preparations for his first Heb-Sed festival, the pharaonic jubilee celebrated after 30 years on the throne.
The Third Pylon is most famous for what was inside it, not what Amenhotep carved on its walls. When it was restored in the early 1900s, several hundred blocks from earlier buildings were discovered inside. Enough was found to reconstruct a number of smaller monuments, including the lovely "white chapel" of the Middle Kingdom pharaoh Senwosret I (ca. 1965-1920 BCE) and the "red chapel" of Queen Hatshepsut (ca. 1472-1458 BCE) which has been rebuilt.

Sun Court (Plan No. b)

Sun Court seen from the northeast (Plan No. b)
The Great Sun Court of Amenhotep III measures about 45.11 by 56.08 meters (148 by 184 feet).

It was the first expansion northward from the core temple. It was not a part of the original core temple. This is a peristyle court with a double row of sixty columns with papyrus bundle capitals on three sides. Today, they are the best preserved and most elegant columns in the temple.
It received decoration from the time of Amenhotep himself to that of Alexander the Great. The side walls retain some of their original coloring, but are poorly preserved. They show traces of scenes showing Amenhotep III, Amun and others, including Alexander the Great.

Sun Court seen from the southwest
In the center of the photo we can see the Processional Colonnade (Plan No. G). Further back we can see the First Pylon (Plan No. I).

The "Sun Court" is really a modern name for this court, due to its being an open court to the sky. There was apparently no sun worship aspect of this courtyard, and in fact, many modern authors have dropped the term, "Sun Court" in favor of more generic terms.

Hypostyl Hall (Plan No. E)

Hypostyle Hall seen from the northeast (Plan No. E)
The Hypostyle Hall is the first room of the original Opet temple

The Hypostyle Hall has four rows of eight columns each, leading to the main halls.

Roman Sanctuary (Plan No. D)

Roman Sanctuary (Plan No. D)
This space is known as the First Antechamber, or more correctly, the "Chamber of the Divine King." It served as a barque shrine during the Pharaonic Period proper, but was converted into a chapel for the Roman imperial cult.

At that time, the columns were removed and the floor level raised, using drums from the columns of the Kushite (Nubian) kiosk that once stood before the Ramesside Pylon.
Here, scenes of Amenhotep III and Amun were overlaid with plaster and painted with depictions of Roman officials.
Nevertheless, Amenhotep III and Amun-Re can still be seen on the south, or rear wall, where the plaster has fallen away.
Also on this back wall, an apse with flanking Corinthian columns was built in what had been a doorway and painted with standing figures of Diocletian and Maximillian with their two Caesars, Constantius Chlorus and Galerius.

Offering Vestibule (Between D and B)

Offering Vestibule of Amenhotep III (Between D and B)
Beyond the apse (one must stoop to go through the doorway) lies the four pillared Second Antechamber, known as the "Offering Vestibule."

This is where the principal temple offerings were made to Amun.
Here, the roof is almost complete, and a lot of paint survives on the splendid reliefs.
Depictions on the walls of this chamber portray Amenhotep III driving cattle to the temple to be slaughtered before the god.
He also offers Amun, the State God during much of the New Kingdom, flowers, vases and incense.
He is then accepted by the god (on the south wall) and conducted into his presence in the sanctuary.

Southwest door of the Offering Vestibule
In the background we can see the door and the interior of the Barque Shrine (Plan No. B).

Barque Shrine (Plan No. B)

East corner of the Barque Shrine (Plan No. B)
The Barque Shrine is contained within the Third Antechamber.

Immediately behind the Offering Vestibule is the Barque Shrine of Amun-Re, inside what is often referred to as the Third Antechamber.

Northeast door of the Barque Shrine
Above the lintel of the doorway into this antechamber, a small chamber was built into the wall that was just large enough to accommodate a man. It was concealed by removable slabs, and accessed by holds cut in the wall.

Some scholars believed this to be a priest-hole, where a priest would conceal himself during religious ceremonies. He would then be the voice of Amun, when priests asked questions of the god.
Others, less cynical of Egyptian religion, think it was a secret annex for storing ceremonial objects.

Third Antechamber and Barque Shrine
We can see the interior northwest wall of the Barque Shrine on the left side of the photo, and the Third Antechamber on the right side of the photo.

Northwest wall of the Barque Shrine
The shrine was rededicated to Alexander the Great after it was reconstructed by him. Representations in this chamber depict Amenhotep III or Alexander the Great standing before figures of the ithyphallic Amun.

Alexander the Great is, of course, dressed as a pharaoh, and in these scenes he receives the two crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt. He also participates in offering rites.

Southeast wall of the Barque Shrine
At one time four pillars defined the space where the sacred barque of Amun (of Karnak), and his image were placed during the Opet Festival.

But these were replaced during the time of Alexander the Great with an inner shrine.

Birth Room (Plan No. C)

Birth Room of Amenhotep III (Plan No. C)
To the east, or left of the Barque Shrine, a doorway leads into two rooms.

The first of these is known as the Coronation Room, while the second one is known as the Birth Room.
In these rooms, we find depictions not only of Amenhotep III's divine birth cycle, but also his apotheosis as the sun god, his coronation and one of his jubilees.
In the second chamber, the north lateral one on the east, scenes depicting the divine birth of Amenhotep III adorn the west wall.

West wall of the Birth Room
In the Birth Room scenes depicting the divine birth of Amenhotep III adorn the west wall. They are oriented to be read from bottom to top.

Here, we find scenes of Queen Mutemuya, the mother of Amenhotep III, together with Amun, during the divine conception, executed in low-relief.
The fingers of the god touch those of the queen and "his dew filled her body," according to the accompanying hieroglyphic caption. This was the "divine marriage" that was celebrated between the god and the queen, or "God's wife", during the Opet Festival.
Next, the god Khnum fashions Amenhotep III and his ka on his potter's wheel.
These scenes also show the pregnant Mutemuya in the presence of Isis and Khnum along with Amenhotep III's subsequent presentation to the gods and nurturing.
Finally, there is the the determination of the future king's realm.

Leaving Luxor Temple