The Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III is located on the Western bank of the
Nile river, across from the Eastern bank city of Luxor, Egypt.
The mortuary temple's primary purpose was as a place for offerings for
Amenhotep III for after his passing and movement into the afterlife.
The whole temple also symbolizes a mound and the "emergence of the world from
the primeval waters of creation" every time the Nile river flooded the temple,
since the Egyptians believed that the Earth was formed by a mound emerging
from the water. Therefore, it is believed that the temple was intentionally
built on a flood plain so this ideology could come true.
Amenhotep III wanted to be revered as a god on Earth, not just in the
afterlife. He built this enormous mortuary temple to leave a legacy that he
was a living god who ruled on Earth.
Examining the remains within the temple, the temple indicates the unification
of Egypt and the Sed Festival of Amenhotep III. The statues found within the
temple were used during rituals commonly found within the Sed Festival;
however, relief fragments show that the temple was not yet standing during
Amenhotep III's first Sed Festival. A time frame for when a celebration at a
later date may have occurred within the temple is II peret 29 or III peret 1.
These celebrations took place in a courtyard within the temple during the last
ten years of Amenhotep III's reign. The importance of the Sed Festival is that
it portrays a reenactment of the unification of Egypt.
To further reinforce the idea of unification, building materials from both
Upper and Lower Egypt were used, which demonstrates Amenhotep III maintained
sema-tawy (unification) of both lands.
Additionally, Amenhotep III established the idea of Maat (justice and peace)
over Islet (chaos) by having the statues of fauna, and therefore having
control over them, as well as depicting bound Egyptian enemies (such as the
Nubian, Asiatics, Mesopotamians, Aegeans and Hittites) next to statues of
himself.
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Approaching the main entrance of the temple
The mortuary temple is located on the Western bank of the Nile river,
across from the eastern bank city of Luxor.
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During its time, the Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III was the largest
funerary complex in Thebes that was built.
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Only parts of the mortuary temple's layout remain, as well as the
Colossi of Memnon, which are two large stone statues placed at the
entrance.
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Because the mortuary temple was built relatively close to the river,
the annual flooding caused the site to decay at a more rapid rate.
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New research indicates that a large majority of the destruction on the
mortuary temple can be attributed to the effects of an earthquake.
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It was long speculated that the earthquake occurred around 27 BCE;
however, investigations into the mortuary temple and surrounding
colossi have debunked this time frame and instead have demonstrated it
occurred around 1200 BCE. Additional earthquakes after the one in 1200
BCE have not been ruled out.
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Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III Plan
Plan Legend:
- Colossi of Memnon
- First pylon
- First courtyard
- Second pylon
- Second courtyard
- Third pylon
- Hypostyle hall
- Remaining stelae
- Peristyle Sun court
- Temple of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris
- Remaining statues
- Mudbrick enclosure wall
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Front of the mortuary temple
The temple faced to the east, which is most likely due to the sun rising
in the east, since Amenhotep III revered the sun god Amun.
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At the front of the mortuary temple, the Colossi of Memnon (Plan No.
1) can be found, and as one enters, the long Hypostyle Hall (Plan No.
7) leads to the Peristyle Sun Court (Plan No. 9), and the whole area
is surrounded by three pylons (Plan No. 2, 4 and 6), also known as
gates.
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The Sun Court (Plan No. 9) is divided into the north and south halves
and consisted of statues of both Amenhotep III and the gods.
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The north side had brown quartzite statues from Lower Egypt, while the
south side had red granite statues from Aswan in Upper Egypt.
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Northern colossus
The Colossi of Memnon (Plan No. 1) are two massive stone statues of the
Pharaoh Amenhotep III, which stand at the front of the ruined Mortuary
Temple of Amenhotep III.
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They have stood since 1350 BC, and were well known to ancient Greeks
and Romans, as well as early modern travelers and Egyptologists. The
statues contain 107 Roman-era inscriptions in Greek and Latin, dated
to between 20 and 250 CE; many of these inscriptions on the
northernmost statue make reference to the Greek mythological king
Memnon, whom the statue was then – erroneously – thought to represent.
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Southern colossus
The twin statues depict Amenhotep III in a seated position, his hands
resting on his knees and his gaze facing eastwards towards the river.
Two shorter figures are carved into the front throne alongside his legs:
these are his wife Tiye and mother Mutemwiya. The side panels depict the
Nile god Hapi.
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The statues are made from blocks of quartzite sandstone which was
quarried at el-Gabal el-Ahmar (near modern-day Cairo) and transported
675 km (420 mi) overland to Thebes (Luxor). The stones are believed to
be too heavy to have been transported upstream on the Nile. The blocks
used by later Roman engineers to reconstruct the northern colossus may
have come from Edfu (north of Aswan).
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Including the stone platforms on which they stand – themselves about 4
m (13 ft) – the colossi reach 18 m (60 ft) in height and weigh an
estimated 720 tons each. The two figures are about 15 m (50 ft) apart.
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Both statues are quite damaged, with the features above the waist
virtually unrecognizable. The southern statue comprises a single piece
of stone, but the northern figure has a large extensive crack in the
lower half and above the waist consists of 5 tiers of stone. These
upper levels consist of a different type of sandstone, and are the
result of a later reconstruction attempt, which William de Wiveleslie
Abney attributed to Septimius Severus. It is believed that originally
the two statues were identical to each other, although inscriptions
and minor art may have varied.
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See also
Sources
Location
