From
Luxor the Shari' el-Karnak leads straight to Karnak, which it reaches by the
western avenue of ram-headed sphinxes, erected by Amenophis III . Approaching
the site thus from the south-west, we are on the flank of the great temple
instead of its front, and our first acquaintance with the group of temples
which together make up Karnak is made as we reach the temple of Khonsu . This
small temple was dedicated to the son of the Theban triad, the moon-god .
The
avenue of sphinxes leads us up in the first place to the striking propylon
erected by Ptolemy . From this portal crude brick walls ran on either side,
enclosing the precinct of the temple; but the temenos wall has been destroyed in the neighbourhood
of the Khonsu temple . Beyond the propylon, the avenue of sphinxes continues .
We
are now face to face with the front of the temple Khonsu . The façade consists
of a fine and very complete pylon, measuring 59 feet in height, 105 feet in
breadth, and 33 feet in thickness . From these measurements, it will be seen
that the temple is not a very large one; but it is in sufficiently good
preservation to afford a remarkably good example of a complete and
uncomplicated Egyptian temple design of the New Empire . The temple as a whole
dates from the reign of Ramses III, of the 20th dynasty; but the
site must have been previously occupied by a temple, and the remains of the
earlier work have been incorporated in the building . The four vertical grooves
on the front of the two towers of the pylon, with the square openings
corresponding to them in the upper part of the towers, show admirably the
method of fixing the great flagstaves which were a feature in the decoration of
the front of every temple .
Passing
beyond the towers of the pylon, we enter the forecourt . On the east and west
sides of the court are double rows of columns, four in a row; while the north
side is occupied by another double row of twelve columns in all, these being
raised upon a low terrace, which is approached by a ramp of slight incline .
This terrace, with its twelve columns, is sometimes called the Pronaos .
Part ( 6 ) The Temple Of Khonsu ...... Coming SoOoOon .....
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