The Temple Of Montu .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 23 )

We now pass through a gateway in the north temenos wall of the great temple, and reach the brick wall surrounding the precinct of the temple of Montu, the most ancient god of Thebes .

Montu was a war-god with a falcon-headed, whose chief seat was at Armant ( Hermonthis ), 12½ miles south of Luxor, on the west bank of the Nile .

Though superseded by Amûn, he always retained dignity and influence at Thebes, and was frequently appealed to by the Pharaohs of the conquering period .

The foundation of the temple was due to Amenophis III, though no doubt an earlier shrine stood upon the site ; it was restored and enlarged in Ptolemaic times .

The temple is almost entirely ruined, so that only its ground-plan can be seen . It had two obelisks before its doorway, and their pedestals are still in situ .

Various gateways open in the temenos wall . That on the north side is of sandstone, and was erected by Ptolemy III, Euergetes I . On the east side is an uninscribed limestone gateway, now wrecked down to a few feet above ground-level .

In the south wall there is a series of gateways of Queen Amenirdis ( Shepenôpet ), The God's Wife of Amûn, of the 25^th dynasty . These led into a set of six small shrines of the same queen . The four easterly ones are completely ruined ; but the two westerly ones still show sufficient remains to be intelligible . In the one of these two farthest from the west wall was found the famous alabaster statue of Queen Amenirdis which is now in the Cairo Museum ( No. 930, G. 30, centre ) .

Half-way along the west girdle-wall on the inside is a ruined Ptolemaic shrine, and on the outside of the west wall nearly opposite this ruin of a small shrine of Amenemhêt II ( 12^th dynasty ), re-inscribed by Haremhab and Seti I .

Some Of Other Small Buildings .. The Karnak Temple Complex .. Part ( 24 ) .. The Last Part .. Coming SoOoOon .....

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