Monday, November 28, 2016

The First Pylon and The First Court of The Temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu .. Part ( 4 )

Leaving the pavilion, and the other temples to right and left, we pass straight across the court to where the great pylon still rises to an impressive height, though its upper portion, with the overhanging cornice, has vanished .
Four long slots in the masonry of the towers show where the four great flagstaves were reared against the face of the building and held in position by clamps of wood and copper which projected from the windows which are still to be seen in the upper part of the left-hand tower ( one also survives on the right tower ) .



To the right of the slots in the right wall, Ramses, wearing the Red Crown, smites his prisoners before Ra-Harakhte ; on the left of those on the left tower he wears the White Crown, and smites the captives before Amen-Rê . Both gods lead forward groups of captives .




Between the slots of the right pylon is a smaller scene of the same kind, and beneath this is a long inscription which tells in very bombastic language how Ramses overthrew the Libyans in the eleventh year of his reign . Below this again, is a scene in which Ramses kneels among the leaves of the sacred tree before Amûn ; Ptah stands behind Amûn's throne, and Thoth inscribes the king's name on the leaves, while Safkhet stands behind the last-named god .



Entering the First Court of the temple, we notice that it has a colonnade with calyx capitals on the south side, while the gallery on the north side has Osirid figures, sorely ruined by early Christian fanaticism .




On the inner face of the south tower of the pylon is a huge battle picture, showing the defeat of the Libyans in the eleventh year of the reign of Ramses III . The Libyans are distinguished by their beards and long hair, with the heavy side-lock . The Egyptian infantry is supplemented by Sherden ( Sardinian ) and Philistine mercenaries, the Sardinians wearing their usual horned helmet, the Philistines their feather-crested helmets, which resemble somewhat the headdress of a Red Indian brave . The king charges with his chariotry into the midst of the Libyans, who are overthrown before him . At the end of the south wall next the pylon, Ramses is seen walking in procession with his fan-bearers . The colonnade on the south side was intended to form the portico to a royal palace which lay immediately south of the temple .



Communication between the palace and the temple was maintained by three large doors which open under the south colonnade, and there is also a large window, on the right and left of which the king stands on a bracket of enemy heads, and slays his foes .



Below this are scenes of dancers, wrestlers and fencers, the details of which are of considerable interest . The sculptor, it is almost needless to say, contrives always to make the Egyptian wrestler appear victorious over his negro or Asiatic opponent . The king's soldier son Ramses watches the games . Farther along we see the king inspecting his horses, with one of the grooms blowing a call on the trumpet .



The rear wall of the first court is formed by the Second Pylon of the temple . On the face of the south tower Ramses presents his prisoners to Amûn and Mût . There are three rows of captives, Shakalsha ( Sicilians or Sagalassians of Pisidia ), Danaana ( Danaoi ), and Peleset ( Philistines ) .



The face of the north tower is occupied by one of the most important historical inscriptions in Egypt, or indeed in the world, which tells the story of Ramses' victory, in the eighth year of his reign, over the great league of the Sea-Peoples . The record is of great interest, of course, in the history of Egypt, as being the story of the last triumphant assertion of Egyptian power against the new forces which were coming to the front in the Mediterranean world ; but it is also of a value which can scarcely be over-estimated in connexion with the movements of the nations at this time ( 1196 B.C. ) .



Passing round to the north side of the court, behind the Osirid pillars, we have the king presenting more prisoners to the Theban triad, driving prisoners before him, as he rides in his chariot, with his pet lion running by his side, attacking an Amorite city, and shooting arrows into it, while his grooms hold his chariot behind him, standing on a balcony of his palace, with his fan-bearers, and addressing his nobles who bring more captives, and finally, on the back of the north tower of the first pylon, receiving the heaps of severed hands by means of which the Egyptians reckoned the number of enemy dead in their battles .





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