Luxor

Luxor  is  the  popular  Arabic  name  for  South Opet, the  area  of  Thebes in  Upper  Egypt  that  was  devoted  to  the  god  Amun during  the  New  Kingdom (1550–1070  B.C.E.).  The  modern  name  is  derived  from the Arabic el-Aqsur, the Castles, an obvious reference to the vast ruined complexes in the area.

Luxor
One of the  leading  social systems  in  Luxor  was  a  temple used for religious rises. Erected by Amenhotep III (r. 1391–1353 B.C.E.) of the Eighteenth Dynasty, the temple  honored  the  Theban  god  Amun.  The  first  Pylon of the Luxor temple and the columnar court of the temple were reconstructed by Ramses II (r. 1290–1224 B.C.E.) of the 19th Dynasty. This section enclosed a sanctuary  that  was  credibly  built  by  Tuthmosis III (r.1479–1425 B.C.E.). Tuthmosis III personally taken the construction  of  the  sanctuary  during  his  reign  in  the Eighteenth Dynasty to take the famous bark of Amun.  The  bark  was  part  of  the  particular  festival  ceremonies and was refurbished periodically and protected in a safe storage area when not in use. Amenhotep III, a successor of Tuthmosis III, raised an actual temple on the site, start the complex.

Six  colossal  statues  and  two  obelisks  mounted  the area  leading  to  the  second  pylon,  which  was  also  established by  Amenhotep  III.  The  court  of  Ramses II  is  settled nearby,  with  colossal  statues  and  double  bud  columns. In the same area, a colonnade and two rows of papyrus capital  columns  were  designed,  bordered  by  papyrus bundle pillars in the same area. A cross Hypostyle Hall, with  32  more  columns  arranged  in  four  rows  of eight,  opened  onto  the  secret  temple  area.  Additional hypostyle  halls  were  surrounded  by  ritual  chapels  and led to the original sanctuary. Amenhotep III raised the walls of the temple with reliefs rendering his birth and his royal parentage, an affectation used often by the rulers  of  the  New  Kingdom. 

Tutankhamun (r.  1333–1323  B.C.E.),  newly  exchanged  to  the  worship  of  Amun afterwards  the  fall  of  ’Amarna and  Akhenten’s  dissident cult  of  Aten, left  the  temple  with  more  reliefs, depicting the ceremonies being conducted in the sanctuary  to  honor  Amun.  It  is  not  certain  if  these  reliefs were  really  the  original  ones  of  Amenhotep  III  or brought  to  placate  the  priests  of  Amun  and  the  Theban people.  Horemhab, at  the  close  of  the  Eighteenth Dynasty,  tried  to  use  the  same inscriptions  to announce his own achievements and awards. Many statues and 2 red granite obelisks, one nowadays in the Place de la Concorde in Paris, raised the Luxor Temple. The barks of Mut, Khons (1), and other deities rested as well in the temple area, which was linked to the massive Karnak complex by a double row of sphinxes. The rulers of later  eras,  taking  the  Late  Period  (712–332  B.C.E.) and  the  Ptolemaic  Period  (304–30  B.C.E.),  contributed  to Luxor temple, which also has an archway put up by the Romans.

The  deity  Amun  was  held to  the  Luxor  Temple once a year to visit his particular manifestation there. The god Amun favorite at Luxor was a vibrant, ithyphallic form of  the  god,  a  patron  of  fertility and  involved  with  the necropolis sites on the western shore of the Nile opposite Thebes. This same form of the deity was also revered in cultic rites at Medinet Habu and remained popular even in the periods of occupation by foreign armies.

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