The White Chapel of

Senusret I

Senusret I was the second king of Egypt's 12th Dynasty, and was the first monarch of the Middle Kingdom to invest in an extensive building program. He constructed a number of temples from the Delta to as far south as Elephantine at modern Aswan, included structures at Thebes . We have evidence of at least 35 sites where he built, yet most of this work is lost to us. This is regrettable, because the art of this period is superb.

One building project that was lost to us, but now is found is the little pavilion built for Senusret I's first jubilee (Sed) festival, which according to custom, occurred during the king's 30th year as ruler (though it is probable that Senusret's festival was held in his 31st year of rule). It was probably built to house the royal barque and is sometimes referred to as a "barque shrine". Popularly known as the White Chapel, it had been disassembled and used as fill in Amenhotep III's Third Pylon at Karnak during the 18th Dynasty. In 1924, the director general of the Egyptian Antiquities Service, Pierre Lacau, ordered his director of works at Karnak, Henri Chevrier, to repair this Pylon, but in order to do so, the pylon had to be dismantled.

It took years to do so, because it could only be done when the Nile was in a low phase, due to ground water. During this work, Chevrier discovered some 951 blocks that belonged to a total of eleven different structures that had been used as fill within the pylon. While many of the blocks were damaged, their reliefs were often in outstanding condition, due to the layers of mortar which had both bound them together and protected the blocks.

This work progressed slowly, but methodically, and after determining the proper block orientation and placement, Chevrier was able to reconstruct almost completely the so called "White Chapel" of Senusret I and the barque shrine of Amenhotep I. Both buildings are now located in the Open Air Museum at Karnak, along with the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut. The White Chapel as a structure is considered by many to be the most elegant, as well as the oldest structure in Karnak today, and Chevier thought that the structure may have once been covered in gold foil, so it could have been all the more glorious.

The White Chapel is a small, simple, but eloquent structure, built of Egyptian alabaster (calcite), most notable for its many inscriptions. It was probably built during the remarkable purity of form in this structure is echoed in the austerity of the temple at Qasr el-Sagha. Ramps led up on either side to the small rectangular building, situated on a platform, in which Senusret I himself possibly sat enthroned during part of his Sed festival. There are twelve pillars around the outside of the kiosk, with another four in the interior that support a complete roof. These pillars are decorated with raised reliefs on all four sides. Between the outside pillars is a low, rounded balaustrade. The different nomes of Egypt (the administrative centers) are recorded in columns on the parapet (base). Within the chapel, the god depicted with Senusret I is usually Amun-Re in his guise of the god of procreation and fertility, Min.

In many of these depictions, the god stands, ithyphallic, on a rectangular pedestal and is swathed as though a mummy, with linen bands crossed over his chest and with two tall feathers attached to the fillet around his head. Longstreamers from the head band hang down his back almost to the ground. His right arm is raised behind him holding a flail, the symbol of kingship. In these scenes, we find tall plants behind Amun-Min that depict cos lettuce which, even today as in antiquity, is regarded as a potent aphrodisiac. The plant was associated with Amun-Min. In other scenes, Amun is depicted in similar dress as the king, again with the tall feathers, usually offering the sign of life to the king. Alas, we find the king being led before Amun by Re-Horakhty, who instead offers the king the sign of life.

In various scenes, the king is shown either wearing the Red Crown of lower Egypt, which interestingly, appears to made of basketry, or the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.

As an example of the scenes found within this chapel, from a viewpoint inside we see on one of the left central pillars Senusret I, who is offering a ritual conical loaf (shewbread?) to the god, Amun-Min. On the right, the north pillar of the eastern doorway is shown Atum, the Lord of Heliopolis, conducting the king towards Amun-Min, saying to him, "Come in peace, O Senusret, that thou mayest see thy father, Amun Re, who loves thee, that he may give thee the kingship of the Two Lands". Barely discernible on the shaded face of the pillar, the king is followed by his ka and embraces Amun-Min.

In the center of the scene on the pillar which stands at the north east corner of the building, Senusret I is consecrating to the god the sacred mast which he has erected for him and in return Amun-Min says to him, "I who am thy father, O Senusret...I establish thy crown as King of Upper and Lower Egypt on the throne of Horus, living for ever."

As an interesting side note, the White Chapel provides one of the earliest records of a "river-unit". This is a measurement that appears to correspond to 20,000 cubits in length, or about 10.5 kilometers.

Detail of the Finely Carved Raised Reliefs

However, it is not the content of the inscriptions that set this monument apart from almost all others in Egypt, but it is the minute, carved details of the costumes and glyphs, which were usually not engraved but added in paint. The reliefs and hieroglyphic inscriptions are integrally related to the architectural design and are not only some of the best work known from the Middle Kingdom, but of all the monuments in Egypt. Their caring and spacing was never really surpassed.

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http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak/feature/WhiteChapel

T.N.P

The Temple of Philae in Egypt

Part II

The Approach to the Temple of Isis

Though the monuments of Philae Island are now located on the nearby reworked Island of Agilika, and Philae is now buried beneath the waters of the lake formed between the Old Aswan Dam and the High Dam, Philae and the neighboring island of Biggeh to the west, in ancient times, formed an integrated religious complex devoted to the cult of Osiris. The ritual focus was Biggeh, the site of the abaton, one of the alleged tombs of Osiris. At Philae, regular visits were paid every tenth day by Isis to the island of Bigeh and the tomb of Osiris.

There are many legends connected to Philae, but the most well known one tells the story of how Isis found the heart of Osiris here after his murder by his brother Seth. Each evening there is a Sound and Light Show which recounts the legends against the magnificent backdrop of the floodlit monuments - a truly magical experience.

Tourist boats on their way to visit the Temples of Philae in Egypt

Philae was dedicated preeminently to Isis, sister-wife to Osiris, and patroness of the Ptolemaic rule. Although Isis was the major deity honored therein, the location of the island on the frontier between Egypt and Nubia meant that cults of Nubia were also featured on theisland,represented by significant cult buildings.

There was some evidence at the actual island of Philae of cult activity in honor of Amun, in the time of King Taharqa, who ruled Egypt between 689 and 664 BC in the 25th dynasty, and who probably built an altar of granite to Amun. Perhaps the Kushites, when invading Egypt, established a stronghold on Philae. Traces of mudbrick houses in trenches between the stone foundations of the later temples and the early nilometer west of the mammisi may date to this period.

The monuments on the island are dominated by the great temple of Isis and its associated structures, which are concentrated in the west and center of the island, on, or adjacent to, a granite outcrop which must have been originally chosen as an embodiment of the primeval hill on which the first temple was said to have rested. This hill was reproduced on the new location of the monuments at Agilika.

The Taharqa altar to Amun is the earliest evidence of structures on the island. The known history of Philae does not go back farther than that, and it was not until the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods that Philae rose to importance. The priests believed their island had a far longer history, and as stated above, an inscription at the frontier on the island of Sehel states that as early as the 3rd Dynasty, Djoser gave them the country from the First Cataract to the island of Derar. (Dodekaschoinoi) During Ptolemaic times they held the gold mines of Wadi Alaki within their administrative sphere.

But the earliest known cult building in honor of Isis, known to the Egyptians as Aset, was a small shrine erected in the Saite period by Psamtik II. This was followed by a further small temple on the granite outcrop, erected by Amasis. So it now seems that the Saite kings introduced the cult of Isis into this area and laid the foundations for her subsequent glorification on the island.

The next evidence of building, and the earliest surviving monument of Philae, dates to the 30th Dynasty. Beginning at the ancient quay where boats now land at the southwestern corner of the great temple, the first structure is the kiosk of Nectanebo I, though one may first notice the obvious seating for the sound and light show. The kiosk or vestibule of Nectanebo is a hall with screen walls linked by graceful columns. Of its original fourteen Hathor pillars, only six remain. The screens between the columns are some six feet high, crowned with concave cornices and rows of uraeus-serpents. The screens are carved with reliefs showing Nectanebo sacrificing to the gods.


From Nectanebo's monument north, there are two colonnades, one on the east side and another on the west of an outer courtyard that leads to the first temple pylon. The western half of the colonnade is the more complete, and is pierced with windows originally looking toward the island of Biggeh. A nilometer descends the cliff from here. The colonnade is about one hundred yards long and contains thirty-one of the original thirty-two columns. The column capitals tops are floral, and remarkable in their variety with no two being alike. Most of the columns show carvings of Tiberius offering gifts to the gods. The ceiling, which is mostly destroyed, is decorated with stars and and flying vultures, while the rear wall has two rows of bas-reliefs of Tiberius and Agustus offering to the gods.

The eastern colonnade was never completed. On the south it abuts the temple of Arsenuphis, or Iry-hemes-nufer just to the north of the vestibule of Nectanebo. Arensnuphis was an obscure Nubian lion-god venerated as the companion of Isis. The temple was built by Ptolemy IV Philopator and extended by Ptolemy V Epiphanes. Here, the reliefs depict Ptolemy V before Isis and other gods, and also Ptolemy IV before Isis, Horus and Unnefer. The shrine was enclosed by walls that are ruined in some places but which have representations of Tiberius worshipping Osiris, Isis, Harsieses (Horus the Elder), Nephthys, Khnum, Satis, Anukis, Arsenuphis and Tefnut.

The eastern colonnade is partly roofed and has seventeen columns, only six of which have their capitals completed. Behind (to the north) of the Temple of Arsenuphis and to the east of the eastern colonnade is the ruined chapel of Mandulis, another Nubian deity. At the northern end of the colonnade is the Temple of Imhotep. In it, Ptolemy V Epiphanes is shown before the deified Imhotep.

Just beyond the temple of Imhotep and the first Great Pylon of the Temple of Isis is the Gate of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, with depictions of the Ptolemaic Pharaoh being led forward by Isis.

Just before the main gateway to the first pylon are two Roman style lions carved from pink granite that have been re-erected on this island from their fallen position on the old Island of Philae. Two obelisks once also stood here, erected by Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II and his second wife, Cleopatra III (who by the way is not the more famous Cleopatra VII). On the base of the eastern obelisk was the inscription complaining to the royal that the priests of Isis at Philae were being forced to refund the expenses of civil and military authorities incurred during their stay on the island.

These obelisks made of pink granite are not lost to us, but may now be found at Kingston Lacy in Dorset in the UK. The eastern obelisk, which measures 6.7 meters tall and weighs six tons, was found on its side half-buried and its western counterpart was badly damaged and only about a third of it remained. They were taken by Mr. Ralph Bankes for his garden. Interestingly, they were partly instrumental in the decipherment of hieroglyphics. The Rosetta Stone bears many inscription of Ptolemy in hieroglyphics, demotic script and Greek. From these inscriptions, it was possible for the French Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion to identify the hieroglyphic form of the name, by using the same method, Bankes pointed out the hieroglyphic form of the name, Cleopatra, which was unknown before. But these obelisks, or at least the eastern one, has a more interesting history than this.

Two of the most avid collectors of antiquities in Egypt around this time (1819) were the British Consul, Henry Salt, and the Consul-General of France, Bernardino Drovetti. They both gave money to local chiefs throughout Egypt who then saw to it that other collectors were either warned off or not supplied with labor. It was Salt, of course, who actually obtained the obelisks for Ralph Bankes, and Salt was lucky enough to have as his agent the giant Italian adventurer, Giovanni Belzoni, nicknamed the strongman of Egyptology.

On hearing of this matter concerning the obelisks at Philae, Drovetti claimed that they belonged to him, but grandly ceded the ownership to Bankes. Belzoni, who Salt tasked with their transport, thought that Drovetti had found it impossible to find ways of transporting the first obelisk (the complete, eastern one) through the cataract and had relinquished his claim for this reason. Given the size of the obelisk, he may have been right.

The obelisk was levered and pushed on rollers to a stout wooden pier for shipment, "But, alas," writes Bezoni, "when the obelisk came gradually from the sloping bank and all its weight rested on it, the pier, with the obelisk and some of the men, took a slow movement, and majestically descended into the river."

Nevertheless, Belzoni and his men hauled it out of the mud and got it loaded onto a boat for its journey to Cairo. Yet the story does not end there, for Drovetti had, it seems, not given up. Drovetti's men intercepted Belzoni on his way to Aswan and it was only after a long altercation which ended in gun-fire and the arrival of Drovetti himself that the monument was allowed to proceed on its way. It was shipped to England on the Despatch in May, 1821 and not erected in Bankes garden until 1827. In the interval, Bankes returned to Egypt in 1822 to collect the broken western obelisk.

This leads us up to the first pylon, beyond which is the temple of Isis proper.

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T.N.P

The Temples of Philae on

Agilika Island

Part I

" Before the High Dam "

One of the main sites visited by almost every tour to Egypt is what is billed as Philae, but Philae is actually a nonexistent island now buried beneath Lake Nasser. The island was sometimes visible and sometimes not after the Old Aswan Dam was built, but was permanently submerged by the High Dam.

Philae is an approximate Greek rendering of the local name "Pilak" known from hieroglyphic texts and which may be Nubian in origin. The ancient Egyptians saw in their name for Philae an etymology with the meaning "island of the time [of Ra]", but the island’s history is later than that.

What we refer to today as Philae is the main temple complex relocated from that island, after the High Dam was built, to the island of Agilika. It was the center of the cult of the goddess Isis and her connection with Osiris, Horus, and the Kingship, during the Ptolemaic period of Egyptian History.

Today, there are two dams at Aswan but of course, in ancient times, there were none. Prior to the dams, Philae Island occupied a position at the beginning or southern end of the First Nile Cataract, where the river gathered speed, dropping sixteen feet in swirling eddies and turbulent falls of white water for a distance of three miles. Various pharaohs attempted to calm or at least provide better passage around these rapids. Pepi I built at least one canal, as did Merenre, as early as the Old Kingdom, but later kings would also, such as Senusret III.

During early times, the priests of Philae claimed that the source of the Nile was bottomless and lay beneath the rocks of Biggeh, where half the river rose to flow north and half to flow south. Their rivals were the priests of Elephantine, who made the same claim. Indeed, the river around these islands was even then over one hundred feet deep in places, with confusing waters that could twist and turn in all directions.

This trek of water was hazardous in ancient times, a fact that escapes the modern visitor to Agilika Island. Amelia Edwards, the fearless Victorian Egyptologist saw it differently than we do today. She recounts:

"At Assuan, one bids good-bye to Egypt and enters Nubia through the gates of the Cataract - which is, in truth, no cataract, but a succession of rapids extending over two thirds of the distance between Elephantine and Philae. The Nile - diverted from its original course by some unrecorded catastrophe, the nature of which has given rise to much scientific conjecture - here spreads itself over a rocky basin bounded by sand-slopes on the one side, and by granite cliffs on the other. Studded with numberless islets, divided into numberless channels, foaming over sunken rocks, eddying among water-worn boulders, now shallow, now deep, now loitering, now hurrying, here sleeping in the ribbed hollow of a tiny sand-drift, there circling above the vortex of a hidden whirlpool, the river, whether looked upon from the deck of a dahabeeyah or the heights along the shore, is seen everywhere to be fighting its way through a labyrinth, the paths of which have never yet been mapped or sounded."

Of course, one can still get a glimpse of these cataracts north of the Old Aswan Dam. In ancient times, travelers made their devotions at Philae before continuing through the dangerous territory of the south to the "Land of Ghosts".

On the island of Sehel are more than 250 inscriptions from pilgrims and travelers coming to and going through the area, dating from the fourth dynasty down to the Ptolemaic period. Pepi I cut canals through the cataract to assist boat crews on their way to the calm water above Philae. Harkhuf passed through here on his way to Nubia during the reign of Pepi II. Also here on Sehel is the so-called Famine Stela, inscribed during Ptolemaic times but related to the reign of King Djoser in the 3rd Dynasty. It states that the king decreed that large tracts of land on both sides of the river stretching from Elephantine south should be given to Khnum’s temple, along with one-tenth of all produce and livestock raised as well as taxes on caravans and gold mining. There is an identical decree in the temple of Philae, carved at the base of the eastern tower of the second Great Pylon.

Such was the power of the gods, or at least the belief therein, that according to an inscription on the base of the eastern obelisk standing in front of the Great Pylon, during the reign of Ptolemy VIII, Euergetes II, and Cleopatra III his second wife, the priests complained that they were being forced to refund the expenses of civil and military authorities incurred during their stay at Philae. The priests were not being left enough resources with which to continue sacrifices and libations for the welfare of the royal family. Euergetes II released the priests from further payments.

The Island of Philae lied about four miles south of modern Elephantine, just to the other side of the Old Aswan Dam. It only measured about 500 yards from north to south and 160 yards from east to west, which meant that it was almost entirely covered with temples and other monuments. These were protected from the Nile Flood during ancient times by high walls, quays and terraces. In fact, before the building of the first dam, the Island always stayed clear of the river, safe on its granite foundation against the turbulent rush of the flood with its abrasive silt.

Prior to the building of the Aswan Dam, the engineer in charge, Captain Henry Lyon, was asked to underpin the monuments of Philae so that they could withstand the submersion, which he did. He also excavated part of the site where he discovered the remains of some Christian churches.

After the Old Dam was built, it created a lake extending south some 140 miles back to the Sudanese border. In fact, the height of the dam was at first restricted because of the protests made by people interested in preserving Philae and the other temples and monuments from submersion. Winston Churchill cared little for this. He remarked that:

"This offering of 1,500 millions of cubic feet of water to Hathor by the Wise Men of the West is the most cruel, the most wicked and the most senseless sacrifice ever offered on the altar of a false religion. The State must struggle and the people starve, in order that the professors may exult and the tourists find some place to scratch their names."

Of course, one can still get a glimpse of these cataracts north of the Old Aswan Dam. In ancient times, travelers made their devotions at Philae before continuing through the dangerous territory of the south to the "Land of Ghosts".

On the island of Sehel are more than 250 inscriptions from pilgrims and travelers coming to and going through the area, dating from the fourth dynasty down to the Ptolemaic period. Pepi I cut canals through the cataract to assist boat crews on their way to the calm water above Philae. Harkhuf passed through here on his way to Nubia during the reign of Pepi II. Also here on Sehel is the so-called Famine Stela, inscribed during Ptolemaic times but related to the reign of King Djoser in the 3rd Dynasty. It states that the king decreed that large tracts of land on both sides of the river stretching from Elephantine south should be given to Khnum’s temple, along with one-tenth of all produce and livestock raised as well as taxes on caravans and gold mining. There is an identical decree in the temple of Philae, carved at the base of the eastern tower of the second Great Pylon.

Such was the power of the gods, or at least the belief therein, that according to an inscription on the base of the eastern obelisk standing in front of the Great Pylon, during the reign of Ptolemy VIII, Euergetes II, and Cleopatra III his second wife, the priests complained that they were being forced to refund the expenses of civil and military authorities incurred during their stay at Philae. The priests were not being left enough resources with which to continue sacrifices and libations for the welfare of the royal family. Euergetes II released the priests from further payments.

The Island of Philae lied about four miles south of modern Elephantine, just to the other side of the Old Aswan Dam. It only measured about 500 yards from north to south and 160 yards from east to west, which meant that it was almost entirely covered with temples and other monuments. These were protected from the Nile Flood during ancient times by high walls, quays and terraces. In fact, before the building of the first dam, the Island always stayed clear of the river, safe on its granite foundation against the turbulent rush of the flood with its abrasive silt.

Prior to the building of the Aswan Dam, the engineer in charge, Captain Henry Lyon, was asked to underpin the monuments of Philae so that they could withstand the submersion, which he did. He also excavated part of the site where he discovered the remains of some Christian churches.

After the Old Dam was built, it created a lake extending south some 140 miles back to the Sudanese border. In fact, the height of the dam was at first restricted because of the protests made by people interested in preserving Philae and the other temples and monuments from submersion. Winston Churchill cared little for this. He remarked that:

"This offering of 1,500 millions of cubic feet of water to Hathor by the Wise Men of the West is the most cruel, the most wicked and the most senseless sacrifice ever offered on the altar of a false religion. The State must struggle and the people starve, in order that the professors may exult and the tourists find some place to scratch their names."

So the water level was raised, and the temples and structures on Philae were flooded each year from December to about March, and had to be visited during this time by boat, passing through the Kiosk of Trajan and into the court of the Temple of Isis.

All did not turn out as badly as thought, however. The water ended up saving the temples from erosion by sand storms and helped to remove salt deposits which were damaging to the stonework. Regular inspections of the site showed that it suffered less damage than might have been expected, save for the paintwork that was washed away by the new lake created by the Old Dam.

Then, construction on the High Dam began and, as with a number of other monuments south of Aswan, the temple and other monuments had to either be moved or lost beneath the waters.

In reality, Philae would not have been lost under the water of Lake Nasser itself, but rather the lake that was formed between the High Dam and the Old Dam. It was the only major monument located in this region. it would have been almost permanently submerged, but worse, this small lake is subject to a daily rise and fall of several yards, which would have inevitably eroded the temples completely.

This was accomplished during the 1970s, when the Philae monuments were moved to Agilkia northwest of Philae Island. Since waters already engulfed the monuments at Philae, a coffer dam had to be built around the island and then the water pumped out. This work began in 1972 and was finished in 1980 as a cooperative effort of UNESCO and the Egyptian Antiquity Organization. The new location was carefully landscaped to make it resemble Philae as much as possible. Some 40,000 blocks, weighing about 20,000 tons were moved to the new location.

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T.N.P

The Mortuary

Temple of Amenhotep III

on the West Bank at Luxor

Amenhotep III built not only the largest temple at Thebes (on the West Bank at Luxor), but in Egypt, measuring 700 by 550 meters. It covered 385,000 square meters (4,200,000 square feet). It was even larger than the temple of Amun-Re at Karnak.

The temple's architect was also named Amenhotep, but was the son of Hapu. Unfortunately, it seem that the temple began to decay rapidly, and during the reign of Merenptah, it was actively used as a source of limestone blocks for the temple of that ruler.

The reason for this was perhaps a brilliant, but regrettable religious concept. The temple was apparently uniquely built on the flood plain. The temple was purposely built so low that the inundation of the Nile would flood its outer courts and halls, probably leaving only the inner sanctuary, built on a knoll above water level, dry. Thus, when the water receded, the whole temple symbolized the emergence of the world from the primeval waters of creation. Of course, this did nothing for the temple's preservation, particularly considering that many of the temple walls were built of mudbrick. Aggravating the destruction, many of the massive sandstone pylons and columns were far too heavy for the weak or even missing foundations upon which they were built.

However, we do have Amenhotep III's own description of the complex:

"He did (it) as his monument for (his) father Amen, lord of the throne of the two lands, making for him a splendid temple on the right of Thebes; a fortress of eternity out of good white sandstone - worked with gold throughout. Its floors were purified with silver, all its doorways were of electrum..."

Much of the temple was build during the last ten years of Amenhotep III rule and in conjunction with his three Sed-festivals.

Though this temple has never been fully investigated, the only real remains seem to be the two huge statues we call the Colossi of Memnon, along with a few fragments of pylons, and various statues and column fragments A quartzite stela which has been re-erected but was probably originally one of a pair set up at the entrance to the court describes Amenhotep III's building accomplishments. Also, in the vicinity of the Solar court there are many column bases, though they are overgrown and difficult to spot, along with fragments of standing statues of Amenhotep III as Osiris. Some of the huge column bases are important to Egyptologists, because they reveal foreign place names known in the time of Amenhotep III, including references to the Aegean.

Other statues discovered in the area depict the goddess Sekhmet, sphinxes, some with the bodies of crocodiles and other deities. Ancient documents tell us that there was one seated and one standing statue of Sekhmet for each day of the year. Many other colossal statues were built here, including a pair of striding figures of the king that flanked the northern entrance to the temple, fragments of which also still remain. In fact, some Egyptologists believe that some of the colossal statues in the Ramesseum, including the famous fallen statue of "Ozymandia", were probably usurped from the Amenhotep III complex.

Of course, the Colossi of Memnon actually portray Amenhotep III. Due to an earthquake in 27 BC, these statues became known for a bell like tone that usually occurred in the morning due to rising temperatures and humidity. Thus they were equated by the early Greek travelers with the figure of Memnon, the son of Aurora who's mother, Eos, was the goddess of dawn. The Roman emperor Septimius Severus, seeking to repair the statues, inadvertently silenced them forever.

Side of the Colossi of Memnon showing Nile gods uniting plants of Upper and Lower Egypt

These colossal statues set at the front of the temple, which was located almost directly across the Nile from the Temple of Luxor at Kom el-Hetan. Behind them were two massive courtyards with other seated, colossal statues. There were a total of three pylons. In front of the second set of pylons were two additional quartzite colossal statues, and before the third pylon stood two additional colossal statues made of alabaster. Betsy Bryan has suggested that this was the largest sculptural program in history.

A long processional way similar to that built by the king in the Luxor Temple, lined with sphinxes, stretched from the innermost pylons to a large peristyle solar court.

A considerable part of the temple was dedicated to Amen, but it is also known that the northern part of the temple was devoted to the Memphite deity Ptah, or Ptah-Sokar-Osiris to whom Amenhotep also built a temple in honor of in Memphis.

There is also a small, separate limestone temple dedicated to Ptah-Sokar-Osiris in the northern part of the compound. It had its own gateway flanked by two quartzite standing statues of Amenhotep III. However, it was so destroyed by stone thieves that we can barely guess at its ground plan.

Arial view of the Colossus of Memnon

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The Temple of Alexander the Great

in the Bahariya Oasis

For some years, Egypt was under the control of the Persian King, and while other outside forces had ruled Egypt over the years, the Persians seem to have had few friends in Egypt. In fact, Egyptian elements had already mounted revolts, weakening the Kings hold over the country when Alexander the Great arrived at Egypt's border in the Sinai during October of 332 BC. The Egyptians, apparently seeking any relief from the Persian ruler, seem to have almost welcomed Alexander with open arms, so his armies met little resistance. Soon, he arrived with his army in Memphis, where he made an offering to the Apis bull and was crowned king of Egypt. He took as his Egyptian throne name, Setp n Ra Mery Amun.

his mother olympias------------------------------------his father philip

Alexander's visit to the Western desert Siwa Oasis to consult with the Oracle of Amun, where his kingship was made divine as the son of Amun, is well documented. But apparently, this great warrior who was also one of histories grandest politicians, gained considerable respect in other areas of the Western Desert as well. Some Egyptologists believe that he may very well have traveled through the Bahariya Oasis on the way back to his new capital, Alexandria, on Egypt's northern coast. This oasis prospered considerably during his rule, and counted among its population many Greeks.



The temple of Alexander the Great located in the Bahariya Oasis has the distinction of being the Macedonian ruler's only known temple in Egypt. The temple was built during Alexander's lifetime and dedicated to Amun and Horus.
Ahmed Fakhry never found the stela of Tuthmose II that he was searching for when he stumbled across the temple in 1938, but this discovery, very near the (then unknown) Valley of the Golden Mummies, most certainly made up for that failure. It was to be Fakhry's last day in the Bahariya Oasis and he was exploring a spring called Ain el-Tabinieh, about three miles west of El Qasr (Bawiti), that had been mentioned by Sir Gardner Wilkinson in 1837. Here, he discovered a mound surrounded by stones that he thought might be a New Kingdom temple.

He recorded the location of the ruins, but with his funds depleted, he was forced to leave the Oasis. He would return in 1942 with enough resources to complete the excavation, and it was not until then that he discovered the true nature of his find from blocks carved with the cartouches of Alexander the Great. Later, from 1993 to 1994, Zahi Hawass, the current chairman of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), re-excavated the site, including several rooms that had never been cleared. Some excavation of the temple appears to be ongoing, though it is now open to the public1.

The temple proper is fairly large by any standard, and certainly one of the largest in the Bahariya Oasis, with at least 45 chambers built of mudbrick and encased in sandstone. Located only three hundred yards from the Valley of the Golden Mummies, a necropolis that was probably situated purposefully near the temple, the entrance to the temple was on the south end of the structure, accessed through a gate.

Just outside the temple, a red granite altar was discovered. It should be noted that red granite is not found in any of the western oasis, so it must have been carried a great distance to the temple through the vast desert, presumably by donkeys.

Just to the right of the entrance to the temple is a scene that depicts, unfortunately, only the lower half of two individuals facing each other. It is probable that one of these individuals is Alexander the Great, dressed as a traditional Egyptian pharaoh, making offerings to a principle Egyptian deity.

However, on the lower register on the north wall of the second room which was covered by debris, Alexander is revealed. This relief, which retains some of its original colors, depicts Alexander offering two vessels that may contain Bahariya wine as an offering to Horus and Isis. The god, Horus, and the goddess, Isis, both hold a scepter on one hand an the ankh symbol in the other. In the background a priest wearing a long robe stands, holding incense and an unknown tool, and an offering table bearing bread, meat, cucumbers, pomegranates and other fruits, along with vessels for ointments is also displayed.

In another carved relief, Alexander makes an offering of incense to the god, Amun, who is followed by various goddesses, one of which is probably Mut, Amun's consort. In this scene, the governor and high priest of the Oasis stand behind the pharaoh with offerings of incense. Just visible in the depiction is an offering table laden with bread, meat, vegetables, wine and flowers.

Surrounding the temple complex were auxiliary storage rooms and houses that were probably used by guards and priests. There is, on the east side of the temple, a building that was possibly used for administrative purposes. Only two of the buildings chambers were roofed with large limestone blocks, originally inscribed with Greek graffiti which is now lost.

One of perhaps the most interesting artifacts found in the temple complex is a bronze statue of a royal lady who Zahi Hawass believes may have been the wife of Alexander the Great. A small statue of a priest of Re was also discovered in one of the temple corridors. but a number of smaller artifacts were discovered in and about the temple, including Greek, Roman and Coptic pottery shards, painted vases, fragments of bronze statues, Greek amulets, and coins from the 5th and 6th centuries, AD. Some of the pottery discovered with rectangular marks and human figures appear to be of Semitic origin from Asia, while other shards and lamps are from the Coptic Period and later. These discoveries have led Egyptologists to believe that Christians probably inhabited the temple until about the 12th century AD, and some chambers may have been occupied as dwellings into the Middle Ages.

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The Temple of the Oracle

(Temple of Amun)

at the Siwa Oasis in Egypt

The Oracle:

In the mostly abandoned village of Aghurmi in the Siwa Oasis is a most famous temple of Amun, now more known as the Temple of the Oracle because of Alexander's visit when he conquered Egypt. It is actually one of two temples dedicated to Amun at Siwa, the other being Umm Ubayda. It sits atop a flat rock, and is a spectacular sight. Built during the 26th Dynasty (though the Oracle's origin is reputed to be much, much older), this temple and its Oracle flourished well into the Greek and Roman periods.

There are a number of myths about the founding of this temple. One of them tells of two black priestesses from the Temple of Amun at Thebes (modern Luxor) who were banished to the desert. In this tell, one of them founded the Temple of Dodona in Greece, where she became the voice of the Oracle. The second, after a time in Libya, came to Siwa where she became the Oracle's sibyl.

Another tell maintains that the temple existed as early as 1385 BC, and was built in honor of Ham, the son of Noah, by Danaus the Egyptian, while yet another legend relates the founding of the temple to the Greek god Dionysus. While lost in the Western Desert, Dionysus was perishing of thirst when a man appeared and guided him to the spring at Aghurmi. In gratitude, Dionysus erected the temple.

Oracles, manifestations of the gods, were very revered in the ancient world and their existence in Egypt dates back for beyond the Temple of the Oracle at Siwa. Able to see into the future, they were consulted regularly prior to important decisions. Other important Oracles of the ancient world were located at Persia, Libya, Delphi, Cumae, Samos, Cimmeria, Erythrae, Tibur, Marpessa (on the Hellespont) and at Phrygia. Their abodes were typically close to a natural phenomenon. At Siwa, the temple was located at the spectacular Spring of the Sun. Sibyls, priestesses who spoke the Oracle's message, were believed to be endowed with prophetic powers often called upon to intercede with the gods.

Various ancient sources, including Quintus Curtius and Diodorus, report that the original form of the Oracle at Siwa was the bezel of a ring, which was embellished with gems including the elusive Siwan emeralds. Later, the form became the head of a ram, a symbol of Amun. We are told that, unlike the great complex at Karnak, wealth was not important, and in fact, the Oracle at Siwa strove to maintain its primitive simplicity.

Today, we think of the Oracles most famous visitor as Alexander the Great, but legend says there were others.

The Oracle at Siwa was held in such high favor in Greece that an Athenian galley was commissioned solely to convey envoys to Mersa Matruh, then called Ammonia, where they would begin their desert trek to the oasis. The Greeks probably learned of the Oracle after they invaded the northern coast and established Cyrene (now Libya) in 637 BC. Afterwards, the Oracle was absorbed into Greek religion and associated with Zeus, who became associated with the Egyptian Amun. The Oracle is reputed to have cursed Andromeda and she was tied to a rock to be devoured by a sea-serpent. Perseus is said to have stopped off to visit the Oracle prior to beheading Medusa, and Hercules is though to have visited it before he fought Bursiris.

Cambyses, who ruled Egypt between 525 and 522 BC, wanted to destroy the Oracle, but he lost his army somewhere in the vast outreaches of the Western Desert. Pliny tells us that this was because the sacred stone at the temple was touched by sacrilegious hand, which caused a dreaded sand storm to rage.

There is a legend that Pindar, the famous Greek poet who lived between 522 and 443 BC, wrote a poem about the Oracle that was kept under the alter for six centuries.

Prior to Alexander the Great, Cimon, the Athenian general, stood at Cyprus in 449 BC awaiting word from the Oracle before attacking Egypt. It is said that when his emissaries reached the Temple, the Oracle spoke, "Cimon is already with me!". When they returned to Cyprus, the discovered that Cimon had died as they were speaking to the Oracle.

Eubotas, the famous Cyrene athlete also stopped by, perhaps sometime around the year 409 BC. Around the same time, Lysander, the Spartan general, came to Siwa twice to consult with the Oracle.

We are told that Alexander the Great, in 331 BC) consulted the Oracle in order to seek confirmation that he was the son of Zeus (Amun), and therefore a legitimate ruler of both Egypt and other lands that he conquered. When he and his entourage arrived after capturing Egypt, a manifestation of the Oracle was paraded through the city accompanied by eighty priests. After his visit to the Oracle, whenever his image appeared on coins, Alexander was shown with the horns of the ram, symbolic of the god Amun. We know that Alexander consulted the Oracle at least once, and probably more than one time.

After Alexander, Hannibal is reported to have visited the Oracle and the Elians were so deeply influenced by the Oracle that they kept a list of all their questions and answers provided by the Oracle, which they engraved in stone upon a temple wall.

The Temple:

The ruins of the Temple of the Oracle still exits, but for how long is questionable. The rock upon which it sits is cracking, and from time to time parts of it, sometimes large pieces, slide down. Fissures are seen on all side and we know that in ancient times, the rock was much larger. There is considerable evidence of treasure hunters at work in the temple area. Nevertheless, the Temple remains fairly well-preserved, all considered.

The temple is reached by climbing a well-marked path up the side of the rock it surmounts. The temple does not occupy the entire area. It sites within the village that was abandoned for the most part in 1926 after a heavy rainstorm. Until very recently, at least some families actually lived in the temple.

The entrance is through the village gate. The ruins of an old mosque stand over the gate, its minaret still dominating the skyline. In front of the mosque is the ancient well with several niches that may lead to storage areas or subterranean passages. The temple is in the northwest corner of this area. Its walls abut the cliff at the edge of the rock and are in danger of falling into the precipice below.

The area in front of the temple was cleared of its mudbrick houses by Ahmed Fakhry in 1970. The court in which the processions of the god took place stretches in front of the temple proper, but only the foundations of its northern and eastern walls still exist. The court is only a small distance from the edge of the rock, and therefore we have to suppose either that this area of the rock at its edge was filled in during ancient times, or that visitors had to climb a staircase if, as we might expect, the entrance of the court was in the axis of the temple. However, it is possible that the entrance to the court was on the east side and that it was reached as it is today by climbing the slope.

The facade of the temple is easily distinguished. It stands about eight meters high. the entrance has a cornice measuring 2.22 meters wide, with no inscriptions. Later builders, apparently during the Ptolemaic period, attempted to make it look like a Greek temple, adding a wall in front on which they build a half-column of the fluted Doric type to each side of the entrance.

The facade leads to an interior of two large halls and a sanctuary with an entrance on the main axis. The first hall measures 7.74 by 4.95 meters. Its entrance is not precisely in the middle of the wall. The western side is slightly longer. there are two niches in the southern wall, one in each of the two corners. At floor level in the west wall there is an entrance to a crypt. The second court is almost the same size as the first, but built a little higher. There are three entrances int he north wall of the second court, of which the middle and larger one leads to the sanctuary. The small entrance to the right of it, only 80 centimeters wide, leads to a narrow corridor which might have been used as an annex for storing the temple equipment or to assist in delivering the oracles. In the left wall of the corridor are three niches about 66 centimeters higher than the floor, and near the ceiling are two apertures for light. Fakhry wondered whether this might have been a secret area from which the priests could speak the words of the Oracle.

Only the sanctuary has walls that are inscribed. The sanctuary measure 3.3 meters wide by 6.1 meters deep. Like the other rooms, it was once roofed over, and we even find near the top of the east and west walls tone projections on which the rafters rested. Unfortunately, the walls have been badly damaged by treasure hunters.

The inscriptions being at the two sides of the entrance to this chamber, and continue on the side walls, though it seems that the back wall may never have been inscribed. To the right of the entrance is the figure of King Amasis, in whose reign the temple was built and decorated, though his head and body have been chiseled out. The crown of the North upon his head was left intact. The king's name is written inside a cartouche in front of him. He offers rounded vases of wine to eight deities who stand facing him in a row, preceded by Amun, who are represented on the east wall. Other gods on the wall include Amun's consort, Amenre, Mut, Khonsu and Mahesa. The last deity is a female who wears the double crown, but her inscription is completely destroyed. The accompanying text reads, "I give life to the Chief of the desert-dwellers, Sutekh-irdes".

To the left of the entrance of the sanctuary is depicted a governor of Siwa, completely destroyed except for the feather which was stuck in his hair and denotes his Libyan origin. While under Egyptian control, Herodotus tells us that its governors were called kings, perhaps because of its isolation. Hence, He is represented on the opposite side of the chamber, in the same position as the king of Egypt, and like him, he makes offerings to eight gods. The inscription tells us that this was Sutekh-irdes, who was "Chief of the Desert-dwellers". Among the eight deities on this wall are Amenre, Mut, Dedun-Amun, the goddess Tefnut, Harsaphis, with a human body and ram's head, Nut, Thoth, depicted with the head of an ibis, and Hebenu of the Two Lands, Nehem'awa, the consort of Thoth. Behind the last deity, the wall is blank, because at one point a door here lead to the adjacent chamber. It was walled up at a later date.

There was at least one chamber on the roof the temple. The staircase that led to the terrace roof was at the west side of the corner which fell down when this part of the rock slid off.

There is a narrow corridor at the right (east side of the sanctuary) that leads around behind the back wall. Another large chamber is on the west side of the temple. The temple has apparently never been properly excavated, and without such work, it cannot be determined whether other parts of the temple are still hidden under the surrounding debris. Remains of walls southwest of the court are visible, and we can distinguish the outlines of some chambers built of stone. There are also stone walls among the remains of the falling houses at the east side of the temple, but without proper study, we do not know if any of these constructs are a part of the temple proper.

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