The Temple Of Medinet Habu

The Temple Of Medinet Habu

The Temple Of Medinet Habu, one of Egypt’s most important memorial temples, is in Luxor. It is 320 meters long from east to west and about 200 meters wide (north to south). After Ramses III died, the new king had a temple built to honor him. A big wall made of mud bricks goes all the way around the temple.

Temple composition

There is a large gate in the style of a Syrian fort, and on this building are battle scenes that show the king’s campaign in Syria. On the other side of the gate is a shrine from the 18th Dynasty. The two towers, which are both painted with scenes from war, are linked by a big pylon. From one of the towers, the king strikes his enemies in front of Re-Horakhty while wearing his “Ka” or “double” crown. On the other tower, the ruler of Lower Egypt is shown killing his enemies in front of the god Amon Ra while wearing the region’s red crown.

One of the most beautiful carvings is the oxen chase on the back of the southern tower. Ramses III is seen riding his chariot and chasing after wild bulls. This piece shows how good the sculptor is at showing how much pain the hurt animals are in.

The first open

The first open court is 42 meters long and 33 meters wide. On its walls are pictures of soldiers that show the wars in Syria and Libya.

In what is now the second courtyard, which is 42 m long and 38 m wide, there used to be a basilica. Scenes from religious festivals, like the festival of Sokker and Min (also written Sokar), are still there. Several more pictures show the king or queen and the priests giving gifts to different gods.

Most likely, the 1st Hypostyle was broken by an earthquake in 27 B.C. It used to have 16 chapels around it, and each one had the same number of columns and rows. The most important sanctuaries on the right side were for Ramses III, Ptah, Sokker, and Amon Ra’s holy boat.

On the left side of the temples, the utensils were kept in the chapels, except for chapels 14 and 15, which were for the holy boats of King Ramses II and the god Month, respectively.

In the second Hypostyle hall, there are eight papyrus columns along each row. The roof of the 3rd Hypostyle hall, which is like the 2nd Hypostyle hall, is held up by 8 columns.

Inside this hypostyle hall, there is a central doorway that leads to the sanctuary where Amon Ra’s holy boat was kept, another doorway that leads to the chapel of the god Khonso, and a third doorway that leads to the chapel of the god Mut.

The “Triad of Thebes” Sanctuary is at the end of the temple. It is made up of three chapels and a number of side rooms.