Luxor Temple Essay

Decent Essays
Egypt is famous for its ancient monuments or historical structures which are known as archaeological sites, by this term we mean a place that has evidence of past and investigated by the principles of archaeology and represents a part of an archaeological record (Definitions.net, n.d.). One of the greatest and well known archaeological sites in Egypt is the Luxor Temple. The Luxor temple is one of the most important ancient Egyptian temples that is situated beside the east bank of River Nile in the city of Luxor that was known in ancient times as Thebes (Wikipedia, 20 Nov, 2017). Luxor temple was built around 1400 BCE and it is known as the Southern Sanctuary among the people (Wikipedia, 20 Nov, 2017).

The Luxor temple was an important part of ancient Egyptian civilization and it is believed to be the home of Amun-Ra, one of the major deities of ancient Egypt
…show more content…
It is a fact that Luxor has been an active religious site for at least 3,000 years(Ancient Egypt Online, n.d.). A very well-known religious and cultural festival named Opet Festival was held in the Luxor temple. Also known as the Beautiful Festival of Opet this was the most important festival held in the Luxor temple. From this festival the god Amun gat another name called Amenemope. The festival was held during the period called Akhet, it was a period when the Nile river flooded and the Egyptians associated this festival with fertility. The festival lasted from eleven days to one month depending on different time periods in history. In this festival the statues of Amun, Mut andKhonsu travelled from Karnak to Luxor in small boats. The purpose of this festival is also believed to be a secret marriage ceremony between the king and queen taking part in it and thought to be the renewal of power of the Pharaoh (Ancient Egypt Online,

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Dier-El Bahri

    • 1701 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Based off the extremely detailed accounts and illustrations of Hatshepsut's wildest adventures and feats as pharaoh, historians can conclude that the she wanted to assure that her story was chronicled with great detail for future generations. Historians also believe that Hatshepsut might have also had personal and political motivations to build Deir-el Bahri. The temple was dedicated to Amun-Re, which thus reinforced his importance as a primary Theban god and also reaffirmed Hatshepsut's story that claimed she personally ascended from the god to eventually achieve her divine destiny as the pharaoh of Egypt (Roth 147). Hatshepsut may have also used the monument as a way to establish her legitimacy as pharaoh. Deir-el Bahri is located directly beside the temple of Menhotep II, an eleventh dynasty king was famous for reuniting the land of Egypt and ending the first intermediate period (Roth 147).…

    • 1701 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    These statues are tourist attractions, some of the most notable of which reside at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hatshepsut’s “…building projects…raised the calibre of Ancient Egyptian architecture to a standard, comparable to classical architecture, that would not be rivalled by any other culture for a thousand years.” (Ohgrc History, 2007). Her achievements continued to influence Egyptian architecture for many years after her death, and established a standard for other cultures to aspire…

    • 341 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In addition Abu Simbel has a second, smaller, temple that may have been built for queen Nefertari. Its front includes two statues of the queen and four of the pharaoh, each about 33 feet (10 meters) in height. Each is set between buttresses carved with hieroglyphs. While the site was built by an Egyptian ruler, and is located within modern-day Egypt, in ancient times the place it was located in was considered part of Nubia, a territory that was at times independent of ancient Egypt. “The waxing and waning of Egypt’s strength can be traced through its relations with Nubia.…

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    They had many policies and beliefs that other civilizations adapted and/or slightly differed. One of the most well known and famous parts of ancient Egypt are the great pyramids. According to Document 3, “Egyptian kings in the Old Kingdom are best known for the huge structures they built, pyramids.” (Document 3) These pyramids were and possibly still are the greatest and most intricate man made structures in the world.…

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Nile River is a north-flowing river in northeast Africa. The Nile flows through nine countries, from the Delta region to Lake Victoria(the biggest of African Great Lakes). One half is called The Blue Nile, and the other half is called The White Nile, together they make the longest river in the world. It is about 4,250 miles long, and about 2 miles wide. Every year it would flood, when that would happen the Egyptians would thank the god Hapy, that was the beginning of the year.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Egyptian religion lasted for more than 3,000 years and the entailments of religious belief changed over the course of time as the prominence of particular gods rose and fell, and their relationships with each other changed. Innumerable times particular gods and goddesses became outstanding over the other, including the sun god Ra, the creator god Amun, and the mother goddess Isis. For a short while, under the rule of Akhenaten, a single god, the Aten, replaced the traditional pantheon. During this time, however, the original religion based on polytheism survived. There were several periods of foreign rule, until the coming of Christianity in the early centuries CE.…

    • 132 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Religion In Ancient Egypt

    • 859 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Since the beginning of time, civilizations have been established due to the geography and climate in a certain area. Civilizations tend to arise in regions that are inhabitable and capable of sustaining life (Nate Sullivan).Whether they were located close to the mountains or the deserts, every little aspect of their surrounding effected them culturally and politically. Hominids, which were two-legged pre-human predecessors were said to be the first humans on earth, however it was not till later on that scientist found records of any kind. After the Neolithic Revolution, humans began to raise livestock and harvest food instead of hunting and gathering. The regions were so suitable that kingdoms were made.…

    • 859 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Today, in a group I travel to Egypt to set out on finding new discoveries or information about the societies that lived there. When we arrived, there was the Nile River it is an important source for growing crops, and act as a source of water. The Nile River was worshipped as though it was god that provided life for the Egyptians. I learned that the Nile River did cause flood destroying villages and the production of silt would change depending on the amount of floodwater. The areas of Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt used the Nile River as a form of transportation so people would get the chance to trade with other people.…

    • 342 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What Is Egypt Like Today

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A major Christian holiday is Christmas. This is when Christians celebrate the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ. Most Egyptians speak Arabic, but some Egyptians speak English…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    These religious temples varied from those in Mesopotamia because the pyramids were mainly for after the death of Egyptian kings and pharaohs. The pyramids often represented the status and the wealth of Egyptian society. Since the Egyptians viewed their gods in a much different fashion, they believed that they needed to give back to the gods who had provided them with the goods in their life. The Egyptians viewed the scheduled flooding as a gift from the gods.…

    • 1079 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ancient Mesopotamia

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Mesopotamia Are king’s gods or mortal? Well people thought that they were gods, but religion was what made them gods. Religion made people think that kings have met the gods. People thought that kings were gods ever since 5000-3500 BC, when the first city-state was brought to life. When people worshipped the king, kings used the religious power they have, kings used religion as a political power.…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ancient Egyptian Religion

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Ancient Civ. Script According to a book from 2006, Egyptian Religion centered around the Pharaoh. One thing the Pharaoh did for the religion, is ensure that all gods received proper respect at their temples. Egyptians, like the Chinese we’re learning about, believed in the afterlife.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The temple of Abu Simbel is dedicated to the sun gods Amon and Re-Horakhte and twice a year the sun shines through the temple lighting up the walls revealing the great stories and accomplishments written in the walls. These statues show how creative the Egyptians were and how they could even manage to build such large projects as these. It took twenty years for them to build the Ramesseum, but when it was done it was a beautiful…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Ancient India Religion

    • 1546 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The religion of Ancient Egypt was a polytheistic belief system, meaning there were multiple Gods that were worshiped. Although Egyptians believed in many Gods, there were two which more significant than the rest. These two Gods were known as Amon and Re, Amon “was originally a local Theban deity associated with the sun creation, fertility and reproductive forces, and Re was a sun God worshiped at Heliopolis.” Many referred to Amon and Re as one combined God known as Amon-Re.…

    • 1546 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “An Egyptian pyramid was not just the king’s tomb; it was also an important symbol of royal power”(p.17). People built pyramids to praise their Gods, symbolize their power, and preserve their culture. These pyramids were a reminder of the living Gods on earth and this is why they had an important significance to the people. Ancient Egypt also had a great place for defence against army. It was located in the desert which made this an advantage for the Egyptians and made it a disadvantage to the people they were fighting with because of the desert heat and the flat ground.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays