Egyptian Building Complex Karnak: Pantheon Of Gods

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Throughout the history of humanity, civilizations have attempted to understand and connect with the divine. Ancient civilizations in particular celebrated what they thought was their connection through brilliant, and massive, works of architecture. Both ancient Egypt and the Byzantine Empire built amazing architectural feats to represent their relationship with the divine. While Byzantine society worshipped a single God and the Egyptians worshipped a pantheon of Gods, each society had a similar way of venerating these beliefs. The two societies had very different architectural techniques and were separated by centuries, but they can be connected through their awe-inspiring architecture. Even though there are centuries between when these great …show more content…

Karnak consists of several buildings that were built over a span of several centuries, the large complex is quite confusing as a result of the time span it was built over. Karnak took almost 1500 years to build and was completed in the second century BCE. The temple celebrating Amun-Ra is one of the most impressive is the giant complex. Amun-Ra was believed to be the head god of the Egyptian Pantheon and one of the most heavily worshipped gods. The large structure was initially used as a place to worship Amun-Ra as well as document Egyptian history. The temple was filled with rows of magnificent columns, these columns are the main faucet of the temple. There are 134 columns that are a staggering 40 to 70 feet tall, the columns are covered with engravings that were brightly painted in the days of the Egyptians. Snape says of the columns, “All mirror the purpose of Karnak Temple: that it was a place where the king had a direct personal relationship with the god Amun. Thus, the scenes were designed primarily to be seen by the god himself” (Snape). The room that holds the columns is called the Hypostyle Hall and it is remarkable. From top to bottom the columns are covered in hieroglyphs and artwork, the entire column was meant to represent a stalk of papyrus. The Hypostyle was built in the Nineteenth Egyptian Dynasty, several pharaohs added onto the Hypostyle Hall as well as the entire temple. Great effort went into the creation of these artworks and the Pharaoh was at the head of all the activities. Not only were several religious elements engraved into the columns of the temple, but it also served as way to record Egyptian history. The Pharaoh’s built these massive works to leave a legacy and to impress later generations. As a commoner during this era it must have been truly inspiring to walk into the temple and be surrounded by bright

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