Silver gelatin on
glass 23.5 x 29.5 cm Epigraphic Survey, Oriental Institute,
University of Chicago |
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Luxor
Temple Across the Nile. Seen in this view from the west bank of the
Nile, Luxor Temple was the goal of the yearly journey of the god Amun of
Karnak during the Feast of Opet. Luxor Temple was only one of the
locations in Egypt believed to be the "Place of the First Occasion," the
primeval mound of creation; here Amun of Karnak and his earthly
representative, the king, came for rejuvenation. Luxor Temple was also
linked to the Eighteenth Dynasty temple across the Nile at Medinet Habu,
the traditional burial place of the Ogdoad (four male and female pairs of
deities who assisted the creator god), and of a primeval, serpentine,
creative form of Amun himself. The southernmost portions of Luxor Temple
were built by Amenhotep III; the northern court and its great pylon, with
scenes commemorating his Pyrrhic victory at Kadesh, are the work of
Ramesses II.
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