Egypt's Culture Effects on the Facade of the Abu Simbel Temple - Essay Example

Egypts culture Effects on the facade of the Abu Simbel Temple in 12th Century to 15th Century Introduction Abu Simbel templefound in Egypt is one of the most prominent places that existed and have been continually modified by individuals including Pharaoh Ramesses the second during the period of the 13th century. This temple which is twin in nature was firstly carved from a part of the mountain to be a monument significant to their reign with queen Nefertari. Its construction lasted for twenty years due to its complex nature and also due to its relocation in an attempt of avoiding its submersion by the dam created lake, called Lake Nasser. The main aim of erecting this temple was basically for impressing the southern neighbors in the southern part of Egypt and also maintaining and reinforcing the religion of the Egyptians. The Egyptian culture was a main influence to this temple. This can be seen from the fact that all the architectural structure that came out Abu Simbel was linked to the cultural context of the Egyptians. This paper will therefore, describe the architectural structure of this temple and how the culture of the Egyptians affected its façade between the 12th to the 15th century through a description of the sculptures and their meanings (Bulliet et al 59). The architectural structure of the temple The architecture of this temple was mainly built with the commemoration of the reigning king of Egypt during this period. It is made up of the pharaoh’s statue that is twenty meters in length containing a double and Atef crown of both the lower and the Upper Egypt. The temple is thirty five meters wide and at the top, it contains those who worship the sun at the entrance and twenty two baboons. The statues that are colossal in nature were sculptured from the rock directly, a place where the temple existed before it being moved (Langmead et al 23). The statues have been curved to portray the power of the Ramesses II who sits on the throne and is wearing crown that is double in nature hence, the impact that he is the ruler of both the lower and the Upper Egypt. Next to the statue depicting pharaoh, there are the statues that have been made not to go higher than the pharaoh’s knees. These are the statues that were used to depict the wife of pharaoh, the mother queen and the first two sons of pharaoh and his six daughters (Langmead et al 23). At the entrance of the temple, there exists bas relief that is meant to represent two images that portray the king worshipping Ra Harakhti, falcon headed. Ra Harakhti statue is presented in a large niche. The statue of the god holds a feather found in the right hand and the goddess who is believed to be the in charge of justice and truth. This façade has at its top twenty two baboons in a row having their arms raised up in the air. This is a sign of these baboons worshipping the sun rising up. In addition, there is a notable feature of the stele façade which indicates the marriage of Ramesses in relationship to the king’s daughters. This is a sign of sealing of peace amongst the Hittites and the Egyptians (Langmead et al 23). At the inside of the temple, there exists a triangular layout that up to date; most of the temples in Egypt have followed. The structure of the rooms has been made to decrease in size as one enters the entrance into the sanctuary. The temple has many chambers at its sides hence, the complexity. The hypostyle hall is eighteen meters lengthwise and has a width of sixteen meters. It is supported by Osiris pillars that are eight in number and these pillars depict the Ramses relationship with the god of underworld. This has been used to demonstrate that, the pharaoh has an everlasting nature (Lazzari et al 385). At the left hand of the wall, there exists a statue with a white crown, which is depicting the upper part of Egypt, while the statues at the opposite side have double crown which have been used to demonstrate the double crown that the Lower Egypt has. The bas reliefs found to be located on the walls have been used to demonstrate what the battle field found in the military fights the ruler. Most of the sculptures that have been used in this temple are significant to the battle that took place at the Orontes River, the battle of Kadesh. In this battle, the king was fighting against Hittites. The most common and attractive to the eye is the bas relief and it shows and demonstrates the king being on his chariot while shooting arrows to the claimed enemies as these enemies are being driven to the prison. Some of the scenes are a representation of the Egypt emerging victorious in their battle with Nubia and Libya (Lazzari et al 385). As an individual leaves the hypostyle hall, there exists the second pillared hall. This pillar has four walls with decorations that are embedded with beautiful scenery that presents an offering to the gods. There also, exist Ramesses and the wife being near the boats that are meant to be sacred. Through this hall, an individual is able to reach the sanctuary. In the sanctuary, there is the wall that is black in nature with sculptures of four figures that are sitting which signify the king and the gods who were considered to be the main divinities during this period (Lazzari et al 385). The axis of the temple was positioned by the architects of the ancient Egypt in such a way that, in October the twenty first and February the twenty first, the rays of the sun are able to penetrate the sculptured images on the back of the wall but not illuminating the god who is believed to be the god of underworld. This is because; it was a belief that this god always remained in the dark. These dates were set in relation to the birthday of the king and also the coronation day. Through the illumination, the king’s image was made to be more revitalized through the energy that came from the star (Lazzari et al 385). Analysis of how the Egypt culture affected the temple The temple was strategically placed near the lake due to the lake have a significant impact on the religion of the Egyptians as it is considered a sacred place. The triangular shape of the building as one goes deeper into the temple draws the sign of privacy that is required during worship as attributed to their culture of always praying in private areas and also keeping away from distractions during prayer time (World Heritage 383). It is evident that the culture of the Egyptians greatly affected the way the temple was built. This can be evidenced through the fact that, most of the architectural structures were influenced by the culture of the Egyptians. The culture of the Egyptians dominated the entire temple and what they believed to be the right structure to be put up, was mainly influenced by their religious beliefs (World Heritage 383). One of the main influences of the culture of the Egyptians is the belief that the pharaoh, who was also the king, had the highest divine powers along the gods that they worshipped. This can be evidenced through the statues that have been placed high up above the temple structure to show that the king was the most high and was to be respected. Below is the statue of the kings family which was mainly meant to show the kings household being part of the mighty family in the ancient Egypt. The king’s family are portrayed to be sitting at his feet, a culture that demonstrates that he was the head of the family and had to be listened to (World Heritage 383). The culture of the Egyptians of always being the winners in any of the battling events has also been demonstrated in the architecture of the temple. The king is portrayed to have won while in the battle field and the individuals that he has defeated are seen to be taken to prison. The culture of the Egyptians remained to that of always being a winner and not losing to their enemies. This has been brought out clearly by the double crowns that the king’s statue over the nations that they always defeated (Gibbon et al 64). The gods are a cultural symbol of this community. They have different gods that have different functions in the society. This is enhanced by the fact that, the gods have been given a symbol in this temple through the lighting and the illumination that is provided on specific dates and months of the year. It is a culture of the Egyptians to have different gods, since they believe that the gods have different powers and hence, by incorporating the different gods into the temple, the whole community tends to have faith in any actions that the king recognizes (Gibbon et al 64). The main purpose as to why the temple was built was to enhance the fact that the Egyptian religion was the greatest event and hence had to be depicted in the temple and also the fact that, they always were meant to defeat their neighbors. For this reason, the architecture has been made to be enticing to their counterpart enemies and a demonstration of the ego that their culture has over the other cultures that were found in the surrounding environment. The Abu Simbel has been associated with pride and ego during the reign of Ramesses II (Gibbon et al 64). The axis of the temple has been made to bring significance to the dates that are more important to the culture. Just that same way that Christians believe in the birth of Christ is the same way that the Egyptian’s culture have given a priority to the king’s birthday and related the axis illumination to this event. The illumination of the axis through the architectural structure has been made to bring out the significance of the dates of birth of the king to the Egyptians while that of the god of underworld is not illuminated a sign of always remaining in the dark (Ching 71). Conclusion The Abu Simbel Temple is one of the most attractive temples in Egypt. This temple’s architecture is attributed to the culture of the Egyptians which was and is still being held strongly. The main culture in consideration in the building of this temple is attributed to the fact that, religion is the most basic culture and controls everything that goes on in the lives of this society. The main cultural event that is depicted in this temple is the fact that the king is part of the divinities and had so much power influence on the nation. The culture of always being the winner in all the battles has also been linked to the sculptures of this Egyptians temple and also that of having pride and ego. It is thus evident that the architectural structure of this temple was highly affected by the cultural influence of the people in Egypt especially based on religious views. Work cited Bulliet, Richard W, Pamela K. Crossley, Daniel R. Headrick, Steven W. Hirsch, Lyman L. Johnson, and David Northrup. The Earth and Its Peoples: A Global History. Boston: Wadsworth, 2001. Print. Langmead, Donald, and Christine Garnaut. Encyclopedia of Architectural and Engineering Feats. Oxford: ABC-Clio, 2001. Print. Lazzari, Margaret R, and Dona Schlesier. Exploring Art: A Global, Thematic Approach. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. World Heritage: [2]. Milano: Skira, 2003. Print. Gibbon, David, and Ted Smart. Egypt: A Picture Book to Remember Her by. New York: Crescent, 1979. Print. Ching, Francis D. K. A Visual Dictionary of Architecture. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Internet resource. Read More