Amazing Luxor: Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. Temples of Luxor Temple of Hatshepsut plan

In the Arab Republic of Egypt, in the town of Deir el-Bahri, there is a famous mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, a female pharaoh from the 18th dynasty who reigned from 1525-1503. BC e. Its architecture, history and appearance are as unusual as the very appearance of a female ruler among the rulers of Ancient Egypt. Over the three thousand years of Egyptian history, there were three more female pharaohs, in addition to Hatshepsut: Tetisheri, Ahho-tep II, Ahmose-Nefertari. But Hatshepsut turned out to be the most talented and famous among them.

The daughter of Thutmose I and Queen Ahmes, Hatshepsut was the half-sister and great wife of Thutmose II. This king did not reign for long and died, leaving behind an heir, Thutmose III, his son by one of his younger wives. At the time of his father's death, Thutmose III was too young, and Hatshepsut was appointed regent. However, she soon proclaimed herself the sole and rightful ruler of Egypt, taking the title Djeser-Djeseru - the Greatest of the Greatest. The 15 years of Hatshepsut's reign became one of the brightest pages in the history of the 18th dynasty. During her reign, victorious military campaigns were waged in Asia and Nubia; in the ninth year of her reign, she carried out an expedition to Punt (the lands of East Africa) for mahogany. The real monument of her era is the tomb in Deir el-Bahri.

The great construction of the temple began around 1518 BC. e. and lasted almost 15 years. The temple was erected under the leadership of the outstanding architect priest Senenmut, the Supreme Manager of Amon, the favorite and court architect of Hatshepsut. The choice of location was also successful. The temple was located in a valley that had been considered sacred for more than five centuries and was dedicated to Isis, the divine wife of Osiris, who ruled the underworld. Not far from it, but on the other side of the mountain, in the Valley of the Kings, they built a tomb for Hatshepsut.

The original construction of Senenmut has no analogues in ancient Egyptian architecture. Instead of the traditional massive pylons and gloomy, shadowed halls, there are three open terraces rising above each other along the mountainside. These terraces served as burial places for the priests of Amon. From the tomb began the Processional Road, framed by two rows of sphinxes. It flowed into the first courtyard, bounded on the west by a portico with 22 columns, and on the sides by two colossal statues of the queen. Now this place is called the Portico of the Obelisks, because its bas-reliefs illustrated the transport of two tall granite obelisks from Aswan and their erection at the Temple of Karnak. In the northern part there was a portico of the Hunt, decorated with scenes of ritual hunting and fishing.

On either side of the porticos are small shrines to the god Anubis and the goddess Hathor. Both consist of 12-column halls located on the terrace and interior spaces going deep into the rock massif. The columns of the Hathor sanctuary are decorated with capitals in the form of the goddess's face, and on the walls there is a seated figure of the queen's husband Thutmose II, whose hand is licked by a cow - Hathor's sacred animal.

From the outer courtyard, an inclined ramp led to the roof of the first colonnade. It was also a courtyard. Further, another staircase led to the roof of the second colonnade. In its depths was the sanctuary of the god Amun. From the first courtyard to the second and to the upper terrace there were two successive ramps, limited on the west by porticoes. The railing of the ramp connecting the second and third terraces of the temple was decorated with images of a giant cobra, whose tail rose up the railing. Above the head of the snake, which personified the patroness of Lower Egypt, the goddess Wadjet, is an image of Horus of Bekhdet, the deity of Upper Egypt.

The composition of the southern portico of the second tier told about the expedition to the kingdom of Punt, which glorified the queen. The artists captured the Egyptian fleet and the landscape features of East Africa with forests of fragrant trees. King and Queen Punta are also represented here, bringing gifts to Hatshepsut: precious wood, incense, ointments, animal skins, gold and slaves.

Having removed Thutmose III from the reign, Hatshepsut could not help but once again emphasize her sacred right to power. Therefore, the main subject of the reliefs of the northern portico was the story of the divine birth of Hatshepsut. According to the official legend, recorded in the paintings, the great Theban god Amun took the form of Hatshepsut's earthly father, Thutmose I, and entered the chambers of her mother Ahmes. This composition ends with the scene of the divine birth of the ruler.

Hatshepsut was never able to overcome the tradition according to which only a man could be pharaoh. This was evident in the iconography of the queen, who was depicted in male attire and with a false beard. Each of the columns of the porticos is decorated with a statue of the queen in the image of Osiris with a long beard, in a white robe and with her arms crossed on her chest, in which she holds the royal scepters.

The creator of the temple, Senenmut, could not resist glorifying his name. His images are found in Deir el-Bahri, however, apparently, their appearance was secret: located near doorways, they were always hidden by a swinging door. In addition, on the territory of the first terrace, Senenmut began building a tomb for himself, so that even after death he would be closer to his own creation. Scientists do not know the reason why Senenmut fell into disgrace by the end of his work. The architect's tomb remained unfinished, and all his names on the walls were carefully destroyed.

The creation created by the architect even now seems to be a model of perfection, the personification of the eternal canons of beauty. However, Senenmut only developed the ideas of his predecessors. Thus, to the left of the Temple of Hatshepsut, the ruins of the funeral complex of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II (2055-2004 BC) were discovered: this structure had a similar architecture.

In Greco-Roman times, in the sanctuary of Deir el-Bahri, images of the great sages and healers Imhotep and Amenhotep, the son of Xapu, were carved next to the images of Amun. The hope of getting rid of diseases and faith in the sanctity of this place brought many people here. The walls of the temple to this day keep ancient inscriptions with requests for help.

During the period of early Christianity, the temple of Hatshepsut became the Coptic church, and later, around the 7th century. fell into disrepair and completely collapsed.

In 1891, the Englishman Naville excavated it and was the first to begin developing plans for reconstruction. Later, the excavations were continued by famous Egyptologists Winlock and Barez. Many fragments of sculpture and reliefs ended up outside Egypt.

In 1961, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser commissioned restorers from the Polish National Center for Mediterranean Archeology to restore the Temple of Hatshepsut. Year after year, scientists collected information bit by bit and recreated reliefs, statues, and architectural elements. By the beginning of the 70s. XX century this painstaking work returned the monument to its original appearance.

Hatshepsut's glory was short-lived, shortly after the construction was completed, in 1503 BC. e., her name disappears from the pages of Egyptian history. Whether natural death or a palace coup was the reason remains a mystery. Thutmose III, who came to power, ordered the chronicles to be rewritten, the queen’s name was replaced with his own or the names of his predecessors. All the deeds and monuments of the queen were henceforth attributed to him personally. Nevertheless, her temple was still the most important cult center in Egypt.

One of the most famous and preserved temples in Egypt is the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor. In addition to the queen herself, the complex at Deir el-Bahri was dedicated to Amon-Ra, Hatshepsut's father Thutmose I, the god Anubis and the goddess Hathor Imentet. The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Luxor in ancient times was called Djeser Djeseru - “The most sacred of the sacred.” Queen Hatshepsut is a female pharaoh of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt from the 18th dynasty. She reigned for 22 years around 1490-1468 BC. Hatshepsut restored the power of Egypt after the Hyksos invasion and erected many monuments and temples throughout the country.

Model of the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor

Near the ticket office there is a model of the queen’s mortuary temple. You can see what the temple of Hatshepsut looked like in Ancient Egypt after construction was completed 3.5 thousand years ago.

On the model, to the left of the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut, there is next to the temple of the Middle Kingdom pharaoh Mentuhotep II. It was 3 meters higher than the queen’s temple, but unfortunately the temple of Mentuhotep in Luxor did not survive; it was destroyed by an earthquake.

This is what has come down to this day.

Road to the temple in Deir el-Bahri

The video shows the road from the ticket office to the Temple of Hatshepsut. A train carries you from the ticket office to the temple in Deir el-Bahri.

Lower terrace of the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor

The entrance to the lower terrace of the temple of Queen Hatshepsut is closed. That's why we continue to climb without stopping.

Middle level of the temple

The middle terrace of Hatshepsut's mortuary temple has a wide area.

The photo below shows the left wing of the temple.

The mortuary temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor has the Sanctuary of Hathor in its left wing - here I had to say goodbye to 2 and 3 pounds.

Right wing of the temple.

The original paints have also been preserved here. In the Sanctuary of Anubis, the stars on the ceiling are the same as in.

The Horus Falcon guards the stairs to the upper tier of the Luxor Temple.

Upper terrace of the Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor

The upper terrace of the queen's mortuary temple was dedicated to the gods who gave life to Egypt and to Hatshepsut herself.

On the sides of the central courtyard of the third terrace are the sanctuaries of Ra and the parents of Queen Hatshepsut - Thutmose I and Ahmes.

At the center of this complex is the Holy of Holies, a sanctuary of Amun-Ra in the queen's temple. The sanctuary was the most important and most intimate part of the entire temple at Deir el-Bahri.

There was a group hanging out inside that got inside through an unknown means. The entrance through the top was fenced off.

A mountain hangs over the temple of Hatshepsut, behind it is.

View from above, from the third terrace of the temple.

The Temple of Hatshepsut in Luxor took 9 years to build.

Deir el-Bahri Valley

The Deir el-Bahri Valley is an archaeological area in Luxor where the Temple of Hatshepsut is located. If a train took us from the entrance to the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahri, then on our return we were late for it, so we had to walk. In addition to the Queen’s Temple in Deir el-Bahri, there are other buildings - the Temples of the Monastery Sea.

The photo below shows the tomb of Senmut, the chief architect of the Temple of Hatshepsut.

Somewhere nearby is the tomb DB-320 (TT-320) in which 46 mummies of various pharaohs, queens and priests were found, including the mummy of Ramses II. The tomb was originally intended for the high priest Amun Pinedjem II. At that time, Ancient Egypt found itself in a deep crisis. In order to preserve earlier burials, sarcophagi with mummies were transferred to the Pinedjem tomb.

Where is the temple of Queen Hatshepsut located? How to get there

The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut is located in Luxor, on the left western bank of the Nile River in the Deir el-Bahri valley. You can get to the temple by taxi, although it will not be very inexpensive. The fact is that there is no bridge across the Nile in Luxor itself; it is located downstream. It will be cheaper to take a group excursion. You can also take a taxi on the left bank of the Nile, and in one go you can swim along the river. In the Luxor area, the banks of the Nile are very beautiful. In the most budget option, you can cross the Nile by ferry or motorboat near the Karnak Temple and from there walk west. It's a 5-kilometer walk from there, keep in mind that it can be very hot in Egypt. The main one passes in the area of ​​the Luxor Temple, from there you go further.

We also have an article on our website about how to get there

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri

One and a half thousand years before the new era, at the foot of the Theban rocks, the construction of a temple began, the like of which Ancient Egypt had never known. The main inspirer of this unprecedented sanctuary was the Egyptian queen Hatshepsut, who shortly before managed to remove her husband Thutmose III from power and thus become the first female pharaoh in the history of the Egyptian kingdom. By the way, in order to confirm her status as a pharaoh, Hatshepsut even began to ostentatiously wear an artificial beard (a symbol of royal wisdom), walked with an open torso, as befits the stronger sex, and dressed in men's dress.

The priests, willy-nilly, had to call the queen “female Horus,” which must have amazed all the inhabitants of the country of the Nile, for such a phenomenon was unheard of in the dynastic tradition of Egypt. After this metamorphosis, the word "majesty" took on a completely different form, and the customs of the court were modified so that they could accommodate the rule of a woman. And Hatshepsut had no shortage of ambition. It is enough to see the inscription on one of the queen’s obelisks, the meaning of which boils down to the following: “You (subjects) will proclaim her word, you will obey her command. The one who worships her will live, the one who blasphemously speaks ill of her majesty will die.”

So, after the energetic queen’s party gained power, and she herself began to play a leading role in the state, she undertook grandiose transformations, including the construction of a stepped temple according to a design made by the best architects of that time - the queen’s favorite Senmut, his successor Ineni and master Tutia, who made doors from an alloy of gold and silver. Hatshepsut paid special attention to the layout of the sanctuary. She saw in it a real paradise of Amon, whose terraces seemed to her “the myrtle gardens of the wonderful country of Punt, the original home of the gods.”

The temple rose from the valley in three terraces to the level of an elevated courtyard adjacent to high yellow rocks, where the name and image of the deity were carved. On the second terrace there was an extensive colonnade, which could be seen from a long distance. All three terraces, or tiers, were connected by wide ramps. The measured rhythm of repeatedly repeated light columns was especially emphasized against the background of dark rocks. But Hatshepsut attached special importance to myrtle trees, which should have been planted on all spacious terraces. Such trees grew only in the southern country of Punt, famous for its wealth, luxury, exotic animals and plants. There the queen sent an expedition led by the close treasurer Nekhsi, in whose chests the gifts of the blessed country were to be kept.

In addition to many barter goods, the fleet of five ships was carrying a large stone statue of the queen, which was supposed to be erected in Punta. Having safely reached one of the southern borders of Egypt, the expedition arrived at its destination, where it was friendly received by the leader of the country and his entourage. After the ambassadors presented them with gifts, the ships were loaded with generous gifts. According to the chronicle, among them were “piles of myrtle resin, fresh myrtle trees, ebony, pure ivory, incense, baboons, monkeys and panther skins. Nothing like this has ever been brought to any king who lived in the north.”

Having examined the gifts brought, the queen immediately sacrificed some of them to Amun. Huge piles of myrrh and impressive rings of barter gold were carefully weighed and used for their intended purpose. Having gathered all her favorites, Hatshepsut reminded them of the oracle of Amun, who commanded her to “arrange Punt for him in his house and in his garden,” and said that she had fulfilled the highest command that was revealed to her in moments of divine revelation.

All the main performers found their place in the reliefs on the walls of the temple. Senmut was even allowed to depict himself on one of the temple steles praying for the queen - an extraordinary honor!

The stepped temple built by Hatshepsut, presumably not only for the glory of Amun, was, in fact, a new phenomenon both in architecture and in the location of the royal tomb and the temple attached to it. The fact is that by the beginning of the New Kingdom, which was opened by the reigns of Hatshepsut’s grandfather Ahmose I and her father Thutmose I, the pharaohs already understood that no precautions could save the tomb from plunder; that is why by this time the Egyptian rulers had practically stopped building any pyramids - both large and small. It was for security reasons that Thutmose I separated the tomb from the chapel in front of it in order to keep the king’s burial place secret. As the chronicle testifies, the same architect Ineni said that he alone supervised the carving of the cave tomb of His Majesty, so that “no one saw or heard.” According to the new location, the tomb was still located behind the chapel (temple), which continued to remain to the east of the tomb. But now both places were separated by rocks. By the way, the valley, which is now known as the Valley of the Kings, over several hundred years was filled with the richest tombs of Thutmose’s successors and continued to be a cemetery not only for the kings of the 18th, but also the 19th and 20th dynasties. More than forty tombs of the Theban kings were carved in it.

The terraced sanctuary of Hatshepsut was, therefore, her funeral temple, also dedicated to the queen’s father, Thutmose I. The ruler’s tomb itself was carved into a desert valley. On its eastern side, immediately behind the temple, a passage descends steeply onto the rock, ending in a row of chambers, one of which contained the sarcophagus of the queen herself, and the other the sarcophagus of Thutmose I. However, all these precautions did not help the preservation of the royal shrines. Both sarcophagi were plundered in ancient times, and archaeologists who discovered them in modern times did not find any remains of the two pharaohs.

And one more unique feature of the stepped temple of Hatshepsut. These are magnificent snow-white columns rising above the lower tier. Viewers who see them from a distance will undoubtedly be struck by the amazing sense of proportion and natural arrangement of these architectural details. By the way, the architecture of the temple colonnade completely contradicts the statement that the Greeks first mastered the art of arranging external columns, and the Egyptians knew how to achieve their harmony only inside the building. The general configuration of the temple also testifies to the amazing ability of the builders to combine the greatness of nature with man-made materials.

In addition to the colonnade of the stepped temple, which has survived to this day, you can also see the famous obelisks of Hatshepsut - needle-shaped steles, rapidly raised to the sky. The queen chose an unusual place for them, namely, the hall of the Karnak Temple near Thebes, where her husband, Thutmose III, was once proclaimed pharaoh “by command of Amon.” These obelisks, carved from solid blocks of stone, were covered with precious metals (which the architect Tutia worked on) and at that time were considered the greatest structures that had ever been erected in Egypt. The Queen proudly described their beauty: “The tops of the obelisks are made of the best alloy of gold and silver... Their rays flood both Countries when the sun rises between them, rising on the horizon of the sky.” The height of the obelisks reached forty meters, and the weight of each of them was about three hundred and fifty tons.

The legendary female pharaoh ruled the country for more than twenty years, after which she died under unclear circumstances. Power again passed into the hands of her husband, Thutmose III. Having restored his rights, the king paid in full for past grievances, treating the memory of his late wife in a completely barbaric manner. The name of Hatshepsut was erased from all the walls of the stepped temple, images and reliefs telling about the deeds of the queen were destroyed. The same fate befell the queen's associates, including the architects Senmut, Ineni, Tutia and the vizier Hanuseneb, whose names adorned the tombs and obelisks.

To some extent, Thutmose III can be understood. A born warrior who dreamed of conquering the rebellious Asian tribes and gaining glory for Egypt, he, being removed from governing the country, was forced to engage in such, in his opinion, childish things as burning incense before Amon, or building sanctuaries in honor of a powerful wife. However, Thutmose III fully realized all his warlike plans after he again took the throne.

And yet, no matter how hard the vengeful husband tried, he could not erase the memory of Hatshepsut. Evidence of this is the stepped temple and obelisks, which, despite their disfigured appearance, still amaze with their grandeur, unearthly beauty and boldness of embodiment.

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The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut is located at the very foot of the Deir el-Bahri cliffs. The complex of the temple of Queen Hatshepsut differs significantly from the temples of other Egyptian rulers. Its architecture and location were as unusual as the very appearance of a female pharaoh on the historical stage.

The daughter of Thutmose I and Queen Ahmes, Hatshepsut was the half-sister and great royal consort of Thutmose II. This king reigned for about 7 years, leaving behind an heir, Thutmose III, his son from his younger wife Isis. At the time of his father's death, Thutmose III was too young, and Hatshepsut was appointed regent of the little ruler. However, she was too proud to rule on anyone's behalf - she soon proclaimed herself the sole and rightful ruler of Egypt. The 15 years of Hatshepsut's reign were one of the brightest pages in the history of the 18th dynasty. On behalf of Hatshepsut, victorious military campaigns were waged in Asia and Nubia; in the 9th year of her reign, the famous expedition to Punt was carried out (the location, as well as the exact name of this exotic country, is still unknown. Perhaps Punt was located on the northern coast Somalia). In memory of these events, the queen erected magnificent monuments, only a few of which have survived to this day.

As unusual as the female pharaoh was, her funeral complex was just as unusual, and, above all, its location and architecture. First of all, Djeser Djeseru, “the most sacred of the sacred,” as Hatshepsut called her temple, is located at a great distance from the buildings of other rulers, in the very depths of the Theban necropolis. However, Hatshepsut did not violate established traditions - on the very border of the desert and irrigated land, a giant pylon was erected, from which a processional road led to the temple itself. This path, about 37 meters wide, was guarded on both sides by sphinxes made of sandstone and painted with bright colors. Right in front of the temple there was a garden of strange trees and shrubs brought from the mysterious country of Punt. Two sacred T-shaped lakes were dug here. The temple itself was truly a marvel of ancient Egyptian engineering. Carved into limestone rocks, it consisted of three huge terraces, located one above the other. On each of the terraces there was an open courtyard, covered rooms with columns - porticoes - and sanctuaries extending into the thickness of the rock. The tiers of the temple were connected by ramps - inclined roads that replaced stairs and divided the terraces into southern and northern parts.

The entrance to the temple is from the Punta portico of the Temple of Hatshepsut

This design and location of the building were not at all accidental: less than 100 meters from the Hatshepsut complex there is a similar temple, built by the ruler of the 11th dynasty, Mentuhotep Nebkhepetra. This king was considered the ancestor of the Theban kings, and Hatshepsut thus demonstrated the continuity of her reign and proved the legitimacy of her claims to the Egyptian throne.

Hathoric columns

The distribution of reliefs on the walls of the temple largely reflects the attitude of the ancient Egyptians. Thus, on the walls of the southern part of the lower portico, the delivery of obelisks carved in Upper Egypt and intended for the temple complex of Amon at Karnak is depicted. On the walls of the northern portico are scenes set in the reed beds associated with Lower Egypt. The idea of ​​the unity of both lands is found once again on the railing of the ramp connecting the second and third terraces of the temple. The lower bases of these staircases are decorated with images of a giant cobra, whose tail rose up the top of the railing. Above the head of the snake, which personified the patroness of Lower Egypt - the goddess Wadjet, is an image of Horus of Bekhdet, the deity of Upper Egypt.

Temple of Hatshepsut: relief of the lower terrace depicting warriors

If the reliefs of the first tier of the temple are dedicated to the united Egyptian lands, then the compositions of the second terrace tell the story of the ruler on whom the stability and prosperity of these territories depended. The main theme of the reliefs of the northern portico was divine theogamy - the story of the divine birth of Hatshepsut, recreated step by step on these walls. According to legend, the great Theban god Amon took the form of Hatshepsut's earthly father, Thutmose I, and entered the chambers of her mother Ahmes. While the royal wife carried the future ruler under her heart, the gods endowed Hatshepsut with all the qualities necessary for a pharaoh; This composition ends with the scene of the divine birth of the ruler.

To the right of the ramp is the so-called Portico of the Birth. Its reliefs and inscriptions tell the story of the conception and birth of Hatshepsut.

Khnum and Hekate lead the pregnant Queen Ahmose, Hatshepsut's mother, to the birthplace

In the maternity chamber, the god Khnum sculpts Hatshepsut herself and her ka on a potter's wheel. At the birth of Hatshepsut, the god Bes and the frog goddess Heket are present; the goddesses nurse the child, and Thoth records the details of the queen's reign.

This plot, like everything in Egyptian art, is not accidental. Having removed Thutmose III from the reign and received unlimited political power, Hatshepsut was never able to get rid of the question of the legality of her ascension to the Egyptian throne. That is why in the monuments of this queen about her divine origin and original selection for the role that she played. And although Hatshepsut proved the legitimacy of her power and in fact confirmed her ability to rule the state, she could not step over the barrier of the centuries-old tradition, according to which only a man could rule Egypt. This was manifested, first of all, in the iconography of Hatshepsut, who certainly depicted herself in male attire and with a ceremonial pendant beard. Thus, each of the columns of the porticos was complemented by an Osiric pilaster - a colossal statue of the queen in the image of Osiris, in a white robe, with her arms crossed on her chest, in which she held the royal scepters, and a long pendulous beard.

Boat of Hatshesput. Ancient Egypt. XVIII dynasty. XV century BC. Original: relief from the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri.

The depiction of the boats is replete with interesting technical details. These are river rowing boats.

Sea sailboats

The composition of the southern portico of the second tier tells the story of the famous expedition to Punt. According to official chronicles, the expedition equipped by Hatshepsut was so representative that local residents, seeing the power of the Egyptian fleet and troops, immediately recognized themselves as vassals of Egypt. The reliefs of the temple at Deir el-Bahri show all the details of this campaign. The artists depicted in detail the fleet of Hatshepsut, the features of the landscape of Punt with the forests of fragrant trees for which this country was so famous. The famous King and Queen Punta are also represented here, bringing gifts to Hatshepsut, which included precious woods, incense, ointments, animal skins, gold and slaves.

Egyptian ships during the expedition to Punt

Items from the ship are loaded onto boats for delivery to shore

The inhabitants of the country of Punt lived in pile buildings with conical roofs and used ladders to enter. Huts of this type can still be seen in some areas of East Africa.

White and yellow square blocks - copies of reliefs transported to the Cairo Museum

The king of the country Punt Parehu and Queen Ati receive the Egyptian embassy. The queen is presented as pathologically overweight, which indicates her elephantiasis (although it is possible that she is from the Hottentot tribe). This relief is now in the Cairo Museum.

The captain of the Egyptian expedition, accompanied by soldiers, transfers goods from Egypt to the rulers of the country of Punt.

Antiu trees, along with their roots, were placed in baskets and carried to the ship

General view of the pier with reliefs

Procession demonstrating the abundance of goods exported from Punt

Precious trees are brought on board the ship

The ships have raised their sails and are setting off on their return journey to their homeland.

On either side of the porticos are the sanctuaries of Anubis and Hathor. Anubis was the ruler of the necropolises, and the territory of Deir el-Bahri itself has long been dedicated to Hathor, whose veneration gave people hope for renewed vitality and rebirth after death. Both sanctuaries consist of 12-column hypostyle halls located on the terrace and interior spaces going deep into the rock. The columns of the sanctuary of Hathor are completed with Hathor capitals, made in the form of the face of this goddess, and on the walls of the sanctuary a seated figure of Thutmose II is depicted, whose hand is licked by a cow - the sacred animal of Hathor.

On both sides of the second terrace there are sanctuaries of the guide to the afterlife of Anubis and the goddess of love Hathor, which are small halls with 12 columns from which one could get deep into the rock into the interior.

The Temple of Anubis is decorated with a hypostyle hall with 12 16-sided columns and an astronomical ceiling

Southwestern wall. The image of Hatshepsut, placed between Nekhbet(?) and Ra-Horakhty, was purposefully destroyed.

Northwestern wall. Sacrifices to Amun.

Northwestern wall. Sacrifices to Anubis.

Northeast wall. Thutmose III brings gifts to Sokar.

The upper part of the temple of Queen Hatshepsut is dedicated to the gods who gave life to both the Egyptian land and its ruler. Around the sides of the central courtyard of the third terrace are the sanctuaries of the Divine Sun Ra and Hatshepsut's parents - Thutmose I and Ahmes. In the center of this complex is the holy of holies, the sanctuary of Amun-Ra, which was the most important and most intimate part of the entire temple of Deir el-Bahri.

The walls along the perimeter of the vestibule and hypostyle hall are decorated with scenes of festivals in honor of the goddess and scenes of the sacrifices of Hathor, appearing on her boat in the form of a cow. Hathor, in the form of a cow, licks the queen's hand.

Traditional ornament: "... all life, stability and power... all life, stability and power..."

Once a year, this sanctuary of Amun became the center of the Beautiful Festival of the Valley, during which the sacred image of Amun left the walls of the Karnak sanctuary and went to the mortuary temples of the Theban necropolis. Reliefs telling about this holiday occupy most of the walls of the courtyard of the upper terrace of the Temple of Hatshepsut. Often, the paintings of private Theban tombs are also associated with this celebration, during which the Thebans came to their deceased relatives, sacrificed flowers, wine, bread and fruit to them and spent the whole day visiting their ancestors, celebrating the arrival of Amun-Ra on the western bank of the river . Having visited all the royal temples, the boat with the divine statue was solemnly carried into the Djeser Djeser and spent the night there in order to return to the eastern bank of the river in Karnak in the morning. The images on the walls of the sanctuary of the Temple of Hatshepsut show a boat “floating” on a “golden lake,” that is, standing on a special sacred pedestal made of pure gold. Around this pedestal there were four containers, symbolizing the four cardinal directions, filled with the night milk of sacred cows. Torches placed around the boat burned all night; at dawn they were stewed in milk.

The sanctuary of the temple symbolized the womb of Hathor, the eternal mother, after spending the night in which the solar deity was reborn renewed, washed by life-giving milk, which received its night glow, which was symbolically denoted by the light of torches. Having visited Hathor, the great mistress of the West, the solar god-creator received new magical powers in order to continue his daily cyclical journey through orbit. The beautiful festival of the Valley was the starting point of the annual life cycle in which the solar god experienced a symbolic death, only to be reborn in the morning rejuvenated, full of strength to fight chaos and the forces of evil.

Northeast wall: boats and parade of the queen's soldiers in honor of the goddess Hathor

Hatshepsut brings rich gifts to Amun

Thoth and Seshat carefully monitor the weighing and accounting of the wealth delivered. There are mountains of myrrh and living myrrh trees in tubs.

Hatshepsut spared no expense in the construction of this temple, which she built “out of love for her father Amon.” This grandiose plan was embodied by the hands of the architect Senenmut, the queen’s favorite and teacher of her daughter Nefrur. Several statues of this architect, presented together with his pupil, have survived. Images of Senenmut are also found in Deir el-Bahri, however, apparently, their appearance was secret: located near doorways, they were always hidden by an open door. In addition, on the territory of the first terrace of the temple, Senenmut began the construction of his tomb, so that even after death he would remain as close as possible to the temple he had built. However, this sacred territory belonged to Amun and Hatshepsut, and this encroachment on the sacred land, and possibly other reasons, caused Hatshepsut's disgrace. The architect's tomb, in which all his names were carefully destroyed, was never completed.

Most of the images of Hatshepsut were destroyed by Thutmose III. Behind the half-erased Hatshepsut only a small figure remained, probably the queen’s.

After the death of Hatshepsut, the Egyptian throne returned to Thutmose III. Needless to say, how much he hated his stepmother, who deprived him of his kingdom for 15 years? By order of the king, all official chronicles were rewritten, the name of the queen was replaced with the names of this ruler and his predecessors; all the deeds and monuments of the queen were henceforth attributed to Hatshepsut’s successor.

Thutmose III in front of the sacred barge

Shadow of the figure of Hatshepsut reporting to Amun on the success of the expedition

Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-bahri

The waters of the Nile divided Ancient Egypt into two parts: eastern and western, into the kingdom of the living and the kingdom of the dead. On the eastern bank of the Nile, palaces of the pharaohs and huge temples were erected in honor of various gods; on the western bank, pyramids, tombs and mortuary temples were built, where services were held in honor of the dead and deified pharaohs...
Such mortuary temples, carved into the rocks of the western bank of the Nile, include two colossi of Ancient Egypt: the temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahri and the temple of Ramesses II the Great, better known as Abu Simbel.
Queen Hatshepsut (reigned 1525-1503 BC) was the wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II. After the death of her husband, she usurped the throne, depriving the throne of the rightful heir - her stepson Thutmose III, who is believed to have been born from a woman of non-royal origin. During the reign of Hatshepsut, significant construction work was carried out in the Nile Valley, including the rebuilding and expansion of the Temple of Amun at Karnak. Probably, Hatshepsut thereby sought to immortalize her name. Looking ahead, let's say that she did not succeed in this - fate, alas, cruelly took revenge on the queen...

Construction of the mortuary temple began during Hatshepsut's lifetime. It was built by the court architect Senmut. While building the temple, Senmut prepared a secret tomb for himself in it, and left his portrait in one of the hidden corners.
The Temple of Hatshepsut was built next to the temple of Pharaoh Mentuhotep I, who was revered as the ancestor of the pharaohs of the 18th dynasty. Probably, by doing this, the queen wanted to emphasize her right to the throne that she had seized, bypassing the legal heir to the throne. Today, the area where the temple of Hatshepsut is located bears the Arabic name Deir el-Bahri. In its enormous size and abundance of decorative decorations, this temple surpasses all other similar buildings of Ancient Egypt and stands out sharply from all the temples of Ancient Egypt.

The Hatshepsut temple is of the semi-rock type - it combines above-ground premises with a sanctuary carved into the rocks. The temple consists of three terraces-steps, rising above each other and connected by gentle staircases-ramps. In ancient times, ponds with thickets of papyrus and trees were planted on these terraces. The road to the temple was decorated with sphinxes with portrait heads of Queen Hatshepsut in the guise of the god Osiris. The sphinxes were brightly colored - the body and face were yellow, the beard was blue, the headband was striped, red and green. The pedestals were decorated with reliefs depicting bound captives.

The lower terrace, serving as the central courtyard, is surrounded by a wall decorated with stone images of falcons with signs of royal power. From the west, the courtyard is closed by a 22-column portico, divided in the middle by a staircase-ramp. Once it was framed by monumental figures of lions, and on the sides of the portico towered colossal, 8-meter-high figures of Queen Hatshepsut in the image of the god Osiris. The portico is decorated with painted reliefs depicting Queen Hatshepsut trampling her enemies and making a sacrifice to the god Amun. Here you can also see scenes of military parades, lines of slaves, and episodes of construction work.

A staircase cutting through the portico leads to the second terrace. Once upon a time, in its center there was an artificial pond surrounded by trees. The western part of the terrace is also decorated with a portico with tetrahedral monolithic columns, dissected by a staircase and serving as the basis for the third, upper terrace. On the walls of the portico there are relief compositions dedicated to the life of Queen Hatshepsut. At the opposite end of the terrace there are reliefs depicting the expedition sent by the queen to the legendary country of Punt and bringing from there a lot of jewelry and rare plants. According to most researchers, the country of Punt should be understood as the eastern coast of Africa. Probably, the same country was known in ancient times to the inhabitants of the Middle East under the name Ophir. The reliefs depict monkeys, panthers, giraffes, huts on stilts - typically African subjects.

The staircase leading to the upper terrace is decorated with sculptures of giant cobras, each of which has a falcon on its back. These are heraldic figures symbolizing Upper (cobra) and Lower (falcon) Egypt, and the entire composition is intended to personify the unity of Egypt. The staircase is framed by a pair of sphinxes carved from red Aswan granite.
The upper terrace was intended for the main temple rituals. Here is the entrance to the rock-cut sanctuary of Hatshepsut. The facade of the sanctuary is a portico with tetrahedral columns, in front of each of which there once stood a monumental statue of the queen. These huge statues were visible far from ships sailing along the Nile. The entire terrace was surrounded by columns. There were also several small temples and prayer houses here. In the southern wing of the portico there was a sanctuary of the goddess Hathor, the patroness of Queen Hatshepsut.

In the depths behind the colonnade of the portico, a mysterious labyrinth of underground halls carved into the rocks opens up. Their floors were paved with gold and silver slabs, their cedar doors were inlaid with bronze, their walls were decorated with faceted columns, and their vaults were covered with brightly colored reliefs. The entrance to the main hall was framed by three-meter-tall statues of Queen Hatshepsut in the image of the god Osiris, and its doors were made of “black copper” with inlays of electrum (an alloy of gold and silver).

In the main hall of the underground sanctuary there was a huge marble statue of the queen. Unfortunately, only fragments of it remain. In total, there were more than two hundred statues in the temple, of which 140 were sphinxes. The sculptures from the Temple of Hatshepsut are the most outstanding examples of ancient Egyptian art of the 17th dynasty. They depict Queen Hatshepsut in three forms: as a pharaoh, as the god Osiris, and as a sphinx. These portraits have conveyed to this day the appearance of the ancient ruler: an oval face tapering towards the chin, a small mouth, almond-shaped eyes under wide arches of eyebrows, the lines of the eyelids are extended to the temples with the help of a fim... In all the statues, the sculptors tried to accurately convey the portrait resemblance, but if the sphinxes and while large statues (8 and 5 m high), which were part of the external design of the temple, only have a general similarity and only the most characteristic features are reproduced, then the statues from the main sanctuary, which had a cult character, were made by first-class craftsmen and recreated in a very subtle and soft manner portrait image of the queen.

The luxurious decoration of the temple of Hatshepsut did not last long. After the death of the queen, the rightful heir, Thutmose III, who ascended the throne, first ordered the destruction of all images of his predecessor throughout the country and the erasure of all inscriptions where her name was mentioned. All the temple sculptures were broken and buried nearby, where they were discovered by archaeologists many centuries later.