The Karnak Temple Complex in the ancient Egyptian town of Thebes was constructed and added on by numerous kings over thousands of years.
Karnak in the ancient Egyptian town of Thebes, was composed of a large expanse of temples, pylons, chapels and obelisks. The whole 200 acre complex was to honor the gods Amun, Montu and Mut, and to record the king's conquests and history. Starting in the Middle Kingdom, construction and additions continued for about 2,000 years.
The complex includes a great sacred lake, which many larger temples had, where statues of the various gods would sail across it during special festivals. In the center of the complex is the Temple of Amun. To the north is the Temple of Montu and to the south is the Temple of Mut. There are several other smaller temples dedicated to other gods, but the central theme of the entire complex is to pay homage to Amun.
Some of the kings to build in the temple complex were Rameses I, Seti I, Rameses II, Hatshepsut (the woman who deemed herself Pharaoh) and her son, Thutmoses III. The first pylon of Karnak is unfinished and archaeologists still don't know why it was never completed by any of the kings. Rameses II built a second pylon that leads to the Hypostyle Hall. This hall is the most magnificent structure and was completed by Rameses II. There are two rows of six columns of sandstone that supported a ceiling towering eighty two feet high. Then there are seven rows of nine columns flanking these. All of the columns have scenes and hieroglyphs on them.
On the Hypostyle walls are scenes of battles from Seti I and Rameses II. Unfortunately, most of the complex is in ruins. Enough remains to show what a tremendous feat it was to construct such a massive and beautiful structure.
A third pylon, that of Amenhotep III, was erected in the Transverse Hall, leading visitors from the Hypostyle Hall to a court. This is where there are several obelisks. Hatshepsut had an amazingly large obelisk raised from a single piece of pink granite, quarried all the way from Aswan, hundreds of miles from Thebes. Her obelisk is ninety seven feet high, higher even than her father's obelisk of seventy feet. Her father, Thutmose I, was lucky enough not to have his obelisk destroyed or defaced, although a few other king's names were added.
After Thutmose II died (Hatshepsut's husband), Hatshepsut assumed the throne, rather than her son, Thutmose III. It was during her reign that she raised the obelisk, but after her mysterious disappearance or death, Thutmose III finally ascended the throne as Pharaoh. He had most of Hatshepsut's name removed from her temples, columns and any other structures, but her obelisk was not destroyed. It was left intact with a wall built around it to obscure her name. Thutmose III constructed a sixth pylon that led to a Hall of Records where he recorded his exploits. This has mostly been destroyed over time.
Another Pharaoh in disfavor was Akhenaten. He changed the state religion from worshipping Amun to worshipping the Aten, the sole god of the sun. During his reign, he dedicated temples at Karnak, but when he relocated his palace from Thebes to Amarna in his fifth year of reign, he no longer built at Karnak. During his reign, he tried to erase all evidence of the name of Amun, including at Karnak. Upon his mysterious death, the Amun religion was again started up by his successor, Tutankhamun.
