Page:A History of Art in Ancient Egypt Vol 1.djvu/454

 362 A History of Art in Ancient Egypt. variations upon the type established by our study of the minor monument. Let us take Karnak first. This, the most colossal assemblage of ruins which the world has to show, comprises no less than eleven separate temples within its four inclosing walls of crude brick. The longest axis of this collection of ruins is that from north to south ; it measures about 1,560 yards ; its transverse axis is 620 yards long. The whole circuit of the walls is nearly two EnMish miles and a half.^ The first thing that strikes us in looking at a general map of Karnak is that Egyptian temples were not oriented.^ The Great Temple is turned to the west, that of Khons to the south, that of Mouth to the north. There is some doubt as to the name which should be given to several of these buildings. Two of the most important are consecrated to those deities who, with Amen, form the Theban triad. The highest and largest of them all, that which is called the Gj'eat Temple, is dedicated to Amen-Ra. We are here concerned with the latter building only. We reproduce, on a much larger scale and in two parts (Fig. 214 on on page 363, and Fig. 215 on page 367), the plan given on page 358 (Fig. 212). A few figures will suffice to give an idea of the several dimensions. From the external doorway of the first western pylon to the eastern extremity of the building, the length, over all, is 1,215 f^^t- ^^s greatest width is that of the first pylon, namely 376 feet. The total circumference of the bounding wall is about 3,165 feet. The outside curtain wall of brick is from 2,500 to 2,700 yards in length, which corresponds closely to the 13 stadia said by Diodorus to be the circumference of the oldest of the four great Theban temples,^ After passing the first pylon (No. i on the plan) we find our- selves in a peristylar court answering to that in the temple of Khons. On our right and left respectively we leave two smaller temples, one of which (C on plan) cuts through the outer wall and ' These measurements are taken from Martettf, Voyage dans la Ilaide-Egypte. vol. ii. p. 7. 2 We have not given a general map. In order to do so we should either have had to overpass the limits of our page, or we should have had to give it upon too small a scale. Our fourth plate will give a sufficiently accurate idea of its arrange- ment. The plan in Lepsius's Denk)iuder (part i. pi. 74-76) occupies three entire pages. ^ Diodorus, i. 46.