Page:History of Architecture in All Countries Vol 1.djvu/153

 Bk I. C'H. IV KINGDOM OF THE PHAEAOHS. 121 with it by an avenue of sphinxes, stands the Temple of Luxor, hardly inferior in some res])ects to its great rival at Karnac ; but either it Avas never finished, or, owing to its proximity to the Nile, it has been ruined, and the materials carried away. The length is about 830 ft., its breadth ranarino- from 100 to 200 ft. Its general arrangement comprised, first, a great court at a different anglje from the rest, being turned so as to face Karnac. In front of this stand two colossi of Rhamses the Great, its founder, and two obelisks were once also there, one of which is now in Paris. Behind tliis was once a great hypostyle hall, but only the two cen- ♦ tral ranges of columns are now stand- ing. Still further back were smaller halls and numerous apartments, evi- dently meant for the king's residence, rather than for a temple or place ex- clusively devoted to worshijD. The palace at Luxor is further re- mai'kable as a striking instance of how regardless the Egyptians were of regu- larity and symmetry in their plans. Not only is there a considerable angle in the direction of the axis of the build- ing, but the angles of the courtyards are in scarcely any instance riglit angles ; the pillars are variously spaced, and pains seems to have been gratuitously taken to make it as irreg- idar as possible in nearly every respect. All the portion at the southern end was erected by Amenophis III., the north- ern part completed l)y Rhamses the Great, the same who built the Rhames- sion already described as situated on the other bank of the Nile. Besides these there stood on the western side of the Nile the Memno- nium, or great temple of Amenophis III., now almost entirely ruined. It was placed on the alluvial plain, within the limits of the inundation, which has tended on the one hand to bury it, and on the other to facilitate the removal of its materials. Nearly the only remains of it now apparent are the two great seated colossi of its 24. Caryatide Pillar, from the Great Court at Medinet-Habuu.