Literature Review on "Ishtar Gate, Karnak, Luxor Temple, & Ancient Buildings"

Literature Review 20 pages (7023 words) Sources: 30

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History Of Construction of 10 Buildings of Ancient Civilization

Construction of the Ishtar Gate (ca. 575 BC)

The Ishtar Gate is for the most parts of the spectacular finds from earliest Babylonia (Babylon and the Ishtar Gate, 2010). The Ishtar Gate was the eighth gate leading into the inner city of Babylon. It was ordered to be built in about 575 BC by King Nebuchadnezzar II on the north region of the city. Devoted to the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, the gate was built of blue glazed tiles with sporadic rows of dragons and aurochs. According to the dedication plaque, the cover and doors of the gate were made of cedar. Even though the gate ran the Processional Way, the wall was covered in lions on about 120 glazed bricks. Statues of the idols were shown off by way of the gate and down the Processional Way every year as part of the New Year's festivities (Ancient Babylonia - the Ishtar Gate, n.d.).

Initially the gate, being part of the Walls of Babylon, was thought to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World until; it was later substituted with the Lighthouse of Alexandria. A renovation of the Ishtar Gate and Processional Way was constructed at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin out of substance unearthed by Robert Koldewey and completed in the 1930's. It contains the dedication plaque. It stands 47 feet tall and 100 feet across. The excavation took place from 1902-1914. Throughout this time, forty five feet of the base of the gate was exposed. The gate was a twofold gate. The portion that is depicted in the Pergamon Museum nowadays is only the lesser, front part, while the bigger, back portion was thought to be too big to fit into the restraints of the arrangement of the museum (Ancient Babylonia - the Ishtar Gate, n.d.).

Portions of the gate and lions from the Processional Way are in a number of other museums worldwide. Only three museums obtained dragons, while lions went to a number of museums. The Istanbul Archaeology Museum contains lions, dragons, and bulls. The Detroit Institute of Arts has a dragon. The Rohsska Museum in Gothenburg, Sweden, has one dragon and one lion; the Louvre, the State Museum of Egyptian Art in Munich, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Philadelphia, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Oriental Institute in Chicago, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut, all contain lions. A lesser replica of the gate was constructed in Iraq under Saddam Hussein as the entry to a museum that has not been finished. Harm to this replica has taken place because of the Iraq war (Ancient Babylonia - the Ishtar Gate, n.d.).

Of the three animals portrayed on the gate, they can all be explained in a non-zoological framework. The lion was a representation of the goddess Ishtar, and unquestionably served as a figurative way of naming the gateway. The difficult Mushhushshu provided a twofold purpose as both a representation of the ruling idol Marduk and also as a defensive spirit, predominantly in combination with the bull. Dedications exist featuring the defensive characters of the dragon and the bull, which might or might not be, connected with the viper as well (the Ishtar Gate, n.d.).

It appears likely that the descriptions of the Mushhushshu or Sirrush on the gates of Babylon were nothing other than a mixture of religious admiration and an invocation of divine defense. In no way was the statue planned to symbolize any sort of real animal. The truth that the lion and the bull were genuine was purely coincidence. Both of those animals were spiritual or shielding symbols, as well (the Ishtar Gate, n.d.). King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon devoted the great Ishtar Gate to the goddess Ishtar. It was the chief entry way into Babylon. His objective was to redecorate his capital (Ancient Babylonia - the Ishtar Gate, n.d.).

Construction of the Temple Complex of Karnak (ca. 1370 BC)

The Karnak Temple Complex, normally known as Karnak, is made up of a large collection of destroyed temples, chapels, pylons, and other structures, particularly the Great Temple of Amen and an enormous structure started by Pharaoh Ramses II. An ancient holy lake is a piece of the site as well. It is situated near Luxor, some 500 km south of Cairo, in Egypt. The area in the region of Karnak was the ancient Egyptian Ipet-isut and the main site of worship of the eighteenth dynasty Theban Triad with the god Amun as its leader. It is a division of the colossal city of Thebes. The Karnak complex gets its name from the close by and partially bordered, contemporary village of el-Karnak, and some 2.5 km north of Luxor (Ancient Egypt Brought to Life with Virtual Model of Historic Temple Complex, 2009).

It is the biggest temple complex ever constructed by man, and symbolizes the joint accomplishment of many generations of ancient builders. The Temple of Karnak is in fact three main temples, lesser enclosed temples, and numerous outer temples situated about three kilometers north of Luxor, Egypt located on 100 ha (247 acres) of ground. This enormous complex was constructed and distended over a thirteen hundred year era. The three main temples of Mut, Montu and Amun are surrounded by massive brick walls. The Open Air Museum is situated to the north of the first courtyard, crossways from the Sacred Lake. The major complex, the Temple of Amun, is located in the middle of the complete complex. The Temple of Monthu is to the north of the Temple of Amun, and next to it, on the inside of the area wall is the Temple of Ptah, while the Temple of Mut is to the south. There is in addition the small Temple devoted to Khonsu, and next to it, an even lesser Temple of Opet. In fact, there are a variety of lesser temples and chapels spread about Karnak, such as the Temple of Osiris Hek-Djet (Heqadjet), which is really within the area wall of the Temple of Amun (Dunn, 2010).

The Second Pylon of Karnak was constructed by Ramesses II. The Ptolemies did some wide-ranging mending and some new structure on the middle segment. Oddly they left the columns and the front wall of the First Pylon incomplete and left the mud-brick incline where it was at. The rationale for the work left incomplete is not clear. The Hypostyle Hall is established after going through the Second Pylon. The hall is thought to be one of the world's utmost architectural masterpieces. Building started during Ramesses I's reign. He was the king who established the Nineteenth Dynasty and was king for only one year (Karnak, 1996).

The work went on under Seti I. Seti I also constructed the Temple of Abydos and numerous other temples. The hall was finished by Seti's son, Ramesses II. The results that are fashioned inside the hall are a great deal dissimilar than they were initially. The enormous architraves are not on top of the capitals that tower above. Towards to middle of the hall quite a few architraves and windows that have stone latticework still remain. This little area can give one a suggestion of the builders' intention for the lighting results. Some imagination is necessary in order to value what it must have looked like back then. The walls, ceilings and columns are painted with the normal earth tones. The light that was permitted in initially kept the majority of the hall in darkness. The hall ceiling was 82 feet high and was held up by 12 papyrus columns. The columns consist of sandstone and are set in two rows of six. Each row is bordered on either side by 7 rows of columns that are 42 feet high. Each row has 9 columns; though the inner rows have 7 columns. The reliefs all through the hall surround symbolism of Creation. The reliefs in the northern half are from the time era of Seti I and are clearly better done than those done by his son Ramesses II, which are in the southern half. Ramess II's reliefs are cut much deeper than those of Seti's, which gives a much more spectacular light and shadow result (Karnak, 1996).

Construction of the Luxor Temple (ca. 1400 BC)

Luxor Temple is a big Ancient Egyptian temple complex positioned on the east bank of the River Nile in the city today known as Luxor and was established in 1400 B.C.E. It is known in the Egyptian language as ipet resyt, or the southern sanctuary. The temple was devoted to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut, and Chons and was constructed throughout the New Kingdom, the center of the yearly Opet Festival, in which a cult statue of Amun was displayed down the Nile from close by Karnak… READ MORE

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