Position 65 - The Ramessem, Mortuary Temple Of Ramses Ii—northwest Toward The Tombs In The Cliffs, Thebes

Here we look upon the remains of our first temple on the west side of Thebes. The Memnon colossi are now upon our left and a little behind us, Luxor is directly behind us, while before us rise the cliffs that flank the western plain of Thebes (Map 8). We are looking nearly down the axis of the temple, which, as you will see by reference to Plan 13, is almost in a northwest-southeast line; but we usually treat these temples on the west side of the river as if they faced exactly east, which makes reference to the compass much easier. We are therefore standing at the east end of the temple and looking toward its western end, that is, the rear of the building.

What a sad ruin! For centuries it served as a quarry and was still so used far down into the 19th century; and this, following upon the ruin of earthquake and the havoc of war, has almost wrecked the noble temple. You find difficulty in tracing any plan at all, or any relation of the parts because it is so fragmentary and scattered. We are standing upon the southern tower of the first pylon (see Plan 13); the central aisle leading from front to rear is here on our right, and that vast colossus on the extreme right, with a native in a snow-white garment mounted upon it, is lying obliquely across the aisle.

Just behind it and extending out of range on the right, you may see the tower of the second pylon on the other side of the aisle; the other tower of the same pylon, on this side of the aisle, has been quarried away, and only the lower courses of the base remain, against which the figure of this lower native is outlined. If that tower were still standing it would cut off all our present view of the rear of the building. Again you can locate the central aisle by the base of the overturned colossus; for the colossus once stood upon that huge rectangular block near us, on our extreme right, with half a dozen rough fragments scattered over its top.

Passing down the aisle toward the rear, one has that block on his left (see plan), and you see how the fallen giant bars all further progress in that direction. In the rear it is much easier to determine the aisle, for you find there a colonnaded hall, a hypostyle like that at Karnak, and under that higher section of roof in the middle we must of course locate the central aisle, between a double row of taller columns, crowned by flower capitals on either side, which is exactly what you observe there.

You can discern also the shorter columns, with bud capitals on the right and left of the central aisle, precisely as we found them at Karnak. Now I think you can easily trace the aisle from front to rear. Yonder hypostyle was preceded by two successive courts, which you can best place by examining the plan (No. 13). There was a colonnade at the left side of the “first court,” and you see the bases of the columns belonging to it down at our feet on the left.

If you attempt to follow the middle aisle, the entrance to the “second court” is, as we have seen, barred by the fallen colossus; but the destruction of the left tower of the second pylon enables us to gain a full view of this court. It was surrounded by a colonnaded portico, but in front and rear, next to the court, we find a row of Osiris pillars, each pillar having carved on its front a statue of Osiris, standing with crossed arms and holding the scourge and crookstaff as the symbols of his dominion.

Four of the Osiris figures off there to our right serve to mark the rear of the court for us, and immediately to the right of the native on the colossus you note the shoulder of one of the Osiris columns, behind the second pylon, forming the front of the court. The corresponding figures on the left of the second court have been entirely destroyed. But you can see where they should be, if you will note upon Plan 13, the three low flights of steps which lead from the second court, through the portico to the hypostyle hall.

Turning again to the temple, you will observe in the second court the left-hand flight, which should pass between the last two Osiris pillars on the left. The middle flight you must place just on the left of the group of four Osiris figures still standing on the right, while the right-hand flight passes between the further two of these, but is hidden from our view by the fallen colossus. When we have viewed all this from the rear also, it will come out more clearly, and you can return here and pick out the parts again.

The purpose of this temple, like that now vanished building behind the Memnon colossi, was different from that of the temples which we have seen on the east side of the river. Do you remember that chapel in the east front of the mastaba? And again, the temple on the east side of each of the pyramids? Well, these temples on the west side at Thebes are for precisely the same purpose and occupy the same position with relation to the tombs of the dead.

The Pharaohs of the Empire, as we shall see, no longer built pyramids, but hewed out vast tombs in a valley behind yonder cliffs, and here to the east of those cliff tombs, as once they were east of the pyramids, are the royal mortuary temples. But they have now developed from a chapel of rather modest dimensions, to a magnificent sanctuary comparable to the great state temple on the other side of the river. This now desolate and forsaken temple was maintained by splendid endowments established by the king for that purpose.

Those low mounds which you see just beyond the temple, on the left of the hypostyle hall and on the right of the four Osiris columns, cover great storehouses in which the temple income in wine, oil, honey, grain, vegetables, textiles, gold, silver and costly stones was stored, and there you may pick up to this day, the seals from the wine, oil or honey jars, bearing the name of Ramses II, just as they were broken from the jars by the temple steward in the days when the Hebrews were sojourning in the land.

All this was intended to ensure the Pharaoh just such food, drink and clothing after death as he had enjoyed while King of Egypt. Thus he was here long worshiped as a god.

You have already noticed the roof of the central aisle, out yonder over the hypostyle. We shall now stand out there upon that roof and look this way toward our present position on the first pylon. But before we go, glance once more at the cliff behind the temple, for when we have finished our inspection of this building we shall go up yonder among those tombs and examine the interior of one of the best preserved, of which you see so many openings.

As we are now looking somewhat west of north, with the Nile to our right and behind us, we shall next be looking southeast toward the river. Find the lines numbered 66, which start near the centre of Map 8, and extend southeast, and you will see that we are to be looking over the river to Luxor on the southeast bank. See Plan 13 also.