One of the most appealing and awe-inspiring aspects of Egyptian temple architecture are the spectacular columns, resembling groves of stone trees. These columns, especially at Karnak and Luxor, dwarf human beings and bear inscriptions, carved reliefs, and a weighty majesty unequaled anywhere else in the world.
Columns held special significance for the Egyptians, representing as they did the expanses of nature. Columns alluded to the times when vast forests dotted the land, forests that disappeared as the climate changed and civilization took its toll upon the Egyptian environment. They also represented the Nile reed marshes. The columns were introduced in order to simulate nature, and to identify man again with the earth. The first tentative columns are still visible in the STEP PYRAMID of SAQQARA, but they are engaged columns, attached to walls for support and unable to stand on their own. Imhotep designed rows of such pillars at the entrance to various buildings and incorporated them into corridors for djoser’s shrine (2600 b. c.e.).
In the Fourth Dynasty (2575-2465 b. c.e.) masons experimented with columns as a separate architectural entity. In one royal tomb built in giza in the reign of KHUFU (2551-2465 b. c.e.) limestone columns were used effectively. In the tomb of sahure (2458-2446 b. c.e.) of the Fifth Dynasty, the columns were made of granite, evincing a more assured style and level of skill.
Wooden columns graced a site in the reign of kakai (2446-2426 b. c.e.) in that same dynasty, and another king of the royal line, niuserre (2416-2392 b. c.e.), had limestone columns installed in his abusir necropolis complex. At BENI HASAN in the Eleventh Dynasty (2134-2140 b. c.e.) local nomarchs, or provincial chiefs, built their own tombs with wooden columns. The same type of columns was installed in tombs in the Twelfth Dynasty (1991-1773 b. c.e.), but they were made of wood set into stone bases. With the coming of the New Kingdom (1550-1070 b. c.e.) the columns become part of the architectural splendor that marked the capital at Thebes and at the later capital of PER-RAMESSES in the eastern Delta. Extensive colonnades stood on terraces, or in the recesses of temples, opening onto courts and shrines.
Greek designs. In Egyptian territories outside of the capital, the old jewelry, amulets, pendants, and wares remained traditional.
Architecture
The arrival of Alexander iii the great (r. 332-323 b. c.e.) and the subsequent Ptolemaic Period (304-30 b. c.e.) changed Egyptian architecture forever. The Ptolemies, however, conducted a dual approach to their architectural aspirations. The artistic endeavors of the city of Alexandria, the new capital, were purely Greek or
The massive temple columns, supports used at a shrine of Horus, displaying different capital designs and architectural innovations. (Courtesy Steve Beikirch.)
Hellenic. The artistic projects conducted throughout Egypt were based solely upon the traditional canon and the cultic imperatives of the past.
Alexandria was intended to serve as a crowning achievement of architecture, with the library of Alexandria and the Pharos (the lighthouse) demonstrating the skills of the finest Greek architects. Even the tombs, such as the famed site erected for Petosiris, combined Egyptian and Greek designs. Outside of Alexandria, however, the Ptolemaic rulers used the traditional centuries old styles. At PHILAE, Dendereh, esna, kom ombo, and throughout the Nile Valley, the canon reverberated once again in new temples and in designs for statues, stelae, and other monumental commemoratives. The temple at Esna, dedicated to Khnum-Horus, was erected by ptolemy iii euergetes (r. 246-221 b. c.e.) and completed by ptolemy xii neos DIONYSIUS (r. 80-58, 55-51 b. c.e.). The Dendereh temple, dedicated to Hathor, used the traditional column forms but added a carved screen. Reliefs in these houses of cul-tic worship were traditional, but Greek anatomical corrections, softer forms, and draped garments displayed the Hellenic advances. The Egyptian form had survived over the centuries on the Nile, as it triumphed in the restored monuments displayed in modern times.
Suggested Readings: Aldred, Cyril. Egyptian Art in the Days of the Pharaohs, 3100-320 B. C. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1985; Arnold, Dorothea, Christiane Ziegler, and James P. Allen, eds. Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1999;
Fazzini, Richard, James F Romano, and Madeleine E. Cody. Art for Eternity: Masterworks from Ancient Egypt. New York: Scala Books, 1999; Malek, J. Egyptian Art. New York: Phaidon Press, 1999; Robins, Gay The Art of Ancient Egypt. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000; Smith, William Stevenson, and William Kelly Simpson. The Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1999; Stevenson Smith, W, rev. by W Simpson. Art and Architecture of Ancient Egypt. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1998; Tierney, Tom. Ancient Egyptian Fashions. Mineola, N. Y.: Dover, 1999; Wilkinson, Richard H., and Richard Wilk. Symbol & Magic in Egyptian Art. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1999.
Artatama (fl. 14th century b. c.e.) Mitanni ruler allied to Egypt
He was the head of the MITANNI state during the reign of TUTHMOSIS IV (1401-1391 B. C.E.), living in Washukanni, the capital, in northern Syria. Tuthmosis IV wrote to Artatama seven times, asking for the hand of his daughter. Such a marriage would cement relations and strengthen the alliance in the face of the growing HITTITE empire. Tuthmosis IV’s pact with Artatama would have serious repercussions in the Ramessid Period because the Hittites overcame the Mittanis and viewed Egypt as an enemy.
Artavasdes III (d. 34 b. c.e.) King of Armenia executed by Cleopatra VII
The son and successor of Tigranes the Great, Artavasdes was an ally of Rome. He had supported Marc Antony until the Parthians, enemies of Rome under Orodes I, invaded Armenia. Artavasdes then gave his sister to Pacorus, Orodes’ son. In 36 b. c.e., Marc Antony invaded Armenia and captured Artavasdes. The king was sent to ALEXANDRIA, where CLEOPATRA VII (51-30 B. C.E.) ordered his death.
Artaxerxes I (Macrocheir) (d. 424 b. c.e.) Fourth ruler of the Twenty-seventh Dynasty
A Persian of the royal Achaemenid line, he reigned from 465 B. C.E. until his death. Called “the Long Handed,” Artaxerxes was the son of xerxes i and Queen amestris. He was raised to the throne when artabanus murdered Xerxes I. To revenge his father, Artaxerxes slew Artabanus in hand-to-hand combat. A brother rebelled against Artaxerxes and was defeated just before an Egyptian, INAROS, rose up on the Nile and killed General ACHAEMENES, Artaxerxes I’s uncle and a beloved Persian general.
General megabyzus was sent to Egypt to halt Inaros’s revolt and to restore Persian control. Inaros was executed and Megabyzus protested this punishment as a blot on his personal code of honor. Artaxerxes I, however, was not unpopular in Egypt because he was generous to various native groups. He completed a vast memorial throne chamber in Persepolis, his capital, before he died at Susa. He was buried in Nagh-e-Rostam.
Artaxerxes II (c. 358 b. c.e.) Persian ruler who tried to regain Egypt
He made this attempt in the reign of nectanebo ii (360-343 B. C.E.). Artaxerxes II was the successor of darIUS II and the father of ARTAXERXES III OCHUS. He led two expeditions against Egypt but could not reclaim the region because of Nectanebo Il’s strong defenses. Artaxerxes ruled Persia from 404 to 359/358 b. c.e.
Artaxerxes III Ochus (d. 338 b. c.e.) Persian ruler who subjugated Egypt and started the Second Persian War (343-332 B. C.E.)
He attacked the Nile Valley originally in the reign of NECTANEBO II (360-343 B. C.E.). The successor of artax-ERXES II, he put relatives to death when he inherited the throne and was described by contemporaries as cruel and energetic. His first attempt at regaining Egypt took place in 351 B. C.E., but Egyptian defenses held, and Phoenicia and Cyprus distracted him by rebelling.
Artaxerxes III met Nectanebo II on the Nile in 343, winning the Battle of PELUSIUM. He ravaged the northern part of the land and killed the sacred APIS bull with his own hands in vengeance against Egyptian resistance. Artaxerxes III returned to Persia and was poisoned with most of his children by the eunuch official of the court, BAGOAS, in 338 b. c.e. His wife, Atossa, survived, and her son, ARSES, inherited the throne.
Artemidorus (fl. first century b. c.e.) Greek geographer who was in Alexandria in the Ptolemaic Period
He wrote 11 books describing voyages to Spain, France, and Mediterranean coastal areas. Artemidorus also tried to measure the inhabited areas of the world but was unaware of longitudinal designations and other geographic data.
Artystone (fl. fifth century b. c.e.) Royal woman of Persia She was the queen of darius i (521-486 b. c.e.), the ruler of Egypt in the Twenty-seventh Dynasty Artystone, reportedly Darius I’s favorite wife, entertained him at the festival of the New Year in 503 b. c.e. She was provided with 200 sheep and 2,000 gallons of wine for the occasion. Artystone bore Darius I two sons.
Aryandes (fl. sixth century b. c.e.) Persian satrap, or governor, of Egypt
He was appointed to this office by the Persian ruler cam-BYSES (525-522 b. c.e.). Aryandes followed the advice of one Ujahoresne, a priest of the goddess neith (1) who became a counselor and a chief of protocol in Egypt.
Arzawa (1) (fl. 14th century b. c.e.) Hittite ruler whose correspondence is in the ’Amarna Letters He communicated with amenhotep iii (1391-1353 b. c.e.) and akhenaten (1353-1335 b. c.e.). He resided in Hattusas (modern Bogazkoy) in Anatolia (Turkey) in “the lake district.”
See also ’amarna letters.
Arzawa (2) These were an Anatolian people living in the Turkish lake district.
Asar See osiris.
Asasif This is a depression on the western shore of the Nile near deir el-bahri, across from the city of thebes. Located near the khokha hills, the area was used as a necropolis. Tombs of the Saite or Twenty-sixth Dynasty (664-525 b. c.e.) were discovered in the region, as well as mortuary complexes from the Eleventh Dynasty (2134-1991 b. c.e.). ramesses iv (1163-1156 b. c.e.) also started a temple on the site.
Aser The ancient Egyptian name for the tamarisk tree connected to cultic traditions and to several deities who recorded personages and events.
See also persea tree.
Ashait (fl. 21st century b. c.e.) Royal woman of the Eleventh Dynasty
She was a lesser ranked consort of montuhotep ii (r. 2061-2010 b. c.e.). Ashait was buried in the elaborate mortuary complex at deir el-bahri, on the western shore of the Nile at thebes. Her tomb reliefs supposedly identified her as an Ethiopian or Nubian. Ashait’s coffin contained an enchanting hymn about the four winds, delineating the sort of weather and abundance that came from the four cardinal points of the earth, all brought to Egypt by mythical beings.
Ashmunien, el See hermopolis magna.
He was a contemporary of osorkon ii (r. 883-855 b. c.e.) and assumed the Assyrian throne in Kalakh, now Nimrod (near modern Mosul) in Iran. After conquering northern Mesopotamia, Syria, and the Orontes Valley, he stood poised before Egypt and osorkon’s defenses, but he did not attack.
Ashur-uballit I (d. c. 1330 b. c.e.) Assyrian ruler who created the First Assyrian Empire
Ashur-uballit I created the first Assyrian empire, threatening the Hittites and Hurrians of the era as he ruled all of Babylonia. He also aided the hittites in destroying the MITANNI Empire. Ashur-uballit I served as an ally of Egypt in the reign of akhenaten (1335-1353 b. c.e.). He sent AMENHOTEP III, Akhenaten’s father, a statue of Ishtar.
World History
