The Development of Religious Archetecture in New Kingdom Essay

The majority of ancient Egyptian structures studied by architectural historians and planners alike, were erected to honor a pharaoh or as a grand tomb for their journey through to the afterlife. Whether the structure was in the form of a temple, tomb or statue, the ritual and spiritual influence is unquestionable. The location, scale, and materials used to construct these monuments are all defining factors of how the space is used and functions.

Djoser’s pyramid was initially thought to be the last resting spot of pharaoh Djoser, yet later archeological researches have revealed that it worked with extremely contract shafts stretching out from within to the external surface for the purpose of lifting the pharaoh's soul into the sky. The White temple and Ziggurats then again were said to have been built to house the divine beings. Therefore, they are the real homes of the divine beings themselves particularly in the perspective of the Sumerians and Babylonians. In such manner, that was why only the priests were allowed to go inside the

Ancient Egypt was a golden age in the human history timeline. The incredible wealth, architecture, and religion held a key part in developing modern day society and contributed to the construction of many other eras’s including the Roman Empire and affected the Greek civilisation tremendously (MAAT, 2017). The extravagance of the era echoes throughout history and creates a base of knowledge that many modern day practices follow. Set on the banks of the Nile in Thebes, Karnak Temple is the epiphany of the power the Egyptians possessed. As one of the largest religious temples in the world, Karnak Temple covers around 200 acres of temples, pillars, lakes and gardens. (Discovering Egypt, 2017). This place of worship shows the grip that religion held on civilisation throughout the vast Egyptian empire.

Architecture: During the Old Kingdom, the existing peaceful period provided an opportunity for the construction of the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx of Giza. The Pyramids were originally created as a step design but were later converted to smooth sides by the 4th dynasty. By the 5th dynasty, the pyramids grew smaller, but the carvings inside the temples were of greater quality. This period was characterized by advanced architecture and was referred to as the Age of the Pyramids. Archeologists indicate that the pyramids discovered in the Middle Kingdom were not as well constructed as those of the Old Kingdom. This explains why only a few of them are still in existence. During the New Kingdom, there were two types of temples constructed: cult temples referred to as the Mansion of the gods and mortuary temples referred to as Mansions of Millions of Years. During this period, pyramids were not built, and the Pharaohs were buried in rock tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

The divinity of the pharaoh would be later reduced in magnitude. People in Ancient Egypt would drift away from the royal hierarchy and create their own small community city-states. The pharaoh's power would diminish so much that, Egyptians during that time started to be that the pharaoh himself was no longer a god, but merely the son of the god Re. The quality of the crown started to fade showed overtime you started to see small communities establish their own royal hierarchy and build their own pyramids to represent their status. The size of the pyramids were the result of this shift in power. Eventually, the pharaohs became a major contributor in their own downfall. There were marriages of non-royal women this led to the belief that the divinity of the royal line was diluted, thereby reducing the pharaoh's power. In addition, the royal treasury was rapidly being decreasing due to maintenance costs of pyramids being built. It wasn't long until the priesthood and the nobles saw that they were as wealthy as the pharaoh After Pepi II, central government was completely lost, and anarchy reigned.

Sarah Gordon Mrs. Jennifer Awes-Freeman Art History 1 20 September 2014 House Altar with Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Three Daughters The art of the ancient Egyptians is known for how consistent it remained for thousands of years. The Amarna period is significant because it was a brief shift from that consistency under the Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, (who later changed his named to Akhenaten) his Queen, Nefertiti and later, Tutankhamen. They began worshipping the sun god Aten, which is evident in the art that was commissioned. Instead of using strict registers, walls were cluttered with images.

Amarna was full of old power and the new religion. Amarna was founded in the fourth year of Akhenaten’s reign. It was established to give the sun dish (aten) an official location. The capital was grand, full of administrative buildings, palaces, gardens, and courtyards. There were several open air temples to aten, and the entire city was a shrine to the sun disk.16 This is where the powerful lived with Akhenaten and his family, worshipping in open air temples. As stated above there is no evidence to suggest that Akhenaten was challenged in his authority or the new religion during his lifetime. Evidence shows that he and his family continued to be the center of power in Amarna. However, it has also been stated that, Nefertiti and Akhenaten may

The way the artisans decorated and painted the tombs of the Pharaohs was also vitally important, as it also helped the pharaoh through his journey in the underworld and thus made it easier for him to achieve eternal life. The workers would decorate the tombs with paintings of the Pharaohs journey through the underworld, they would also paint his life – how loyal he was to his people, how he never sinned and remained holy and pure, how he has abided by every rule (all rules derived from religion). There are no accounts of the workers in Dier el-Medina being punished for disobeying the rules of the foreman (except tomb raiders, who were often strays) simply because they were forced to follow rules by their gods who they believed held their future. The impact of religion on the workers in Dier el-Medina was large, in kept them ‘inline’ and trustworthy.

The temples of Egypt were and still are associated with a great deal of religious value. The temples were built to be the homes of the gods and goddesses of the land. Ancient Egyptians believed in the importance of pleasing their gods. As a result, they ensured that beautiful and magnificent temples were built to be the homes of these gods. In this regard, these temples were also used as places of worship. These temples were therefore the places where the Egyptians spent most of their time performing rituals, sacrifices, giving offerings and performing festivals among others. All these activities served to ensure that the gods were pleased and that they would bless the lands of the Egyptians. The kings and pharaohs of Egypt were also allowed to live in these temples because of their status in society.

Tell el-‘Amarna, the city built by Heretic Pharaoh Akhenaten was located between Luxor and Cairo along the Nile. The city was occupied during the reign of Akhenaten and abandoned after his death by his son, Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Although the city was along occupied for a short period of time, archaeologists have been able to reconstruct a fairly accurate representation of the city. However, because the city was associated with Aten and the religion of the heretic king, the city was partially destroyed and nearly all evidence of the culture during the reign of Akhenaten was destroyed. Although the Egyptian people attempted to erase this pharaoh from history, the city tells the story of the time through the few pieces of art, the tombs, and the city plans. The articles written by Croker and one of the ones written by Kemp discuss the value of architecture and how it related to status within the society of the time. The other articles written by Ikram, and Kemp, Stevens, Dabbs, Zabecki, and Rose discuss the art, religion, and ritual practices. The city of Amarna was created on the basis of abandoning the old gods in favor of the worship of a single god, Aten. Societies in ancient history were based primarily on religion, and while archaeologists try to use Amarna as a basis for the study of New Kingdom Egypt because the religions changed Amarna should not be used as a template. Akhenaten aimed to abandon the old ways

The ancient egyptians built many pyramids, temples, and monuments. A pyramid the ancient egyptians built was the Step Pyramid of Djoser. It was overlooking the city of Memphis and was built for second king of the third dynasty. Another pyramid is the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It was built in the fourth dynasty and for Khufu. A type of temple they built were sun temples. The sun temples were built for the sun god, Ra. They built the Temple at Luxor. The Temple at Luxor was dedicated to Amun who is usually fused with the sun god, Ra and is known as Amun-Ra. Another temple is the Karnak Complex. The Karnak Complex was the largest religious building ever built. It was dedicated to Amun, Mut, and Khonsu. Another temple they built was the Temples at

Amenhotep IV was the first pharaoh to challenge the Egyptian culture and religious beliefs. His decision to make Aten, “The God of the Sun Disk”, the only god, took power away from the temple priests. Before Amenhotep IV made the changes, Egypt practiced polytheism not only worshiping the Sun Disk God, but around 12 other gods with roles such as fertility, the sky, the Nile River, childbirth, etc. With Egypt practicing monotheisms the temple priest have lost control of any political or religious gain they once held. This will be the first time Egypt practices monotheism. In making this change Amenhotep IV became known as Akhenaten, “Shining Spirit of Aten”. Becoming Akhenaten was not the only changes reflected from his reign as pharaoh.

A royal tomb was sometimes different.In the Old and New Kingdom pyramids were built, while

The Boundary Stele is one of the best sources which provides information about Ancient Egyptian civilization and the thought processes of Pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV) in relation to his move from the former capital Thebes, to the new site of Akhetaten, including the planned layout of that city. Akhenaten describes not only his reasons for moving the capital from Thebes to Akhetaten( Tel el Amarna) but also explains the buildings he will build, where the buildings will be placed, all for the glory of the Aten, the Sun Disc. Akhenaten and Nefertiti together changed and improved women rights, art (how and what was to be represented), architecture and architectural technology, the writing systems, and finally the most important change, religion. It was this religious which greatly influenced Egyptian culture and the town planning of the new capital city. Amenhotep IV and Nefertiti were revolutionary in that they shook Egypt to its core; they have been misunderstood throughout history.

The temples of Egypt were (and still are) associated with a great deal of religious value. The temples were built to be the homes of the gods and goddesses of the land. Ancient Egyptians believed in the importance of pleasing their gods. As a result, they ensured that beautiful and magnificent temples were built to be the homes of these gods. In this regard, these temples were also used as places of worship (Redford, 1971). These temples were therefore the places where the Egyptians spent most of their time performing rituals, sacrifices, giving offerings and performing festivals among others . All these activities served to ensure that the gods were pleased and that they would bless the lands in the long haul. The kings and pharaohs of Egypt were also allowed to live in these temples because of their status in society.