The temple of Khonsu at Karnak: the decoration of the south gate
of the pylon
Abraham I. Fernández Pichel1
Abstract
The inscriptions on the south gate of the pylon of the temple of Khonsu at Karnak have long remained
unpublished despite their relevance. An epigraphical and architectural study of the scenes of the gate
allows the verification of various building and decoration phases that were initiated during the
pontificate/reign of Herihor and which continued during the reigns of Pinedjem I and, mainly,
Alexander the Great. In this later period, much of the gate was dismantled and rebuilt, probably due to
how poorly it had been maintained.
Keywords
Temple of Khonsu; Alexander the Great; Pinedjem I; Karnak; restoration; offering scenes
Introduction
In 2018, during the editing and publication process of the inscriptions at Karnak, the CFEETK
Documentation Department in Luxor studied the texts and scenes of the pylon gate in the Khonsu
temple in the southwest sector of the Amun-Ra religious domain. The scenes decorating the north side
of this monument were published by the Oriental Institute of Chicago in volume 103 of the OIP
collection (Epigraphic Survey 1981: pls. 112–25, 148, 150).2 In these scenes, different decoration phases
can be identified, which mainly began in the pontificate/reign of Herihor (1080–1074 BC), whose figure
is identified—though not clearly—through certain iconographic elements, and these were completed
in the times of Pinedjem I (1070–1032 BC), whose name appears in most of the scenes on the jambs
(Epigraphic Survey 1981: pl. 113–14, 117A–125A).3 The lintel decoration includes the representation of
Ptolemy II Philadelphus before various divinities (Epigraphic Survey 1981: pl. 115–16 = KIU 9177–79),
and his royal cartouches appear on the cornice and on the ceiling blocks of the passage between both
sides of the doorway (Epigraphic Survey 1981: pl. 148A, 150 = KIU 9175, 9204). In this area of circulation,
1
Centre franco-égyptien d'étude des temples de Karnak (CFEETK), Luxor. CNRS, USR 3172 – CFEETK /UMR 5140
– Équipe ENiM – Programme « Investissement d’Avenir » ANR-11-LABX-0032-01 LabEx Archimede.
References to the monuments of Karnak are given with their KIU numbers (Karnak Identifiant Unique) which
allow access to the full entrees (hieroglyphic texts, photographs, bibliographical references, etc.) from the
Karnak project at: ‹http://sith.huma-num.fr/karnak›, accessed 4 October, 2020.
2
This volume also included scenes from the western wall and the roof of the central passage between the two
facades of the door.
3
For the scenes of Herihor usurped by Pinedjem I on the northern side of the Khonsu temple gateway, see
primarily Römer (1994: 119–23, §97–101).
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the soubassements of the western wall is inscribed with the name of Alexander the Great (Epigraphic
Survey 1981: pl. 112 = KIU 9193–94).
As for the south side of the monument, which is integrated into the façade of the pylon decorated by
Pinedjem I, an architectural study was carried out in the 1990s by Françoise Laroche-Traunecker (1998:
903–16). This author comments on the successive reconstructions witnessed at the temple of Khonsu
and includes a section on the gateway of the pylon. A recent article confirms F. Laroche-Traunecker’s
proposal from an epigraphical point of view, including a complete edition of the texts and the scenes
on the gate (Fernández Pichel forthcoming). With the purpose of complementing and extending these
publications, in the following pages we will provide a succinct synthesis of the main aspects of the
monument, accompanied by a brief analysis of the scenes that decorate it and of the divinities
represented therein.
The Khonsu temple in Karnak and the south gate: constructive phases
The construction of the temple of Khonsu in Karnak dates back to the early years of the 20th dynasty.
The internal areas of the sanctuary were erected during the reign of Ramses III, and the decoration of
these spaces was mainly completed by his successor, Ramses IV, and by the Ptolemaic and Roman
rulers.4 The hypostyle hall of the temple, built by Ramses XI, was mostly decorated by him and by the
high priest Herihor (Epigraphic Survey 1981, passim). The access to this space also included scenes in
the names of Nectanebo II and Ptolemy IV Philopator (e.g. Epigraphic Survey 1981: pl. 126A–B, 127A,
128A–B, 129A, 130A–B = KIU 9091–94, 9097–100). The construction of the first courtyard and the pylon
dates back to Herihor’s pontificate/reign, the decoration of the pylon mainly corresponds to the period
of Pinedjem I (Epigraphic Survey 1979).5 The exterior walls of the temple were later decorated with
inscriptions of the reigns of Nectanebo I (north wall), Teos (east wall) and Ptolemy XII Auletes (west
wall). There are also some annexed structures, dating from the Late Period, such as the Kushite
colonnade that precedes the pylon, the chapel at the north exterior wall of the temple, and the
monumental gate erected by Ptolemy III Evergetes in front of the temple itself (Clère 1961; Laroche
and Traunecker 1980: 167–96).
The publication of all the inscriptions of the temple is an ongoing project of the Epigraphic Survey of
the University of Chicago, from whose work two volumes have been created so far, numbers 100 and
103 of the OIP collection, published in 1979 and 1981, respectively. Both include facsimiles and some
photographs of the decoration of the first courtyard and the hypostyle hall (Epigraphic Survey 1979;
Epigraphic Survey 1981).6 Subsequently, several studies have been dedicated to inscriptions from other
areas of the temple, thus accessible in their hieroglyphic version (Mendel 2003; Degardin 1985: 115–
31). We will now focus on the specific case of the south façade of the pylon door.
4
Most of the inscriptions in the four-columned hall and the bark shrine have not yet been published. An
exception is found in the cosmogonic texts of the four-columned hall, published by Mendel (2003). See the
recent edition and translation of certain scenes from the doorway to this room in Altmann-Wendling (2018, 508–
15, pl. 21b, 22a). The doorway of the bark shrine presents a restoration formula in the name of Nectanebo II in
its soubassements (Epigraphic Survey 1981: pl. 193A–B = KIU 9145–9146) and its upper part was decorated under
Ptolemy IX Soter II (Epigraphic Survey 1981: pl. 190A, 191A–B = KIU 9144, 9153–9154).
5
Some inscriptions from Khonsu's pylon were copied and published by Römer (1994: 539–45 [5–9]) and Jansen-
Winkeln (2007: 7–10 [10–3]).
6
A third volume, relating to graffiti on the roof of the temple, was published in 2004 (Jacquet-Gordon).
91
The decoration of the south gateway of the pylon has a conventional arrangement in four vertical
registers and a soubassement on each of its jambs, and a lintel composed of four horizontal scenes.
Surmounting them, this ensemble is crowned by a cavetto cornice decorated with a winged solar disc.
The interior surface of each jamb, in the access passage to the first courtyard, is also inscribed using a
distribution in four vertical registers. Concerning the date of the monument, an analysis of the texts
and scenes reveals the presence of the name and/or titles of the high priest Pinedjem I in the second
register of the western and eastern jambs, as well as the mention of his name in the soubassement on
the west side of the door. The scenes of the lintel and the fourth register of the jambs, on the other
hand, show the royal cartouches of Alexander the Great, which mention his throne and personal
names. There are evident differences in paleography and carving (Fernández Pichel forthcoming: cap.
1) between both decorative phases. Finally, the third register of both jambs, shows the cohabitation of
blocks inscribed at the time of the pontificate of Pinedjem I, with others, mainly in the upper part of
the register, dating from the reign of the Macedonian ruler. The same chronological sequence can be
noticed in the third register of the passage of the gate on its eastern side.
Therefore, the Late restoration of the southern façade of the gate, probably in a state of ruin at the
beginning of the 4th century BC, consisted of the reconstruction of its upper part, i.e. the fourth
register, the lintel and the cornice, as well as the partial restoration of the third register of the jambs
(Fig. 1).
Figure 1. Decorative phases of the south gate of the pylon of the temple of Khonsu (drawing by Florie
Pirou).
92
Only one piece of evidence (Fig. 2) informs us of the possible re-use of the blocks of the first phase in
these Late examples of remodeling. The rear part of a lintel block, observable in the passage between
the two towers of the pylon, still shows the decoration of the cornice of the door from the times of
Pinedjem I.7
Figure 2. Decoration of the winged solar disk on the back of a lintel block (photograph by the author).
The scenes of the south door of the pylon of the temple of Khonsu
We have previously stated that the south doorway of the pylon, in both its physical configuration and
decorative arrangements, is not unique. It is the usual set of ‘offering scenes’ arranged in horizontal
and vertical registers over the entire surface of the monument. The same can be said about the choice
of the divinities represented and their description in the short texts included in each scene. Amun-
Ra, Khonsu, Mut, Hathor of the temple of Khonsu and Amunet, as receivers of the offering in these
scenes, are divinities about whose Theban affiliation there is no doubt. However, as for the figure of
the donor, the representations of Pinedjem I and Alexander the Great display a notable iconographic
peculiarity. Both individuals are dressed in the typical clothes of the high priests of Amun of Thebes
(and other priesthoods throughout the country), consisting of a wide panther skin covering the left
shoulder, while the right one remains uncovered. Both figures also have shaved heads, by virtue of
7
This issue has already been addressed by F. Laroche-Traunecker (1998: 909, n. 19).
93
the demands of ritual purity of the personnel in charge of directing the cult in the temple.8 If a
representation of Pinedjem I in this form does not need any clarification, given his function as high
priest of the cult in Thebes,9 its use for Alexander the Great is less obvious. Evidence seems to suggest
that the theologians of the Late Period, responsible for selecting the texts and configuring the scenes
of the deteriorated parts of the door of the pylon in the 4th century BC, intended to endow the whole
monument with the preceding decorative unity, without altering either the characters represented
or the texts that accompanied them. To this end, they adopted the iconographic models of the past,
present in the preserved parts of the door which are still preserved, and thus introduced Alexander
the Great as the depositary of the offering, following the same iconographic conventions originally
reproduced for Pinedjem I in the decoration of the door. The brief description of the scenes below
shows the late configuration of the ensemble (Fig. 3).
- Very little information can be extracted from the soubassements and from the first register of
both jambs, whose surfaces have been almost completely destroyed.
- In the second register, on the western door jamb (Fernández Pichel, forthcoming: doc. 2.1.5,
fig. 3), Pinedjem I, bringing a tray with vases containing the ointment-mDt, is represented
before Khonsu, described as ‘the one who loves Maat’ (mr m#ot) (Leitz 2002b: 764c–5b) in his
usual form in his sanctuary of Karnak (%nsw m W#st Nfr-Htp) (Epigraphic Survey 1979: pl. 58 =
KIU 8772). The same divinity, and possibly his consort in the south sector of Karnak, Hathor,
receives the ointment-mDt from Pinedjem I in the scene of the second register of the eastern
jamb (Fernández Pichel, forthcoming: doc. 2.1.6, fig. 4).
- In the third register, the two scenes show Amun-Re, wearing the high feather crown, receiving
the incense and the offering of plants-rnpwt from Pinedjem I (Fernández Pichel, forthcoming:
docs 2.1.7–8, figs. 5–6). The god is accompanied, on the western jamb, by Mut, while on the
eastern side, the divinity represented is Amunet. Amun-Ra and Mut appear in their typical
Theban aspects, the goddess linked to lake Isheru of Karnak. 10 The god and Amunet are
described in their primordial and creative aspects: Amun-Re is ‘the primordial of the Two
Lands’ (p#wty v#wy) and Amunet is the great cow-jHt, ‘who gives birth to the solar god’ (mst
Ro).11
- From the fourth register, as indicated above, Alexander the Great is represented in the scenes
of the jambs and lintel presenting offerings to the Theban divinities. In the fourth register, on
the western side, the monarch offers a libation to Khonsu, in an anthropomorphic and hawk
headed form, in the vicinity of Hathor of Bnnt, the designation of the temple of Khonsu in
Karnak (Fernández Pichel, forthcoming: doc. 2.1.9, fig. 7); on the eastern side of the door, these
same gods receive an offering table from the king (Xrp wdHw) (Fernández Pichel, forthcoming:
doc. 2.1.10, fig. 8).
8
‘The priests shave their whole body every other day, so that no lice or any other impure things may adhere to
them when they are engaged in the service of the gods’ (Herodotus, Histories II: 37).
9
The royal prerogatives displayed by Pinedjem I in some of his representations at the monuments of Thebes
have mainly been studied by Bonhême (1987: 38–51) and Römer (1994: 59–62).
10
For the Isheru lake, see B. Gessler-Löhr (1981: 401–24). For Mut as ‘lady of Isheru’ (nbt JSrw), see Leitz (2002a:
p22b).
11
For jHt wrt, see Wüthrich (2016: 895–913). For Amunet's creative role and his relationship to the masculine
principle of creation as Amun, see Klotz (2012: 72).
94
- As for the lintel, we note the spatial symmetry established by the interior scenes, in which
Alexander offers the Maat to Amun-Ra seated on his throne on two occasions (Fernández
Pichel, forthcoming: docs. 2.2.3–4, figs. 11–12). In the exterior scenes, the king brings two
lettuces-obwy to Amun-Ra, in an ithyphallic form, and Mut in her celestial aspect (west side)
(Fernández Pichel, forthcoming: docs. 2.2.1, fig. 9), and presents the ointment-mDt to Amun-
Re k#-mwt.f ‘Bull of his mother’ and Khonsu m W#st Nfr-Htp (east side) (Fernández Pichel,
forthcoming: docs. 2.2.2, fig. 10).
- Concerning the scenes of the gateway passage, there are obvious similarities between the type
of offerings presented to the divinity in the third and fourth registers. In the third register, on
the western side, Alexander presents a necklace to the goddess Mut, who wears the double
crown (Fernández Pichel, forthcoming: docs. 2.3.5, fig. 15). On the eastern side, Pinedjem I
makes the same gesture, this time offering the necklace-m#H to a female divinity (Fernández
Pichel, forthcoming: docs. 2.3.6, fig. 16).12 Finally, in the fourth register, Alexander brings a
floral offering to Khonsu, who is mummified and wearing the lunar disk on the top of his head,
on both sides of the door (Fernández Pichel, forthcoming: docs. 2.3.7–8, fig. 17–18).
Conclusions
At a time when Thebes had lost much of the political, economic and religious importance of previous
centuries, the rulers of the Argead and Ptolemaic dynasties, nevertheless, undertook a major
architectural plan of construction and restoration of the monuments of Karnak, most notably those
erected in the south-western sector of the Amun domain. We certainly know of their works in the
temple of Opet, in the so-called ‘temple haut’ and on the aforementioned gate of Ptolemy III Evergetes,
among others. In the case of the doorway of the pylon of the temple of Khonsu, as stated above, the
new works implied a reconfiguration of its decorative program, for which they resorted to the
fundamental elements of the original model, comparable to the programme carried out in the
sanctuary of Alexander in the Akhmenu of Tutmosis III in Karnak (e.g. Martinez 1989: 107–16).
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my special thanks to MM. Badri Abd al-Sattar and Christophe Thiers, co-directors
of the Centre franco-égyptien d’étude des temples de Karnak (MAE/USR 3172, CNRS) in 2018. I am most
grateful to W. Raymond Johnson, Director of the Epigraphic Survey, Oriental Institute, University of
Chicago, Chicago House, Luxor, for his kind permission to study and publish the south facade of the
pylon gate of Khonsu temple.
12
The divine figure is destroyed. The symmetry with the preceding scene on the western side and the use of the
feminine suffix in the introduction to the titles of Pinedjem I invite us to think, however, of Mut as the
beneficiary of the offering.
95
Figure 3. Scenes and divinities represented on the monument (drawing by Florie Pirou).
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