HE BEAUTIFUL AND HISTORIC CITY OF LUXOR – MOST PRECIOUS JEWEL IN THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CROWN

HE BEAUTIFUL AND HISTORIC CITY OF LUXOR – MOST PRECIOUS JEWEL IN THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CROWN

A BRIEF HISTORY

Today Luxor is a city with a population of around half a million people and it attracts thousands of international visitors every year who come to marvel at the ancient wonders the "world's greatest open air museum" has to offer on both its East and West Bank.

But before we embark upon a tour of the 'modern day' Luxor, let's just spend a few moments to transport ourselves back through the 'mists of time' to when the city was at its most important as the very centre of the ancient Egyptian civilization.

If you imagine this great nation of Egypt as a 'human body' then the ancient city of THEBES, as Luxor was known at that time, was the 'strongly beating heart' at the centre of country, keeping the 'circulation of life' coursing through the 'veins of the land' from 'the head' in the North (Alexandria and Cairo) to 'the feet' in the South (Aswan).
The city of Thebes was the great capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom and was the 'glorious city of the God Amon-Ra. The city was also regarded in Ancient Egyptian texts as WST (Waset) which meant "the foremost" or "the city of the sceptre" and T-IPT (ta ipet) and means "the shrine". The name Thebes was first given to the city by the Greeks who called it Thebai and then the Romans after them who pronounced it Thebae. Thebes was often called "the city of the 100 gates" and sometimes called "the southern city of the sun" ('Iunu-shemaa' in Ancient Egyptian), to distinguish it from the city of Iunu or Heliopolis, the main place of worship for the God Ra in the north.

The importance of the city started as early as the 11th Dynasty, when the town grew into a thriving city, not only renowned for its high social status and luxury but also as a centre for wisdom, art, religious and political supremacy.
Montuhotep II who united Egypt after the troubles of the first intermediate period brought stability to the lands as the city grew in stature and the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom, through their expeditions in Kush (Sudan), Canaan, Phoenicia and Syria saw the city accumulate great wealth and rise in prominence in the world at that time. By the time of the 18th Dynasty Thebes had become the major political, religious and military capital of Ancient Egypt. The city became a truly 'multi-racial' society as people from Babylon, Canaan, Anatolia (Turkey) Phoenicia and Crete all settled in Thebes.
The political and military importance of the city faded during the Late period when Thebes was replaced as political capital by several cities in Northern Egypt, however, as the city of the God Amon-Ra, 
 Thebes remained the religious capital of Egypt until the Greek period.
The main God of the city was Amon, who was worshipped together with his wife, the Goddess Mut, and their son, Khonsu, the God of the moon. With the rise of Thebes as the foremost city of Egypt, the local God Amon also rose in importance and became linked to the sun God Ra, thus creating the new "King of Gods" Amon-Ra. His great temple at Karnak was the most important temple of Egypt right up until the end of antiquity.

Later, after the city was attacked by the Assyrian emperor Assurbanipal who installed the Libyan prince on the throne, the city fell into ruins and insignificance. However, Alexander the Great arrived at the temple of Amun, where the statue of the God was transferred from Karnak during the Opet Festival, the great religious feast, and the grandeur of Thebes remained a site of spirituality and attracted numerous Christian monks throughout the Roman Empire who established monasteries amidst several ancient monuments including the Temple of Hatshepsut, now called Deir el-Bahri, which means "the northern monastery".

So, as you can see Luxor has an interesting and varied past and the ancient city now lives comfortably amidst the busy day to day life of its present day inhabitants.
Take a little time to reflect on the changes this glorious ancient city has seen over the centuries and be thankful that the 'past' is still here for you to see and experience. 


Theresa Clarke

Princess Meritamun

Princess Meritamun, "the White Queen"

This statue was discovered in 1896 in a chapel north-west of the Ramesseum in Thebes. It is master piece of its period and demonstrates the sensitive nature of the artist.

Even though only the titles, and not the name of the queen are preserved on the rear pilaster, this piece has been identified as a statue of Meritamun, one of the daughters of Ramesses II. On the death of Nefertari (some time after the 21st year of the Ramesses' reign) she took on the role of the Great Royal Wife. She was known only a the "White Queen" until the discovery in 1981 of a colossal statue at Akhmim in Upper Egypt besides a similar statue of Rameses II at the entrance to the New Kingdom temple. The Akhmim statue was similar to this statue in epithets and titles and is inscribed with the name of the princess Meritamon, daughter of Queen Nefertari and Rameses II. She became Great Royal Wife of Rameses II after the death of her mother.

The inscriptions say that Meritamon was the beloved of her lord, the great one of the harem of Amun-Ra, a musician, a chantress and a dancer of different divinities at Thebes and in Upper Egypt. Meritamon wears a crown surrounded by a diadem. On her forehead are two uraei wearing the crown of upper Egypt. She is wearing earrings, a broad collar and a bracelet. Her Right breast is ornamented with a rosette and her left hand, resting on her left breast, is holding a musical instrument, symbol of Hathor (goddess of Beauty, Love and Music).

The painted decoration of the statue is still very well preserved. The yellow of some of the facial features and decorative elements combines well with the blue of the wig, both of which are enhanced by the brightness of the extremely fine limestone used for the sculpture.

The face has a serene expression. The eyes are almond shaped, elongated by a line of cosmetic (shown by two thin incisions), and set below heavy eyebrows. The full mouth is set in a slight smile, similar to those seen on a number of statues of Ramesses II. Thin lines are incised on the neck. The lobes of the ears are covered by large hemispherical earrings.

The delicate face is framed by a three-part wig, from which the natural hair emerges, and is held in place by a diadem featuring two cobras wearing the White and Red Crowns, the symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt. On top of her head the queen wears a circular diadem, its base decorated all the way round with a frieze of uraei with solar discs. From this base would once have risen a double plume with a solar disc at the centre, a prerogative of the Great Royal Brides.

Meritamun wears a tightly fitting tunic. Around her shoulders is a broad-collar necklace consisting of six rows of beads, five of which are in the form of small amulets of the hieroglyph nefer ('beautiful'). The last row consists of drop shaped beads. A rosette decorates her left breast while the right breast is covered by the counterweight of the menat necklace which she is holding in her right hand. On her wrist is a bracelet composed of two rows of beads.

The menat necklace was used as a musical instrument and was shaken to produce a loud noise on the occasion of the feasts held in honour of Hathor or other female divinities. The necklace was composed of numerous strands of beads, balanced with a large counterweight, in this case in the form of a female head and ending in a circular element with a rosette.

In ancient Egypt taking part in processions, singing, dancing and playing musical instruments was a typically female prerogative. Priestesses were frequently indicated with their specific functions within the train of the divinity and it was only natural that the queen herself performed a number of these priestly functions. The fragmentary hieroglyphic inscription on the dorsal pillar of the statue reads '...player of the sistrum of Mut and the menat necklace [of Hathor] ... dancer of Hathorby....'.