 Entrance to the Thoth Temple | ||
| Qaṣr el-ʿAgūz · قصر العجوز | ||
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Qasr el-Aguz (Arabic:قصر العجوز, Qaṣr al-ʿAǧūz, „Castle of the old man“) Is a small hamlet in the south of the Theban west bank and the location of the most recent temple building on the west bank, the temple of the scribe god Thoth. The visit is worthwhile for archaeologists who are particularly interested in the Ptolemaic (Greek) period.
getting there
Getting there is quite easy. From the ticket office in Sheikh ʿAbd el-Qurna you drive or walk along the asphalt road to the south Madīnat Hābū. Follow the road a little further until it branches off to the west. This is where the temple is located.
background
Qaṣr el-ʿAgūz is of course a modern Arabic name, but it refers to the local temple when it speaks of a castle or a fortress.
The Temple of Thoth is the last new building of a temple on the west bank. It was built under Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II. He was also responsible for the decorations in the two rear halls.
The temple was given to the scribe god Thoth, who lives at the site of Djeme (di Madīnat Hābū), and the deified official Imhotep, builder and medic under King Djoser at the beginning of the 3rd dynasty, as well as the medic and recruit scribe Amenhotep, son of Hapu (Time of Amenhotep III.), Consecrated. In addition to Thoth, there are also Month and the god Teëphibis, a variant of Thoth that only occurs in this temple and means, for example, "Thoth the face of the ibis". Of course, the temple also served the royal cult of the Ptolemaic rulers, in addition to Ptolemy VIII, his ancestors and Cleopatra II and Cleopatra III. shown in the scenes.
The temple was probably used as a boat station for the god Thoth.
The temple has been known since the 19th century. There are, among other things, short descriptions of John Gardner Wilkinson (1797–1875)[1], Jean-François Champollion (1790–1832)[2] and Karl Richard Lepsius (1810–1884)[3]. In 1909 the temple was examined and described by Dominique Mallet. New investigations were carried out between 2001 and 2005 by the Institute of Egyptology at Marc Bloch University in Strasbourg made in collaboration with the Egyptian Antiquities Service and the Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale.
Tourist Attractions
The main attraction is of course the Temple of Thoth. It is not one of the official sights, but you can negotiate a visit with the guard. You enter the area from the northwest and come along the north wall of the temple to the pronaos, the temple vestibule.
The Pronaos the east is about 14 meters wide and 4.5 meters deep. The special thing about it is that there are no pillars here - as in the entire temple. This is followed by the 13 meter long, eight meter wide and seven meter high temple house with three halls one behind the other. The last hall is the sanctuary (Holy of Holies). Its two side doors, which lead directly from the sanctuary to the outside, are somewhat unusual.
The temple was built from large limestone blocks, is slightly sloped on the outside and is crowned with a cove at the top. The only decoration on the outside are the round bars at the corners and below the throats. The usual winged sun can be found above the entrance to the temple or its halls.
The decoration inside is limited to the two rear halls, starting with that of the rear hall. In the middle hall, the reliefs were only started in the lower half, in the upper half they are only sketched in red.
The reveals of the door to second hall bear the titles of Ptolemy and Cleopatra II. The inner side of the lintel shows the king in a double scene in front of Imhotep or Thoth and the scribe goddess Sefchet-abu (Seschat). The scenes in the second hall, as well as in the third hall, are arranged in two registers (picture strips). In the scenes in the second hall you can see Ptolemy or Cleopatra II worshiping or sacrificing in front of gods such as Thoth, Chons, Mut, Hathor, Amun, Maat, Schu, Tefnut, Imhotep, Amenophis and others. The registers are closed at the top with a frieze , which includes a dedication inscription and the cartouches of Ptolemy and Cleopatra II and III. wearing. On the ceiling are Nechbet and Buto vultures, the crown goddesses, and the cartouches of Ptolemy.
At the door to the Sanctuary there are only a few bits of text. On the left entrance wall you can see Ptolemy, as he above Ptolemy II. Philadelphos and Arsinoe II. Or Ptolemy III. Euergetes I and Berenike II, among them Amun, Osiris-Onnophris and Isis sacrifices. On the left wall above you can see Ptolemy at the sacrifice in front of Month and his companion Rattaui, Mut and Thoth, underneath opening the shrine of the god Thoth and with the incense offering in front of the barque of Thoth. On the right entrance wall you can see Ptolemy, as he above Ptolemy V Epiphanes and Cleopatra I or Ptolemy IV. Philopator and Arsinoe III. sacrifices, including how he receives the Hebsed symbol from Thoth in the presence of Harsiese and Nephthys as a sign of the coronation anniversaries. On the right wall above you can see Ptolemy at the sacrifice in front of Month and Tenenet-Rattaui and in front of the goddess Amaunet, below it repeatedly opening the shrine of the god Thoth and sacrificing the image of the goddess Maat in front of a boat.
The back wall shows six sacrificial scenes at the top and four at the bottom in the registers. Above, Ptolemy offers a necklace to Chons and a mirror to Isis. This is followed by Ptolemy and Cleopatra II before Thoth and Nehemawat or Ptolemy and Cleopatra III. before Thoth and Maat. The last two scenes show Ptolemy sacrificing a water clock to the goddess Nehemawat and a pectoral to Thoth. In the lower register, Ptolemais offers the portrait of the goddess Maat to Amun and Mut or Amun and Chons in the two middle scenes. In the two outer scenes he sacrifices in front of four different deities. Below the scenes you can find the procession of the gods, above in the frieze the dedication inscription of Ptolemy or Cleopatra II and III. The ceiling again shows Nechbet and Buto vultures, and a dedication inscription by Ptolemy.
kitchen
There is a small restaurant right at the entrance to the temple of Madīnat Hābū, more in Sheikh ʿAbd el-Qurna as in Gazīrat el-Baʿīrāt and Gazīrat er-Ramla.
accommodation
The closest hotels can be found in the area of Sheikh ʿAbd el-Qurna. There is also accommodation in Gazīrat el-Baʿīrāt and Gazīrat er-Ramla, Ṭōd el-Baʿīrāt, Luxor as Karnak.
trips
The visit to the temple can be compared to the temple of Madīnat Hābū and the monastery of St. Tadros in el-Malqaṭa connect.
literature
- : Le Kasr el-Agoûz. Le Caire: Impr. De l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale du Caire, 1909, Mémoires publiés par les membres de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale du Caire; 11.
- : Real Lexicon of Egyptian Religious History. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter & Co., 1952, Pp. 370 f., 770. Reprint 2000.
- : Le dieu Thot au Qasr el-Agoûz [Djed-her-pa-heb], [Djehouty-setem]. In:Bulletin de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale (BIFAO), Vol.102 (2002), Pp. 405-423.
- : The temple de Qasr el-Agouz in the nécropole thébaine, ou Ptolémées et savants thébains. In:Bulletin de la Société Française d'Egyptologie (BSFE), Vol.174 (2009), Pp. 29-69.
Web links
- Qasr el Aguz on Osirisnet.net
Individual evidence
- ↑Wilkinson, John Gardner: Topography of Thebes and general view of Egypt, London: Murray, 1835, p. 76 f.
- ↑Champollion, Jean-François: Monuments de l’Égypte et de la Nubie: notices descriptives conformes aux manuscrits autographes rédigés sur les lieux par Champollion le Jeune, Paris: Didot, 1844, Volume 1, pp. 600-607.
- ↑Lepsius, Richard: Monuments from Egypt and Ethiopia, Abth. I, Volume 2, Sheet 93 [below], Abth. IV, Volume 9, Sheets 31.b-e, 32.a-c; Texts Volume III (1900), pp. 186-191.
