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Travel back in time

Photo: Yugandhara. M

Larger-than-life The statues at the Abu Simbel temple

What happens when a student of art history gazes at the monumental temple of King Ramesses II? It leaves you with a high never experienced before.

The temple at Abu Simbel stands proud on the western banks of Lake Nasser, the largest man made lake in the world.

This temple is made more famous by the fact that UNESCO performed a feat of architectural engineering and rescued it along with two other templeswhen the Aswan high dam was built in 1964.

Sadly, several other Nubian monuments now lie under the depths of Lake Nasser.

At the first look, one tends to believe that the temple is cut into the face of a rock. This was how it used to be.

But, when it was moved to higher ground (36 metres above) to preserve it, a mountain of rock was artificially created around it to retain the effect.

King Ramesses II ruled Upper and Lower Egypt during the 13th Century B.C.

Though ego-centric kings have been seen in the past, he is known for his self-obsession. This is evident in the four larger-than-life statues of his (in a seating pose) that dominate the facade of the temple.

Placed side by side, each one is 35 metres wide and 20 metres high. The second temple erected by King Ramesses II for his queen Nefertari near his own, is called the smaller temple.

The facade of the smaller temple is adorned by six standing statues (three each of King Ramesses II and Nefertari) rising approximately 10 meters in height.

Though the temple follows the stereotypical architectural plan of Egyptian temples of that time, the sculptural panels lining the inner wall of the temple provide more proof of Ramesses II’s self obsession.

The bas relief decorations inside the temple serve to glorify the king — examples are the war scene, King Ramesses winning over the Hittites and taking slaves, the king and queen offering papyrus plants to goddess Hathor, etc.

Legend has it that King Ramesses commissioned the temple to commemorate his birthday and coronation day, which fall on February 22 and October 22, respectively.

It is said that the rays of the sun penetrate through the temple and to the main shrine, lighting up three of its four deities.

One of the three is King Ramesses, thus placing him on a par with the sun god Ra. The fourth deity is the god of the underworld — he remains in the dark.

Feminists might cringe at seeing the statues, though — while all the depictions in the smaller temple give equal importance to both, the queen’s statue in the main temple reaches only up to the knee level of the King’s statue.

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