Funerary Temple Of Hatshepsut

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Funerary Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri, Dyanasty 18 An Egyptian temple originally took the form of a house to serve as the home of a god. The temples were simple, rectangular, flat-roofed buildings that had a courtyard and gateway. The builders of the New Kingdom exaggerated these components. The gateway was converted into a pylon with tapering walls, the courtyard was surrounded by columns, and the temple itself included a vast hall filled with columns as well as an inner offering hall and sanctuary. All of the design elements were made symmetrical along a dominant center line which created a processional path from outside the temple directly into the sanctuary, where you would find the cult image of the god. The closer you became to the sanctuary, the smaller and darker the rooms would be in comparison to those that were further away. The pharaoh Hatshepsut is a notable figure in Egyptian history because she ruled in a period that was otherwise dominated by male warrior-kings (1473 - 1458 BCE). She was only one of four female kings to ever rule Egypt. Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and later married her half brother Thutmose II, who then reigned for 14 years. Within a few years of his death in 1473, she had herself declared “king” by the priests of Amun, this move made her a co-ruler with Thutmose III for twenty years. Egyptian royal art did not change just because Hatshepsut was a female; her image was portrayed as a male wearing a kilt and linen headdress, occasionally even a king’s false beard. The way in which male kings were not changed to suit each individual ruler and Hatshepsut was by no means an exception the rule. The temple of Hatshepsut was positioned just north of the Middle Kingdom temple of Mentuhotep Nebhepetre in a sea of cliffs which are known as Deir el-Bahri (Su). The temple was once known as Djeser-dijeseru,

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