Through the Eras

Architecture and DesignModel of a temple. BROOKLYN MUSEUM OF ART, 49.183, CHARLES EDWIN WILBOUR FUND. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION.naos, or shrine, housed the statue of the god and parallelsthe private bedrooms belonging to the family in atypical Egyptian house. In a temple, the architect alsoemphasized the dramatic contrasts of light and dark betweenthe public rooms and private rooms. In addition,the floor gently rose as a visitor proceeded from the entranceto the naos, creating a sense that the visitor ascendedfrom the secular sphere outside the temple to theheavenly sphere of the god in the naos. A mud brick wallsurrounding the entire temple, called the temenos wall,contributed to the sense of separation from the secularworld inside the temple.THE ENTRANCE TO A STANDARD TEMPLE. Egyptologistscall the entrance to a standard temple the pylon.The pylon often stands at the end of a processionalway lined with sphinxes. Often colossal statues of theking, both seated and standing, were positioned in frontof the pylon. The pylon itself was divided into two towersand a lower, central doorway. The towers are rectangularwith sloping sides. The ascending edges of thetowers are decorated with torus—a semi-circular orthree-quarter circular molding. The top edges of the towersare decorated with a cavetto cornice—a concave orhollow molding. Both types of molding suggest the originsof the pylon tower in the wood, mat, and reed structuresbuilt during the Predynastic Period. The tower wasoften several stories high and contained a staircase inside.The doorway itself was lower than the towers anddecorated with a winged sun disk. The door was usuallywood with occasional metal covering. The pylon wasmost often built of stone, though archaeological remainsof mud brick pylons are known. Artists decorated pylonswith scenes of the king protecting Egypt from itsArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 47