“Sun Court” is the modern name for this courtyard. It is also known as the Great Forecourt of Amenhotep III. We stand in what remains of a noble example of 18th dynasty work.
Amenhotep III’s Sun Court measures 148 feet in depth from north to south. Its width spans 184 feet from east to west. Imagine this space filled with vibrant colors. The reliefs and inscriptions were originally bright. The Egyptian sun made the court brilliant.
This was the first expansion northward from the core temple. It was not part of the original core temple. It is a peristyle court. A double row of 60 papyrus bundle columns lines three sides. These columns are the best preserved in the temple. They show fine proportions. However, the roofing blocks are gone. We cannot see the intended contrast of shadow and sunshine.
The north end once served as the entrance to the entire temple. Amenhotep’s architects designed it this way. A great gateway stood here. It connected the temple to Karnak via an avenue of sphinxes. Later, the great colonnade altered this arrangement. Construction was not complete when the king died.
The Sun Court is nearly identical to a court in Amenhotep III’s funerary temple. Both courts are wider at the front. This creates an optical illusion. It enhances the depth and impact of the perspective.
Decoration was added from Amenhotep’s time to that of Alexander the Great. The side walls retain some original coloring. They are poorly preserved. Traces of scenes remain. These scenes depict Amenhotep III, Amun, and Alexander the Great.
Amenhotep III sometimes is called the Sun King. His son Akhenaten tried to dispose of the traditional ancient Egyptian religion. Akhenaten favored a new religion focused on the Aten, the Sun Disk. He rejected the traditional state god, Amun. After Akhenaten’s death, Tutankhamun reinstated the old religion.
Remember the clustered papyrus column. You see it here. You also see it in the shrine of Tuthmosis III. This is the typical Egyptian form of columnar architecture. Judge Egyptian architecture by this form.