Precinct of Mut
To the south, beyond the Great Temple of Amen, is the precinct of Mut, the consort of Amen. The two areas are linked by an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes. The precinct of Mut is mostly destroyed and on-going excavations makes it difficult for the traveler to enter the area. What is left are the remains of the Mut temple itself, called “The Temple of Great Mut, Lady of Isheru,” several smaller temples, and the sacred lake in the shape of a crescent that surrounds the Mut temple on three sides. This lake was called the Isheru, from which the goddess Mut takes her title, “Lady of Isheru.”
The temple of Mut was princapally built by Amenhotep III and added to by several later kings such as Taharqa, Nectanebo I and some of the Ptolemies. The temple itself consisted of a large pylon, which led to an open court and a second pylon beyond. One entered through this second pylon into the inner part of the temple proper. Within the temple remains is an alabaster plaque, partly destroyed, that bears another marriage inscription of Ramesses II to the daughter of the Hittite king. Reference to this marriage is also inscribed on the south face, east side, of the ninth pylon.
Located within the temple was a large quantity of black granite statues of the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet. These statues surrounded the entire court and in some places were seen to be in double rows. The estimate that is usually given is that there were over seven hundred of these statues. They were dedicated by the likes of Amenhotep III, Ramesses II, the high priest Pinudjem, Queen Henuttawi and most likely many more. These statues all seem to have a label or different attribute for the goddess. Such titles as Sekhmet, beloved of Ptah; Sekhmet, Lady of Fear; Sekhmet, Mistress of the Western Desert, and so forth, can be found on these statues. These titles refer to differing legends and myths that surround this goddess. Museums throughout the world have statues of Sekhmet thanks to the finds here.
Mut Precinct Sekhmets in Karnak’s Open Air Museum
Ramesses III built a small temple on the western side of the sacred lake that still hold some scenes of the his military campaigns. The outer south walls record his conquests over the tribes in southwest Asia. Ramesses III is considered to be the last truly great pharaoh of Egypt. In front of this temple are two statues of the king, both missing their heads. The only other structure of a size worth mentioning within the precinct is that of Khonsu-pa-kherod (‘Khonsu the Child’). This structure is made in large part from reused blocks of New Kingdom buildings. Although also in a bad state, this temple does retain some decorative scenes of note. Here we can see some scenes of birth and circumcision. Circumcision was widely practiced in ancient Egypt and we see such scenes from as far back as the Old Kingdom. Herodotus remarks in his Histories (Book 2, 37): They (the Egyptians) wear linen clothes which they make a special point of continually washing. They circumcise themselves for cleanliness’ sake, preferring to be clean rather than comely.
Ptolemy II and III constructed the propylon gateway into the temenos wall to the north of the temple and just outside this gateway stood two other structures of which only the foundations remain. The temple of Amen-Kamutef (Amen Bull of His Mother) stood just to the east and to the west was a small barque shrine from the time of Tuthmosis III.
The state of the Mut Precinct is a sad one when compared to that of Amen. The ravages of time and the great conquerors have left their mark upon her once glorious place. Ashurbanipal the Assyrian, the Persians, Ethiopians, and Greeks have all left their mark on this site. As we view the remains today; the words of the song of the Harper from the Middle Kingdom come to mind:
A generation passes, another stays, since the time of the ancestors. What of their places? Their walls have crumbled; their places are gone, as though they had never been! None comes from there (the land of the dead), to tell of their state, to tell of their needs, to calm our hearts, until we go where they have gone!
Make holiday, do not weary of it!
Lo, none is allowed to take his goods with him,
Lo, none who departs comes back again!”
(Lichtheim, M. Ancient Egyptian Literature, vol. 1, pg. 196-7, Berkeley, 1973)