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A pylon is a
Pylons were often decorated with scenes emphasizing a king's authority since it was the public face of a building. On the first pylon of the temple of
Both Neoclassical and Egyptian Revival architecture employ the pylon form, with Boodle's gentlemen's club in London being an example of the Neoclassical style.
The 19th and 20th centuries saw pylon architecture employed for bridges such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and as stand-alone monuments such as the Patcham Pylon in
File:Luxor-Tempel Pylon 02.jpg, Entrance of the Luxor Temple, western façade; a pair of
A pylon is a monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
al gate
A gate or gateway is a point of entry to or from a space enclosed by walls. The word is derived from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*gatan'', meaning an opening or passageway. Synonyms include yett (which comes from the same root w ...
of an Egyptian temple (Egyptian: ''bxn.t'' in the Manuel de Codage transliterationErmann & Grapow, ''Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache'', vol.1, 471.9–11). The word comes from the Greek term 'gate'. It consists of two pyramid
A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...
al towers, each tapered and surmounted by a cornice
In architecture, a cornice (from the Italian ''cornice'' meaning "ledge") is generally any horizontal decorative Moulding (decorative), moulding that crowns a building or furniture element—for example, the cornice over a door or window, ar ...
, joined by a less elevated section enclosing the entrance between them.Toby Wilkinson, ''The Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Ancient Egypt'', Thames & Hudson, 2005. p.195 The gate was generally about half the height of the towers. Contemporary paintings of pylons show them with long poles flying banners.
Egyptian architecture
Inancient Egyptian religion
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of Polytheism, polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with Ancient Egyptian deities, many deities belie ...
, the pylon mirrored the hieroglyph
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters. ...
''akhet'' 'horizon', which was a depiction of two hills "between which the sun rose and set". Consequently, it played a critical role in the symbolic architecture of a building associated with the place of re-creation and rebirth.
Pylons were often decorated with scenes emphasizing a king's authority since it was the public face of a building. On the first pylon of the temple of Isis
Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
at Philae
The Philae temple complex (; , , Egyptian: ''p3-jw-rķ' or 'pA-jw-rq''; , ) is an island-based temple complex in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam, downstream of the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser, Egypt.
Originally, the temple complex was ...
, the pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...
is shown slaying his enemies while Isis, Horus
Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...
and Hathor
Hathor (, , , Meroitic language, Meroitic: ') was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god R ...
look on. Other examples of pylons can be seen in Karnak
The Karnak Temple Complex, commonly known as Karnak (), comprises a vast mix of temples, pylons, chapels, and other buildings near Luxor, Egypt. Construction at the complex began during the reign of Senusret I (reigned 1971–1926 BC) in the ...
, Luxor Temple and Edfu. Rituals to the god Amun
Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...
were often carried out on the top of temple pylons. A pair of obelisks
An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' rotisserie, spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called Obelisk (hieroglyph), ...
usually stood in front of a pylon.
In addition to standard vertical grooves on the exterior face of a pylon wall which were designed to hold flag poles, some pylons also contained internal stairways and rooms. The oldest intact pylons belong to mortuary temples from the Ramesside period in the 13th and 12th centuries BCE.
Revival architecture
Both Neoclassical and Egyptian Revival architecture employ the pylon form, with Boodle's gentlemen's club in London being an example of the Neoclassical style.
The 19th and 20th centuries saw pylon architecture employed for bridges such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge and as stand-alone monuments such as the Patcham Pylon in Brighton and Hove
Brighton and Hove ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority area, ceremonially in East Sussex, England. There are multiple villages alongside the seaside resorts of Brighton and Hove in the district. It is administe ...
, England.
Gallery
obelisks
An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' rotisserie, spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called Obelisk (hieroglyph), ...
usually stood in front of a pylon; the 2nd obelisk (the Luxor Obelisk, 23 metres (75 ft) high, not shown) was moved in the 1830s to the Place de la Concorde
The Place de la Concorde (; ) is a public square in Paris, France. Measuring in area, it is the largest square in the French capital. It is located in the city's eighth arrondissement, at the eastern end of the Champs-Élysées.
It was the s ...
in France.
File:Second Pylon (14284182329).jpg, Temple of Isis second pylon, Philae, western façade
File:Templo de Karnak, Luxor, Egipto, 2022-04-03, DD 138.jpg, One of the pylon entrances of the Karnak Temple Complex, with a surviving obelisk
File:The Temple of Edfu معبد ادفو.jpg, Pylon of Temple of Edfu
File:Karnak Khonsu Temple R01.jpg, Temple of Khonsu in Karnak
See also
* Ancient Egyptian architecture *Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member ...
References
External links
* {{Authority control Architectural elements Gates