Manual of Egyptian archæology and guide to the study of antiquities in EgyptFor the use of students and travellers . es of sphinxes. The most usual of them wasthe andro-sphinx—the human-headed lion ; but therewas also the crio-sphinx—the lion with the ramshead (fig. 99) ; and in places where the local cultrendered such substitution appropriate, there werekneeling figures of rams holding a figure of thesovereign between their forelegs (fig. 100). Theavenue from Luxor to Karnak was composed ofthese various types. This road is a mile and aquarter in length, and it bends in various directions;but
Manual of Egyptian archæology and guide to the study of antiquities in EgyptFor the use of students and travellers . es of sphinxes. The most usual of them wasthe andro-sphinx—the human-headed lion ; but therewas also the crio-sphinx—the lion with the ramshead (fig. 99) ; and in places where the local cultrendered such substitution appropriate, there werekneeling figures of rams holding a figure of thesovereign between their forelegs (fig. 100). Theavenue from Luxor to Karnak was composed ofthese various types. This road is a mile and aquarter in length, and it bends in various directions;but this must not be considered a proof that theEgyptians disliked symmetry. The two templeenclosures were not orientated in the same direction,and avenues traced perpendicularly from each ofthem could never have met; they had to be turnedfrom their original direction. We may conclude by [06 RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE. saying that the people of Thebes saw almost asmuch of their temples as we see at the present sanctuary and its immediate surroundings wereclosed to all who did not belong to the highest order. Fig. 99.—Crio-sphinx from Wady es Sabiiah. of the priesthood ; but they had access to the en-closure, to the courts, and to the hypostyle hall ;some were even allowed to penetrate farther into the Fig. 100.—Couchant ram, with statuette of royal founder, restored,avenue of sphinxes, Karnak. temple, according to their rank in the civil orreligious hierarchy, and they were able to admirethe achievements of their architects almost as freelyas we admire them to-day. DECORATION. IO7 3. DECORATION. Ancient tradition asserts that the carhest Egyptiantemples contained no sculptured figures, no inscrip-tions, no material symbols. The temple of Seneferuis entirely plain. The valley temple of Khafra isplain with the exception of the doorways of thefagade, although it contained magnificent upper temple also appears to have had only thesame scanty decoration. It was
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