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Temple of Khons, Karnak, 1993. At the southwest corner of Karnak’s walled temple precinct, a gateway (lower right), known as the Bab el-‘Amara and built by Ptolemy III Euergetes I (246 – 221 BC), leads to what was once a short avenue of sphinxes (later covered by a kiosk of four-by-five columns), which precedes the entrance to the temple of Khons. Dedicated to the Theban moon god and son of Amun and Mut, the temple was built by Ramesses III (1194 – 1163 BC), but most of its reliefs were executed during the reign of Ramesses IV (1163 – 1156 BC) and Ramesses XI (1100 -1070 BC). The facility is entered by a large pylon, 105 feet long and 59 feet high, and consists of a colonnaded forecourt, a hypostyle hall, and several chapels. The walls of the temple are replete with reliefs. Adjoining the southwest side of the Temple of Khons is the small Temple of Opet (the hippopotamus goddess of childbirth and mother of Osiris) built by Ptolemy VIII (170 – 163, 145 – 116 BC). The structure leaning against the Khons temple (upper left) is a modern warehouse holding antiquities.
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