For this assignment, I went to the Metropolitan Museum and took a look at the Egyptian section. The pillars in the Egyptian temples represent the social structures in our society. Egyptian temples served as more than just a place to hold cult images; they also served as visual representations of a wide range of religious and mythological ideas.
One significant symbolic element was based on the idea that the temple served as a representation of the natural world as it was known to the Egyptians. Carvings of papyrus and lotus plants appear to grow from water, representing the Nile god Hapy, along the foundation of the temple (The MET, n.d.). The two porch columns resemble tall bundles of papyrus stalks entwined with lotus petals as they soar into the sky.
Images of the sun disk flanked by the outstretched wings of Horus, the sky god, are depicted above the gate and temple entrance. The vultures that emerge on the ceiling of the entrance porch their wings extended are another representation of the sky (The MET, n.d.). Scenes of the ruler making offerings to gods who hold scepters and the ankh, the emblem of life, are etched on the outer walls between earth and sky. Egyptian society was very structured, and this social division was represented in their art and architecture. The pharaoh and individuals who were considered to be divine were at the top of the ancient Egyptian social pyramid, while servants and slaves were at the bottom. Some people were revered as gods by the Egyptians. Their rulers, known as pharaohs, were revered as gods who had taken human form. They had complete control over the people they ruled.
Reference
The MET. (n.d.). The Temple of Dendur. Web.