Karnak is an ancient Egyptian temple complex located on the east bank of the Nile River at Thebes (modern Luxor). It covers more than 100 hectares, an area larger than some ancient cities.
The central sector of the site, which occupies the greatest amount of space, is dedicated to Amun-Ra, a male god associated with Thebes. The area immediately around his main sanctuary was known in antiquity as "Ipet-Sun", meaning "the most select of places".
To the south of the central area is a smaller precinct dedicated to his wife, the goddess Mut. To the north is another precinct dedicated to Montu, the falcon-headed god of war. Also to the east is an area—largely intentionally destroyed in antiquity—dedicated to the Aten, the sun disk.
Construction at Karnak began 4,000 years ago and continued until the Romans took over Egypt, about 2,000 years ago. Each Egyptian ruler who worked at Karnak left his own architectural mark. The UCLA Digital Karnak project has reconstructed and modeled these changes online. Their model shows a bewildering array of temples, chapels, gateway-like “pylons,” among many other buildings, that were gradually built, demolished, and modified over the course of more than 2,000 years.
