University of Notre Dame
Browse
IMAGE
Cambodia-Angkor-temple-facade.jpg (773.79 kB)
.TIF
Cambodia-Angkor-temple-facade.tif (265.11 MB)
TEXT
image_3794.xml (5.17 kB)
1/0
3 files

Angkor Wat: Central temple mountain with quincunx of towers

figure
posted on 2017-06-30, 00:00 authored by G. Massiot & cie
The temple mountain form was meant to represent Mount Meru. The five towers are arrayed in quincunx form; four at the corners and one in the center.\u000a\u000aAngkor Wat is a Hindu temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and part of his capital city. (The Angkorian period dates 802-1432). As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation--first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west. A UNESCO World Heritage Site.

History

Alt Title

Prasat Angkor Wat

Date Created

1910-01-01

Date Modified

2017-06-30

Spatial Coverage

Angkor Wat +13.4125+103.866667 Angkor Wat, Siĕm Réab, Cambodia: Located about one mile south of Angkor (deserted settlement)

Temporal Coverage

before or circa 1910

Cultural Context

['Suryavarman II', 'Angkorean']

Rights Statement

To view the physical lantern slide, please contact the Architecture Library.

Usage metrics

    Rare Books and Special Collections

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC