Luxor, Egypt.
Several small chambers surround the sanctuary, including what has become known as the Birth Room. Though in poor condition the murals are of special interest because they depict the birth of Amenhotep III.
The Egyptian Pharaoh was the embodiment of Horus, the son of Ra or Amon. But he had, in addition,to be of direct royal lineage through his father and royal consort. If, as in the case of Amenhotep III , whose mother was not of royal Egyptian blood, his accession was not considered legitimate, he could overcome this difficulty by marrying a sister of royal lineage. Amenhotep did not do this. It was necessary for him therefore to consolidate his monarchy in other respects . Queen Hatschepsut had already shown him how. In her mortuary temple she depicted how she ruled by divine right of Amon and was,in fact, a direct descendant of the Sun God Amon-Ra. In his temple at Luxor Amenhotep also showed that he was the son of the divine, begotten of Amon and born under the protection of the gods.
The story of the birth room is depicted in three rows on the left hand wall. From left to right in the lower row the god Khnum moulds two infants,Amenhotep and his guardian spirit or ka, and fashions them on a potter's wheel. The goddess Isis sits opposite.
Amenhotep's mother is embraced by Isis in the presence of Amon.
In the center row Amon is led by the ibis-headed god of wisdom to the queen's bedchamber where he approaches her to beget the child already molded by Khnum. The pregnancy and confinement are attended by Bes and Thoueris, the patron deities of childbirth.After the delivery Amon stands with the child in his arms in the presence of Hathor and Mut. On the much-damaged top row are the suckling of the infant king, his guardian spirits, and his presentation to Amon by Horus who promises him 'millions of years like Ra ' . In the corner the grown Amenhotep stands as king.
In all other reliefs of this chamber Amenhotep is blessed by the various deities.
