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  • Original research article
  • November 5, 2025
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The triumph scenes of Thutmose III on the south facade of the seventh pylon at Karnak: an interpretation through the psychology of art

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Abstract

This study focuses on identifying the mechanisms of psychological impact of the triumph scenes of Thutmose III on the south facade of the seventh pylon at Karnak. The scientific novelty of the work lies in applying the tools of neuroaesthetics and the psychology of perception to a monument that was previously studied primarily from iconographic and historical perspectives. For the first time, the reliefs are examined as a holistic system of visual codes, aimed at the unconscious assimilation of the idea of the pharaoh’s sacred power. The research aims to identify specific artistic techniques (scale hierarchy, perceptual correction, affective gesture, dehumanization of the enemy, synesthetic metaphor of power) and to explain the mechanisms of their psychological impact on the collective consciousness. As a result, the interrelationship between the formal elements of the composition and their ideological function is revealed, which allows ancient Egyptian monumental art to be viewed as a highly effective “psychotechnology” for shaping public worldview.

Research materials

  1. Digital Karnak. http://dlib.etc.ucla.edu/projects/Karnak/
  2. Centre Franco-Égyptien d'Étude des Temples de Karnak. https://www.cfeetk.cnrs.fr/

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Author information

Yury Sergeevich Reunov

PhD

Centre for Egyptological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences (CES RAS), Moscow

About this article

Publication history

  • Received: August 22, 2025.
  • Published: November 5, 2025.

Keywords

  • Древний Египет
  • VII пилон в Карнаке
  • Тутмос III
  • психология искусства
  • коллективное сознание
  • Ancient Egypt
  • seventh pylon at Karnak
  • Thutmose III
  • psychology of art
  • collective consciousness

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