turn
left to the east and right at the first path, then follow it until you
reach the temple. Or walk across the Terrace of Elephants at the entrance
closest to the Victory Gate road and walk through an entry tower; then
follow the path until you reach the temple. Alternatively, return to the
main road beside the Terrace of the Leper King, turn right and turn right
again on the first road, then drive straight to the monument. Enter
Phimeanakas from the east entrance. It is possible to leave by the south
gate and walk through a space in the enclosing wall to the east entrance
of the Baphuon.
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Tip:
for those who want to climb to the Central Sanctuary, use the west
stairway, which is in the best condition.
Date:
Late tenth century-beginning of the 11th century
Kings:
Jayavamen V and Udayadityavarman I
Religion:
Hindu
Art style:
Kleng
Background
The temple of
Phimeanakas is situated near the center of the area enclosed by the walls
of the Royal Palace. It must originally have been crowned with a golden
pinnacle, as Zhou Daguan described it as the Tower of Gold The temple is
built of roughly hewn sandstone blocks and has little decoration.
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According
to legend there was a gold tower (Phimeanakas ) inside the royal palace of
Angkor the Great where a serpent-spirit with nine heads lived. The spirit
appeared to the Khmer king disguised as a woman and the king had to sleep
with her every night in the tower before he joined his wives and
concubines in another part of the palace. If the king missed even one
night it was believed he would die. In this way the royal lineage of the
Khmer was perpetuated.
Layout
The general
plan of Phimeanakas is rectangular. the temple originally consisted of a
Central Sanctuary on a tiered base and an enclosing wall. The grounds
around the sanctuary included several courts and ponds.
A
laetrile wall encloses the temple and a second enclosing wall was built at
a later date. Next there is a dry moat. The sandstone entry tower at the
east is in the shape of a cross with two wings; the lintels have a central
motif of a head of a Kala and the window frame is inscribed. These
features are not shown on the plan.: eave the tower and walk towards the
main sanctuary. On the right (north) there is a pond with molding and
laetrile steps. It may have been a part of the palace reserved for woman.
Return to the center walkway; after leaving the entry tower turn right and
follow a path until you come to another large pond paved in laterite with
sandstone steps. It was bordered by two stairways with bas0reliefs-along
the side there are serpents in animal and human form surrounded by
serpent-princesses; on the top there are male and female Garudas and
mythical winged figures. This entire area was probably crowned by a
serpent balustrade and may have served as a gallery for the sovereign and
dignitaries of the court. It is separated from the north-enclosing wall by
paved causeways and from another pond on the east.
CENTRAL
SANCTUARY (3)
The single
sanctuary is on a base with three laterite tiers.
It is approached by four steep stairways, one on each side (1).
these stairways are framed by walls with six projections- two per step
–decorated with lions. Elephants once stood on sandstone pedestals in
the corners of the base but today they are mostly broken.
UPPER
TERRACE
The upper terrace affords a spectacular view of
the neighboring temple of Baphuon. A narrow covered sandstone gallery (2)
with windows and balusters at the edge of the upper terrace is a unique
architectural feature. There were small pavilions at the corners but only
vestiges remain.
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