Sierra Laico

AP Art History

March 5, 2019

#199 Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia is the largest religious monument in the world, and

its name translates from Khmer as literally “city temple”. Historians have little knowledge of

how this temple was referred to during the time of its use, because there are no extant texts or

inscriptions that mention the temple by name—which is quite incredible considering that it’s the

greatest religious construction project in Southeast Asia. However, because it’s so important, a

name for it could have been deemed unimportant—all we know is that King Suryavarman II

built it.

Angkor Wat is dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, one of the three principal gods in the

Hindu Pantheon—among them he is known as the “Protector”. The construction of Angkor Wat

likely began in the year 1116 C.E.—just three years after King Suryavaram II assumed the

throne. The building of temples by Khmer kings was a means of legitimizing their claim to

political office and also to lay claim to the protection and powers of the gods. Hindu temples are

not a place for religious congregation, instead they are homes of the gods. In order for a king to

lay claim to his political office he had to prove that the gods did not support those who came

before him nor his enemies. Therefore he had to build the grandest temple for the gods, one that

proved to be more lavish than previous ones.

There are 1,200 square meters of carved bas reliefs at Angkor Wat, representing eight

different Hindu stories. One of which is called Churning of the Ocean of Milk, which depicts a

story about the victory of good over evil. In the narrative, devas (gods) are fighting the asuras
(demons) in order to reclaim order and power for the gods that have lost it. In order to reclaim

peace and order, the elixir of the life (amrita) needs to be released from the earth, however the

gods and demons must work together to release it, thus creating an inevitable battle in the end to

determine which side obtains it.

Angkor Wat is comprised of three galleries with a central sanctuary marked by five stone

towers intended to mimic the five mountain ranges of Mt. Meru—the mythical home of the gods

for both Hindus and Buddhists. Mt. Meru is not only a home for the gods, however, it is as lo

considered an axis-mundi—a cosmic world or world axis that connects heaven and earth. In

designing Angkor Wat in this way, King Suryavarman II and his architects intended for the

temple to serve as the supreme abode for Vishnu. In addition, the temple’s architects designed

the temple so that embedded in the temple’s construction is the map of the cosmos (mandala) as

well as a historical record of the temple’s patron.