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Sample Angkor Wat Worksheets
Sample Angkor Wat Worksheets
Sample Angkor Wat Worksheets
ANGKOR WAT
Worksheets
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Historical Background
★ Angkor Wat, built by Khmer King Suryavarman II in
Yaśodharapura (present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer
Empire, was his state temple and eventual mausoleum. It was
originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god
Vishnu for the Khmer Empire and gradually transformed into a
Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century.
Angkor Wat Facts
★ The temple became known to
the Western world after one of
the first Western visitors,
Portugal's António da
Madalena, visited Angkor Wat
in 1586.
★ Madalena’s description of
Angkor Wat inspired the awe
of many Europeans. He
explained that the temple’s
extraordinary construction
could not be described by a
pen and that it was a
monument of unparalleled
beauty. Henri Mouhot
★ Another visit by a European also encouraged a wave of
expeditions to Cambodia. French naturalist Henri Mouhot wrote
extensive descriptions of the temple that were published after his
death.
★ Mouhot, who visited Angkor Wat in the middle of the 19th century,
described the monument as grander than any architectural legacy
of the Greeks or Romans.
★ Since that time, Angkor Wat has been the subject of significant
research. Expeditions from various countries have attempted to
discover the secrets of the temple complex, and millions of
tourists have flocked to Cambodia from all corners of the globe.
Thus, Angkor Wat continues to fascinate and inspire awe up to
the present day.
Angkor Wat Facts
★ It was built in the first half of the 12th century (113-5 B.C.). The
temple has been estimated to have taken 30 years to construct.
While Suryavarman II may have planned Angkor Wat as his
funerary temple, or mausoleum, he was never buried there as he
died in battle during a failed expedition to subdue the Dai Viet
(Vietnamese). The work appeared to have ended shortly after the
king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decorations unfinished.
★ The height of Angkor Wat from the ground to the top of the central
tower is greater than it might appear: 213 meters (699 feet)
achieved by three rectangular or square levels (1-3). Each one is
progressively smaller and higher than the one below, starting from
the outer limits of the temple.
★ Covered galleries with columns define the boundaries of the first
and second levels. The third level supports five towers – four in the
corners and one in the middle – and these are the most prominent
architectural feature of Angkor Wat.
★ The central tower rises from the center of the monument
symbolizing the mythical mountain, Meru, situated at the center of
the universe. Its five towers correspond to the peaks of Meru. The
outer wall corresponds to the mountains at the edge of the world,
and the surrounding moat, the oceans beyond.
★ While pictures of the temple are beautiful and show it’s grandeur, it
must be seen to be fully understood and appreciated.
Angkor Wat Facts
★ The Angkor Wat Gallery of
bas-reliefs, surrounding the first
level of Angkor Wat, contains 1,200
square meters (12,917 square feet)
of sandstone carvings. The reliefs
cover most of the inner wall of all
four sides of the gallery and extend
two meters (seven feet) high from
top to bottom.
★ Wat is the Khmer name for temple, which was probably added to
"Angkor" when it became a Theravada Buddhist monument, most
likely in the sixteenth century.
★ The temple contains more than 1,800 carved apsara and hundreds
of meters of bas-reliefs.
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