Audio tour 2 The Medieval Louvre

Head towards the Sully Wing. Cross the Medieval Louvre rooms to reach the Crypt of the Sphinx located in the Mezzanine. Estimated visiting time: approx. 2 hours

Created by Jean-François Champollion, this department highlights Ancient Egyptian art in a double circuit; a chronological circuit from its beginnings to Cleopatra and a thematic circuit emphasizing certain aspects of Egyptian civilization.

The Bible mentions over 700 times Egypt and its inhabitants. It is generally known by the name Mizraim (Genesis 50:11). This suggests that the descendants of this son of Ham were predominant in this region, also known in some psalms the ‘land of Ham’. As for the name of Pharaoh it is the Bible who first made us aware of him.

Egypt is famous for its pyramids and its river, the Nile. It is the first world power in biblical history. This is where the nation of Israel was born. It was in Egypt that Moses, the writer of the first five books of the Bible, was born. During this journey, we will see how much the belief in the immortality of the soul permeated the life of the Egyptians, we will find the symbol of the cross, of the trinity, and we will have the opportunity with the papyrus to talk about the transmission of the biblical text.

We will walk in the footsteps of Abraham, Jacob and Moses and we will experience the tribulations of Joseph who lived almost 100 years in this country.

Right next to you, on your left at the entrance to the medieval Louvre, take a few moments to watch this virtual reconstruction of the eight hundred years of the Louvre's history.