Bayon

바이욘 사원

The Bayon is a richly carved Buddhist temple at Angkor, in Cambodia. It was built in the late 12th or early 13th century by King Jayavarman VII, and it sits at the very center of his capital city, Angkor Thom. It was the last state temple built at Angkor and the only one made mainly to honor Buddhist figures.

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At a glance

Country: Cambodia
Location: Siem Reap, Cambodia
Built: 1200
Height: 43 m
Type: Religious building

Quick answers

Where is Bayon?

Bayon is in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

When was Bayon built?

Bayon was built in 1200.

How tall is Bayon?

Bayon is about 43 m tall.

Temple at the heart of Angkor Thom, famous for more than 200 serene smiling stone faces on its towers.

The Bayon is best known for its many towers carved with calm, smiling stone faces that look out in every direction. One source counts 216 giant faces. Many scholars think the faces show the king himself or the bodhisattva of compassion, a kind and helpful being in Mahayana Buddhism. Walls around the temple also carry long carved scenes of battles, markets, and everyday life, which tell us a great deal about the Khmer people of that time.

What do the carvings show?

The outer gallery wall is covered in bas-reliefs, which are pictures carved so they stand out from the stone. They show historic events and ordinary life in the Khmer Empire. One scene shows a naval battle on the Tonle Sap lake between Khmer and Cham forces, with market stalls, cooking, hunters, and mothers caring for children shown below it. Because there are no written captions, experts are still unsure exactly which events some of the scenes show.

How did it get its name?

Its original name was Jayagiri, meaning "Victory Mountain". The name Bayon was given in 1880 by the French scholar Etienne Aymonier, who thought it came from a word for the heavenly palace of the god Indra. In the 20th century French experts began to restore the temple by taking it apart and rebuilding it, a method called anastylosis. Since 1995 a Japanese team has led the care of the Bayon, and the temple is still used for worship today.

Fun facts

Its towers carry more than 200 giant smiling stone faces.
One source counts 216 huge faces on the temple's towers.
The faces look in four directions, and some local people believe they show the four faces of the god Brahma.
The Bayon's carvings include a naval battle fought on a real lake, the Tonle Sap.