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History aside, Angkor Wat is a work of art that took four centuries of ongoing construction to complete.

Angkor's architecture would have been art enough to gain the temple recognition; but much of Angkor serves as a gallery for carvings and sculptures which serve no structural purpose. Such art enhances the temple's theme, but not necessarily its engineering.

Like other Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is an architectural allegory of the Hindu religion. The central tower stands for Mount Meru, the center of the universe according to Hindu mythology. The gods lived at the top of Mount Meru. The temple grounds are surrounded by a wall and moat, because in Hindu mythology Mount Meru is surrounded by other mountain ranges and oceans.

The main entryway to Angkor Wat (a street of about half a kilometer's length) is meant to resemble the rainbow bridge in Hindu mythology -- the link between heaven and earth.