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Temples of Ancient Egypt Temples of Ancient Egypt are among the most important archaeological sites that help scholars understand Ancient Egypt. The Egyptian temples continue to fascinate travellers and conquerors even after the locals had forgotten about their history. Since Egyptians had a strong relation to their temples, Egyptians have built temples more than the other cultures. Temples in Ancient Egypt were built for different purposes. Some temples were built to serve as houses to the gods, while others were built in honour of deceased kings. Although some temples are in ruins, remains of the temples help scholars determine how it used to be in its prime; furthermore, scholars filled in missing gaps since Pre-Dynastic Egypt through archaeological discoveries. Importance To Egyptians: Temples in Ancient Egypt were not built at random, but their locations were calculated at first. Temples were built at a specific point that symbolized an astronomical significance, proximity to the population, next to important resources, or specially located to relate to a particular cult. Not only the location was important, but also the angle and measurements of the temple proved important to the Egyptians. With some temples such as Abu Simbel, the temple was necessary to be angled towards the sun. Not only the sun was important to the Egyptians, but also other stars proved significant. At Aswan stands the temple of Elephantine, which is oriented towards Sirius; furthermore, observing the star forecasted the flooding of the Nile River. The Nile Valley served as the main source of limestone, and sandstone, which were the two main stones used in building the temples. The Egyptians had different tools designed to cut different types of stones. While the masons continued the construction of the temples, artists came in to start decorating it. Artists worked on finished sections, till the masons would complete the other sections; furthermore, this helped them to be time efficient. Ancient Egyptians had a habit of re-using old temples in order to make them fit the current time. Kings would order the temples to be re-carved to fit his rule. New Kingdom kings defied this, as they started carving deeper into the stones to prevent future kings from using their monuments. Although graffiti on temple walls is not something encouraged, there are graffiti decorations on temple walls that date back to ancient times. Although these depictions are not neatly done as the main writings, they provide valuable information. They help scholars understand the daily life of the temple. Such graffiti could be found on spaces that were not decorated by the artists. When the masons and artists were done, the temple started to spread its influence to the population. The locals who wanted to gain more favour from the gods presented sacrifices and gifts to the temple. The temples proved to have a strong economical power. Temples often controlled a large piece of land for agriculture. The land was often rented to peasants who had to submit part of their crops as payment for renting the land. Temple powers altered through the eras. Different kings favoured different gods, but laws were available to protect the temples. Taxation programmes were placed in order to ensure that no temple in Egypt was to be abandoned, and to ensure the safety of the priests, temple workers and their families, and the temple servants. The more crops the Egyptians harvested, the more they gave to the temples.

Lower Egypt: (Old Kingdom-Ptolemaic Egypt) Old Kingdom: Close to the modern town Banha, Tell Atrib is located. The city dates back to the Old Kingdom. Amenophis III constructed a major temple, but unfortunately it does not survive today. Other temples have been constructed there during the Late Period, and Graeco-Roman Period. The problem with this site is that most of it is in ruins, and small fragments are only found; furthermore, scholars are unable to re-construct the temples. Middle Kingdom: Next to the modern day Cairo at Tell El-Yahudiya, a huge enclosure is built. Scholars were able to determine that it dates back to the Middle Kingdom. The enclosure holds humongous statues of Ramesses II, who was always fascinated with colossal monuments and statues, and a temple built by Ramesses III. It is debatable whether this place served for military or religious functions, but it is estimated that it was used for both functions. What makes this site interesting is the Jewish presence. Outside of that enclosure, a Jewish priest built a temple. The temple dates back to the Ptolemaic era. After a rebellion that was started by Jews, the temple was ordered to be shutdown. New Kingdom: In Tell el Fara’in, Buto, archaeologists discovered a Stele of Tuthmosis III. There is no detailed information about this temple, but theories speculate that it was for the Wadjit goddess. The reason behind this hypothesis is that the cobra was the main goddess of Lower Egypt since Pre-Dynastic Egypt. Approximately at Qantir, lies the great capital of Ramesses II. Pi-Ramesse was found in the 1920’s, and it was discovered that it has been moved due to that the branch of the Nile River supplying the city had died out. The city included a temple for the God Re, Amun, and Ptah. These were the major shrines found in the temples, but there were minor shrines to many others; furthermore, a minor shrine was dedicated to the cobra goddess Late Period: Near El-Mansura is the temple of Behbeit El-Hagar. This site became significant during the 3oth dynasty. The temple is full of shrines to the goddess Isis. It is known that the kings of that dynasty were strongly devoted to Isis. The main function of that temple was to serve Isis as she is served in Upper Egypt. At the city of Sais, along the Rosetta branch, the cult of the goddess Neith is centred. The city has been on great importance since Early Dynastic Egypt, and a high significance on funerary rituals. It gained more significance during the 26th dynasty, as it became the capital of Egypt. Scholars know that temples were built there, but mostly relying on secondary sources; furthermore, a lot of information came from writings by Greek travellers and historians. Unfortunately a lot of bricks have been taken from the temples at that site to be reused for other functions. Ptolemaic Egypt: In Alexandria there are a variety of temples dedicated to both Egyptian and Greek gods, and hybrid gods who came to exist in Ptolemaic Egypt. In Rakhotis, a temple for the hybrid god, Serapis, is located. The temple was built during the reign of Ptolemy III, although some of its monuments were constructed later. In Abusir, west of Alexandria, lies the Taposiris Magna. It was an important city during Ptolemaic Egypt. There lies an unfinished temple, but interestingly the walls were made of limestone; furthermore, most temple walls were usually done with the common mud-brick. The temple is significant not only to scholars studying Ptolemaic Egypt, but also for studying Coptic history. With the rise of Coptic Egypt, the Egyptians were able to modify the interior to fit Christianity.

Middle Egypt: (Old Kingdom-Ptolemaic Egypt) Old Kingdom: King Senefru, first ruler of the 4th dynasty and father of King Khufu, constructed 3 pyramid temples. Two of those pyramids are located at Dahshur. Although Senefru built more pyramids than Khufu, they were small in size compared to what Khufu constructed later at Giza. The first of the Dahshur pyramids is the Red Pyramid, followed by the Bent Pyramid. Scientists and engineers took particular interest in the Bent Pyramid to understand what might have been the reason behind it not taking a perfect triangular shape. At Meidum, Senefru ordered the construction of the third pyramid. The pyramid resembles the one of King Djoser, and Egyptologists believe that Senefru was experimenting with pyramids during his reign, only to be perfected by his son, Khufu. At the city of Memphis lies the temple of the Ptah. Ptah is the major god for the region, and so his enclosure was very large. Unfortunately not much of the temple survives today. In the northern part of the temple lie the remains of the hypostyle hall, and to the south archaeologists found remains of a smaller temple to the goddess Hathor. During the 5th dynasty, Egypt experienced a new trend of “Sun Temples”. Although 5th dynasty kings built pyramid complexes like their predecessors, they built the sun temples in addition to serve the god Re. Userkaf, a 5th dynasty king, left us an unfinished sun temple. The reason it was not finished was that Userkaf only ruled for seven years. The pyramid temple of King Unas, south of King Djoser’s step pyramid complex, marks a significant evolution in Egyptian culture. During the reign of King Unas,

Egyptians started to include texts within the pyramid walls. This established a new trend for future Kings. In middle Egypt, pyramid temples are extremely abundant. Thanks to the Old Kingdom kings who had built these monuments, a variety of pyramid shapes and different complexes are available for examination. The most famous pyramid complexes are the Giza Pyramids. These pyramids have attracted archaeologists, historians, and scientists. Old Kingdom Kings Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure have built these complexes. Unfortunately, the way we can observe these complexes now will be different than how they used to look back in Ancient Egypt. Stones from the complex have been taken to be reused for other constructions such as Saladin’s Castle, in Cairo. Middle Kingdom: During the middle Kingdom, King Amenemhet III, built a pyramid at Al-Fayum. Following his predecessors choosing the construction site, Amenemhet III built his complex to resemble that of King Djoser. This complex was not only dedicated to the king, but also to the gods; furthermore, different chapels are available for different gods. Due to its architectural plan and design, many ancient travellers and modern day scientists call this complex: The Labyrinth. New Kingdom: During the New Kingdom, King Akhenaten built his new city between Thebes and Cairo. Amarna distinguishes itself in many aspects from its predecessors. It became the capital of Egypt, and the centre for the cult of the Aten. The largest building of the city was the house of the sun disc. It was designed to be mostly an open-air building, unlike previous enclosures. The complex was built to serve the Aten, and anyone who served the Aten. The temple had storage rooms, and housing. The artistic design was far more developed than previous eras. Usually sandstone was used for carving the hieroglyphics, but the Amarna artists used limestone. Upper Egypt: (Old Kingdom-Ptolemaic Egypt) Middle Kingdom: At Luxor, stands the Karnak temple. Although the temple is not in a good condition as one would hope it was, it is the most glorious temple in Egypt. It is the largest complex to be built by man in ancient times. The Karnak temple is not only representative of one kings, but it expresses work achieved by generations of different kings; furthermore, a king would expand over what his predecessor has finished. It was recognized as the home of the god Amun, and many chapels were constructed to house other gods. The temple holds different compounds, but preserves the main three compounds for a triad of deities. The most important was Amun, followed by Mut and Khonsu.