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The temple in ancient Egypt was the home of the deity it was built for, and the clergy attended the statue of that god or goddess as they would a living person. Every temple was designed with a forecourt, a reception area for public gatherings, and an inner area, which included the Holy of Holies where the god lived.
This room, which housed the statue of the god, could only be entered by the high priest who would commune with the deity and intercede for the king and people. Each temple was understood as the point at which that god or goddess had come into the earthly plane in the earliest times and so were linked with the ancient past, no matter when they were built. They were also designed to represent the ben-ben, the primordial mound of earth, which rose from the watery chaos at the beginning of time and upon which the god Amun stood to create the world. Exceptions to this paradigm are mortuary temples dedicated to monarchs, as in the case of Hatshepsut, but even these were constructed with the gods in mind.
This gallery presents a sampling of some of the best-known and lesser-known temples of ancient Egypt (most from the New Kingdom, c. 1570 to c. 1069 BCE) along with images of some of the gods worshipped. The only exception to this is the god Bes who is thought to have had, at most, one temple dedicated to him but was sometimes venerated at temples or shrines dedicated to the goddess Hathor, as at her birth house in Dendera.
The White Chapel, a structure significant to archaeologists and scholars for listing all the nomes of the time on it, built by Senusret I, 1971-1926 BCE, Middle Kingdom of Egypt. The White Chapel was destroyed and recycled for use in the Temple of Karnak but restored between 1927 and 1930 and may still be seen today.
What was the purpose of the temple in ancient Egypt?
The temple in ancient Egypt was the literal home of the god it was built for. The high priest cared for and communed with the statue of the god there, and festivals were often begun in the reception area. There were no "worship services" conducted at ancient Egyptian temples as those would be recognized today.
What is the most famous ancient Egyptian temple?
Karnak is the most famous Egyptian temple.
What were ancient Egyptian temples supposed to represent?
Ancient Egyptian temples were understood to have been designed by the gods and represented the first moment a deity entered the mortal plane. They also were associated with the beginning of the creation of the world by the god Amun or, sometimes, the goddess Neith.
Could the general public have access to an ancient Egyptian temple?
The general public was allowed in the courtyard and outer reception area of an ancient Egyptian temple but not in the interior and certainly not anywhere near the Holy of Holies where the deity's statue resided.
This image was first published on Flickr.
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