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Abu Simbel Panorama
Abu Simbel is a temple complex, originally cut into a solid rock cliff in southern Egypt at the second cataract of the Nile River. The two temples that comprise the site (The Great Temple and The Small Temple) were created during the reign of Ramesses II (c. 1279 to c. 1213 BCE), either between 1264 and 1244 BCE or 1244-1224 BCE. The Great Temple was dedicated to the gods Ra-Horakty, Ptah, and the deified Ramesses II. The Small Temple was dedicated to the goddess Hathor and Queen Nefertari, Ramesses' favourite wife.
Questions & Answers
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.
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This image was first published on Flickr.
Original image by Dennis Jarvis. Uploaded by Mark Cartwright, published on 06 January 2013. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon a work even for commercial reasons, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
