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Temple of Mandulis, New Kalabsha
The Temple of Mandulis (also known as the Temple of Kalabsha) is a Roman Period Egyptian temple built as a tribute to Mandulis, a sun god of ancient Nubia. It was constructed by Emperor Augustus around 30 BCE, presumably on the site of an earlier temple of the New Kingdom of Egypt (c. 1570-1069 BCE).
The temple originally stood 50 kilometres south on the west bank of the Nile at ancient Talmis, which is now submerged under the waters of Lake Nasser. It was relocated in 1970 by a West German-financed operation as part of the incredible International Campaign for the Safeguard of the Monuments of Nubia launched in the early 1960s by UNESCO.
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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License & Copyright
This image was first published on Flickr.
Original image by Carole Raddato. Uploaded by Carole Raddato, published on 11 March 2022. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, 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.
