Ancient Egyptian temples

The Ancient Egyptian temples had a prominent place in ancient architecture, which remained the talk of historians, archaeologists, travelers, and tourists all over the world because of what was known about the ancient Egyptians of their love for gods and religiosity, which is confirmed by the Greek historian “Herodotus” when he said:

(I did not find a people who loved their gods and religion as I saw the Egyptians)

Types of Ancient Egyptian temples:

The Ancient Egyptian Temples are closed buildings that people come to on special occasions by the hundreds and thousands, such as religious holidays and coronation ceremonies of the King

Temples were erected all over Egypt until they reached the high mountains to serve the quarry workers, as this is noted on the cabin “Hathor” in the city of Samalot in Minya

And the temples, in general, were divided into two types:

1-temples of the gods:

After the completion of the construction of the temple, a large celebration is held, attended by the king, in which flags are hung on the temple, on the two towers located at the entrance to the temple, singing, music, dancing, sacrificial slaughter, and tables are held where wine made from grapes is drunk a lot

2. Funerary temples:

They are temples that Kings order to be built to be hung on the Tomb of the king to ensure that the King continues to offer sacrifices after his death and recite prayers that help him in the other world. In these temples, the King’s family gathers on holidays and special occasions, and they make sacrifices

It was connected between this temple and the tomb by a road called the ascending road, which is a road paved with stones, along which the royal funeral was going with the priests chanting rituals and hymns and lighting incense

Architecture of Ancient Egyptian temples:

If we look closely and meditate on The Ancient Egyptian Temples, we find that they take the form of a single pattern in the design, as they consist of five parts:

1. edifice :

It led to a vast courtyard through a wide corridor, and the sphinxes were lined up on both sides of the road, based on bases directed with their heads towards the axis of the road, such as the road of Rams connecting Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple

2. the fence

The temple was surrounded by a vast wall built of Adobe, characterized by its massiveness and height, located outside the path of statues. This wall mainly had a door made of rectangular solid wood with ornaments and inscriptions

3-the courtyard :

The courtyard was surrounded by three tearooms decorated with magnificent views of the king with the gods and some ancient Egyptian hymns and inscriptions

4-columns Hall:

It is a huge room surrounded by columns on all sides and is dedicated to holding rituals, followed by a hall where the light enters through small windows above the walls

5-Holy of Holies room:

It is the room where there is a statue of God, and no one is allowed to enter it except the priest who serves God himself or the king without his family waiting for him outside the room. There is often a room adjacent to the space of the Holy of Holies in which sacrifices that are not eaten but are offered to God

Hatshepsut temple “funerary temple”

Queen Hatshepsut ” performed about 1473-1458 BC. The temple of Hatshepsut was named in ancient Egyptian “Jisr jisrou”, meaning the holiest of the sanctuaries, and it was designed by “we will die”, who carried many titles, including the manager of the Amun estate.

Design of the temple of Hatshepsut

The temple consists of three levels, each of which has a row of columns at its end, and at the top level, an open courtyard is located behind its row of columns, topped by statues of Hatshepsut in the form of the Osirian God of the dead.

The purpose of the construction of The Ancient Egyptian Temple “Hatshepsut”

Not only was the temple dedicated to her, but the temple included parts dedicated to her father, King Thutmose I, the idol Hathor, and the idol Anubis. A compartment was also dedicated to the sky, dedicated to the sun idol “Ra Hur akhty”, as reported by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. There is a great place dedicated to Amun, and at the end of the upper courtyard, at the central axis of the temple, a passage was cut into the mountain, ending with the holiest of Holies.

Inscriptions of the Temple of Hatshepsut

The temple walls were covered with scenes representing temple rituals, religious holidays, and the transfer of obelisks from the quarries to the Karnak Temple. Perhaps the most distinctive views are those of the middle terrace, which represents Hatshepsut’s expedition to Puntland, which is probably currently located near Eritrea, its inhabitants, houses as well as the surrounding environment, in addition to the riches and exotic animals that the Egyptians brought with them from there, and on the other side, how Hatshepsut became the legitimate king of the country, not only by confirming the appointment of her father Thutmose I instead, her father is the idol of Amon himself.

Edfu Temple “Temple of the god Horus”

This temple was built and dedicated to the worship of the god Horus. It is the only temple that has remained in good condition, as Horus had a distinct place in Egyptian mythology, and the god Horus has taken the winged sun disk since the era of the sixth dynasty. The Legend of the Winged Sun Disk has been written on the walls of The Temple of Edfu.

Architectural elements of the temple

The temple begins with the tower, followed by the open courtyard, carried out by columns with plant crowns on three sides. The temple consists of two symmetrical parts, between which there is a door in the middle; in the temple, there are large holes, strangely enough, which were dug by Christians who fled from the Romans during the Roman rule of Egypt, where they took refuge inside these holes and lived inside the temple for a while

The tower’s door leads to an open courtyard, and the inscriptions of this courtyard include recessed drawings representing the king making offerings in front of local objects and pictures of the King practicing religious rituals.

The large columns Hall, which includes about 18 columns lined up in three rows, each row consisting of three columns, distinguished by the diversity of columns, followed by the small columns Hall, was called the supervision hall, containing 12 columns and crowns rich in floral ornaments.

On the western side of this hall, there is a chamber for keeping holy water, so its views represent the King accompanied by the God Habi, the God of the Nile, offering holy water to Horus and Hathor.

As for the Holy of Holies, There is a place with the name of King Nektenpo I and a statue of the sacred Falcon, and surrounding the Holy of Holies, there are ten halls in which various rituals were performed or ritual instruments were kept.