Temples in Egypt

Temples were very important in ancient Egypt and people believed that these were places where gods and goddesses lived. Every god or goddess had a different temple where he or she was worshipped by the priests of the temple and the pharaoh. Temples in ancient were not a place of communal worship. Only the king and the priests were allowed to conduct rituals in the temple and only after undergoing rigorous purification. The public was only allowed in the temple during the festivals when the god supposedly came out of the temple. The Temples of ancient Egypt were of very high value and played an important role in the economy of the country as well. Temples were endowed with large agricultural lands where a large number of people were employed in service to the temple and temples were believed to be the physical location where the Egyptian pharaohs and priests could connect with the gods.

 

Types Of Egypt Temples

The second type of temple in egypt was the mortuary temple which was dedicated to the pharaoh after their death and where the pharaoh was worshipped as a god. An example is the Temple of Ramesses II at Thebes.

 

How Were The Temples Made?

The larger temples in Egypt were made out of stone to ensure they lasted longer. The floors of the temples rose through courts and halls of columns which were shaped in the form of papyrus, palms, and lotus flowers.

The ceilings of the temples were decorated with stars and the sanctuary represented the primeval mound by being at the highest point.

The east-west orientation of the temples which could be seen in most temples meant that the sun rose between the towers of the monuments lying at the gateway and the sunset over the shrine.

The inside of the temples was decorated with the pharaoh performing the cult rituals of the deity and also scenes of the Pharaoh fighting in battles, while on the outside the pharaoh was shown repelling the forces of chaos. Famous Temples Of Ancient Egypt

The earliest temples of ancient Egypt were constructed around the  4th millennium B.C. and depicted the shape of reed huts.

The last of the Egyptian temples were built at Philae which stopped using after the 6th century A.D., so the temples of ancient Egypt covered a large variety of different structures that evolved over a long period of time. When visiting Egypt these temples are a definite must-see.

Some of ancient Egypt's most famous temples which are well worth a visit are listed below:

► Medinet Habu

► Temple of Kom Ombo

► Philae Temples

► Temple of Edfu

► Temple of Seti I

► Temple of Hatshepsut

► Temple of Karnak 

► Luxor Temple

► Temples of Abu Simbel