The Temple is dedicated to the ram headed God Khnum, the God of creation. Tuthmosis III laid the foundations of the Temple in the 18th Dynasty, but Ptolemaic and Roman Emperors, from 40-250 A.D, completed it, and their names are recorded all over the Temple walls.
The remains of the Temple contain a hall of columns, with 24 pillars, beautifully decorated with lotus and palm capitals. The walls are covered with 4 rows of relief’s, showing Ptolemaic and Roman Emperors dressed in Pharaoh costumes, sacrificing to the God of the Temple. On both sides of the Temple entrance there are chambers that were used by the priests and keepers of the Temple as storerooms.
Flanking the entrance to each room, you will notice the Emperor Trajan, carried in a litter by six Priests, with jackal and hawk masks of the Gods.
-The most interesting scenes in this Temple are the ones you will find on the roof, which is decorated with astronomical representations. On the left side of the gateway of the Temple you can see the sky Goddess Nut, the Dog Star, Orion’s belt, and Alpha Draconis (or the Dragon Star).
On the western wall of the façade of the Temple you can see the God Horus, God of victory, and the God Khnum, dragging a net full of fish from the Nile, as well as relief’s of birds. Significantly at the foot of this representation is the last known hieroglyphic inscriptions ever recorded, completed by the Roman Emperor Dios in 250 A.D.
-Though only the hypostyle hall was excavated by Auguste Mariette, it is well preserved. Other remains of the temple lie buried beneath the surrounding buildings of the modern town. The back wall of the hypostyle hall is the oldest part of this construct, having been the facade of the old Ptolemaic (Greek) temple. It has depictions of both Ptolemy VI Philometer and VIII. The remainder of the building was built by the Romans (Claudius through Decius) and some of its decorations date as to as late as the third century AD.
The facade of this structure measures some forty meters wide by seventeen meters high.
- started: Some blocks of the earlier 18th Dynasty structure are preserved.
Ptolemy VI (180-145 BC) to Decius (249-251 AD).
- finished: The present structure dates to the Greek and Roman periods and is one of the latest temples to have been built by the ancient Egyptians.
The Temple is dedicated to the ram headed God Khnum, the God of creation. Tuthmosis III laid the foundations of the Temple in the 18th Dynasty, but Ptolemaic and Roman Emperors, from 40-250 A.D, completed it, and their names are recorded all over the Temple walls.
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