Egyptian sun temples were ancient

Egyptian temple Egyptian temples were built for the official worship of the ancient Egyptian deities, gods and in commemoration of the pharaohs in ancient Egypt and regions under Egyptian control. Temples were seen as houses for the gods or kings to whom they w ...

s to the sun god Ra. The term has come to mostly designate the temples built by six or seven

pharaohs Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

of the

Fifth Dynasty The Fifth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty V) is often combined with Dynasties III, IV and VI under the group title the Old Kingdom. The Fifth Dynasty pharaohs reigned for approximately 150 years, from the early 25th century BC until ...

during the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...

period. However, sun temples would make a reappearance a thousand years later under

Akhenaten Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...

in the New Kingdom with his building of the Karnak Temple in Thebes. Fifth Dynasty sun temples were built in two localities,

Abu Gorab Abu Gorab (Arabic: أبو غراب , also known as Abu Gurab, Abu Ghurab) is a locality in Egypt situated south of Cairo, between Saqqarah and Al-Jīzah, about north of Abusir, on the edge of the desert plateau on the western bank of the Nile ...

and

Abusir Abusir ( ar, ابو صير ; Egyptian ''pr wsjr'' cop, ⲃⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲓ ' "the House or Temple of Osiris"; grc, Βούσιρις) is the name given to an Egyptian archaeological locality – specifically, an extensive necropolis o ...

, within of each other and around south of modern-day Cairo. They may have been modeled after an earlier sun temple in Heliopolis. Six or seven temples are thought to have been built, but only two have been uncovered: that of Userkaf and that of Nyuserre.Robert G Morkot, ''The Egyptians: An Introduction''. pp. 223 The six kings associated with having built sun temples are:

Userkaf Userkaf (known in Ancient Greek as , ) was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Fifth Dynasty. He reigned for seven to eight years in the early 25th century BC, during the Old Kingdom period. He probably belonged to a branch of the ...

Sahure Sahure (also Sahura, meaning "He who is close to Re") was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the second ruler of the Fifth Dynasty (c. 2465 – c. 2325 BC). He reigned for about 13 years in the early 25th century BC during the Old Kingdom Period. ...

Neferirkare Neferirkare (sometimes referred to as Neferirkare II because of Neferirkare Kakai) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Eighth Dynasty during the early First Intermediate Period (2181–2055 BC). According to the egyptologists Kim Ryholt, ...

, Reneferef or

Neferefre Neferefre Isi (; also known as Raneferef, Ranefer and in Greek as , ) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He was most likely the eldest son of pharaoh Neferirkare Kakai and queen Khentkaus II. ...

, Nyuserre, and

Menkauhor Menkauhor Kaiu (also known as Ikauhor and in Greek as Mencherês, Μεγχερῆς) was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom period. He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the 25th century BC or early in the 24t ...

Djedkare Isesi Djedkare Isesi (known in Greek as Tancheres) was a pharaoh, the eighth and penultimate ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt in the late 25th century to mid- 24th century BC, during the Old Kingdom. Djedkare succeeded Menkauhor Kaiu and was in ...

, the eighth king of the 5th Dynasty, seems to have abruptly stopped the building of sun temples. The uncovered temple of Nyuserre near the village of Abu Gorab still holds impressive remains, in particular the central altarpiece which includes a well-preserved sacrificial altar composed of a number of alabaster parts. The two found sun temples (thus far) are so destroyed that excavators rely mostly on the hieroglyphic signs in the temples' names in order to reconstruct the shape of a characteristic Egyptian sun temple features like the

obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...

. However, ruins suggest that these were open air worship structured instead of enclosed.

Mythology and factual basis

According to a tale from Middle Kingdom period, "Tale of Djedi and the Magicians", the first few kings of the

were triplets and the actual progeny of the sun god Ra. There appears to be some truth behind this myth: not only were the second and third kings of the fifth dynasty brothers, but these rulers also started an unusually strong devotion to Ra that lasted throughout the V and VI Dynasties.

Discovery

The sun temples' meaning and evolution are ingrained into both the architectural and religious history of the Old Kingdom, specifically the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt and

Sixth Dynasty of Egypt The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt. Pharaohs Known pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty are listed in the table below. Manetho a ...

. The first sun temple was discovered at the end of the nineteenth century. The first of these temples discovered was Niuserre's. The second excavated was

's. Study of this type of temple did not really start until the 1950s.

Function

Debate exists as to what exactly the functions of these temples were, since they seem to have been for more than just royal funerary purposes, unlike

Egyptian pyramids The Egyptian pyramids are ancient masonry structures located in Egypt. Sources cite at least 118 identified "Egyptian" pyramids. Approximately 80 pyramids were built within the Kingdom of Kush, now located in the modern country of Sudan. Of ...

, but nevertheless seem to have been part of the cultic worship of kingship, since it was essential for each king to have a personal temple. According to the scholar Massimiliano Nuzzolo, during the V and VI Dynasties, "The Pharaoh appears to have acquired a new socio-religious meaning as 'sun-king' and 'sun god'". This correlates well with the fact that these sun temples are the first found instances of Egyptian monarchs dedicating large structures made from stone entirely separate from funerary pyramids.

Importance and different temples

Due to the fact that there are six to seven different names of sun temples mentioned in primary sources from this period, it is suggested there are at least six different temples. However, there is no specific term for sun temple in ancient Egyptian. The temples were also a source of great wealth and importance in ancient Egypt. The founder of the Fifth Dynasty, Userkaf, built the first temple to Ra in Abusir, a few kilometres north of the necropolis of

Saqqara Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis ...

, where he had built his pyramid. In total, the following temples were built: * '' Nekhenre'' (Nekhen-Ra), "The fortress of Re", built by

* ''Sekhetre'', "The field of Re", built by

* ''Setibre'', "The favourite place of Re", built by

Neferirkare Kakai Neferirkare Kakai (known in Greek as Nefercherês, Νεφερχέρης) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the third king of the Fifth Dynasty. Neferirkare, the eldest son of Sahure with his consort Meretnebty, was known as Ranefer A before h ...

* ''Hetepre'', "The offering place of Re", built by

* Conjectural: ''Hotepibre'', "Satisfied is the heart of Re", started by

Shepseskare Shepseskare or Shepseskara ( Egyptian for "Noble is the Soul of Ra") was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the fourth or fifth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty (2494–2345 BC) during the Old Kingdom period. Shepseskare lived in the mid-25th century BC ...

* ''Shesepibre'' "Joy of the heart of Re", built by

Nyuserre Ini Nyuserre Ini (also Niuserre Ini or Neuserre Ini; in Greek known as Rathurês, ''Ῥαθούρης'') was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Fifth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom period. He is credited with a reign of 24 to 35 ye ...

* ''Akhetre'', "The horizon of Re", built by

Menkauhor Kaiu Menkauhor Kaiu (also known as Ikauhor and in Greek as Mencherês, Μεγχερῆς) was an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Old Kingdom period. He was the seventh ruler of the Fifth Dynasty at the end of the 25th century BC or early in the 24t ...

. Only the solar temples of Userkaf and Nyuserre have been discovered to date. Nyuserre's temple contains a large catalogue of inscriptions and reliefs from this king's reign.

Structure

The sun temples were built on the west bank of the Nile and like pyramids had one way in and one way out. Each sun temple seems to have had three main sections: first, there appears to have been a small valley temple near a canal or cultivation site; second, a short causeway led up to the desert from the small valley temple; on the desert plateau stood the third and most important part, the sun temple proper.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Egyptian Sun Temple Memphis, Egypt Sun temples