Mandulis was a
god
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
of ancient
Nubia
Nubia () (Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sudan), or ...
also worshipped in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
. The name Mandulis is the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
form of Merul or Melul, a non-
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
name. The centre of his cult was the
Temple of Kalabsha
The Temple of Kalabsha (also Temple of Mandulis) is an ancient Egyptian temple that was originally located at Bab al-Kalabsha (Gate of Kalabsha), approximately 50 km south of Aswan.
In the 1960s the temple was relocated under the Internationa ...
at
Talmis, but he also had a temple dedicated to him at
Ajuala.
The worship of Mandulis was unknown in Egypt under the native
Pharaoh
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 ...
s, the Temple of Kalabsha being constructed under the
Ptolemies (305 to 30
BC). The temple was popular during the
Roman period. It was expanded under the emperors
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
(27
BC–
AD14) and
Vespasian
Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
(
AD69–79). A series of dated inscriptions can be found in the temple from the reign of Vespasian down to
AD248 or 249. In one of these he is identified as the "Sun, the all-seeing master, king of all, all-powerful
Aion."
Besides his own temples at Kalabsha and Ajuala, Mandulis was worshiped in the
Temple of Petesi and Pihor at Dendur and at
Philae
; ar, فيلة; cop, ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕ
, alternate_name =
, image = File:File, Asuán, Egipto, 2022-04-01, DD 93.jpg
, alt =
, caption = The temple of Isis from Philae at its current location on Agilkia Island in Lake Nasse ...
. An inscription at Dendur identifies him as the "great god, lord of Talmis", clearly indicating the centre of his cult. At Philae, he is depicted on a wall next to
the last known hieroglyphic inscription, which was dedicated to him in
AD394.
Mandulis was often depicted wearing an elaborate headdress of ram's horns, cobras and plumes surmounted by sun discs. He was sometimes shown in the form of a hawk, but with a human head.
References
Further reading
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{{Authority control
Nubian gods
Egyptian gods
Solar gods
Horus