A sun temple (or solar temple) is a building used for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, dedicated to the sun or a

solar deity A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...

. Such temples were built by a number different cultures and are distributed around the world including in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

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 Mediter ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. Some of the temples are in ruins, undergoing

excavation Excavation may refer to: * Excavation (archaeology) * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Memo ...

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

and a few are listed as

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

s individually or as part of a larger site, such as

Konark Konark is a medium town in the Puri district in the state of Odisha, India. It lies on the coast by the Bay of Bengal, 65 kilometres from the capital of the state, Bhubaneswar. It is the site of the 13th-century Sun Temple, also known as t ...

China

The

Temple of the Sun A sun temple (or solar temple) is a building used for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, dedicated to the sun or a solar deity. Such temples were built by a number different cultures and are distributed around th ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, was built in 1530 during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

by the Jiajing Emperor, together with new temples dedicated to the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

and the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

, and an expansion of the

Temple of Heaven The Temple of Heaven () is a complex of imperial religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperor of China, Emperors of the Ming dynasty, Ming and Qing dynasty, Qing dynasties for ...

. The Temple of the Sun was used by the imperial court for elaborate acts of worship involving fasting, prayers, dancing and animal sacrifices, as part of a year-long cycle of ceremonies involving all the temples. An important element was the colour red, which was associated with the Sun, including red utensils for food and wine offerings, and red clothes for the emperor to wear during the ceremonies. The temple is now part of a public park.

Egypt

Userkaf SolarTemple and ValleyTemple Abusir

In ancient Egypt, there were a number of sun temples. Among these old monuments is the Great Temple of Ramses at Abu Simbel, and complexes built by the Fifth Dynasty, of which only two examples survive, that of

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 ...

and of Niuserre. The Fifth Dynasty temples usually had three components, a main temple building at a higher elevation, accessed by a causeway, from a much smaller entrance building. In 2006, archaeologists found ruins underneath a market in Cairo, which could possibly be the largest temple built by

Ramesses II Ramesses II ( egy, wikt:rꜥ-ms-sw, rꜥ-ms-sw ''Rīʿa-məsī-sū'', , meaning "Ra is the one who bore him"; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was the third pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Along with Thutmose III he is oft ...

Indian subcontinent

The sun temples of the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

are dedicated to the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

deity

Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...

, with the most prominent among them being the

Konark Sun Temple Konark Sun Temple is a (year 1250) Sun temple at Konark about northeast from Puri city on the coastline in Puri district, Odisha, India.UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

. at

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

and the

Sun Temple A sun temple (or solar temple) is a building used for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, dedicated to the sun or a solar deity. Such temples were built by a number different cultures and are distributed around the ...

Modhera Modhera is a village in Mehsana district of Gujarat, India. The town is well known for the Sun Temple, Modhera, Sun Temple of Chaulukya dynasty, Chaulukya era. The town is located on the bank of Pushpavati river. History The town was known as D ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

, built in 1026–1027. Both are now ruins, having been destroyed by invading muslim armies. Konark was constructed around 1250, by

Narasimhadeva I Gajapati Langula Narasingha Deva I was an Odia Emperor of Eastern Ganga Dynasty, and a warrior of the early medieval Odisha region who reigned from 1238 CE to 1264 CE. He defeated the Muslim forces of Bengal who constantly threatened the Eastern ...

of the

Eastern Ganga Dynasty The Eastern Ganga dynasty also known as Purba Gangas, Rudhi Gangas or Prachya Gangas were a large medieval era Indian royal dynasty that reigned from Kalinga from as early as the 5th century to the mid 20th century. Eastern Gangas ruled much of ...

. Surya was an important deity in early Hinduism, but sun worship largely declined as a principal deity around the 12th century. In

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

mythology Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

, the sun god ''

Korouhanba ) , deity_of = God of the sun, sky and heaven , member_of = , image = Sun symbol yellow.svg , alt = , caption = , other_names = Kolouhanpa, Numit, Taohuireng, Taodanba, Ngantureng , hiro = , Old_N ...

'' is the synonym of the

deity

. Other Surya or sun temples in the Indian subcontinent include: *

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

** Surya Narayana Temple at

Arasavalli Arasavalli is an outgrowth of Srikakulam municipality in Srikakulam district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Srikakulam mandal of Srikakulam revenue division. It is situated at a distance of about 1.6 km. from ...

built in 7th century by king Devendra Varma, ruler of

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writin ...

The temple is constructed in such a way that on the day of Radhasaptami, the Sun's rays directly fall on the feet of the Sri Suryanarayana Swami, the deity at the temple. *

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

** Surya Pahar Temple at

Sri Surya Pahar Sri Surya Pahar is located about 12 km southeast of Goalpara, about 132 km northwest of Guwahati, is a significant but relatively unknown archaeological site in Assam, India. Goalpara is the nearest city from the site. The site is a h ...

built in 9th century *

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

Deo Surya Mandir Deo Surya Mandir is a Hindu temple in Bihar, India. The temple is a solar shrine, dedicated to Surya, the sun god, for Chhath Puja. The temple is located in Deo Town, Aurangabad in the Indian State of Bihar. The Temple is unique as it faces west ...

Deo, Bihar Deo also known as "Dev", is a city council, town and a notified area in Aurangabad district, Bihar, Aurangabad district in the Indian state of Bihar. Deo is located 10 km to the southeast of District Administrative Aurangabad district, Bihar, A ...

** Bhaskar Temple at

Gaya Gaya may refer to: Geography Czech Republic *Gaya (German and Latin), Kyjov (Hodonín District), a town Guinea * Gaya or Gayah, a town India *Gaya, India, a city in Bihar **Gaya Airport *Bodh Gaya, a town in Bihar near Gaya *Gaya district, Bi ...

in Bihar ** Bhaskar Temple at Parsa in Bihar ** Bhaskar Temple at

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

in Bihar ** Bhaskar Temple at Pitath ** Bhaskar Temple at Bhakura ** Bhaskar Chhth ghat, Selhauri in Belhauri ** Manjesh Bhaskar Temple at ** Budha Bhaskar temple at Garhara ** Bhushan Bhaskar temple at Chain Singh Patti ** Bhagwan Bhaskar Dham at Kurmuri in

Arrah Arrah (also transliterated as Ara) is a city and a municipal corporation in Bhojpur district, India, Bhojpur district (formerly known as Shahabad district) in the Indian state of Bihar. It is the headquarters of Bhojpur district, located near ...

** Surya Temple at Sanda ** Sun Temple at

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Baragaon ** Sun Temple at

Nur Sarai Nur may refer to: In Islam * Names of God in Islam, An-Nur, one of the names of God in Islam, meaning "The Light". * Nūr (Islam), a concept, literally meaning "light" * An-Nur (The Light), the 24th chapter of the Qur'an * ''Risale-i Nur Collec ...

** Sun Temple at

Muzaffarpur Muzaffarpur () is a city located in Muzaffarpur district in the Tirhut region of the Indian state of Bihar. It serves as the headquarters of the Tirhut division, the Muzaffarpur district and the Muzaffarpur Railway District. It is the fourth m ...

** Sun Temple at

Beraunti Beraunti is a village in Bihar in Nalanda district of Bihar States and territories of India, State, India. The village is Administration (government), administrated by Sarpanch an elected representative of the village. Demography , The village h ...

** Sun Temple at Chorsua ** Sun Temple at Beldhana ** Sun Temple at

Koel Bigha The true koels, ''Eudynamys'', are a genus of cuckoos from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. They are large sexually dimorphic cuckoos that eat fruits and insects and have loud distinctive calls. They are brood parasites, laying their eggs in ...

** Sun Temple at Sirnawan ** Sun Temple at

Ben Ben is frequently used as a shortened version of the given names Benjamin, Benedict, Bennett or Benson, and is also a given name in its own right. Ben (in he, בֶּן, ''son of'') forms part of Hebrew surnames, e.g. Abraham ben Abraham ( he, � ...

** Sun Temple at Shankardih ** Sun Temple at Itasang ** Sun Temple at Kundi, Bihar ** Sun Temple at Alawan ** Sun Temple at Lal Bigha,

Nawada Nawada is a city and a municipality in Bihar, India. It is also the headquarters of the Nawada district. It is the headquarters of the subdivision of the same name, lying on both sides of the Khuri River( also known as Sakri river in some part ...

** Sun Temple at Soradih ** Sun Temple at

Bilari Bilari is a city and a municipal board in Moradabad district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is connected by road as well as Indian Railways. Demographics As of the 2001 Census of India The 2001 Census of India was the 14th in a se ...

Modhera Sun Temple The Sun Temple of Modhera is a Hindu temple dedicated to the solar deity Surya located at Modhera village of Mehsana district, Gujarat, India. It is situated on the bank of the river Pushpavati. It was built after 1026-27 CE during the reign ...

at Modhera in

, built in 1027 by King Bhimdev of the

Chaulukya dynasty The Chaulukya dynasty (), also Solanki dynasty, was a dynasty that ruled parts of what are now Gujarat and Rajasthan in north-western India, between and . Their capital was located at Anahilavada (modern Patan). At times, their rule extended ...

Navlakha Temple, Ghumli Navlakha Temple at Ghumli, Gujarat, India, is a 12th Century temple built by Jethwa dynasty rulers. History Navlakha Temple at Ghumli was built by Jethwa rulers in 11th century dedicated to Sun god, Surya and is oldest sun temple of Gujarat ...

, Gujarat, built in the 11th century. *

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...

** Within

48 Kos Parikrama of Kurukshetra The 48 kos parikrama is a parikrama (a circumbabulatory pilgrimage) of various ''Mahabharata''-related and other Vedic-era tirthas (Hindu sacred sites) around the holy city of Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana, India. Associated with Kri ...

*** Within Borshyam Surya tirtha *** Within Aaugandh Suryakunda *** Within Habri Suryakunda *** Within Sajuma Suryakunda ** Surajkund, Faridabad *

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

Martand Sun Temple The Martand Sun Temple is a Hindu temple located near the city of Anantnag in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), India. It dates back to the eighth century AD and was dedicated to Surya, the chief solar deity in Hinduism ...

, near

Anantnag Anantnag (/ə'nʌntna:g/ or /-nɑːg/ ), also called Islamabad, is the administrative headquarters of the Anantnag district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of ...

built in 10th century *

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

** Soorya Narayana Temple at Maroli, Mangalore,

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

** Adithyapuram Sun Temple *

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

** Bhramanya Dev Temple at

Unao, Balaji Unao Balaji Sun Temple, a famous and rare sun temple with its own unique architecture, is situated in a small town of Unao in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh. The Balaji temple was built in the pre-historic time by the king of Datia. Histo ...

** Birla Sun Temple in

Gwalior Gwalior() is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; it lies in northern part of Madhya Pradesh and is one of the Counter-magnet cities. Located south of Delhi, the capital city of India, from Agra and from Bhopal, the s ...

** Madkhera Sun Temple:- Madkhera is a small village situated on the North-West of

Tikamgarh Tikamgarh is a Census town#India, town and a tehsil in Tikamgarh district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The city serves as a district headquarters. The earlier name of Tikamgarh was Tehri (i.e., a triangle) consisting of three hamlet ...

town at a distance of about 20 km. The entrance of the Sun temple is from the east and the Sun idol is placed inside. *

** Ebudhou Korouhanba Temple, Moidangpok, Patsoi,

Biranchinarayan Temple, Palia Sri Biranchinarayan Temple is in Palia village, which is located south of Bhadrak District, Odisha, India on the way from Bhadrak to Chandabali. It occupies a significant place in the cultural map of Odisha state of India. Today, the standing Bi ...

, a 13th-century temple in

Palia Palia is a village in the Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located at 30° 12' 15N 70° 8' 48E with an altitude of 1056 metres (3467 feet). References

Villages in Punjab, Pakistan {{DeraGhaziKhan-geo-stub ...

, Odisha. *

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

Suryanar Kovil Suryanar Kovil (also called Suryanar Temple) is a Hindu temple dedicated to the deity Surya, Hindu Sun-God, located in Suryanar Kovil, a village near the South Indian town of Kumbakonam Thanjavur District in Tamil Nadu, India. The presiding dei ...

Temple at

Kumbakonam Kumbakonam (formerly spelt as Coombaconum or Combaconum) or Kudanthai is a city municipal corporation in the Thanjavur district in the States of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located from Thanjavur and from Chennai and is the headq ...

built in 1060-1118 CE *

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

** Sun temple at Katharmal, near Almora and 70 km from Nainital was built in 9th century CE by the

Katyuri kings The Katyuri kings were a medieval Hindu Rajput's ruling clan of Khasha origin from Joshimath that ruled over the regions in present day regions of Kumaon, Uttarakhand in India and parts of Doti/Sudurpashchim Province in Nepal from 700 to 1200 ...

.** Sun temple at Katharmal, near Almora and 70 km from Nainital was built in 9th century CE by the

. *

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

** Rahila Sagar Sun Temple at Mahoba in

** Sun Temple at Kalpi in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Multan Sun Temple The Sun Temple of Multan was a temple dedicated to Surya, the Hindu Sun God, in the city of Multan. It commanded significant fame in the subcontinent as a place of pilgrimage and wealth under Hindu as well as Islamic rule before being destroyed ...

, also known as ''Aditya Sun Temple'', in

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

was destroyed by Muslim rulers in 10th century.

Inca empire

The following are Pre-Columbian temples of Inti (the Inca god Sun): * Qurikancha in

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the list of cities in Peru, seventh m ...

, Peru, was the most important temple in the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

. *

Muyuq Marka Muyuq Marka, also Muyuqmarka (Quechua, hispanicized spellings '' Moyoc Marca, Muyucmarca, Muyuqmarca, Muyucmarka, Muyuc Marca, Muyuc Marka''), is an archaeological site in Peru. It is the base of what was a round Incan tower, which is situated wi ...

in Cusco, Peru. * Willkawaman in

Vilcashuamán Vilcashuamán or Vilcasguaman (from Quechua Willka Waman, "sacred hawk") is the capital of Vilcas Huamán Province, Ayacucho region, Peru. It is located at an altitude of 3,490 m on the eastern slopes of the Andes. It is located on an ancient a ...

, Peru.

Others

There are also sun temple sites in a number of other countries: * The Temple of the Sun in the

Temple of the Cross Complex The Temple of the Cross Complex is a complex of temples at the Maya site of Palenque in the state of Chiapas in Mexico. It is located in the south-east corner of the site and consists of three main structures: the Temple of the Cross, Temple of ...

, at the

Mayan Mayan most commonly refers to: * Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America * Mayan languages, language family spoken ...

site of Palenque, in southern Mexico, built sometime between 200 and 900 AD. * The Temple of the Night Sun at the Mayan site of

El Zotz El Zotz () is a Mesoamerican archaeological site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in the Petén Basin region around west of the major center of Tikal and approximately west of Uaxactun. It is so called because of the large numb ...

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

, possibly abandoned in the fifth century. * There are several

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

s in

, dedicated to the sun goddess ''

Amaterasu Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''Kojik ...

'' including: :*

Ise Grand Shrine The , located in Ise, Mie Prefecture of Japan, is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. Officially known simply as , Ise Jingū is a shrine complex composed of many Shinto shrines centered on two main shrines, and . The Inn ...

Ise Ise may refer to: Places *Ise, Mie, a city in Japan **Ise Grand Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Ise, Mie *Ise Ekiti, a city in Nigeria *Ise, Norway, a village in Norway *Ise Province, an ancient province of Japan *River Ise, a tributary of the R ...

Mie prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...

:* Amanawa Shinmei Shrine, founded in 710, in

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

Amanoiwato-jinja is a Shinto shrine located in Takachiho, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. It is dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu and sits above the gorge containing Ama-no-Iwato, the cave where, according to Japanese legend, the goddess hid after battle with ...

Takachiho is a town in Nishiusuki District, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1, 2019, the town has an estimated population of 11,959 and a density of 50.3 persons per km². The total area is 237.54 km². Geography Takachiho is in the northe ...

Miyazaki prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Kuma ...

* In the Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, United States, there is a structure which may have been used as a sun temple by the

Pueblo culture The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zu ...

, with construction thought to have begun in 1275 AD, although it does not seem to have been completed.

Other usages

The name ''Temple of the Sun'' or ''Sun Temple'' was given to a folly which stood in

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

from 1761 until 1916. It was designed and built by William Chambers, who also planted a cedar tree next to the structure earlier, in 1725. In 1916, a storm brought down the cedar tree, which destroyed the folly in the process.

References

{{Place of worship

Sun temple A sun temple (or solar temple) is a building used for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, dedicated to the sun or a solar deity. Such temples were built by a number different cultures and are distributed around the ...