Behbeit El Hagar (, , ) is a village and an archaeological site in

Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ar, مصر السفلى '; ) is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, ...

that contains the remains of an

ancient Egyptian temple Egyptian temples were built for the official worship of the 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 were dedicated. Within t ...

to the goddess

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

, known as the Iseion. The village and the site lie in

Gharbia Governorate Gharbia Governorate ( ar, محافظة الغربية ', ) is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the north of the country, south of Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, and north of Monufia Governorate. Its capital is Tanta, which is 90 ...

along the

Damietta Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easte ...

branch of the Nile, 7 kilometers (4.5 mi) northeast of

Sebennytos Samannud ( ar, سمنود ) is a city (''markaz'') located in Gharbia Governorate, Egypt. Known in classical antiquity as Sebennytos ( grc-gre, Σεβέννυτος), Samannud is a historic city that has been inhabited since the Ancient Egypti ...

Snape, Steven (2014). ''The Complete Cities of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson. p. 195 and 8 kilometers (5 mi) west of

Mansoura Mansoura (' , rural: ) is a city in Egypt, with a population of 960,423. It is the capital of the Dakahlia Governorate. Etymology ''Mansoura'' in Arabic means "victorious". The city is named after the El Mansoura Battle against Louis IX of Fr ...

.Wilkinson, Richard H. (2000). ''The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson. p. 104 In ancient times it was part of the nome of Sebennytos,Münster, Maria (1968). ''Untersuchungen zur Göttin Isis vom Alten Reich bis zum Ende des Neuen Reiches'' (in German). Verlag Bruno Hessling. p. 158 the Twelfth

ian Nome. Ancient Egyptian texts refer to the site as early as the

New Kingdom New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

(c. 1550–1070 BC), but it may have been simply an offshoot of Sebennytos rather than a full-fledged town. Sources as early as the

Pyramid Texts The Pyramid Texts are the oldest ancient Egyptian funerary texts, dating to the late Old Kingdom. They are the earliest known corpus of ancient Egyptian religious texts. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved onto the subterran ...

, in 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 ...

indicate that Isis was connected with the region of Sebennytos, and she and her cult may have originated there. However, major temples were not dedicated to her until the Thirtieth Dynasty, when her temples 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 ...

and at Behbeit El Hagar began construction.Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. p. 149 The two temples paralleled each other, with Philae serving as Isis's main cult center in

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient E ...

and Behbeit El Hagar as its Lower Egyptian counterpart. The Iseion was begun in the reign of

Nectanebo II Nectanebo II ( Egyptian: ; grc-gre, Νεκτανεβώς ) was the last native ruler of Ancient Egypt, as well as the third and last pharaoh from the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt. He reigned from 358 to 340 BC. Under Nectanebo II, Egypt prosper ...

(360–342 BC) and completed in the reign of

Ptolemy III , predecessor = Ptolemy II , successor = Ptolemy IV , nebty = ''ḳn nḏtj-nṯrw jnb-mnḫ-n-tꜢmrj'Qen nedjtinetjeru inebmenekhentamery''The brave one who has protected the gods, a potent wall for The Beloved Land , nebty_hier ...

(r. 246–222 BC). Whereas most Egyptian temples were built primarily of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...

, with harder stones such as

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

used only for individual elements such as statues, obelisks, or doorways, the temple at Behbeit El Hagar was built entirely of granite. The temple was demolished at some point, possibly in ancient times, by an earthquake or by the removal of its stone to serve as building material. Only scattered blocks remain there today.Wilkinson, Richard H. (2000). ''The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson. pp. 40–41, 104–105

References

External links

Isis Archaeological sites in Egypt Former populated places in Egypt Nile Delta Egyptian temples Archaeological discoveries with year of discovery missing Buildings and structures completed in the 3rd century BC 3rd-century BC establishments in Egypt Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt {{Egypt-geo-stub Populated places in Gharbia Governorate

See also

References

Further reading

External links