THE DENDUR TEMPLE

THE TEMPLE IN ITS ORIGINAL SETTING IN NUBIA, ITS RELOCATION

TO THE US AND CONTRAST BETWEEN THE TWO POINTS IN THE
TEMPLE’S LIFESPAN
 THE DENDUR TEMPLE IN ITS ORIGINAL
SETTING IN NUBIA
LOCATION AND ROLE OF
DENDUR TEMPLE IN DENDUR TEMPLE IN SITU
ANTIQUITY (THE MET, N.D).
• Dendur Temple was built around 10BC in Nubia, southern
Egypt (The Met, n.d).
• It was built by the Roman Governor Petronius and
commissioned by Emperor Caesar Augustus (The Met,
n.d).
• It was built as a gift from the Roman Empire to the
Blemmye to reward their loyalty to Rome (Aramco World,
1980).
 DENDUR TEMPLE IN ITS ORIGINAL
SETTING (CONT.)
• Dendur Temple was built to serve as a residence place to the Nubian deities and gods
like goddess Isis of Philae, her husband god Osiris and Horus, Isis’s son (The Met, n.d).
• The Nubian deities honored in the temple are Pihor and Pedesi, sons of a Nubian chief
who were deified after their honorable death in River Nile (Aramco World, 1980).
• Emperor Augustus used this temple to demonstrate his respect for the Egyptian culture
and establish his legitimacy as Egyptian ruler.
• He is depicted in several carvings outside the temple in the traditional regalia of
pharaoh, making offerings to the gods (The Met, n.d).
 ROLES OF THE DENDUR TEMPLE IN ITS
ORIGINAL SETTING

• The temple served as a residence place for the deities, where foods, clothes
and drinks were offered to them for sustenance.
• Egyptians believed that omniscient beings like deities need food and drinks
like humans for sustenance (The Met, n.d).
• The temple was also used as a place of worship for the goddess Isis.
• Its inner rooms were only accessible to priests who led in rituals and prayer
activities (The Met, n.d).
DENDUR TEMPLE AFTER ITS RELOCATION
TO THE MET MUSEUM
• The Dendur Temple was relocated to the US in Dendur Temple at the Met Museum
1965 as a gift from the Egyptian government to (The Met, n.d).
the US government (The Met, n.d).
• Its relocation was part of the project by the US
government, Egyptian government, and
UNESCO to save Nubian monuments from
destruction during the construction of Aswan
High Dam (Aramco World, 1980).
• The US government awarded it to the Met
Museum in 1967 (The Met, n.d).
 ROLES OF DENDUR TEMPLE AFTER ITS
RELOCATION TO THE MET MUSEUM

• At the Met Museum, Dendur Temple serves as a major tourist attraction site.
• It is visited by about 8,000 people daily (Aramco World, 1980).
• The temple is also used as a venue for social events like fundraising and
prestigious receptions during important events like the Met Gala.
• It provides modern viewers with important insights into architectural designs
and materials used during the Roman and Ptolemaic periods (The Met, n.d).
 ROLES OF DENDUR TEMPLE AFTER ITS
RELOCATION TO THE MET MUSEUM
(CONT.)
Pillars of the Dendur Temple with
• The Dendur Temple also serves to protect the
Nubian heritage and culture as it displays both Symbolic Decorations (The Met, n.d).
religious and aesthetic values of the Nubian
traditions.
• For example, the carvings of lotus plants and
papyrus on the temple’s wall shows modern
viewers how the Nubians represented god
Hapy (The Met, n.d).
• The modern viewers also view the temple’s
decorations to understand how the Nubians
perceived continuation of the natural world
(The Met, n.d).
CONTRAST BETWEEN THE TWO POINTS IN
THE DENDUR TEMPLE’S LIFESPAN
• The relevance and roles of the temple have changed significantly from its creation
in ancient Egypt to relocation to the Met Museum.
• In situ, the temple was an important residence place for the Nubian gods and
divinities.
• Contrarily, in its current place at the Met Museum, the role of the temple has
changed from an important religious and cultural stage to a tourist attraction
resource.
CONTRAST BETWEEN THE TWO POINTS IN
THE DENDUR TEMPLE’S LIFESPAN (CONT.)
• Another difference is that in situ, the temple was only accessible to priests and cultural leaders while in the
present setting, it is accessed by all tourists who visit the Sackler Wing of the Met Museum (Aramco World,
1980).
• This change demonstrates that the temple has lost its religious relevance, although it maintains its esthetic
value.
• However, a striking similarity is the use of Dendur Temple as a reward due to its pricelessness.
• In situ, it was a reward to the Blemmye for their loyalty to Rome while in its later life, it was similarly
rewarded to the US by the Egyptian government for the US significant efforts in saving Nubian monuments
(Aramco World, 1980).
 REFERENCES
• Aramco World. (1980). The Temple at the Met.
https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/198003/a.temple.at.the.met.htm
• The Met. (n.d). The Temple of Dendur: Architecture and Ritual.
https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/collection-areas/egyptian-art/temple-of-d
endur-50/architecture-and-ritual

• The Met. (n.d). The Temple of Dendur: Celebrating 50 Years at the Met.
https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/collection-areas/egyptian-art/temple-of-d
endur-50

• The Met. (n.d). The Temple’s Cult and Decoration.

https://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-met/collection-areas/egyptian-art/temple-of-d