Great Temple of Ramses II

Great Temple of Ramses II

c. 1275-1225 BCE

1665

built works

Egypt (nation)

Abu Simbel (ruins)

Nineteenth Dynasty (Egyptian)

temples (buildings)

façades

colossi

Ramses II--King of Egypt

Front view of 4 colossal statues of Ramses the Great. "These rock-cut temples are located in the ancient Wawat (or the legendary Ybsambul) in Nubia, near the borders of Sudan, about 300 kilometers from Aswan. Earlier temples in Nubia had been located within forts, but here the confidence of Ramses II, whose reign may have lasted as many as 67 years, is illustrated; these temples, probably once brightly colored, were cut into the natural rock and lapped by the Nile. After eleven centuries of oblivion, these temples were rediscovered in 1813 when Johann Ludwig Burckhardt saw by accident the upper parts of the colossal figures ... The facade of the Great Temple of Ramses is about 38 meters long and 31 meters high. The temple is dedicated to the most important gods of the New Kingdom, Ptah (the creator god of Memphis), Amun-Re (the great god of Thebes) and Re-Harakhte (sun god of Heliopolis), as well as to the Pharaoh Ramses II himself. The four colossi, statues of Ramses II (c. 1290-1224 BCE), are more than 20 meters high and about 4 meters from ear to ear ... The colossi depict Ramses II seated with his hands on his thighs. The statue second from the left is broken, with part of its head and trunk on the ground below. Graffiti by 19th century visitors are on the legs of the statues (center) and repeated cartouches give Ramses' name,"--by Mary Ann Sullivan, Bluffton University.

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