A mammisi (mamisi) is an

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian small

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

attached to a larger

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

(usually in front of the

pylons Pylon may refer to: Structures and boundaries * Pylon (architecture), the gateway to the inner part of an Ancient Egyptian temple or Christian cathedral * Pylon, a support tower structure for suspension bridges or highways * Pylon, an orange mar ...

Rachet, Guy (1994). ''Dizionario della civiltà egizia''. Rome: Gremese Editore. . p. 186.), built from the Late Period, and associated with the nativity of a god. The word is derived from Coptic – the last phase of the

ancient Egyptian language The Egyptian language, or Ancient Egyptian (; ), is an extinct branch of the Afro-Asiatic languages that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large corpus of surviving texts, which were made accessible to the modern world ...

– meaning "birth place". Its usage is attributed to the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ) is the scientific study of ancient Egypt. The topics studied include ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end ...

Jean-François Champollion Jean-François Champollion (), also known as Champollion ''le jeune'' ('the Younger'; 23 December 1790 – 4 March 1832), was a French philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs and a founding figure ...

(1790–1832).

Religious references

Major temples inhabited by a divine triad could be completed by a

peristyle In ancient Ancient Greek architecture, Greek and Ancient Roman architecture, Roman architecture, a peristyle (; ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. ''Tetrastoön'' () is a rare ...

-surrounded mammisi, in which the goddess of the triad would give birth to the son of the triad itself. The son, whose divine birth was celebrated annually, was associated with the Pharaoh (even in the hierogamy scenes on the walls).

Taweret In Ancient Egyptian religion, Taweret (, also spelled Taurt, Tuat, Tuart, Ta-weret, Tawaret, Twert and Taueret, and in , Thoeris, Taouris and Toeris) is the protective goddess of childbirth and fertility. The name "Taweret" means "she who is grea ...

Raet-Tawy Raet-Tawy or Raet is an ancient Egyptian solar deity, the female aspect of Ra. Her name is simply the female form of Ra's name; the longer name ''Raet-Tawy'' means "Raet of the Two Lands" (Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt). Name and origins Mention ...

and the Seven

Hathor Hathor (, , , Meroitic language, Meroitic: ') was a major ancient Egyptian deities, goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky god Horus and the sun god R ...

s who presided over

childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy, where one or more Fetus, fetuses exits the Womb, internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section and becomes a newborn to ...

were particularly revered here, but it is equally common to find references to

Bes BES or Bes may refer to: * Bes, Egyptian deity * Bes (coin), Roman coin denomination * Bes (Marvel Comics), fictional character loosely based on the Egyptian deity Abbreviations * Bachelor of Environmental Studies, a degree * Banco Espírito S ...

Khnum Khnum, also romanised Khnemu (; , ), was one of the earliest-known Egyptian deities in Upper Egypt, originally associated with the Nile cataract. He held the responsibility of regulating the annual inundation of the river, emanating from the ca ...

and

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

himself as

fertility deities Fertility in colloquial terms refers the ability to have offspring. In demographic contexts, fertility refers to the actual production of offspring, rather than the physical capability to reproduce, which is termed fecundity. The fertility rate is ...

. Mammisis thus formed an

architectural Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

translation of the myth of divine birth and its eternal repetition. From the end of the Late Period these buildings confirm the restoration of royal power that each

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

will strive to assert in the very heart of the great sanctuaries of the country, including the Roman emperors.

Notable Mammisi

Dendera

The most important surviving examples in

Dendera Dendera ( ''Dandarah''; ; Bohairic ; Sahidic ), also spelled ''Denderah'', ancient Iunet 𓉺𓈖𓏏𓊖 “jwn.t”, Tentyris,(Arabic: Ewan-t إيوان-ة ), or Tentyra is a small town and former bishopric in Egypt situated on the west bank of ...

Edfu Edfu (, , , ; also spelt Idfu, or in modern French as Edfou) is an Egyptian city, located on the west bank of the Nile River between Esna and Aswan, with a population of approximately 60,000 people. Edfu is the site of the Ptolemaic Temple of H ...

Kom Ombo Kom Ombo (; Coptic: or ; Ancient Greek: or ; or and ) is an agricultural town in Egypt famous for the Temple of Kom Ombo. It was originally an Egyptian city called Nubt, meaning City of Gold (not to be confused with the city north of ...

Philae The Philae temple complex (; , , Egyptian: ''p3-jw-rķ' or 'pA-jw-rq''; , ) is an island-based temple complex in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam, downstream of the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser, Egypt. Originally, the temple complex was ...

El Kab Elkab, also spelled El-Kab or El Kab, is an Upper Egyptian site on the east bank of the Nile at the mouth of the Wadi Hillal about south of Luxor (ancient Thebes). Elkab was called Nekheb in the Egyptian language ( , ), a name that refers to ...

Athribis Athribis (; Greek: , from the original , ) was an ancient city in Lower Egypt. It is located in present-day Tell Atrib, just northeast of Benha on the hill of Kom Sidi Yusuf. The town lies around 40 km north of Cairo, on the eastern bank o ...

Armant Armant (; or ''jwn.w-šmꜥ.w''; Coptic_language#Bohairic, Bohairic: ; Coptic_language#Sahidic, Sahidic: ), also known as Hermonthis (), is a town located about south of Thebes, Egypt, Thebes. It was an important Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Middle ...

, the

Dakhla Oasis Dakhla Oasis or Dakhleh Oasis ( Egyptian Arabic: , , "''the inner oases"''), is one of the seven oases of Egypt's Western Desert. Dakhla Oasis lies in the New Valley Governorate, 350 km (220 mi.) from the Nile and between the oases ...

etc. are from the

Ptolemaic Ptolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy, and may refer to: Pertaining to the Ptolemaic dynasty *Ptolemaic dynasty, the Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter *Ptolemaic Kingdom Pertaining t ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

periods in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

; Wilkinson, Richard H. (2000). ''The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson. p. 73 but the first one, in Dendera, dates back to the

30th dynasty The Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXX, alternatively 30th Dynasty or Dynasty 30) is usually classified as the fifth Dynasty of the Late Period of ancient Egypt. It was founded after the overthrow of Nepherites II in 380 BC by Nectane ...

Pharaoh

Nectanebo I Nectanebo I ( Egyptian: Nḫt-nb.f; ; died 361/60 BCE) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, founder of the last native dynasty of Egypt, the 30th. Name Nectanebo's Egyptian personal name was Nḫt-nb.f (Nakhtnebef), which means "the strong one o ...

(379/378–361/360 BC), one of the last native rulers of Egypt. Equipped with a

hypostyle In architecture, a hypostyle () hall has a roof which is supported by columns. Etymology The term ''hypostyle'' comes from the ancient Greek ὑπόστυλος ''hypóstȳlos'' meaning "under columns" (where ὑπό ''hypó'' means below or und ...

by Pharaoh

Ptolemy VI Philometor Ptolemy VI Philometor (, ''Ptolemaĩos Philomḗtōr'';"Ptolemy, lover of his Mother". 186–145 BC) was a Greek king of Ptolemaic Egypt who reigned from 180 to 164 BC and from 163 to 145 BC. He is often considered the last ruler o ...

(181–145 BC) and with a peristyle by

Ptolemy X Alexander I Ptolemy X Alexander I (, ''Ptolemaĩos Aléxandros'') was the Ptolemaic king of Cyprus from 114 BC until 107 BC and of Egypt from 107 BC until his death in 88 BC. He ruled in co-regency with his mother Cleopatra III as Ptolemy Philometor Soter ...

(110–88 BC), it was dedicated to Harsiese ("Horus son of

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

"). This 30th dynasty project was then repeated, by the Græco-Roman rulers, for some of the major shrines in the country. The famous Roman mammisi – the less ancient one associated with the Dendera Temple complex – was built by

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

immediately after his conquest of Egypt (31 BC). The murals show Augustus' far successor

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

at the sacrificial ceremony for Hathor and are among the most beautiful in Egypt. The mammisi was dedicated to Hathor and her child

Ihy Ihy is a young god in Egypt usually portrayed with the sistrum. This is in allusion to his mother Hathor who was associated with the instrument. Ihy's symbols are the sistrum and a necklace. The name Ihy depicts the joy of playing the hand instru ...

. On the

abacus An abacus ( abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a hand-operated calculating tool which was used from ancient times in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, until the adoption of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system. A ...

above the pillar capitals are representations of

as the patron god of birth. File:Temple of Philae.jpg, Ruins of the

mammisi, built by various Ptolemaic Pharaohs, in a vintage photograph. File:Dendera Mammisi Nektanebos I. 10.jpg, Ruins of the

mammisi built by

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

(379/378–361/360 BC), one of the last native pharaohs. File:Kom Ombo Mammisi 06.JPG, Ruins of the

mammisi built by Pharaoh

Ptolemy VIII Physcon Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon (, ''Ptolemaĩos Euergétēs Tryphōn'', "Ptolemy the Benefactor, the Opulent"; c. 184 BC – 28 June 116 BC), nicknamed Physcon (, ''Physkōn'', "Fatty"), was a king of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. He was ...

(2nd century BC). File:S10.08 Denderah, image 9881.jpg, Ruins of the Dendera mammisi built by various Roman Emperors in a vintage photograph File:Edfu Mammisi.jpg, Ruins of the

mammisi built by various

and Roman rulers.

Religious references

Notable Mammisi

Dendera

References

Further reading