Mortuary temples (or funerary temples) were

temples 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 ...

that were erected adjacent to, or in the vicinity of, royal

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

s in

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 ...

. The temples were designed to commemorate the reign of the

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 ( ...

under whom they were constructed, as well as for use by the king's

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

after death. These temples were also used to make sacrifices of food and animals. A mortuary temple is categorized as a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

History

Mortuary temples were built around pyramids in the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynast ...

and Middle Kingdom. However, once the New Kingdom pharaohs began constructing tombs in the

Valley of the Kings The Valley of the Kings, also known as the Valley of the Gates of the Kings, is an area in Egypt where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the Eighteenth Dynasty to the Twentieth Dynasty, rock-cut tombs were excavated for pharaohs and power ...

, they built their mortuary temples separately. These New Kingdom temples were called "mansions of millions of years" by the Egyptians. The mortuary temples were also used as a resting place for the boat of

Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...

at the time of the Beautiful Festival of the Valley, during which the cult statue of the

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

visited the west bank of Thebes. The king wanted to build his mortuary temple so that he could continue to carry out his cult even after he died. Some of the first mortuary temples were built with mud, bricks, or reeds; these temples were discovered through artwork including pottery. The first mortuary temple was built for Amenhotep I of the

18th Dynasty The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII, alternatively 18th Dynasty or Dynasty 18) is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty ...

during the New Kingdom. Several other rulers of this

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 ...

built temples for the same purpose, the best known being those at

Deir el-Bahari Deir el-Bahari or Dayr al-Bahri (, , ) is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. This is a part of the Theban Necropolis. History Deir el-Bahari, located on the west ...

, where

Hatshepsut Hatshepsut ( ; BC) was the sixth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from until (Low Chronology) and the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II. She was Egypt's second c ...

built beside the funerary temple of

Mentuhotep II Mentuhotep II (, meaning "Mentu is satisfied"), also known under his Prenomen (Ancient Egypt), prenomen Nebhepetre (, meaning "The Lord of the rudder is Ra"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, the sixth ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty of Egypt, Elev ...

, and that of

Amenhotep III Amenhotep III ( , ; "Amun is satisfied"), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great and Hellenization, Hellenized as Amenophis III, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty. According to d ...

, of which the only major extant remains are the

Colossi of Memnon The Colossi of Memnon ( or ''es-Salamat'') are two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, which stand at the front of the ruined Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III, the largest temple in the Theban Necropolis. They have stood since 1 ...

. The mortuary temple of Hatshesput was built around 1490 B.C. It is the only royal funerary temple from the time period to remain in good condition. Later rulers of the 18th Dynasty either failed to build here at all or, in the case of

Tutankhamun Tutankhamun or Tutankhamen, (; ), was an Egyptian pharaoh who ruled during the late Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Born Tutankhaten, he instituted the restoration of the traditional polytheistic form of an ...

, Ay, and

Horemheb Horemheb, also spelled Horemhab, Haremheb or Haremhab (, meaning "Horus is in Jubilation"), was the last pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 18th Dynasty of Egypt (1550–1292 BC). He ruled for at least 14 years between 1319 ...

, their construction was not completed. The 19th Dynasty ruler

Seti I Menmaatre Seti I (or Sethos I in Greek language, Greek) was the second pharaoh of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt during the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom period, ruling or 1290 BC to 1279 BC. He was the son of Ramesses I and Sitre, and th ...

constructed his mortuary temple at what is now known as Gurna. Part of his "Glorious temple of Seti Merenptah in the field of Amun which resides at the West of Thebes" was dedicated to his father

Ramesses I Menpehtyre Ramesses I (or Ramses) was the founding pharaoh of ancient Egypt's Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, 19th Dynasty. The dates for his short reign are not completely known but the timeline of late 1290s BC, 1292–1290 BC is frequently cited ...

, whose short reign prevented him from building his own, and was completed by his son

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

. Ramesses II constructed his own temple, referred to as the

Ramesseum The Ramesseum is the Temples of a Million years, memorial temple (or mortuary temple) of Pharaoh Ramesses II ("Ramesses the Great", also spelled "Ramses" and "Rameses"). It is located in the Theban Necropolis in Upper Egypt, on the west of the Ni ...

(a name given to it by Champollion in 1829): "Temple of a million years of Usermaatre Setepenre which is linked with Thebes-the-Quoted in the Field of Amun, in the West". Much later, during the 20th Dynasty,

Ramesses III Usermaatre Meryamun Ramesses III was the second Pharaoh of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt, Twentieth Dynasty in Ancient Egypt. Some scholars date his reign from 26 March 1186 to 15 April 1155 BC, and he is considered the last pharaoh of the New K ...

constructed his own temple at Medinet Habu.

Mortuary Temple of Amenhotep III

This was the largest mortuary temple to be built. The construction began during the reign of Amenhotep II and continued to be changed by Amenhotep III. There is evidence that he changed some of it for his daughter Sitamun. The temple had gates, a hall, a courtyard, sphinxes and a list of Amenhotep III's achievements when he was king. The temple is 100m by 600m. It is believed that this temple was also constructed for celebration hosted by Amenhotep III. One symbolic feature in this temple was its correlation with the floods. It was designed so that all outer courts and halls would flood except for the inner hall. It was designed around their belief of the emergence of the world. When inside, you could see yourself be able to be let out again after the tide went back down.

Discovery and preservation

Scientists began to work on conserving the temple around the 1950s. It did not go so well, as it is buried in mud, has plants growing around it, and has been vandalized. This temple was particularly destroyed compared to others because it is so close to the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

. The temple had been flooded countless times since it was built leading to a lot of damage. In order to prevent more water damage a drainage system was built. This helps to release the saltwater that is hurting this historical site.

Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut

The mortuary temple of

was built around 1490 B.C. It is the only royal funerary temple from the time period to remain in good condition. This temple is connected to two others temples: the temple of King Mentuhotep II and the temple of King Thutmose III.

's temple was inspired by the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II. The queen wanted to build this copy of a temple much grander and right next to it. As queen, she did this to improve her public image. Her steward Senenmut designed the temple for her. He copied the Mentuhotep II temple, but made everything grander. Hatshepsut inscribed her divine conception on the walls of the temple, describing that the god Amun fathered her.

Restoration

A Polish archaeological mission began maintaining this temple in 1968. The temple had been destroyed by rocks falling on top of it from the cliffs above, as you can see in the picture of the temple.

Mortuary Temple of Seti I

The 19th Dynasty ruler

constructed his mortuary temple at what is now known as Gurna. This temple is in upper Egypt. This temple was used for the worship of the god

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 ...

, who was the god of the afterlife. Later rulers of the 18th Dynasty either failed to build here at all or, in the case of

, Ay, and

, their construction was not completed. Part of his "Glorious temple of Seti Merenptah in the field of Amun which resides at the "West of Thebes" was dedicated to his father

, whose short reign prevented him from building his own, and was completed by his son

Design of the temple

This temple was built out of limestone. The courtyard is decorated with scenes from a battle. The temple consists of three entrances, thirty-six pillars, and a grand hypostyle hall, defined by Britannica as an interior space whose roof rests on pillars or columns. This hall is used for worshiping the gods.

Mortuary Temple of Hawara

This temple is right next to the Hawara pyramid. In

Late Antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

(284AD - 700AD) it was considered one of the wonders of the world. This temple has a complicated labyrinth in it. It has been said that you could not enter without a guide, because it is simply too confusing. This temple had twelve main courts with rooms, galleries, and courtyards. The dimensions of the temple were about 120m by 300m. The temple was discovered by Richard Lepsius around 1840. The area around the temple has been almost completely demolished, but he was able to make many discoveries through portraits.

Ramesses II

Ramesses II constructed his own temple, referred to as the

(a name given to it by Champollion in 1829): "Temple of a million years of Usermaatre Setepenre which is linked with Thebes-the-Quoted in the Field of Amun, in the West". He built this temple meant for himself after he died. It is located on the west bank of the Nile. The temple has a 20-meter statue of Ramses II. The temple itself is 210 by 178 meters. This was the first temple of its kind to be built out of stone instead of mudbrick. Much later, during the 20th Dynasty,

constructed his own temple at Medinet Habu. This temple has become very deteriorated over time. It is located in the floodplain of the Nile which has led to erosion. Some of the buildings around this temple were also used for stone so much of it was purposefully destroyed.

Restoration

The temple was discovered in 1798 during Napoleon's invasion. Most of this temple needed to be rebuilt. In the second palace there were only a few of the stone parts left. Archeologists used iron clamps and brick to rebuild a foundation for the temple.

Temple of Khufu

This mortuary temple is located at the Giza Complex, which is where some of the most famous pyramids are located. This mortuary temple is up against the eastern side of the Khufu pyramid. It is believed that in the layout that there was a false door and a correct door to the area where the king worshiped gods. There were two other temples in this complex and the mortuary temple of Khufu had a smaller offering place.Nell, E., & Ruggles, C. (2014). THE ORIENTATIONS OF THE GIZA PYRAMIDS AND ASSOCIATED STRUCTURES. Journal for the History of Astronomy, 45(3), 304-360. Much of the temple was destroyed and its stone looted. Only a large section of the flooring remains which was reconstructed in the 20th century.

References

{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer Egyptian temples Ancient Egyptian funerary practices Burial monuments and structures in Egypt