Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel is a temple built by Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.) in ancient Nubia, where he wished to demonstrate his power and his divine nature. Four colossal (65 feet/20 meters high) statues of him sit in pairs flanking the entrance. The head and torso of the statue to the left of the entrance fell during ancient times, probably the result of an earthquake. This temple faces the east, and Re-Horakhty, one manifestation of the sun god, is shown inside the niche directly above the entrance. The alignment of the temple is such that twice a year the sun’s rays reach into the innermost sanctuary to illuminate the seated statues of Ptah, Amun-Re, Ramesses II, and Re- Horakhty.

The temple was cut out of the sandstone cliffs above the Nile River in an area near the Second Cataract. When the High Dam was being constructed in the early 1960s, international cooperation assembled funds and technical expertise to move this temple to higher ground so that it would not be inundated by the waters of Lake Nasser.

At Abu Simbel, below the seat of one of the colossal statues of Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.), is this sunk relief of the god Hapi, the personification of the Nile flood. The figure of Hapi appears twice, tying stems of plants around the hieroglyph for "unite." The extended foot of each Hapi figure rests on the hieroglyph which is a lung from which a windpipe projects straight up from the center, forming a "T" at the top. On the left Hapi holds stems of the lotus (symbol of Upper Egypt); on the right he holds stems of the papyrus (Lower Egypt). Hapi’s crowns also display these plants. Hapi is androgynous (both male and female characteristics), suggesting the fertility of the land which results from the Nile flood. This androgyny explains his pendant breasts and swollen belly. The centralized image of the lung and windpipe flanked by the two figures of Hapi illustrate the Egyptian concern for balance and order. The cartouche of Ramesses II sits directly above the lung and windpipe.

The Temple of Hathor at Abu Simbel was built by Ramesses II (c.1279-1213 B.C.E.) to honor both Hathor as the goddess of love/music and his wife Nefertari as the deified queen. The facade, resembling a pylon, has six standing colossal (over 33 feet/10 meters high) statues. On each side of the entrance, two statues of Ramesses flank one of Nefertari dressed as Hathor. The colossal statues are, in turn, flanked by smaller statues of their children.

The interior has an almost square pronaos with six Hathor pillars in two rows. Stories of Nefertari and Ramses are engraved under the head of the goddess.  The walls are decorated with scenes of offering as well as the massacre of prisoners by Ramses, the warrior pharaoh.

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 and repeated cartouches give Ramses' name.

The young, handsome face is finely carved. He wears a double crown on his head and a heavy nemes flares out on both sides of his face. The line of the smiling lips is more than a meter long.

The doorway to the interior is 7 meters high. A statue of Re-Harakhte with the falcon head is in a niche over the entrance. The god is flanked by low relief depictions of Ramses II who presents him with a tiny statuette of Maat--goddess of Truth and Justice. The cornice above the entrance has a frieze design of uraei (the sacred asp) and above the cornice there are twenty-two high relief statues of seated baboons with their hands raised in worshipping the sun.

Smaller sculptures between the legs and at the base of the colossi represent members of the royal family: "Princess Nebt-taui, Princess Bant-anat and an unidentified princess on the southernmost colossus; Queen Tu'e, the King's mother, Queen Nefertari, his wife, and his son prince Amen-hir-khopshef to the left of the doorway; and beside the statues to the right (north), Queen Nefertari, twice represented, and Prince Ramses"

The cartouches at the base represent Ramses's name (left).  On the base of the chairs on each side of the entrance are reliefs representing captured prisoners: Nubian prisoners to the south and Asians to the north.

Eight Asar (Osiris) pillars (10 meters high) with the features of Ramses have arms crossed, holding a scepter and flail. They are arranged in two rows, those on the left wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt, those on the right with the double crown. The great vulture goddess is painted on the ceiling.

Wall decoration depicts military victories of Ramses II.

This is the innermost sanctuary in the temple of Abu Simbel. A sacred place that contains the most revered gods of Ramesses time. From left to right they are: Ptah, of Memphis; Amun-Re, of Thebes; Ramesses II; and Re-Harakhte of Heliopolis. Twice a year, about February 21 and October 21 when the sun rises over the east bank of the Nile, a shaft of sunlight enters the door of the temple and travels 160 feet, past the Asar (Osiris) pillars in the hypostyle hall, through a second hall, and into this sanctuary where it illuminates the three figures on the right. Ptah remains in darkness. Though the monument was moved in the 1960's AD, it was aligned so that this biannual solar event continues.