Who built the temple and why?
The Temple of Dendur was built by Augustus, the Roman Ceasar about 15 BC.
The Romans conquered Egypt when they defeated Queen Cleopatra about 15 years earlier.
Augustus the new ruler built many temples in the Egyptian style, to honour different Egyptian gods.
He built the Temple of Dendur in the south of Egypt, where the Nubian people had lived for hundreds of years.
Before the Romans came they were very rich from trading with people in Central Africa and other parts of Egypt. They had their own alphabet and language and a strong culture.
Augustus wanted to show his respect for them so he built the Temple of Dendur near the town of Aswan, in honour of the Egyptian goddess Isis and two sons of a local Nubian chief, called Pedesi and Pihor.
They had drowned and their people thought of them as gods.
Today the descendants of the Nubians still live in Egypt and in Sudan and other parts of Africa.
- Who built the temple and why?
- What did the temple look like?
- How did the temple get to the USA?
- Where is the Temple of Dendur in New York?
