Illustration
Inside the Great Temple
The architects of ancient Egypt in the 13th century BCE aligned the temple so that , on October 21 and February 21 (61 days before and 61 days after the winter solstice), the sun’s rays enter into the sanctuary to illuminate the sculptures on the wall, except for the statue of Ptah, the god associated with the underworld, which remains in shadow.
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Based on Wikipedia content that has been reviewed, edited, and republished.
Original image by Man77. Uploaded by Irene Fanizza, published on 31 July 2012. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: GNU Free Documentation License. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
Related Images
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Abu Simbel, Interior of the Temple of Ramesses II
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Statues Outside the Temple of Abu Simbel
Giant Foot at Abu Simbel
Dismantling of Abu Simbel Statues, 1966
Cite This Work
APA Style
Man77. (2012, July 31). Abu Simbel Interior. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/image/792/abu-simbel-interior/
Chicago Style
Man77. "Abu Simbel Interior." World History Encyclopedia. Last modified July 31, 2012. https://www.worldhistory.org/image/792/abu-simbel-interior/.
MLA Style
Man77. "Abu Simbel Interior." World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 31 Jul 2012, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/792/abu-simbel-interior/. Web. 22 Jun 2025.
