Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel flanking the central aisle. The sanctuary contains four statues representing the four gods the temple is dedicated to; Ptah, Amun-Re, Ramesses II and Re-Horakhty. Each god is the patron god of a different powerful city of Ancient Egypt: Ptah was worshipped in Memphis, Amun-Re is associated with Thebes, Ramesses II would represent his own capital of Pi Ramesses in the delta and Re-Horakhty was the patron god of Heliopolis. The Great Temple of Abu Simbel was built so that at certain times of the year, the sun shines directly through the temple into the sanctuary. Like most Egyptian temples, it
Great and Small Temples of Abu Simbel from soldiers on campaigns that span from the Greco-Roman period to the British suppression of uprisings in Sudan present an interesting picture of the people who passed that way. Next to Ramesses II’s legs are eleven other, much smaller figures of family members, including his wife, Nefertari; his mother, Queen Tuya; and some of his children. Since scale in Egyptian art was meant to show relative importance, it is clear that Ramesses II is the main focus of the temple. In Egyptian temples, gods were typically depicted as exiting from their shrines. Above the entrance to the Great Temple at