Abu Simbel temples colossal 20 meter statues of the pharaoh with the double Atef crown of Upper and Lower Egypt decorate the facade of the temple, which is 35 meters wide and is topped by a frieze with 22 baboons, worshippers of the sun and flank the entrance. The colossal statues were sculpted directly from the rock in which the temple was located before it was moved. All statues represent Ramesses II, seated on a throne and wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The statue to the left of the entrance was damaged in an earthquake, leaving only the lower
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