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 at Abu Simbel was also dedicated to Queen Nefertari, the principal wife of Ramesses II and a deified queen. At the Small Temple in Abu Simbel, six standing statues of Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari flank the entrance – there are four of Ramesses II and two of Queen Nefertari. The statues of Ramesses II and Queen Nefertari are the same size. This is, in fact, the first time that the King and the Queen are represented at the same scale. Since scale was so important for representing status in Egyptian art, it can be concluded that Ramesses II held