Temple of Isis, Deir el Shelwit
Theban Temples - Temples - Buildings - Builders & BuildingsThe Temple dedicated to the Goddess Isis and not to the Theban Triad which makes it very unusual in the Theban Hills.
The Temple was presumably dedicated to the Goddess Isis due to the time it was built, in the Roman Period of Ancient Egypt, when the Goddess was extremely popular and highly comparable to Romans and Egyptians alike.
It is located to the south of Pharaoh Amenhotep III’s Malkata City Palace Complex on the West Bank of Thebes. For more information about the Malkata City Palace Complex, click here.
Built during the Greco-Roman Period: approx. 1st Century BC: and was abandoned by the time of Coptic Egypt in 3rd Century.
Temple Layout
First Pylon: The Entrance
Inside the Temple
The decoration inside the Temple are comparable to those found in Dendera Temple and Isis Temple on Philae Island which are dated to the same time period that this Isis Temple was built: the Roman Period. Click here to learn more about those Temples.
The cartouches present in the Reliefs are for:
- Hadrianus
- Antoninus Pius
- Galba
- Otho
- Vespasianus and
- Julius Caesar
In the Inner Sanctuary there are extensively ornately decorated reliefs which show the Roman Emperors making offerings to the Goddess. Hadrian is the foremost of these.
