The Temple of Maharraqa of the gods Isis

The Temple of Maharraqa of the gods Isis

The only large open-air temple surrounded by three covered terraces dedicated to the goddesses Isis and Serapis is a Romanesque temple the only one in Nubia with a spiral staircase leading to the roof a visual phenomenon created by sunlight that differs from the unique large enclosed temples of the time. These reconstructed gods served as focal points of religious fusion. Pharaoh Ptolemy I of the Greek dynasty combined elements of Egyptian and Greek mythology to unite people from both cultures.

The image of Serapis is depicted in the Greek style as an elderly man with a handsome beard wearing Greek robes and a headdress of a basket of fruit Modius a symbol of fertility and harvest. This resulted in the worship of Isis and Serapis becoming a widely popular belief in the Mediterranean world fostering a sense of unity.

Photograph taken during the 19th century approximately 1870-1880 showing the Roman-era temple dedicated to the goddesses Isis and Serapis.

In the Roman era of the 1st century AD a temple dedicated to the gods Serapis and Isis was built along with Osiris the god of death and resurrection and Apis the supreme sacred bull god of Memphis. A temple dedicated to the gods who ruled the cosmos and fertility was built by Pharaoh Ptolemy I of Soter in the 3rd century BC. 

The Temple of Maharaka represents one of the most significant religious fusions of the Hellenistic era. The worship of these two deities was not limited to Egypt but spread throughout the Mediterranean. Dedicated to Serapis and Isis often worshipped together as the patron gods of Alexandria the temple fused Greek and Egyptian beliefs with its primary center of worship at the Temple of the Serapeum in Alexandria Egypt.