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Lion Temple (Apedemak Temple) at Musawwarat es-Sufra Naeser, Claudia

Description

The Lion Temple (or Apedemak Temple) at Musawwarat es-Sufra is a typical Meroitic single-roomed temple, dedicated to the lion god Apedemak, an indigenous Meroitic deity. It was constructed under king Arnakhamani (c. 235–218 BC) and is one of the most important religious monuments of the Early Meroitic period, testifying to seminal changes in Kushite religion in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. In the previous Napatan period (c. 650–300 BC), the Kushite pantheon – at least as represented in monumental sources – is exclusively composed of gods with an origin in Pharaonic Egypt, such as Amun. Non-Egyptian indigenous deities only appear in the subsequent Meroitic period (c. 300 BC–350 AD). The Lion Temple at Musawwarat is a manifestation of this development: The gods Apedemak, Sebiumeker and Arensnuphis are depicted here for the first time.

Item Metadata

Title
Lion Temple (Apedemak Temple) at Musawwarat es-Sufra
Creator
Naeser, Claudia
Contributor
Database of Religious History (DRH)
Publisher
Database of Religious History (DRH)
Date Issued
2021-05-31
Description
The Lion Temple (or Apedemak Temple) at Musawwarat es-Sufra is a typical Meroitic single-roomed temple, dedicated to the lion god Apedemak, an indigenous Meroitic deity. It was constructed under king Arnakhamani (c. 235–218 BC) and is one of the most important religious monuments of the Early Meroitic period, testifying to seminal changes in Kushite religion in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. In the previous Napatan period (c. 650–300 BC), the Kushite pantheon – at least as represented in monumental sources – is exclusively composed of gods with an origin in Pharaonic Egypt, such as Amun. Non-Egyptian indigenous deities only appear in the subsequent Meroitic period (c. 300 BC–350 AD). The Lion Temple at Musawwarat is a manifestation of this development: The gods Apedemak, Sebiumeker and Arensnuphis are depicted here for the first time.
Subject
Monument; Archaeological monument; Religious Group; Meroitic religion; Religious Place; Temple
Genre
Other
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2021-08-25
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0401701
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/79440
Affiliation
Non UBC
Citation
Claudia Naeser. (2021). Lion Temple (Apedemak Temple) at Musawwarat es-Sufra. Database of Religious History, Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia.
Peer Review Status
Unreviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Aggregated Source Repository
DSpace

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Rights

Attribution 4.0 International