The Ras el-Soda temple (Arabic: معبد الرأس السوداء) is a Roman Egyptian religious structure located in Alexandria, Egypt. Built in the 2nd century AD, it was dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis.[1][2]
معبد الرأس السوداء | |
 | |
| Location | Alexandria |
|---|---|
| Region | Egypt |
| Coordinates | 31°12′12″N 29°55′07″E / 31.203414°N 29.91862°E |
| History | |
| Founded | 2nd century CE |
| Cultures | Roman-Egyptian |
History
editThe temple was originally a private foundation that had been established by an Isidoros, a Roman who had lived in the 2nd century CE and had the temple erected as an offering to Isis for having his foot healed after an accident he had in which he fell from his carriage.[3][4] On 29 October 1936, workers in the Ras el-Soda district east of Alexandria discovered columns that were later identified as the remains of a temple by excavations,[5] led by the director of the Graeco-Roman Museum of Alexandria at that time, Achille Adriani, who unearthed the remains of the temple.[6] In the early 1990s, the temple was relocated from its original area after a decision from the Supreme Council for Antiquities due to the temple's exposure to rising ground waters. The temple was relocated to the Chatby Garden on Horreya Street.[1][7]
Architecture
editMeasuring 5 by 7.5 meters, the Ras el Soda temple contains a podium that is 1.4 meters high with a staircase in front.[6] The small temple, which is built of limestone, has ionic marble columns,[8] and also contains a cella (or inner chamber),[9] with a doorway in the eastern side of the temple.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b Laurent Bricault, M. J. Versluys, P. G. P. Meyboom (December 2006). Nile Into Tiber. Egypt in the Roman World : Proceedings of the IIIrd International Conference of Isis Studies, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, May 11-14, 2005. Brill. ISBN 9004154205.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Troels Myrup Kristensen (June 2013). Making and Breaking the Gods: Christian Responses to Pagan Sculpture in Late Antiquity. Aarhus University Press. ISBN 9788771244120.
- ^ David Frankfurter (June 30, 2020). Religion in Roman Egypt: Assimilation and Resistance. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691214733.
- ^ Theodora Suk Fong Jim (2022). Saviour Gods and Soteria in Ancient Greece. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192894113.
- ^ Elaine K. Gazda, Elise A. Friedland, Melanie Grunow Sobocinski (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Roman Sculpture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199921829.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Johannes Hahn, Lukas de Blois, Peter Funke (September 2006). The Impact of Imperial Rome on Religions, Ritual and Religious Life in the Roman Empire: Proceedings from the Fifth Workshop of the International Network Impact of Empire (Roman Empire, 200 B.C. - A.D. 476) Münster, June 30 - July 4, 2004. Brill. ISBN 9789047411345.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Medelhavsmuseet (2004). Medelhavsmuseet: Focus on the Mediterranean · Volume 1. Museum of Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities (Medelhavsmuseet).
- ^ Judith McKenzie (2007). The architecture of Alexandria and Egypt, c.300 BC to AD 700. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300115550.
- ^ Robert Wild (September 2015). Water in the Cultic Worship of Isis and Sarapis. Brill. ISBN 9789004295674.
- ^ "RAS EL-SODA TEMPLE, Alexandria Portal".