Period: Roman Period Reign: reign of Augustus Caesar Date: ca. 15 B.C. Geography: Egypt, Nubia, Dendur, West bank of the Nile River, 50 miles South of Aswan Medium: Aeolian Sandstone Dimensions: L. from gate to rear of temple 24 m 60 cm (82 ft.) Credit Line: Given to the United States by Egypt in 1965, awarded to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1967, and installed in The Sac kler Wing in 1978 Accession Number: 68.154 The Metropolitan Museum -New York City- Egyptian temples were not simply houses for a cult image but also represented, in their design and decoration, a variety of religious and mythological concepts. One important symbolic aspect was based on the understanding of the temple as an image of the natural world as the Egyptians knew it. Lining the temple base are carvings of papyrus and lotus plants that seem to grow from water, symbolized by figures of the Nile god Hapy. The two columns on the porch rise toward the sky like tall bundles of p...