Medinet Maadi
Encyclopedia
Medinet Maadi is a site in the southwestern Fayum region of Egypt
where a temple
of the cobra-goddess Renenutet
(a harvest deity) was founded during the reigns of Amenemhat III
and Amenemhat IV
(1855-1799 BC). It was later expanded and embellished during the Greco-Roman period.
The dark sandstone inner part of the temple consists of a small papyrus-columned hall leading to a sanctuary comprising three chapels, each containing statues of deities. The central chapel incorporated a large statue of Renenutet, with Amenemhat III and Amenemhat IV standing on either side of her. The Ptolemaic parts of the temple comprise a paved processional way passing through an eight-columned kiosk leading to a portico and transverse vestibule. It has been suggested that the unusually good preservation of this temple complex, excavated by a team of archaeologists from the University of Milan
in the 1930s, may have been due simply to its relative seclusion.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
where a temple
Egyptian temple
Egyptian temples were built for the official worship of the gods and commemoration of pharaohs in Ancient Egypt and in regions under Egyptian control. These temples were seen as houses for the gods or kings to whom they were dedicated...
of the cobra-goddess Renenutet
Renenutet
In Egyptian mythology, Renenutet was the anthropomorphic deification of the act of gaining a true name, an aspect of the soul, during birth. Her name simply meaning, gives Ren, with Ren being the Egyptian word for this true name...
(a harvest deity) was founded during the reigns of Amenemhat III
Amenemhat III
Amenemhat III, also spelled Amenemhet III was a pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from c.1860 BC to c.1814 BC, the latest known date being found in a papyrus dated to Regnal Year 46, I Akhet 22 of his rule. He is regarded as the greatest monarch of the Middle Kingdom...
and Amenemhat IV
Amenemhat IV
Amenemhat IV, or Amenemhet IV was Pharaoh of Egypt, likely ruling between ca. 1815 BC and ca. 1806 BC. He served first as the junior coregent of Amenemhat III and completed the latter's temple at Medinet Maadi, which is "the only intact temple still existing from the Middle Kingdom" according to...
(1855-1799 BC). It was later expanded and embellished during the Greco-Roman period.
The dark sandstone inner part of the temple consists of a small papyrus-columned hall leading to a sanctuary comprising three chapels, each containing statues of deities. The central chapel incorporated a large statue of Renenutet, with Amenemhat III and Amenemhat IV standing on either side of her. The Ptolemaic parts of the temple comprise a paved processional way passing through an eight-columned kiosk leading to a portico and transverse vestibule. It has been suggested that the unusually good preservation of this temple complex, excavated by a team of archaeologists from the University of Milan
University of Milan
The University of Milan is a higher education institution in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Europe, with about 62,801 students, a teaching and research staff of 2,455 and a non-teaching staff of 2,200....
in the 1930s, may have been due simply to its relative seclusion.
Further reading
- A.Vogliano, Primo (e secondo) rapporto degli scavi condetti della R. Universita di Milano nella zona di Amdinet Maadi, 1935-6 (Milan, 1936-7).
- R.Naumann, 'Der Tempel des Mittleren Reiches in Medinet Madi', MDAIK8 (1939), 185-9.
- Ian Shaw and Paul Nicholson, The Dictionary of Ancient Egypt, 178