Many ancient Egyptian temples have an interesting adjunct called a Mammisi - a Coptic word, roughly meaning a "Birth house". Why would this small unpretentious structure thought to be used for child birth be a necessary and important part of the temple architecture?
It appears to be a more modern addition to temple architecture dating from the Late and the Ptolemaic periods of ancient Egypt. Of course "modern" in the context of Egyptian history usually means older than a couple of thousand years at the very least 😀. But the standard template we see used in older temples (From the middle or the new kingdoms) like Luxor or Karnak does not have a place for a Mammisi in it.
Most Egyptian temples centered around a holy trinity or triad - usually consisting of a god, a goddess and their son. Of course in different periods of Egyptian history, different gods and their triads dominated. In the old kingdom at Memphis (near present day Cairo) it was Ptah, Sekhmet and Nefertem, during the middle and new kingdoms in Thebes (present day Luxor) it was Amun, Mut and Khonsu and after that especially during the Late and Greek periods when Mammisi became an integral part of a temple, it was Osiris, Isis and Horus.
The Mammisi - birth houses - were considered to be the place where goddess of the triad gave birth to the son of the triad, presided over by the goddess of fertility - Hathor. Since the son was usually associated with the reigning Pharaoh, the Mammisi thus symbolized the divine origin of the Pharaoh. I guess in the waning days of a once mighty civilization, for the weakened pharaohs any such divine "connection" must have seemed like a great tool to help continue their hold on power that was slowly slipping away. That may be why the Mammisi became such an important part of temples built during that period - Temple of Isis at Philae, at Com-Ombo, at Edfu, at Dendera and so on.
The Mammisi was usually just outside the main entrance of the temple - a modest (compared to the Grandeur of the temple itself) hall surrounded by tall columns, reminiscent of old Greek buildings (Like the Parthenon) but shaped and decorated with unique Egyptian motifs like idealized papyrus stalks, the walls and columns richly decorated with the images of the reigning triad of the temple, the pharaoh being blessed by them etc.
There would be an annual celebration of this divine birth in the Mammisi, thus reinforcing the Pharoah's divine connection and his divine right to rule! Mammisis thus formed an architectural translation of the myth of divine birth and its eternal repetition! The photos above are from a trip to Egypt in 2018. First - the Mammisi in the temple of Isis, second - the detail of one of its columns - you can see the head of Goddess Hathor at the top and the idealized papyrus shaped column-head. Third the Mammisi at Edfu and last, a panel from Edfu showing Isis feeding the infant Horus and the Pharoah Ptolemy III Philopster making ceremonial offering to the gods.
The photos are not great because at that time I was unaware of the significance of Mammisi and therefore focused more the majesty and art of the main temples. The Mammisi photos therefore got taken only where it intruded inadvertantly in the frame!
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