Mamaisssii Temples

Roman Mammisi


Temple of Hathor. Dendera


View from the temple roof looking north towards the entrance. From back to front we see the Roman mammisi(reign of Trajan), an early Christian basilica (fifth century AD), and a mammisi begun by Nectanebo I (380-362 BC).

Mammisi (ma-MEE-see, pl. ma-MEE-sees)


"birth house," a chapel celebrating the union of two gods from which a divine child - often identified with Pharaoh - is born. Mammisi is an Afro-Arabic word; its spelling and pluralization in English is variable.