Temple of Ptah

The Temple of Ptah was a major temple complex located in the city of Memphis, Egypt, dedicated to the creator god, Ptah. The temple was also home to the Apis, a sacred bull worshipped by ancient Egyptians as an aspect of Ptah.

History[edit | edit source]

By the Ptolemaic dynasty, the temple was still a significant landmark in Memphis. In 48 BCE, the Medjay Bayek of Siwa, visited the temple to meet with the High Priest of Ptah, Pasherenptah. Upon arrival, he witnessed the priest having an argument with his wife, Taimhotep, over the "curse" plaguing the city and causing problems for him. Bayek followed Pasherenptah to the hall housing the Apis bull, who had been afflicted with an illness. As the Apis bull seemingly died from the illness, Bayek agreed to help Pasherenptah look into the curse.^[1]

After helping Taimhotep with her ritual, Bayek returned to the temple with his wife, Aya, to investigate the cause of the bull's sickness. Through their investigations, Bayek and Aya discovered the source: the twin priestesses, Taous and Tawe, had been forced to poison the bull in order to rescue their brother, Panchrates, who was held captive in the Temple of Hathor. Bayek saved Panchrates, who revealed the identity of his kidnapper, a priest of Anubis who wore a blue scarf and had a bad cough.^[1] Upon providing this information to Cleopatra, the priest was identified by Pasherenptah as Hetepi, one of his closest advisors.^[2]

Bayek travelled to the Temple of Ptah, where he identified Hetepi through his blue scar and cough, killing him and ending the curses plaguing Memphis.^[2]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

The Ancient Egyptian name for the temple, Hut-ka-Ptah meaning "Enclosure of the ka of Ptah" was rendered as Ai-gy-ptos (Aί-γυ-πτoς) in Greek, the etymological root for the later name of the whole country.