Temple of Dendur
The Temple of Dendur (Dendoor in the 19th century) is a Roman Egyptian religious structure originally located in Tuzis (later Dendur), Nubia about south of modern Aswan. Around 23 BCE, Emperor Augustus commissioned the temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis and deified brothers Pedesi and Pihor from Nubia. In 1963, as part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, UNESCO helped rescue and relocate the temple from flooding caused by the Aswan High Dam. Egypt gave the temple to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which has exhibited it since 1978. History Petronius, the Roman governor of Egypt, built the Temple of Dendur at the request of Caesar Augustus, the emperor of Rome that included Egypt at that time. Originally named Octavian, Augustus became emperor after defeating Mark Antony and Egyptian Queen Cleopatra in 31 BCE. During his reign, Augustus had Egyptian-style temples built and dedicated to Egyptian gods and goddesses. However, he only commissioned a few temples in Nubia. One of those was the Temple of Dendur which he placed on the west bank of the Nile river in Tuzis (later Dendur, about south of modern Aswan). Construction started in 23 BCE and