sun temple
Helios worship site
A sun temple is a place of worship dedicated to a sun deity.
Ancient civilizations built elaborate sun temples—the Egyptians at Heliopolis, the Aztecs at Tenochtitlan, the Incas at Cusco.
The architecture often aligns with solar events: The temple doors face the sunrise on the summer solstice.
- RaEgyptian sun deity
- AmaterasuShinto sun deity
- altarSacred ritual table
- dawnDay's first glow
- golden lightWarm yellow illumination
ancient ruins · sacred space · gnomon · sanctuary · solstice · Apollo · obelisk · Sol Invictus · winter solstice · stone circle · Inca civilization · columns · monument · worship · deity · ancient · celestial · sunrise
- Templesmandir, pagoda, joss house, Parthenon, Pantheon
- Andean RuinsMachu Picchu, Inca ruins, Inca Trail, Moray, citadel
- sun worshipRa, Amaterasu, Heliopolis, Apollo, Sol Invictus
- archaeoastronomyStonehenge, stone circles, medicine wheels, ancient observatories, standing stones
- Inca AstronomyPleiades, Southern Cross, lunar cycles, moon phases, solstice
- Ancient Egyptpharaoh, pharaohs, sphinx, pyramids, hieroglyphics
sacred vs. secular architecture
sun templemarketplace
Venue for commerce
town hall · warehouse · civic building · granary · barracks