120px|The Temple of Isis at Philae
Egyptian temples were built for the official worship of the gods and
commemoration of pharaohs in ancient Egypt. Within them the Egyptians
performed the central functions of Egyptian religion: giving offerings
to the gods, reenacting their mythological interactions through
festivals, and warding off the forces of chaos. These rituals were seen
as necessary for the gods to continue to uphold the divine order of the
universe. Most of the populace was forbidden from entering temples'
most sacred areas, but temples were still important religious sites for
all classes of Egyptians. Temples are among the largest and most
enduring examples of Egyptian architecture, with their elements
arranged and decorated according to complex patterns of religious
symbolism. A large temple owned sizable tracts of land and employed
thousands of laymen to supply its needs. Some temples have become
world-famous tourist attractions that contribute significantly to the
modern Egyptian economy. Egyptologists continue to study the surviving
temples, as they are invaluable sources of information about ancient
Egyptian society. (more...)
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1610:
English sea explorer Henry Hudson sailed into what it is now known as
Hudson Bay, thinking he had made it through the Northwest Passage to
reach the Pacific Ocean.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hudson_Bay>
1897:
Anglo-Afghan wars: The Siege of Malakand ended when a relief column was
able to reach the British garrison in the Malakand region of colonial
India's North West Frontier Province.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Malakand>
1923:
Calvin Coolidge became the 30th President of the United States after
Warren G. Harding suffered a fatal heart attack.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvin_Coolidge>
1932:
At the California Institute of Technology, Carl David Anderson proved
the existence of antimatter when he discovered the positron.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/positron>
1989:
The Indian Peace Keeping Force began killing 64 minority Sri Lankan
Tamil civilians over a two-day period in Valvettiturai, Sri Lanka.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Valvettiturai_massacre>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
throw up (v):
1. To build or erect (something) in haste.
2. To give up, abandon (something).
3. To vomit
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/throw_up>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
One writes out of one thing only — one's own experience. Everything
depends on how relentlessly one forces from this experience the last
drop, sweet or bitter, it can possibly give. This is the only real
concern of the artist, to recreate out of the disorder of life that
order which is art.
--James Baldwin
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Baldwin>
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