Temple of Ptah

The Temple of Ptah was the largest and most important temple in the city of Memphis. It was dedicated to Ptah, the Ancient Egyptian creator god, but was essentially a temple complex dedicated to other Egyptian gods, such as Sekhmet and Apis. It was one of the most prominent structures in the city, occupying a large precinct within the city's centre. Enriched by centuries of veneration, the temple was one of the three foremost places of worship in Ancient Egypt, the others being the great temples of Ra in Heliopolis, and of Amun in Thebes.

History
Much of what is known about the ancient temple today comes from the writings of the Greek historian, Herodotus, who visited the site at the time of the first Persian invasion, long after the fall of the New Kingdom. Herodotus claimed that the temple had been founded by Narmer, the first Pharaoh of a unified Egypt, and that the core building of the complex was restricted to priests and kings. His account, however, gave no physical description of the complex.

By the Ptolemaic Dynasty, the temple still was a significant landmark in Memphis. In 48 BCE, the high priest Pasherenptah instructed the Medjay, Bayek of Siwa to meet him once he arrived in Memphis in order to track down the Lizard. After an argument with his wife, Taimhotep, he informed Bayek about the curse, and how the Apis Bull itself was close to death, which Bayek saw for himself. Later, Bayek and his wife and fellow Medjay, Aya came to investigate the cause of the bull's sickness. Bayek found out that the twin priestesses had been forced to poison the bull with peach pits in order to rescue their brother, Panchrates from bandits at the Temple of Hathor. Bayek rescued Panchrates, who revealed the identity of his kidnapper, a priest of Anubis who wore a blue scarf and had a bad cough. Upon revealing this information to Cleopatra, Pasherenptah revealed that this priest was one of his closest advisors, Hetepi.

Bayek tracked Hetepi down in the Great Temple of Ptah, where he easily made out the Lizard from his cough, and killed him, thus ending the curses plaguing Memphis.

Appearance

 * Assassin's Creed: Origins